DAY OF MOURNING/ O.K., I realize that I just did an interview with Dom (guitars) only a couple of issues back but a lot has happened to the band since then. They flipped their van on the ride home from a show in Quebec costing Jay part of a finger, then the band announced that they had broken up. I cried, and cried but then I found something neato….even though Dirge was gone, there was a new band called Day Of Mourning featuring Dom and his chums. So life was good again…………Oh yeah, Dom was also in a couple of other bands some of which haven't lasted. Corrosion<C>: So I know that Dirge is no more but do you actually consider Day Of Mourning to be a totally new band or just Dirge with a new name? Dom<D>: Uhh, kinda both. I guess it is a new band since we are taking things beyond what Dirge ever did both musically and success-wise. We had to put some Dirge songs on the CD because we were short, but we only play two of them live. I guess you can say Dirge was like a stepping stone for Day Of Mourning. C: The line-up for Day Of Mourning is the same as the final line-up for Dirge right? D: Yes. The exact same line-up. Me, Fudd, Jay, Shane, and Bob. C: When you guys did that show with Shutdown, Mark (vocals) kept referring to you guys as Dirge but you were actually Day Of Mourning by then. Did someone neglect to tell him about the name change? How long have you known those guys? They put on a great show… D: We might have told him but I don't think it sunk in. Or we didn't tell him. All we really do is beat up on him anyway…..Nah, I'm just kidding. We met those guys when we did a mini-tour with them at the beginning of the summer when we were Dirge (before the accident). Then we ended up playing a couple shows in New York with them like a month later. We just get along really well with those guys, staying at each other's houses and stuff like that. It was good that they came back to Toronto. Those guys know how to party, and they're an awesome band too. I could go on for hours telling Dirge/Shutdown tour stories. C: Is the fact that the initials of Day Of Mourning are D.O.M., a tribute to a certain someone with a swelled head? D: No but all the extra attention focused towards me helps me score all the chicks. I pretend like I'm all those other cool guys that went solo. Like Nuno, or George Lynch…actually we were gonna call the band "Romeo Mobb" but that got outvoted for Shane's "Herd Of Apocalyptic Nomads Of Evil" which in turn, was challenged by "Bay Of Blood" (but nobody voted for that one) until finally we decided on Day Of Mourning. C: What's the official reason for Dirge disbanding? D: Another band (if you could even call them that) that has no records out, have played like 5 shows in their hometown, but had a lot of money and decided to spend it on copywriting the name Dirge in `95, saying it had been in use in rehearsal since November `94. Even though we used it for actual shows since October of `94, we didn't want to spend money in court, and we really wanted to get the CD out. They tried to extort us, when we tried to buy the trademark. So, we decided aftern our near-death experience that we should start new and change the name. Everything has been catching on, and we're back on track doing better than ever. Although I'm waiting for the day that Dirge is playing Toronto, so that they get beat up by a bunch of disgruntled metal-heads who think it's us. C: How long did Ungodly Pressure Cooker last? D: That band has been around in different incarnations for about two years. Since about the time Dirge did the "I Am" demo. But it was just me and Mike in the band and we put out 2 demos. The U.P.C. band was together for a few months in early 1998 when we released the "Ha Ha Ha You Ruse" demo. Shane and Mike wrote most of the stuff on that, I just played bass, Shane on guitar, and Jay on drums. But that dissolved pretty quickly. C: Why did U.P.C. break-up? D: I completely place the blame on Shane. He was (and still is) a skid who couldn't remember how to play songs that HE WROTE!!! I left the band, and was replaced by Billis who now plays bass in Xcoalition Against ShaneX. But the whole band broke up a month later when they all snapped at Shane for being the worst guitarist in the world. Actually Darren (of MVM and Semi-Auto Reflex fame) walked in on one of their practices and bestowed the title of "The Worst Band In The World" upon them. It was the best of times, and the worst of times. I suppose. C: How many bands are you involved with at the moment? D: Right now I had to cut it down to two because they are both doing really well. But at one point I was in like five bands at once. C: Are the other guys involved in side-projects? D: No, not at all. Although Jay has been known to make guest vocals appearances with Xcoalition Against ShaneX from time to time. C: So what did Shane do to deserve a Coalition against him? D: Aww, c'mon…JUST LOOK AT THE GUY!! There is a list a mile long. But essentially, it's because he ruined (The Ungodly) Pressure Cooker (RIP). For more reasons, write us. Or if you are a real fan and have one of the demos from the first pressing, listen to the bonus track. C: Who, from which bands, are in the Coalition? D: Uhh…I don't know what you're talking about…. C: You were supposed to start up a black/death metal band a while back. What were your influences? D: IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL was a band that me and Mike from UPC started for fun. We had to put that band on the shelf though. No time really, which is a shame. We wanted to have a band like Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death meets Emperor, and Immortal I guess. Just really fast stuff. But it was turning out like Six Feet Under!! C: And who was in that band? D: We had me and Mike on vocals, Greg from Grift on guitar, Billis XCASX on bass, and his brother Zeb on drums. C: O.K., so which of your bands have anything new coming out in the next little while? D: Okay, Day Of Mourning has a CD out on Upheaval Records called "Reborn As The Enemy". We have a new song on the "Heavyweights: Bout One" CD coming out November on Endless Fight Records. We have a split 7" (with 2 new songs) coming out in December on Sounds Of Revolution, and finally we have three new songs on the upcoming split CD with Pitboss 2000, Empire Falls, Clenched Fist, and XCASX that should be available January 1999 on Use Your Head Records (I think). XCASX has a 23 song demo called "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold My Cack" that came out on Deadly Venom Productions. The have a split 7" coming out with God In A Headlock sometime early next year, as well as their own full length 50 song CD called "Down With The King" that is coming out in January on Prophecy Records. That CD will have the "It Takes A Nation…" demo as well as 27 new songs. Finally, XCASX will be contributing 3 new songs to that split CD with Pittboss 2000, Empire Falls, Clenched Fist, and Day Of Mourning coming out January on Use Your Head. C: What, besides the demos and CDs do you have for sale? D: Shirts, hoodies, lots of other band's CDs and demos. Write or e-mail me for more info. C: What's coming up in the next few months for your bands? D: Just a bunch of shows really. Day Of Mourning has some shows with Earth Crisis, 25 Ta Life, and Madball coming up. XCASX is playing with Turmoil and will be going into the studio to record the new stuff for the CD. C: Any final words? D: Thanks for the interview Jim. We have a distro, and we love trading records and CDs for other records, CDs and Atari-2600 accessories. Get in touch…. Day Of Mourning/XCoalition Against ShaneX 7714 Netherwood Dr. Malton, Ontario Canada, L4T 2P1 E-Mail: ci420@torfree.net website: D.O.M.: http://www.golden.net/~molotov/dirge/index.htm XCASX: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/7578/xcoalx.htm |
