Here at Critical Mass we're always trying to find new and exciting bands making great music and helping them out by giving them some free press. And we've been lucky enough to hear so many awesome bands and give them a shout out! Another up and coming band from the suburbs of Chicago is Dana DeStefano & Dollparts. I recently had the chance to talk with bassist Gerald Rienton about the band. Here's what Gerald had to say.
Critical Mass: Thanks for taking the time to talk with Critical Mass guys. For those new to Dana DeStefano & Dollparts, can you give us some history and how you got together?
Gerald Rienton: Me and Dana have always played music together, but she went to California to record a 3 song demo with Jimmy Messer last year that is up on our Facebook page. She recorded for about two weeks and everything started from there. When she got back from LA, we looked for members right away. Luke Ostojic was our very first guitarist and he helped us out a lot. He helped us with writing Spiders and Trouble Sleeping. Luke got busy with Fizzy Pops so we had to look for a new guitarist. He told us he was just going to help us out until we found a new guitarist from the start. We asked Brian Janecek, our lead guitarist now, to fill in for a show with The Blue Waves and he’s been with the band also ever since. Dana met Patrick, who plays keyboard, while she was teaching vocals at a music summer camp. We went through numerous drummers before we met Sean Sigurdsson. He’s been with us since August.
CM: I have had the chance to hear the bands demo, and was impressed by the sound and the bands true passion for music. Who are some of your personal musical influences?
GR: Exploding Hearts, The Beach Boys, Hole, The Muffs, and other pop/indie bands. We all listen to different genres so it’s kinda cool when we write a new song. Everyone have something different to contribute to writing the songs.
CM: When it comes to songwriting, is it a group effort? Or is there one or two specific songwriters in the band?
GR: Dana writes most of the songs with me. She likes the bass lines I write. We write songs that fit in with the demo all together as a band.
CM: Is there any plans to record either a full length or en EP this year?
GR: Hopefully! As of now though, we are just busy with booking shows and playing at different venues. We're trying to build a fan base.
CM: If/when new material is planned on coming out, will you be releasing it on your own? Or will you shop it around to some local indie labels?
GR: We want to have a label help us out with releasing new material but as of now we have cool spray painted demos that we are selling for pretty cheap, with a free button!
CM: Has the band played out much since forming?
GR: Yes! We love The House Café, that’s like our second home. Dekalb is so cool; everybody’s so chill and relaxed. Jolly Baba owns the venue, and he’s probably one of the coolest dudes I have ever met. We've played at Game Pazzo in Downers Grove, and at Cairo Bar a few weeks ago and it was awesome. We've also played a few house shows here and there. We had a fun one at Sean's house on New Years Eve!
CM: Any plans on taking the show on the road for a tour of the Midwest in the near future?
GR: Hopefully we will over the summer! You can keep updated on the Facebook page.
CM: Is there a website you wanna plug where we can get up to date news on upcoming releases, gigs and merch?
CM: Thanks again for talking with Critical Mass guys. I'm looking forward to hearing more from the band and seeing you live as well. Thanks again.
GR: Thank you! I hope to see you soon at one of our shows!
These guys are sick! I hope tons of success comes to dolly parts! So cool to know the bass guitarist!
ReplyDeleteThanks man! ~Gerald
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