Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Talking with the dahg-gone dahgs of Dahga Bloom


[Photo by Will Tee Yang]

Dahga Bloom is a lot of things. But nothing you can put your finger on. They’re ramblers, mumblers, wanderers, wisecracks, Dennis-the-Menace incarnates armed with instruments and trippy wits. Dahga Bloom are elusive talk boxes. Howlers. Growlers. The vocals moan like a schoolyard taunt. Like the soundtrack to a 1950s street-race rumble played in fast motion. Dahga Bloom are jittery, driving beats, electric guitars stomp-hopping into wailing moans up a scale. Or something like that.


I got to talk to the local Fullerton-based band as they prepped for their upcoming show at House of Blues Anaheim this Saturday, July 31st.  They’ll be sharing a bill with other local and personal favorites The Growlers, My Pet Saddle, and Free The Robots.

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Jen Hood: What makes you bloom? What’s your diet of inspiration music-wise, art-wise, film-wise, even food-and-booze-wise?
Lukas Drake: Dahga, Snoop Dahgy Dahg, Salvador Dahgi, Last of the Dahgmen, Dahg Day Afternoon, Wag The Dahga, It’s A Dahg's Life, All Dahgs Go To Heaven, The Truth About Cats & Dahga, Clifford The Big Red Dahg, My Dahg Skip, He’s Your Dahg Charlie Brown, strict meat-a-tarian/Meagan, Mexican Beer.
Matt Mason: The sun, water and fertilizer. For music I'm really into the following artists who you should all Youtube: Futureman Wooten, Eduard Khil, Screamin Jay Hawkins. For art I prefer the art of the prophet of Dahga: Daniel Bryan's hammered (before consumption) beer cans. Lucas named most of my favorite films, but he forgot Slumdahg Millionaire. I really love provincial French cuisine, Foie gras, escargot with button mushrooms, and filet mignon with a kalamata olive red wine reduction and fresh, raw quail egg. I enjoy single malt scotches, Drambuie, and anything from the Fuller’s Brewery in Great Britain. 

Hood: Do you think Danielle Bacher hit the nail on the head when she summed you up as: “Dahga Bloom meld Seeds-ish protopunk, atmospheric keyboards and jittery kraut-rock experimentation into a glorious cosmic slop.”
Collective reaction: Do YOU think Daniell Bacher hit the nail on the head when she summed us up as "Dahga bloom meld seds-ish proto punk, atmospheric keyboards and jittery kraut-rock experimentation into a glorious cosmic slop?
Hood: Talking to you guys makes me wonder if I’m sure about anything really.

Hood: What do you sing…
In the shower?
 Mason: I like to sing Meredith Monk.
Drake: I mostly switch it up between two songs. Snoop and Tupac's "Two of America's Most Wanted" and No Doubts "I'm Just a Girl"

In the car?
Mason: The first two tracks off the Mars LP.
Drake: "Today Was A Good Day" by Ice Cube.

On the lawn in front of your ex-girlfriend’s house?
Drake: No Doubt's "I'm Just a Girl"
Jen Hood: I can see why that relationship might have dissolved.
Mason: "Guilty Of Being White" by Minor Threat.

To warm up them vocal pipes?
Mason: Merideth Monk.
Drake: Meth.
Jen Hood: I’m worried.

Hood: On a serious note, Merle Haggard once said “I loved it when I heard Elvis breathe. You don’t get to hear anybody breathe anymore, because they [producers] call that ‘foreign noise.’ It takes the life and the humanity out of it for me, so I don’t listen much to modern day music.” You guys seem to be of a like mind, reveling in the spontaneity and life of the recording process. Reason?
Drake: Everything else just seems like a commercial to me. When you hear a band at their rehearsal space on a little PA, it's not a full un-blemished production. It's live and raw. That's what I like about bands, and what I like about records. That's what I like about life. 
Mason: It's a recording studio, not a hospital. It's a place to create something, and in art there has to be some form of imperfection, and that's what makes it great. You have to have a balance so the good parts can really shine.

Hood: On an even more serious note: Clint Eastwood or John Wayne?
Drake: John Wayne. My dad wanted to name me Duke instead of Luke, but my mom wouldn't let him.
Mason: Dirty Harry.

Hood: Roy Orbison or Buddy Holly?
Drake: Snoop Dogg.
Mason: The Big Bopper.
Jen Hood: Way to follow the prompt. 

Hood: Your Life’s Theme Song?
Drake: “Errryday I'm hustling” by Rick Ross.
Mason: Tiny Tim’s "Tiptoe Through The Tulips"

Hood: Official drink of your recording session?
Dahga Bloom: Natural light / Arnold Palmers 

Hood: How does the very unique culture of OC affect your music, your perspective?
Dahga Bloom: You talk shit, it makes people feel a certain way. People talk shit, and it makes you feel a certain way. You choose what shit to talk, and what shit to take. Any city, anywhere, this is true. 

Hood: Wise advice to pass on?
Drake: Save a cow, eat a vegan. 
Hood: I think that’s a t-shirt you can buy at Spencers.
Mason: Bill O'Reilly said it best: "F**k it, do it live."
Hood: And you can take that to the bank. 

Hood: Enough ladies’ delicates and beer bottles – what gifts would you like to be tossed from the crowd in the future?
Drake: The country of Monaco.
Zach Nelson: Nubbins.
Sean Yakubovsky: Forrest Gump.
Bryan King: A Yacht.
Miguel Gomez from Fullerton band, My Pet Saddle: Sarah Palin.
Kyle Schuster from OC band, Cosmonauts: I wish they would stop throwing things at me. 
Manny Lopez: Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Mason: Odor eaters. 

Hood: Future plans for the band?
Dahga Bloom: Learn more juggling and magic tricks. 
Hood: Ongoing industry education is so crucial.

Hood: New sounds/genres you want to explore?
Dahga Bloom: The mating sounds of farm animals.
Hood: Wow, the wheels are really coming off this interview.
Dahga Bloom: The unique vocal stylings of Jonathan Davis of Korn. 
Hood: Wheels are off.

Hood: Best new band out there?
Dahga Bloom: Homiesexual.

Hood: Best old band out there?
Dahga Bloom: Pterodacdudes

Hood: Best awful band out there?
Dahga Bloom: Lady Gaga, cause she stole our name. 

Hood: What you’ll be doing after you finish this interview?
Drake: Changing diapers. 
Mason: Getting chipper with my friends.  

Hood: What you’ll never do?
Dahga Bloom: Never say never.


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For anyone interested, here's the rundown of what just happened.

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So pack up your Sarah Palins, get your fan-fare throwing arms stretched and ready, and feast your ears on the eccentric sounds and personnas of Dahga Bloom this Saturday at HOB Anaheim! Show starts at 8pm. All ages. While there, you can score their first self-titled, full length album (which has an aaaaaamazing cover, see below).

Listen to them and like them here.

Dahga Bloom is:
Bryan King: vocals, guitar
Lucas Drake: Keyboard, guitar, vocals
Matt Mason: Guitar, vocals
Manny Lopez: Bass, percussion, vocals
Zach Nelson: Violin, mandolin, percussion, vocals
Sean Yakubovsky: Drums

And this is what they're capable of...



Be warned. This will show will be ridiculous. In the best meaning of the word.
-Jen

3 comments:

  1. this is way too funny. i need some coffee. lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. yeah, i think we'd all had too much coffee during that interview, haha!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. They are trying way too hard. Btw, I heard the manny guy has a warrant out for his arrest from an abuse charge, and is a deadbeat dad with at LEAST 2 kids from different moms. I hope this band becomes really sucessful so those kids can finally get some support.

    ReplyDelete

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