Today we’re staying in bed at Dying Scene and kicking off our brand new interview series, “A Quickie With” starting with none other than California outfit DNF. We sent our questions off to the bands guitarist, Chad who gave us some insight into the band, their music and their latest EP “Hurt.” While the band is being touted as featuring members of Touche Amore and Trash Talk, Chad assures us it’s just four best friends playing punk music, or “powerviolence influenced hardcore if you want to split hairs.”
Read the full interview here.
Dying Scene: Firstly, and most importantly, who are we speaking to?
Chad (DNF): My name is Chad and I play guitar in DNF.
Tell us a little bit about your bands history.
We formed in late 2006 as four best friends who wanted to play fast music. We recorded a few bedroom demos and CD-Rs that we self released, as well as a split CD on Give Praise Records. In summer of 2008 we went on hiatus, due to members moving away from each other. We re-formed in winter of 2010, when I moved back to Los Angeles from Portland, OR. We’ve been moving along at a slow and steady pace ever since.
As a small band, with limited time, funds and real lives, what is the most difficult part of being in a band?
The most difficult part, by leaps and bounds, is getting all our members in the same place at the same time. Kyle lives in Oakland and works full time, while the rest of us live in LA. I work full time, and Elliot and Sam tour with their other bands for most of the year. Any bit of time when we can all get together for practice or just to hang out is rare and awesome.
On the flip side, what’s the best part about being in your band?
The song writing process is super easy, since we have all known each other for so long and are comfortable together. We all enjoy each other’s company a lot.
Describe your live show in 3 words.
Loud, fast, hurt.
What made you want to play this genre of music in the first place?
At the time we formed the band, we were all listening to a lot of 90’s powerviolence and fast hardcore. It’s a style of music we all really love, passionate and full of energy. Plus, it’s fun to push yourself to the physical limit of how fast you can play. And I think all of our attentions spans are too short to play in bands that aren’t fast or heavy.
Tell us a bit about your latest release?
The Hurt EP is actually our first vinyl release ever. Upon reforming, we wrote a bunch of songs and were really stoked when Chris from High Anxiety approached us about putting it out. It’s been a long time coming, but I can speak for everyone when I say we are really happy with the finished product.
Who did you record this with? Why?
We recorded Hurt at with Alex Estrada at The Earth Capital Studio in LA. He’s worked with pretty much all of our friends in the area, and came highly recommended. Since he’s a good buddy of ours, the recording process was really relaxed and we were able to have a lot of input on the way things sounded.
How does the song writing process work for your band?
One of us will approach the others with a riff or two, and we work together off of that. Kyle puts lyrics over the songs after we have the structures completed. Lately we have been recording riffs on shitty computer mics or on our phones to send to each other, since we are never really all together. Once we actually get to practice though, the songs come together pretty quickly.
What inspired the album name?
Hurt is a term that we started using when Kyle and I lived together years ago. Instead of saying something was fucked up, broken, wrong, unsatisfactory, we’d just say it was hurt. “That show was hurt” “The house is hurt” “I had a super hurt day at work”. It just caught on with everyone we know, and since the general theme of the record is feeling hurt, it seemed to be the most fitting title.
What is different about this album compared to your last?
The recording quality, for one, is far superior. The songs are a bit more thought out, and definitely sludgier. Plus, the lyrical content is more serious. We stopped using funny samples and started to focus more on songs about real life. It’s a natural progression for us.
How many songs did you write and how many made the album?
We actually wrote the record as a cohesive whole. A lot of the songs were skeletons I’d written while living in Portland, and when I got home Elliot and I smashed them out. We played them live for a few months before recording, so the order and transitions were set by the time we got into the studio.
Is there one song you guys have recorded that hasn’t made it to an album that you really thought should have?
Nope, they all made the cut!
In reverse, is there a song on your album that, in hindsight, you think really shouldn’t be there?
Not at all, we are all really happy with the flow of the album.
What/who are your biggest influences when writing?
Life as a whole, all the hard parts of it especially. Having to go to work every day, or having to be away from home for months at a time. All the fucked people we encounter, the fucked state of the world in general. And of course, whatever we’re currently listening to. (As you can see, we’re not going for “feel good music” here)
What was the most random/crazy thing that happened to you on this/your last tour?
Due to our time constraints and such, we actually haven’t ever been on a proper tour, so the wild stories are much less than you’d think. On our last out of town trip we had a merch guy who let us completely shave his head every night. There was a lot of blood and shaving cream. Headblade razors are a hoax.
What is your band’s best ‘on-stage incident’ story?
We tend to induce incidents when we play. From throwing a giant dildo into the audience and almost having to fight a dude to get him to give it back to us, to spraying the crowd with raccoon urine purchased from an outdoor store, to turning up the heat as high as it could go in houses we play. My favorite is Kyle drinking an entire litre of snow cone syrup and puking up blue stuff for the duration of our set.
What is one thing that’s happened on tour that you wouldn’t tell your mum about?
We once switched drivers while going 90mph on the highway, with one person reclining the seat and sliding out, and the other jumping over. Our moms would not approve.
Which one of you gets the most girls/boys on tour?
Sam and Elliot are both spoken for, I smell horrible, and Kyle is always wearing a wig. So DNF isn’t really proficient in that area.
Where was the worst place you had to sleep on tour?
Actually, we usually luck out with nice places. We have a lot of friends around, so it’s never an issue finding a floor or couch. Sleeping in the van is never fun, but even that isn’t bad at all.
If money wasn’t an object, where would you take the band for a tour and why that place in particular.
Japan, first and foremost, so I could blow all that unlimited money on records and guitars. South America would be awesome as well. But we haven’t ever played outside the West coast, so we’d best work on that first!
What’s the best thing about being on tour?
Being in a different place every night, seeing friends we don’t see too often, and above all, not being at work!!
What is the one thing you won’t leave home without?
Leatherman tool. I can’t count the amount of times we all use ours daily.
If you could share a stage with any band, from any point in time, who would that be and why?
Siege, circa 1984, to witness the raw power and aggression that band had during their short lifespan.
If you had to do a cover album of any one artist, who would it be?
I’d love to do a whole record of Poison Idea covers.
What band, from any point in history, would you pick to cover one of your songs?
I want to see a Slipknot cover of DNF. Like Machinehead covering Cro-Mags or Soulfly covering Discharge.
If you could collaborate with any musician, from any point in time, who would that be and why?
I would love to have Randy Uchida of GISM rip some solos on a DNF record. Definitely one of my all time guitar heroes.
Favorite “punk”/”non-punk” album?
Such an overwhelmingly difficult question! As far as all time classics, I’d say Amebix- Arise/ Black Sabbath- Vol. 4. For current favorites, Framtid-Consuming Shit & Mind Pollution/ Ash Borer- S/T
What is each band member’s drink of choice?
Chad: Coconut water
Sam: Arnold Palmer
Kyle: Flat Coke
Elliot: Mountain Dew Baja Blast
What are you guys currently working on?
We are going to have a rare spot of time when we’re all together in early May, so we’re going to attempt to write and possibly record new material. Maybe for a self released tape, or LP (but that’s a long shot)
Outside of the band what can you be found doing?
Hanging out, listening to records, cooking good meals, going to shows. We’re all real homebodies when it comes down to it.
What are three things the world should know about your band?
1.We are all busy individuals. We try really hard to put out music and play shows in the time we’re given. We get a lot of emails asking “When are you coming to play _____?” We’ll make it to you eventually, promise.
2. Almost every press release I’ve seen about our record bills this as a “members of” band. It’s a band of 4 best friends who love punk music and playing together. It would be that with or without any internet hype.
3. Press releases have also been saying we are a “grindcore” band. I don’t quite get it, I always call us a punk band, and I say powerviolence influenced hardcore, if you really wanted to split hairs! Just because a band has blast beats doesn’t make them grind. But no harm, no foul.
What are your thoughts on the current state of punk rock?
Oh this is my chance to get serious haha. People have always said the scene sucks, but the reality is, there are a ton of awesome bands around today. And with the internet, they are all more accessible than ever. There need to be more kids starting bands, more DIY venues, more people buying merch to support the bands, instead of trying to collect every color a release comes in. But overall, this is a good time for punk music. There’s a lot to be angry about. As long as kids get pissed, and stay that way, the scene will continue to pump out good bands.
Any final words to the readers of Dying Scene?
Stay hurt.
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