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The two videos above were filmed at The Portman, Bournemouth on 30/10/2010. You can download the bands music from their bandcamp page.
Disco' Out (Murder's In) are:
Steve:Vocals/Guitar
Lefty Lee: Bass
Martin: Brass, Keys, Glock
Lyndsey: Saxophone
Ed: Trumpet
Tubbs: Drums
Imogen: Trumpet
If you catch Disco’s Out (Murder’s In) live it is not a gig you are likely to forget. The bands infectious blend of pop, punk & ska, coupled with a massively enthusiastic live show, was richly rewarded when they scooped all 4 of the festival slots offered as prizes at the Dorset Unsigned Music Awards (DUMA) back in April 2010.
The interview below was done sometime in 2010 for my old site. Since then the DoMi have recorded another EP, 'The Slightly Less Basic But Not Quite Advanced Principles of Disco's Out (Murder's In)' and added another member (Imogen) to the band.
Can you give us a brief history of the band, such as who formed the band and how did you all get together?
Steve (Vocals/Guitar) and Tubbs (Drums) played together in a band called Rushing With Apathy. Once they split they decided to form a completely different band. We started off with Kev on bass, but he couldn’t cope with what we were trying to do, so Lee was brought in even though he is left handed. Dr Ben joined us briefly on keyboard and violin duty but ran away to Folk Camp. He also helped in the recording process with wires. Steve and Martin go back a few years through meeting at random parties and we knew Martin was a very talented individual who plays brass and keys and anything else that makes noise. Ed was just there, hiding in the shadows of Boscombe, randomly mentioning he could play trumpet.
And Lyndsey (Sax) was found on the internet. The story continues...
With six people in the group, who brings what influences to the band and how does the song writing get done?
We have quite a variation of influences individually let alone as a group. The songs usually start with Steve playing a riff then Tubbs and Lee put down their parts to get together a basic song structure. The brass usually comes last but we constantly re-structure songs. The whole writing process is surprisingly quick considering the amount of people in the band and having a left handed bassist.
What can you tell us about the forthcoming ‘The Basic Principles of……’ album? How long did it take to record and what equipment did you use to record it in ‘the garage’?
The album took around 5 months to record although it could have been done in 2 days. Our approach to recording was very laid back but the whole process went pretty smoothly. There might have been some disagreements with Steve and the Laptop, but I think they worked things out in the end. A lot of the time we were just guessing how to do it as, collectively, we have very little knowledge of recording. I think this shows in the final product but, importantly, the album cost us around £15 to record, produce and distribute.
What songs are you most proud of on the album & why?
I think we have our favourites individually, but overall, I think ‘Kids’ shines through thanks to some super ‘saxophoning’. ‘Satisfied’ and ‘Pressure Pot’ turned out pretty good. We have a music video in progress for Satisfied which we will destroying YouTube with in the near future. ‘Stuck In The Middle’ was fun to record thanks to the involvement of our housemates and their ability to clap and say YEAH.
When will the album become available and where will people be able to get hold of it?
‘The Basic Principles...’ is available now and is entirely self released. We have pressed around 100 copies so far and have been giving them away for free at gigs. If you come to see us play we will throw CD’s into the crowd so, if you get one, please copy it and pass it on. This is just a demo album and I think for us exposure is more important than money.
I’m only guessing, but I imagine that if you had a choice you would have taken winning all the festival slots at DUMA (as you did) over winning the actual competition as a whole - would that be right?
Too right! ... haha. We didn’t start thinking about prizes and the chances of winning until the DUMA final. To be honest we didn’t think we would make it that far. Before playing the final we were speaking between ourselves and saying how great it would be to get just one festival. At the end of the night we couldn’t believe our luck.
I think the main prize was suited to The Longest Day as they are a band ready to push themselves commercially. They will deservedly benefit from stuff like CD pressings, photo shoots, studio time etc. We are a band made for festivals -we love to create a visual performance and get a crowd dancing.
Have you received much noticeable extra attention in your band following the DUMA comp & the festival appearances? Have you had many more offers for gigs and any radio/record company interest?
We have definitely had a lot more attention since DUMA for sure. We seem to be getting people approaching us and asking if we want their help in pushing us further which is amazing. Gig offers are coming in from places outside of Bournemouth which is great too as up until DUMA we had only really played outside of Bournemouth once. We have still yet to push ourselves to radio stations and record companies. I think until we have a good studio recording we will concentrate solely on playing live.
What size crowds have you been playing to & what has the crowd reaction been when you’ve played at the festivals so far?
Our crowd sizes prior to DUMA were very inconsistent. We played to a crowd of 1 once at the i-bar, when we possibly had the best sound we have had in Bournemouth, which was a bummer! The festival reactions have been amazing though. At Larmer Tree we played to a packed tent twice (with a little help from the good ‘ol British weather) with people dancing from front to back.
We still have the Endorse it in Dorset and Shambala festivals to play along with some smaller festivals around Dorset. Prior to the DUMA Final we stumbled across the Shambala website and ever since we have containing our excitement. It looks like a festival based around madness, extreme fancy dress and goofyness. We will fit in for a change!
What band are you most looking to see at the festivals you are playing? And which band has impressed you the most so far?
Oh there is many. We were looking forward to seeing Cornershop at Larmer Tree but we got too distracted in sorting out what make up to paint upon us. We did see Babylon Circus who were awesome and Urban Voodoo Machine (who have a green drummer). The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble were pretty impressive too. Lyndsey will wet herself when she sees Madness. Ed and Martin will be stalking Gruff Rhys. Lefty Lee, Steve and Tubbs are looking forward to seeing Mr Tumble.
Who had the idea to dress up on stage and what has been the weirdest outfit anyone has worn?
The idea of dressing up developed very early on and I think it was just a reaction of boredom from playing live combined with playful personalities. If you walk out onstage dressed as a rabbit, a banana, gimp, flower or butcher etc...the whole performance seems like a new challenge and you react differently and do stupid stuff. It’s great fun.
The weirdest outfit?.... I think that’s to come.. although the laundry basket at the tattoo convention was a good one. The recently acquired Bear Mask has been a pretty good hit with the ladies (and some men). The banana costume recently incited a mini kids riot at the Larmer Tree Campsite, but he survived.
Finally, where did you get the bands name from? Was it taken from a Suicidal Tendencies track?
Unfortunately the name did not come from the Suicidal Tendencies track although Ed (trumpet) is a massive fan of punk and the Suicidal Tendencies. At the very beginning we had a keyboard/violin player in the band (Dr Ben) who was into his rock climbing. We were bored one night and were just reading through a climbing book and we found that name which was a climb near Salisbury shaped like a toilet bowl. But we decided at the time it seemed right and it just stuck....like a stringy turd to the side of a toilet.
My thanks to Ed & Steve for their time in doing the interview.
Steve:Vocals/Guitar
Lefty Lee: Bass
Martin: Brass, Keys, Glock
Lyndsey: Saxophone
Ed: Trumpet
Tubbs: Drums
Imogen: Trumpet
If you catch Disco’s Out (Murder’s In) live it is not a gig you are likely to forget. The bands infectious blend of pop, punk & ska, coupled with a massively enthusiastic live show, was richly rewarded when they scooped all 4 of the festival slots offered as prizes at the Dorset Unsigned Music Awards (DUMA) back in April 2010.
The interview below was done sometime in 2010 for my old site. Since then the DoMi have recorded another EP, 'The Slightly Less Basic But Not Quite Advanced Principles of Disco's Out (Murder's In)' and added another member (Imogen) to the band.
Can you give us a brief history of the band, such as who formed the band and how did you all get together?
Steve (Vocals/Guitar) and Tubbs (Drums) played together in a band called Rushing With Apathy. Once they split they decided to form a completely different band. We started off with Kev on bass, but he couldn’t cope with what we were trying to do, so Lee was brought in even though he is left handed. Dr Ben joined us briefly on keyboard and violin duty but ran away to Folk Camp. He also helped in the recording process with wires. Steve and Martin go back a few years through meeting at random parties and we knew Martin was a very talented individual who plays brass and keys and anything else that makes noise. Ed was just there, hiding in the shadows of Boscombe, randomly mentioning he could play trumpet.
And Lyndsey (Sax) was found on the internet. The story continues...
With six people in the group, who brings what influences to the band and how does the song writing get done?
We have quite a variation of influences individually let alone as a group. The songs usually start with Steve playing a riff then Tubbs and Lee put down their parts to get together a basic song structure. The brass usually comes last but we constantly re-structure songs. The whole writing process is surprisingly quick considering the amount of people in the band and having a left handed bassist.
What can you tell us about the forthcoming ‘The Basic Principles of……’ album? How long did it take to record and what equipment did you use to record it in ‘the garage’?
The album took around 5 months to record although it could have been done in 2 days. Our approach to recording was very laid back but the whole process went pretty smoothly. There might have been some disagreements with Steve and the Laptop, but I think they worked things out in the end. A lot of the time we were just guessing how to do it as, collectively, we have very little knowledge of recording. I think this shows in the final product but, importantly, the album cost us around £15 to record, produce and distribute.
What songs are you most proud of on the album & why?
I think we have our favourites individually, but overall, I think ‘Kids’ shines through thanks to some super ‘saxophoning’. ‘Satisfied’ and ‘Pressure Pot’ turned out pretty good. We have a music video in progress for Satisfied which we will destroying YouTube with in the near future. ‘Stuck In The Middle’ was fun to record thanks to the involvement of our housemates and their ability to clap and say YEAH.
When will the album become available and where will people be able to get hold of it?
‘The Basic Principles...’ is available now and is entirely self released. We have pressed around 100 copies so far and have been giving them away for free at gigs. If you come to see us play we will throw CD’s into the crowd so, if you get one, please copy it and pass it on. This is just a demo album and I think for us exposure is more important than money.
I’m only guessing, but I imagine that if you had a choice you would have taken winning all the festival slots at DUMA (as you did) over winning the actual competition as a whole - would that be right?
Too right! ... haha. We didn’t start thinking about prizes and the chances of winning until the DUMA final. To be honest we didn’t think we would make it that far. Before playing the final we were speaking between ourselves and saying how great it would be to get just one festival. At the end of the night we couldn’t believe our luck.
I think the main prize was suited to The Longest Day as they are a band ready to push themselves commercially. They will deservedly benefit from stuff like CD pressings, photo shoots, studio time etc. We are a band made for festivals -we love to create a visual performance and get a crowd dancing.
Have you received much noticeable extra attention in your band following the DUMA comp & the festival appearances? Have you had many more offers for gigs and any radio/record company interest?
We have definitely had a lot more attention since DUMA for sure. We seem to be getting people approaching us and asking if we want their help in pushing us further which is amazing. Gig offers are coming in from places outside of Bournemouth which is great too as up until DUMA we had only really played outside of Bournemouth once. We have still yet to push ourselves to radio stations and record companies. I think until we have a good studio recording we will concentrate solely on playing live.
What size crowds have you been playing to & what has the crowd reaction been when you’ve played at the festivals so far?
Our crowd sizes prior to DUMA were very inconsistent. We played to a crowd of 1 once at the i-bar, when we possibly had the best sound we have had in Bournemouth, which was a bummer! The festival reactions have been amazing though. At Larmer Tree we played to a packed tent twice (with a little help from the good ‘ol British weather) with people dancing from front to back.
We still have the Endorse it in Dorset and Shambala festivals to play along with some smaller festivals around Dorset. Prior to the DUMA Final we stumbled across the Shambala website and ever since we have containing our excitement. It looks like a festival based around madness, extreme fancy dress and goofyness. We will fit in for a change!
What band are you most looking to see at the festivals you are playing? And which band has impressed you the most so far?
Oh there is many. We were looking forward to seeing Cornershop at Larmer Tree but we got too distracted in sorting out what make up to paint upon us. We did see Babylon Circus who were awesome and Urban Voodoo Machine (who have a green drummer). The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble were pretty impressive too. Lyndsey will wet herself when she sees Madness. Ed and Martin will be stalking Gruff Rhys. Lefty Lee, Steve and Tubbs are looking forward to seeing Mr Tumble.
Who had the idea to dress up on stage and what has been the weirdest outfit anyone has worn?
The idea of dressing up developed very early on and I think it was just a reaction of boredom from playing live combined with playful personalities. If you walk out onstage dressed as a rabbit, a banana, gimp, flower or butcher etc...the whole performance seems like a new challenge and you react differently and do stupid stuff. It’s great fun.
The weirdest outfit?.... I think that’s to come.. although the laundry basket at the tattoo convention was a good one. The recently acquired Bear Mask has been a pretty good hit with the ladies (and some men). The banana costume recently incited a mini kids riot at the Larmer Tree Campsite, but he survived.
Finally, where did you get the bands name from? Was it taken from a Suicidal Tendencies track?
Unfortunately the name did not come from the Suicidal Tendencies track although Ed (trumpet) is a massive fan of punk and the Suicidal Tendencies. At the very beginning we had a keyboard/violin player in the band (Dr Ben) who was into his rock climbing. We were bored one night and were just reading through a climbing book and we found that name which was a climb near Salisbury shaped like a toilet bowl. But we decided at the time it seemed right and it just stuck....like a stringy turd to the side of a toilet.
My thanks to Ed & Steve for their time in doing the interview.