VMU

VMU: Hey how are you?

DS: Good, thank you. I just finished up a heaping bowl of Coco Puffs so I’m all raring to go.

VMU: Where are you from and is there a live band involved?

DS: Well, I currently have a secret hideout near Los Angeles, so I can launch my attack on Hollywood from the inside out. Though, I live far enough away so that “they” can’t find me.

In regards to band members, it’s me, myself and I. As you might imagine, it makes playing live a bit difficult unless I clone myself. That’s why I aim to create a robot band to play with me (and hopefully one day evolve into a mass produced army of unstoppable, dancing soldiers) but alas, as of yet they tend to be rather unreliable. The current, temporary plan is to hire human musical henchmen to fill in for my robots until I can make enough money, finish my research and hire those Honda Robot guys to assist me in their construction.

VMU: How many releases have you put out and who produced?

DS: My song list grows weekly as I can’t seem to stop making music. Official “releases” have yet to actually happen as I am not signed nor involved with anyone else in the music scene. It’s a one-man show over here and thanks to modern technology I’m able to actually produce some decent music from within these four, rusty walls of mine.

Right now I have about 25 finished songs and another 15 audio sketches waiting to be filled out at least. Can’t…stop…must…keep making MUSIC!!

VMU: Were the recordings done digital or analog? (if comps what programs)

DS: It’s all about the digital in my book. The cold, hard edged ones and zeroes…how I love them so. Of course I started out with a cheap Tascam four track like many others in high school. But it has evolved to a computer system with SoundForge and Acid being two of my best friends. I do want to make the leap into Midi as I see the glorious advantages to such a medium, though at this time I am more concerned with getting ideas across than fine tuning and wrestling with the interface.

One day I shall learn how and acquire the proper software… or I’ll hire a monkey to do it for me.

VMU: How did you get started into music?

DS: Music has always been a big part of the way I look at things. I would often notice rhythms and “musical sounds” in things that weren’t designed to be musical. The sound of the washing machine running, a car alarm, the sprinkler system at school. That was probably the kick off for a lot of what I do now which is more often than not based on sampled sources. I like the idea of finding something and turning it into something completely different. Searching out yourself in an object or sound and making it yours.

Then there was the realization that successful rock stars have a whole lot of power…power going to waste. With a million fans cheering at your feet and buying your stuff why waste your time buying a mansion and a fleet of Hummers? I say go for World Domination! I mean, really! Come on, people! Do you really want to spend your money on heroin when you could be manufacturing a robot army? I sure don’t. But hey, that’s me.

VMU: Do you prefer live or studio recording?

I prefer studio recording. I like the control. I like the private time that I can spend listening to what it’s telling me to do. Channeling the sounds and letting them come to life. I haven’t had that experience with a live session.

VMU: How's the local music scene in your home town?

DS: Well, Los Angeles is alive with bands. People wanting to be rock stars. I could see a different band every night if I wanted to, but I’m rarely interested in checking them out as I find myself disappointed at the unimaginative, typical “rock” that tends to float to the top. Instead I hear by word of mouth of unique groups and try to support them as much as possible.

VMU: What do you express in your lyrics?

DS: I would break my song lyrics up into two categories. The “dancing monkey” lyrics and the “propaganda”. Dancing monkey lyrics are generally stream of consciousness ear candy. Funny combinations of words, references to pop culture and the ludicrous. No thinking required. The propaganda comes in when I actually have an agenda…most of it has to do with my goal of world domination. Some of it has to do with my own research, be it theories of my own or the theories of others whom I find to be interesting.

Either way, I strive to make them sound as aurally pleasing as possible.

VMU: I've been playing "Land of the Lost" for a while now on my online radio show for Krush. How did that song come about?

DS: Ah yes and thank you! That song would fall into the “Dancing Monkey” category. Definitely fun stuff. I think many of us remember the television show. I know that I had very fond childhood memories of a family stuck in the past, befriending an ape child named “Chaka” and ferocious dinosaurs keeping them all in constant peril in a vast, primeval land. What a great show it was for a little me, watching with wide eyed amazement.

It wasn’t until many years later when I re-lived the adventures via a Sid and Marty Kroft Special on Nickelodeon that I found someone had apparently gone in and altered the original episodes! They were never that bad! They MUST have replaced the original effects with poorly puppeted foam dinosaurs. The acting had been altered too! And look at the sets…they were so convincing before!

Whether the conspiracy to cheapen Land of the Lost is true or not…it inspired me to write a song about what I would have done had I “woke up this morning a thousand years ago”.

VMU: How do you feel about other artists expressing their beliefs in music? (Religious or political)

DS: I’m all for it! If you don’t like what some one is saying you don’t have to listen to it. I would much rather listen to someone who has something to say than someone who is just writing another love song, or worse yet a song about singing a song and partying.

Growing up, I may not have understood what the lyrics were about from such groups as Pink Floyd or the Beatles, but I still enjoyed the music. The lyrical structure was enjoyable and I sang along. Growing older and understanding what they had to say let me experience them again for the first time. Everything can be executed well if one knows what they are doing.

VMU: Could you explain in detail the gear you use?

DS: I have one system dedicated to music. One OFF-LINE system so that the friggin viruses don’t kill me. I am currently running Acid 4.0 as well as SoundForge. I use FruityLoops to trigger a bank of sounds via my keyboard.

In regards to hardware, I have a very simple Alesis drum machine, which I will use to add accents into existing drum samples. I often run it through my guitar effects deck to get distorted snares and such. The very same guitar effects deck is used to add effects to my vocals. I generally do a first pass of “nonsense” lyrics through a distorted microphone to map out how I want to structure the melody and rhyming scheme.

My microphone is a cheap Radio Shack mic that should really be replaced. I do okay, mix the distortion with the clean mixes and sweeten them up in SoundForge by normalizing and dynamic-izing the hell out of them.

I have a guitar, a bass, an accordion, a didgeridoo, a violin, an upright piano, two turntables and a microphone (that’s where it’s at).

VMU: Who are your musical influences?

DS: Influences pour out of my CD collection from every crevice. Early influences are Igor Stravinsky, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Danny Elfman. Then there’s Spike Jones and the City Slickers, Mike Patton, Nine Inch Nails, Tom Waits, Beck, They Might Be Giants and Pantera. The list goes on and on, really. It’s all about the eclectic collection in my book.

VMU: Any tours in the works?

DS: Yes indeed. As mentioned I am looking to recruit musical henchmen in the Los Angeles area. Notice I didn’t say, “start a band” as the music is already written and I am currently writing the show. This is something that I have been putting off for a while and really needs to happen now. After I realized that my robots just wouldn’t stop exploding, falling over or simply failing to work I have now gone full blast into my back-up plan. This means hiring humans to play for me. I am very excited about the show I’m designing. This is only the beginning stage of a plan to develop a rather giant stage show. But first things first and that means a traveling, smaller scale show. But don’t you worry…there WILL BE PUPPETS!

"If you don’t like what someone is saying you don’t have to listen to it."

- DR STEEL

VMU: How did you do the recording process live or 1 on 1?

DS: Again, it’s all me. So I basically sit in my lab and go to work. Acid is awesome as you can drag the bass and drum line for as long as you want, open up SoundForge and start to noodle and build. Like Legos. Like musical Legos.

VMU: How do you feel about the mainstream music scene? (USA and overseas)

DS: It’s really easy to say that it sucks. I mean there is a LOT of manufactured crap out there. However, there is something to be learned from everything and I do respect the amazing “hip engineers” who can turn out these mainstream bands. There is an art to that. There is the intense market research and the timing with which they launch a package of “cool”. They’re very good at it and they make a lot of money. Also, the recording quality is amazing. I have my N’Sync and Britney CD’s. Yes I do. To listen to how these things are recorded, mixed and welded together from scrap metal to make a brilliantly shiny product is to realize that with the right army, you can be anyone you want to be. It’s all in the packaging. For me that is inspiring because I have faith that I have more talent in my left lymph node than many of these pop stars will ever dream of having. That combined with a powerful producer could equal world domination. Time will tell.

VMU: Any deals in the works?

DS: I’m not really looking to make any deals at this time. I wouldn’t be able to. You see, the people who are in the positions of power to give me said deals don’t want to take a chance. Powerfully rich people are very frightened people. They often have no creative vision whatsoever, so what they see as “successful” is something that resonates on a purely financial level. No one is ever going to fund my endeavors until it has been proven that people will buy what I have to sell.

The music business being what it is, after the introduction of the MP3 (which I love) means that there is no money in album sales anymore. No one is buying albums. Why would they when they can steal the MP3’s? What you have to do is associate a band with a brand. The music is the drug dealer saying, “The first one’s free”. Once they hook you, they can introduce all of the merchandise associated with that performer which you can’t get for free. Record companies want to make pop stars into movie stars into pop stars into television stars so that they can create a brand. An identity that they can slap on everything from Big Macs to sticker packs.

This has nothing to do with talent and creativity. It has everything to do with money and marketing. So, before I get any deals I’m going to have to bust my bootay, do everything myself and systematically continue to build my army before those with the check-book sit up and take notice. Not to mention that fact that the last thing I want to do is get involved early on with a deal that limits my creative input. I have a vision and that vision will not be compromised. The only way to maintain that power is if you are already successful in what you do. At that point, those rich, frightened people hand you the leash and say “I don’t get what it is that you do, but it’s making a lot of money so keep doing it”.

VMU: New recordings in the works?

DS: Constantly! I just finished up two tracks last week based on the research of Zecharia Sitchin. My goal is to get another album out before too long.

VMU: Any advise to other indie bands?

DS: Focus. Responsibility. Dedication. Words that generally don’t fit into the rock and roll world. If you are serious about music you must make it the top priority in your life. It’s a bit easy for me as I am insane, but regardless you must be organized, driven and responsible. Do not give flakes a second chance and don’t do it for the chicks.

VMU: Do you own a home studio? (What gear)

DS: Yes. Everything I do is done in my lab. I have had assistance from another associate of mine when producing the last half of “Childhood Don’t A Go-Go” where I needed orchestral resources. Everything else is here…it keeps me warm at night.

VMU: Why do you do what you do in music and will you be world emperor?

DS: I have no choice. It is what I must do. I am crazy…I am insanely devoted to what I do and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I can’t create I am a very unhappy person. After slaving away under the control of a corporate behemoth (who’s name I shall not repeat) for so many years and seeing my hard work flushed down the drain, I have taken it upon myself to spend my life doing what I love. I only strive to become World Emperor so that I may continue to produce more and more projects on an exponentially grander scale. My goal is to make this world my ball of clay and sculpt it as I see fit. It’s less of a world take-over and more of a world make-over, really. Don’t worry, you’ll like what I do to the place. Promise.

VMU: Thank you so much for your time!! Any last words?

DS: Thank YOU, my friend! I appreciate it very much.

Yes, my last words will be “penguin” and “carnauba wax”.

www.doctorsteel.com

VM UNDERGROUND

FEB 25 2005