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Denali Interview The sure-footed fearsome Denali have been touring like wild dogs this past year in the support of their hot sophomore Jade Tree Records' album The Instinct. Now with a several new members in tow, Stephen Howard (Pinebender) on bass and Ryan Rapsys (Euphone) on drums, Denali looks to take on more challenges on the Plea For Peace Tour. Guitarist Cam DiNunzio was kind enough to answer some of our questions before heading out on tour. He gave the correct answer as to his favorite place to play in the South - Chapel Hill. Similar to Limbeck's interview, Cam guessed something about wooden for our bonus. How much of the Lovitt music family affects your music? I don't think any of it affects us except for the fact that Keeley and Jonathan's other bands were on Lovitt. It's a great label and was a huge part of both Engine Down and Sleepytime's lives, but it doesn't really have much to do with us other than just being part of the same global indie community. You
guys have been touring pretty much now stop this past year, how
has it been? I have to say that it feels pretty rewarding. The shows have gotten better and the support from our fans is just unbelievable. It's extremely taxing at times, but I wouldn't have done it any other way... When do you plan on setting up to do another record? That's not something Maura and I have really talked about yet. At the time that I write this, we have yet to pass the two-year mark for our first record, much less the one year mark for our second. We plan on taking it easy this summer and letting everything settle a little before we start writing again. What precipitated Denali donating a song to the Rock Against Bush comp? Well, we were asked and I was really honored. I think that voting among American youth is pretty rare, especially in the punk and hardcore communities, which is ironic, given the amount of bitching that is done. You can sing about change all you want, but in a supposedly Democratic society such as ours, not much changes unless you vote en masse. I think this comp is a great way to raise that awareness and we simply wanted to add our voice to the chorus. What
do you think of the liberal Air America radio station and Al Franken's
'Zero Spin Zone'? Unfortunately I'm not familiar with Air America and have not read (I'm assuming it's a book) Franken's book, so I don't have a comment on either. Is Denali something that can completely sustain you? That is, is Denali successful enough not to have day jobs? Given the amount of touring we've done since September, we couldn't really have day jobs if we wanted to. Luckily we don't lose money on tour and we are able to cover our bills when we get home. I feel very fortunate. What hot new band would you like to tour with? I don't think he's really considered "hot", but I would love to tour with Sam Beam's Iron & Wine collective. If nothing else, just to hear those songs live every night. Where is your favorite place to play in the South? I like the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill. The staff is super nice, the town is friendly and though the crowds are a little on the docile side, they're very appreciative and kind. I would add the Echo Lounge in Atlanta as a very close second. What should the U.S. do to solve its energy problems? Man, I really wish I knew. Conservation on the part of the people is really the only policy that I understand fully, and therefore the only one that I could wholeheartedly endorse. Is it still stealing if you are poor and no one knows about it? Stealing is stealing I think. Most of my friends live below the poverty line and I know that they've worked just as hard for the things they have as anybody else. By the same token, not every rich person is rich because they are "lucky" or blindly fortunate. Bonus:
What does George Washington and the square root of three have in
common? Ummmm, wooden? copyright exoduster.com 2004 |