There’s some new blood running down NYC’ streets. The DEAD TRICKS have kindly answered our questions…
Can you tell us a bit about the band’s history?
Jiv: I just can’t manage to do anything like a “normal” person. I wrote and recorded some demos in my makeshift apt. studio and posted ads online as a complete band looking for the missing piece. The result was quite hilarious…to say the least. Members have changed and it took some more searching to find Manya but I nabbed Lorne Behrman after we just clicked when we met for the first practice. We had fun, we laughed, we abducted Manya, and we became The Dead Tricks shortly thereafter. We got in the studio, got our songs together and gigged out about a hundred times in the coming year. We absolutely love what we do.
Manya, girls in punk rock’n’roll bands aren’t that common nowadays (except in all-girl bands), how did you end up playing in the DEAD TRICKS?
Manya: I feel like I ask myself that question every day, ha. Beside the planets aligning and some dark forces working together, this thing called Craigslist brought me to answer a vague post from a band with old-school punk influences seeking a bassist, the rest is history. Beyond being a girl in a punk band, I just want to be a badass bass player and make the music I’m passionate about, this is the band that does that.
You’ve just released a new single, can you tell us about it? Will it be released on vinyl?
Jiv: The new single, The Despicable Summer/Serf came from our late 2012 recording session at Big Blue Meenie Studios. It signals the next phase of The Dead Tricks and a little taste of what’s to come. It’s available for download and has been released on CD by Infested records: http://infestedrecords.bigcartel.com/product/the-dead-tricks-the-despicable-summer-b-w-serf-cd-single
We’d like to release it on vinyl, which is still a possibility in the future.
You also have a new video for the song “Don’t Get High (Without Me”.) When and where did you shoot it? Seems like it ended with a bit of blood!
Jiv: We shot this video on July 25, 2012 at The Muff Cave which is the home of our great friends The Bloody Muffs who rehearse /throw shows/live there. The night started out with a bunch of friends, video cameras, cases of beer, great bands and good times. The night ended with inebriation, flailing limbs, moshing & a whole lot of incoherence. By the end of the set, our cohorts let go of whatever sanity was left in the room. After some auto-asphyxiation and having beer poured all over my face, the next thing I noticed was that I was eating the drum hardware. The room had exploded and I went flying into the kit, ending up with a 5 inch gash down my forearm. It felt right, it fucked my tattoo and it tasted great.
Your debut EP “You Should Have Worried About It” was produced by Agnostic Front’s Mike Gallo, how did that happen?
Manya: Mike dropped in on one of our rehearsals after being referred to us by a friend of Lorne’s. He’s such a down to earth talented guy, and most of all dug what we were doing. We were super stoked when he wanted to produce us!
How is the New York scene nowadays? What places do you usually play? Any bands from there we should check out?
Manya: As rough as always, ha. There’s so many great new bands, new venues opening up all the time, hard to keep up! Our fave spots are Webster Hall, The Bowery Electric, The Muff Cave, Otto’s Shrunken Head, The Grand Victory, Trash Bar, to name a few. Check out our fellow punk n’ rollers: The Bloody Muffs, Out of Order, Tied for Last, Refuse to Resist, Cry Havoc!, Yo!$cunt, The Sharp Lads, (LB / Jivs, feel free to add to this list if i missed anyone)
Do you often play outside of New York?
Manya: Not often enough! So far we’ve done several Albany and Boston shows, as well as Connecticut and Jersey, but we’re planning more shows to come in our immediate surrounding area and to get out there in the Spring/Summer for a week-long north mid-west tour, can’t wait!
You mention many bands as influences on your Facebook page, some (DEAD BOYS, SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES…) more obvious than others (DEPECHE MODE, ERASURE…), can you tell us about 5 of your favourite records and about the 2 last records you listened to?
Lorne:
Two Favs:
Iggy Pop & James Williamson Kill City – It’s vulnerable but still totally unrepentant.
Black Flag Who’s Got The 10 ½ – When you give everything you have inside to the music you make, this is what that commitment sounds like.
Last Record:
Nick Cave Boatman’s Call – No posturing or bullshit swagger, it’s all heart.
Manya:
Two Favs:
The Velvet Underground Live at Max’s Kansas City – probably one of my favorite live albums of all time, just soothes my soul. I’d kill to have been there.
Bad Brains Bad Brains – No explanation needed 😉
Last Record:
Ceremony Zoo – One of the best newer punk bands out of the Bay area, this record is a weekly visitor to my ears.
Jiv:
Two favs:
The Lords of the New Church – The Lords of the New Church – Took everything I love about rock n’ roll, punk rock and 80’s post-punk and brought forth an album that was rhythmic, melodic and danceable while still completely unique, dark, gritty and utterly deviant . LOTNC truly wrote the religion of debauchery with this one.
Plasmatics Beyond the Valley of 1984 – Punk… Metal…Super-sexy destruction… The first time I heard this record, I became completely infatuated.
Last Record:
OFF! Self-Titled – Fast, short and brutal. I often leave this on repeat for about 3 go-arounds.
Last book you’ve read?
Lorne: Despite the fact that Patti Smith growled at me at a poetry reading—a harrowing experience—I recently finished Just Kids. It was beautifully written.
Lorne, can you tell us about your past in the DIMESTORE HALOES? Do you still talk to Chaz Matthews?
Lorne: It means so much to me that 16 years later people still remember that band. We had a lot of hardships and heartbreak—R.I.P. Jimmy Reject—but we also had a lot of laughs. Chaz is a big brother to me, he taught me a ton, and we still laugh at the same stupid jokes! That was a wonderful time; I found my identity in that band. I wrote/co-wrote some songs on Thrill City Crime Control and I still mean every word.
What’s coming next for The DEAD TRICKS?
Jiv: The next step is something we are intently looking forward to. In the near future you can expect more videos to be released and new merch available. We are currently in the studio working on what’s to become our first full length album. By March we will be back on stage, playing new songs and being our good ol’ degenerate selves. Can’t wait!
Veglam 