DP Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Feb 17th 2010 2:00PM by Jessica Steinhoff
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Hong Kong's DP are made up of just two guys -- Dave Wong on bass and vocals, and Paul MacLean on drums -- but they're ready to rock the socks off the 2010 SXSW festival with a heavy, distorted sound.

While SXSW will be the duo's first US appearance, they've been making a big splash across the pond over the past two years, releasing a digital EP, touring England and opening for You Say Party! We Say Die! during the Canadian dance-punk band's tour in Asia. Spinner spoke with Wong and MacLean about their upcoming full-length album, their love of Wayne and Garth and why the Lonely Island's 'I'm On a Boat' is the ultimate guilty pleasure song.

How would you describe your sound?

Dave Wong: It's pretty heavy but not too dark. It's got a lot of classic rock influence, but we try to give it a newer kind of feeling. We're also quite a stripped-down band, instrumentally. We're just bass and drums, so we sound different from a typical rock band.

What are some of your musical influences?

Paul MacLean: We're influenced by early Deep Purple and Motorhead. Heavy, fuzzy stuff with lots of distortion.

DW: I'd say Death From Above 1979. It's hard to say they weren't a major influence, because we were wondering if having just bass and drums would work. When we listened to them, we knew it would.

DP tends to gets labeled as a metal band. What's the most metal thing about you guys?

DW: Paul has a suit of medieval armor. It's kind of tough to play in, though.

How did DP form?

DW: About four years ago, we used to play in a different band, a five-piece group. Paul and I were [on] the drums and bass. We finished that up and the next band fell apart, but we wanted to try out a two-piece band, so we tried it out and found out it worked really well.

How did you meet each other?

PM: We met at a little club in Hong Kong. I'm originally from Nova Scotia, and I was new to Hong Kong at the time, so I told people that I play drums and was looking for a band to join. Dave was there and his drummer had moved away, so we got together for a rehearsal. I didn't hear back from him for two months, so I thought that he thought I was awful, but once he did get back to me, it was awesome.

How did you come up with the band's name?

DW: Well, the simplest explanation is that it's the first initial of each of our names. I guess we didn't want to think too hard about it. Other people have come up with all sorts of stories about what DP means, though. Lately it's been "Disco Panda."

Who was your first celebrity crush?

PM: Tiffany. Yeah, I'm old, but 'I Think We're Alone Now' is great.

DW: Can I say Michael Jackson? Of course I can. Who doesn't have a crush on him, right?

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

DW: Power ballads and groups like Boston and Journey and REO Speedwagon.

PM: I've got loads of bluegrass and country, the older type of country that's kind of embarrassing. Oh, and the Lonely Island -- I love that stuff, especially 'I'm On a Boat.' That song's really funny, living out here, because everyone goes on boats. There are these little junk boats and these little party boats. I like to imagine the song being about those.

The Beatles or the Stones?

PM: The Beatles. I don't want to knock the Stones, but they should just give it up. The Beatles finished on a high note.

Wayne and Garth or Bill and Ted?

PM: Wayne and Garth.

DW: Hey, I was gonna say Bill and Ted!

PM: Well, Bill and Ted can shred more, but Wayne and Garth, they got to meet Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper is the first band I saw, and Great White opened for them. Oh yeah.

What's next for you as you prepare for SXSW?

PM: We've got an album -- our first album, a self-titled one -- coming out, and there's a video for one of the songs coming out as well, for a song called 'Velvet Tiger.'

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced on tour?

DW: The band Paul and I were in before this one, we went up to Hunan, China and played at a private party on, like, two days' notice. It ended up being a mix of us and all of these dancers -- Russian go-go dancers, Zimbabwean booty dancers. It was pretty weird. There were no amps at the venue and no drums, either, so we had to buy everything around the city. And there was this costume party, but it was a really bizarre one. Everybody seemed to be wearing a Nazi uniform or a Red Guard uniform. The night ended with a liter of Coke and a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

Other than Jack and Coke, what's your biggest vice?

DW: Laziness.

PM: I can't come up with one. I have none. Well, I have a favorite vice: It's Miami.

Jessica Steinhoff is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.