SEX
From page
S: Yes, it has no title yet, but it's
based on Oriental mythology, all in
ancient time. These demons at-
tack a family and the son sets out
for revenge. It will have a serious
tone and a higher production
value; we are shooting it in the
hills.
B: Will it be shot like an actual film
instead of friends just out shooting
shit?
S: Everything is storyboarded out
beginning to end and shot in sequ-
ence.
M: We love kung-fu, so it generally
influences our films. We love
Bruce Lee, Jacky Chan, they're all
idols.
B: What is the worst experience
you've had on the job?
S: "Invaders From Mars" was an
experience. Everyone should
know what it's like to be on the set
10 to 18 hours a day just to do a
two minute shot. It got so tense on
the set sometimes we started get-
ting pretty strange. In our make-up
room we'd shoot broken Q-tips at
each other through straws. Then
an engineer found a way to shoot
them through an air injection line.
The force would blow it through
the wall, that is when we decided
to stop.
B: Have you been able to go on lo-
cation?
M: I got to go to Hawaii and work a
puppet head in "It's Alive 3," so
there is some travel.
S: Not me.
M: You missed nothing. Beach
babes, 7 spiders, typhoons, sun-
burns, what fun.
M: I also did a film in Indepen-
dence, CA.
S: Wherever that is.
M: Right next to Bishop, wherever
that is.
B: Someone will be reading this
and say, "I'm from there."
M: It was for a bad movie called
The Survivalist," a female
Rambo. This town we were in had
no stoplights. Even the 7-11
closed at 10 o'clock.
S: Matt and I worked on a film cal-
led "Roller Blade." The movie was
so low budget the people used our
props-samurai suits that we had
used in another film.
B: What are your three fave
movies as far as make-up?
M: The Thing." "Gremlins" and
"Beneath The Planet Of The
Apes."
S: "Greystoke," "Altered States"
and "Enemy Mine."
Matt: "Greystoke," "Hunger" and
"Shriek Of The Mutilated.
B: Just to amuse me, what's your
fave kung-fu film?
M: "Project A with Jacky Chan.
S: "Enter the Dragon."
Matt: "Project A."
B: Closing comments?
S-M-Matt: Bye Barrie and buy
THRASHER, ha-ha-ha.
IN THE CROWD
DAG NASTY
Reviewed by Mike Gitter
Dagnasty is a matter of sincerity.
Raging power chords mix with hook,
melody and raw emotion to produce
Washington DC's most impressive
outfit in recent years. From the mo-
ment they hit the stage, Dagnasty
dials in and never lets go. Drummer
Colin Sears and bassist Roger Mar-
buty keep the backbone tight while
guitarist Brian Baker careens about
the stage churning out his distinctly
melodic, though chunk-laden guitar
work. Vocalist Dave Smalley, grimac-
ing like the beast tatooed into his
arm sings, screams and quite liter-
ally burns with every thought, idea
and emotion he directs into the mi-
crophone.
This one's called 'Never Go
Back," announces Smalley as Colin
lets loose with a damagingly precise
military snare. Brian, allowing his
first silence shattering chord to ring
as if suspended in mid-air, begins to
twist out of the song's building intro-
duction as Roger's urgent though
tasteful bass work lays down a hard-
edged structure. His head shaking
with each drum beat, Smalley raises
the microphone to his lips and lets
loose as his voice ranges from
melodic to an impassioned scream.
The band becomes a unit with each
member giving his 100% in energy,
sweat and conviction.
Formed in the Summer of 1985,
Dagnasty have made rapid steps to-
ward becoming one of the most
watchable and best developed acts
from the ever-fertile Washington DC
scene, home of such notables as
Minor Threat, Government Issue,
Void and Rites of Spring. According
to Baker, "I was standing outside of a
Lunchmeat show in DC and realized
I was finally seeing what I could actu-
ally consider a good new band,
something that hasn't made an ap-
pearance for about a million years. I
also realized that I was wasting what
ever talent I have and that maybe it
would be worth putting that talent to
use again." Thusly, Baker, who had
gained a considerable amount of
notoriety for his guitar and bass work
in Minor Threat, got together with
Colin Sears and Roger Marbury, col-
lectively known as the rhythm sec-
tion of DC's Bloody Mannequin Or-
chestra, and with the addition of
newcomer and original vocalist
Sean Brown, began gigging out in
early Fall.
"What makes us different from
most other DC bands," says Brian,
is that we tend to play faster music.
We don't play at that speed as a cal-
culated plan, but we don't feel a song
that he had the vocal ability we were
looking for."
With members of two scene found-
ing bands fronting its lineup, Dag-
nasty is one of the few outfits to read-
ily apply lessons of hardcore, past
and present. While never preaching
or making their messages blatantly
obvious, Dagnasty deliver an hon-
est, non-clichéd message of matur-
ing and dealing with the world
through unclouded eyes. For exam-
should be discounted on the basis of ple, in "Values Here":
its velocity."
"Definitely," interjects Colin. "We
like what we're playing and it seems
as if most bands like to play slower.
Still, the fast songs can't be called
thrash by any stretch of the imagi-
nation."
By early winter, Dagnasty had de-
veloped into a mature outfit, with in-
fluences ranging from the Damned,
the Cult and Descendents becoming
tremendously apparent. "It happens
like that when you get a bunch of
people who have been doing this
sort of thing for two or three
months...or five years," jokes Brian.
Unfortunately, Sean soon departed
the outfit over what the band had felt
to have been vocal limitations. Ac-
cording to Colin, "He wasn't working
out or putting in the effort that we
were putting into it. It was also a mat-
ter of Dagnasty being his first band
and lacking the experience we all
had."
"Also," interjects Brian, "I feel that
my job is to write good music rather
than writing good lyrics, and with
Sean I found that I was writing the
vast majority of the lyrics. I don't
think I can express my particular
feelings, thoughts and beliefs by
using the singer as an amplifier and
have it come out with any amount of
honesty. It's a shame though, since
he is a good guy and a really close
friend of ours.
"By the stroke of God," says Brian,
we not only found someone who
looks like all of us, but could also
sing extremely well. Having re-
turned to his native DC after five
years in Boston as the vocalist of
DYS, Dave Smalley took over the
frontman's spot in December and
soon after contributed his vocal work
to the recording of the band's re-
cently released "Can I Say" Lp on the
Dischord label. "I had really lost faith
in what most hardcore and punk
bands were doing," says Smalley,
"and when I saw Dagnasty I realized
that they were totally honest and one
hundred percent into what they were
doing. I roadied for them and came
to realize that they were sincere and
had many of the same goals and be-
liefs that I've always had and will con-
tinue to have for some time to come."
Forsaking an overly critical DC
debut, Smalley played his first
shows during a string of out of town
gigs in early January. "With Dave,"
says Brian, "we found someone who
had many of the same values that
we did. Also, from listening to the last
DYS album there was no question
What you say
When I say
We'll be here through tomorrow in
my
heart and in my head
Fear of failure. Fear of
reprimand.
Too many problems that I've
never had
Never doubted what I had
inside
What I had inside.
The values here
In my heart
Will be here through
tomorrow
Everyday a brand new start.
Fear of failure. Fear of
reprimand.
Too many problems that
I've never had
Never doubted what I had
inside
What I had inside.
According to Brian, "My values,
thoughts and beliefs have not.
changed significantly since Minor
Threat and that carries over into this
band." "Definitely," agrees Dave,
The values I had in the beginning
are still there. I've had them since the
beginning and they'll stay with me
throughout my entire life."
Interestingly, through songs such
as "Never Go Back" and "Circles,"
Dagnasty seems to be utilizing their
past in considering the future. Ithink
anyone who's been punk rock for
three minutes can be heard to
exclaim that people who have been
punk rock for one and a half have
ruined everything," says Brian.
That's a ludicrous statement, but it's
true that the honesty and sincerity
has been siphoned away by an army
of people who didn't seem to survive
too well in the real world and thusly.
took the dive into the sewers of punk
rock."
Washington DC's Dagnasty exist
and play for the right reasons.
Backed by heart, soul, and sheer
conviction, each song literally burns
with the collective lessons of five
years of American hardcore, cul-
minating into one of the most mature
messages offered up by the Ameri-
can underground.
Belting from the gut, vocalist Dave
Smalley of Dagnasty and guitarist
Brian Baker
IN THE CROWD
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