Dead Letter Circus
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You know that ‘tsshhhk’ sound that cans make when you crack the ring pull just right? That feeling of anticipation and satisfaction as it hits your lips? That’s been 2007 for Dead Letter Circus. Guitarist Rob Maric knows what I mean. Following the release of their self-titled debut EP, and intense touring, they’ve earned their place in the upper echelon of the Australian heavy rock scene.
THE DWARF: There’s a real clique among Oz metal bands these days, is it more a mutual respect “but we do our own thing” or a communal love-in “anything I can do to help” vibe?
Rob Maric: I think it's both. There's plenty of respect going around and everyone’s helping each other out. We've received nothing but respect (to our faces at least) and help from other bands around like Karnivool, The Butterfly Effect and Cog and we are fortunate enough now to be in a position where we are passing on that good karma and helping out some new bands on the scene.
THE DWARF: 2007 was expected to be the year of Dead Letter Circus, has it all gone to plan?
RM: 2007 has gone even better than planned! We have done national tours with Karnivool and The Butterfly Effect, sold out our own headliner shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and after we finish the ‘Are We Closer’ tour we're going to be jumping on the national Cog tour in November! Triple J airplay has also been a massive bonus for the year. When writing the EP, we didn’t expect to get on Triple J, so it was amazing to receive high rotation and tour support.
THE DWARF: How great was it to work with Forrester Savell on your EP?
RM: Forrester is a rare combination of technical aptitude and musical creativity. He's a total ninja with the technology side of it, but also has a deep understanding of what makes songs tick on an emotive level. When you combine these two skills you have a guy who can bring out the best in your band. He's also really into stamp collecting. He'd bring a new stamp each day to show us. We didn't have the heart to tell his excited face that we weren't really impressed.
THE DWARF: Obviously the critics and the charts have loved the EP, but are you guys happy with how it has translated as a live show?
RM: We couldn't have asked for more. When hearing the EP back for the first time we were a little worried we might not be able to match it live, but something about the energy at our live shows between the crowd and ourselves has allowed for the songs to feel even bigger and more intense live.
THE DWARF: Early on you guys had some turbulence within the group, has the pressure of having a kick arse release brought any of it back?
RM: I wouldn't say we've had turbulence. Good bands always have internal conflict. It's how the good stuff is made. If everyone just nods and smiles then you end up with bland unoriginal music or a total train wreck of four people doing whatever they want to do. The EP definitely allows us to look back at any of the negative moments and see that they were worth pushing through.
THE DWARF: There seems to be a real sense of humour with everything Dead Letter Circus does, this kinda goes against the steely serious image of most metal bands….
RM: Ironically it's because we create serious music that actually means something to us. The music is honest, but as people we don't take ourselves too seriously, so if we got out there projecting an image of four very serious dark guys it would feel fake and misleading.
THE DWARF: How are the plans and preparations for the 2008 full-length release going?
RM: We have only just started writing again. It has been a busy year! We have one new song, which we just finished, and we have a bunch of concepts for other new songs. In early December we will kick off full-time album writing for a few months. We are really excited at the idea of writing full time because we wrote the EP around day jobs and it was really easy to fall out of the vibe. Full time writing means we can get completely lost in the music and for a band like us that can only be a positive thing. As for producers, we are very keen on working again with a certain young stamp-collecting gentleman.
THE DWARF: Your fans are pretty feisty in their loyalty, has the band had any strange fan experiences yet?
RM: There was a really enthusiastic girl in Sydney who got on stage and surprise pashed me for a few seconds in front of everyone. I guess that's not that strange. How about if I lie and say she was a Mexican midget cowboy riding a wombat?
