Dead! are a force to be reckoned with. A refreshingly real dose of rock ‘n’ roll in an industry obsessed with corporate mumbo jumbo and PR spiel, these lads are decidedly honest when it comes to the music.
With the launch of their latest single “Enough Enough Enough” and a summer crammed full of festival slots ahead of them, we sat down with Dead!’s Sam Matlock over an e-beer to discuss the world of Dead! and the current state of the music industry.
Hi guys! Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. For those who haven’t heard your latest track “Enough Enough Enough”, how would you guys describe it?
Fast//loud//simple. It’s just an injection of classic English rock ‘n’ roll. We’re never trying to re-invent the wheel, we just like ours to spin faster. The best thing you can do is go check it out and decide how it makes YOU feel.
We’ve had it on repeat and no complaints here. Also, congrats on signing with Infectious Music / BMG by the way – that’s a big deal! Do you have any advice you’d give to emerging bands trying to make it in music?
It sounds lame but this statement gets truer every day; it HAS to be all about the music. A lot of young bands get obsessed with the industry side and seeing a label or deal as their big break; stop. Focus on your songwriting more than anything else, enjoy branding and deciding what band you are, make a break for it, lose jobs, lose relationships, work horrific hours at a bar to pay the petrol to play to 5 people in Glasgow… I can’t think of anything more liberating than being a musician on the road, capable of sharing these little tunes we write in our bedroom with a room full of sweaty people. You don’t get that kind of catharsis in a church.
That’s a bloody great mantra, cheers to that! You’ve just announced you’re playing Live At Leeds, what can fans expect from a Dead! live performance?
People seem to connect with us because we go up there and do our thing with no objectives, we aren’t trying to win you over or sell you a record or a T-shirt. We’re excited to share our music with you and dance around with guitars and have a great time together. There is no ulterior motive. If people get it and want to buy a T-shirt cool, if they don’t it’s no biggy. We aren’t out to impress everyone.
Which acts are you going to make sure you catch?
Our tour manager’s brother is in Get Inuit; it’s weird that I’ve heard their demos but never seen them, so they’re an act I’m excited to check out. We also had a band called Airways support us at a dodgy recording studio gig last year, they’re totally worth checking out so we’ll be at that. Wouldn’t mind seeing LIFE. I’ve favourited some of their social media posts as Dead! but no one’s noticed yet…
“Make a break for it, lose jobs, lose relationships, work horrific hours at a bar to pay the petrol to play to 5 people in Glasgow… I can’t think of anything more liberating than being a musician on the road, capable of sharing these little tunes we write in our bedroom with a room full of sweaty people.” – Sam Matlock, Dead!
Have there been any live performances over the course of your career that stand out for being particularly crazy or eventful?
We had our first legit headline show this year, it was small in the grand scheme of things but it was a proper venue, with a proper sound system and lights and 250 people screaming back at us that was cool. There’s been a few odd moments… our guitarist with a broken foot fighting a sound guy with a pool cue while he was throwing pennies at us during the set…..Alex (singer) fucking up some bones after falling off a balcony…..y’know, the usual…
Most embarrassing moment as a band? (it’s fine, we’re all friends here)
I swung on some rigging once and my jeans were halfway down my legs, don’t think people appreciated my tie dye underwear. This is tough to be honest, nothing is that embarrassing… Probably the amount of time we spend arguing behind the scenes about every little detail – but it’s an integral part of the process that makes Dead! what it is.
It’s time to confess, what are your guilty pleasure tracks?
Is there such thing as guilty pleasures? C’mon, get over it enjoy it – who fucking cares? Probably some Aerosmith or some power ballads, every party has that 5am lull and when you have to bring it back up, go for the power.
We love new music, what emerging acts would you recommend to look out for at the moment and why?
Strange Bones – they played one of our shows in Manchester. ‘God Save The Teen’ is a fucking great song.
SWMRS – we toured with these guys pretty much just so we could watch them live. Brilliant band and Drive North is a killer record.
Inklings – This our mate Kier’s band. He used to be in a goth band but this is a more “darkside-of-The-Killers-meets-classic-rock” direction. This guy really helped us traverse some sticky situations in our early days.
We’ve sort of got this tradition where we ask bands which 3 items sum them up (it can be as bat-shit crazy or as wonderful as you want) what would your 3 picks and why?
Wow thats quite an odd one… Maybe like, a never ending bottle of Tequila? I hope if people drink and listen to Dead! they choose tequila. It doesn’t fuck around but it’s fun, she’s a powerful mistress…
Maybe a lamp and some flowers. It’s a vibe isn’t it? We’re completely obsessed with getting the vibe right. Good lighting can trigger inspiration, moments, just make you feel cooler and give you the confidence to bring an idea out. It’s a subconscious thing but you should try and live in a permanent state of “smoking lounge aesthetic”.
Keep up to date with Dead! here and catch them live at Omera London on April 28th – or at one of the dates below:
Sat 29th April – Live At Leeds, Leeds
Sun 30th April – Handmade, Leicester
Fri 2nd June – Rock am Ring, Germany
Sun 4th June – Rock im Park, Germany
Fri 9th June – Download, France
Sun 11th June – Download, Donington
Sat 17th June – Nova Rock, Austria
Sat 29th July – Fat Lip, Bristol
Sun 30th July – Kendal Calling, Kendal
