“DAMN DICE” INTERVIEWS by David Maloney
Hello guys first off I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for our publication. How are things? Damn Dice are a five-piece Hard Rock/Metal band from London as I understand, Can you tell our readers about the band and a brief history into the band’s formation please?
Wallis (lead guitar): Hello, thanks for having us, we are really thrilled about answering your questions! Things are great at the moment, we are writing our second album and it’s sounding awesome so far, we’re very excited about it and we can’t wait to get it out there for everyone to hear it! As you said, we’re from London, me and my brother Francois (drums) put the band together after meeting Marco (bass) in 2011. After experimenting a few things for year DAMN DICE became a complete band when our friend Alex (lead vocals) joined us. Later on Diego (rhythm guitar) who was a friend of the band, joined us as well and we released our debut album ‘The Great Unknown in 2015.
How is the underground scene there ? how is the metal scene in general from your perspective? I understand you have a tremendous stage show full of high octane energy, a larger than life presence. How have you been received by your audience, fans and the music industry as a whole? I hear you have earned quite a loyal following, is that fair to say?
Francois: The underground scene is great here, there’s a lot of great bands, and we all know each other. We’ve played a lot of different venues throughout the UK, and the atmosphere is always awesome, people really love to go out and see bands play. It’s true that our live show is very energetic, we really give 200% of ourselves every time, and I think people can feel it and enjoy it! I think the response from the music industry is a bit different though, it’s a long road to the top to be honest!
Other than your stage show, what other things about the band that seem to endear your following to continue to grow? Are you as a band continuing to learn and grow along with your fans and peers in the industry?
Wallis: Well, beside the show, there’s our music I think, we spend a lot of time on the songwriting to make sure that we love each song that we write, and I think the fans really enjoy the catchiness and energy of our songs. Other than that, we try to give as much as we can to our fans, we’ve released quite a few music videos for example, and we’re currently working on 2 more which will be ready soon.
Francois: But yes, we definitely continue to learn everyday about the industry, things are more different in 2017 than they were in the 80s or 90s!
You’ve been together since 2011 and were playing the local scene honing your craft. In 2012 you landed a touring support slot with the Legendary LA Guns. How was it to initially get this gig, you must have been thrilled. How has that experience been since? How has it helped you as a band moving forward? What other bands have you been touring with? Tell us what it was like to headline your own shows?
Marco: Yes it was a great experience, but I wouldn’t say we were the same band at the time, this tour with LA Guns happened before Alex and Diego joined the band, and we were just trying things until then. Ever since Alex and Diego joined us things are different, we know what kind band we are now, and we have our own personality and music, we know where we’re going now.
Francois: A tour always helps to promote your band, if we could we’d be playing every night! We’ve toured the UK with Blackrain last year, and supported many bands such as Santa Cruz, The Biters, Snakecharmer etc.
Alex: Headline shows are very exciting! We’ve done a lot of them over the years, and we’ve always had a great response, we’ve sold out a lot of them in London as well. Our fans are very supportive when we take risks!
I understand that you’ve enjoyed commercial success with 6 track EP and were getting regular radio play and some very cool reviews from Music Week, Powerplay and Black Velvet respectively. How did you guys react to such fanfare and instant credibility from the media side of the industry? as artist for the early stages of your career it must have been humbling and rewarding to receive such accolades so early in your careers?
Wallis: Yes it’s very touching indeed, we write music and play music for ourselves first so when someone likes what we do it’s always very appreciated and humbling as you said. We’re always very grateful to receive support from our fans or anyone else, that really means alot to us.
Your latest release “The Great Unknown” equally has been received well and contains some hard hitting rock and metal anthems. Did this album help build and expand your following and fanbase? From your live shows does it translate well with the audience? And do you feel it resonates with the fans and as met your expectations?
Diego: It has definitely helped, we’ve seen a lot of changes for us since its release. People can get a lot more of our music with our debut album and can really get into what we do. ANd a band with an album get a lot more of exposure with an album out. And we’ve had quite a good response playing the album live so far
Francois: As for our expectations, we didn’t really know what to expect to be honest, just knowing that some people enjoy our music is very satisfying
In closing what is in store for 2017? New album? Touring etc. I would wish to thank you once more for taking the time to talk with us. Do you have any closing words for your fans and readers of Metalheads Forever Magazine? Good luck on all your future endeavors.
Alex: Yes we’re working on it! We can’t really say when as we’re working on releasing it in better conditions than the first one. In terms of tours, it’s something we’re working on for 2017 as we’ve signed with booking agency Alpha Omega and we look forward to seeing where it will lead us to.
Marco: As we said before there’s a few music video coming your way as well!
Wallis: Thank you for having us! Check us out online!
Francois: And special thanks to our fans for supporting us everyday!
All: Thanks!!
More info: www.facebook.com/damndice
David Maloney / MHF
