TAS In Session: Dom

Aspiring to be the Madonna of garage rock seems unconventional, but so is Dom, the Massachusetts band - led by the surname-eschewing Dom - that's generated a ton of enthusiastic attention for their EP Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, recently re-released in a re-mastered, re-mixed version via Astralwerks.

The SXSW-bound group, who'll be touring on their own in March and with The Go! Team this April, came by The Alternate Side to play several songs, including "Bochicha," named after Dom's cat. Most surprisingly,  Dom, which also includes guitarist Cosmo, bassist Erik and drummer Bobby, also revealed why they have no intention of ever releasing a full album.

Alisa Ali: [You’re from Worcester] - the utopia as I’ve heard it described?

Dom: No, that place sucks. We moved to Hadley, Massachusetts. That’s a happening spot right now.

Alisa: You don’t have plans to move to New York, do you?

Dom: We were thinking about it. We were talking about it today. It’s either New York, Madrid or Minneapolis. We haven’t decided yet. Whatever we can afford. We’re really poor right now.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6F2oUIscvc]

Alisa: So who is that crazy girl you’re referencing [in the song "Crazy Girl'] or is that all girls in general?

Dom: It’s just some girl from Florida I was seeing for a little bit.

Alisa: What happened there?

Dom: Well, I found out she was a crazy girl. She wouldn’t leave me alone, wouldn’t give me any space. Texts, calls, emails, everything.

Alisa: When did she finally get the hint that you weren’t interested?

Dom: I don’t know. I just ceased all contact.

Alisa: Sometimes you have to say, “Listen lady. I just don’t want to be with you anymore.” You can’t be vague about it because if you’re vague, they just keep calling or texting. That’s what I do, at least.

Dom: Yeah, you got to let them down easy.

Alisa: Nah, you just have to rip the band-aid off.

Dom: You can be nice about it?

Alisa: Nice but firm.

Dom: Well I chose to write a song about it.

Alisa: Do you think she knows it’s about her?

Dom: Well, if she sees this, she’ll probably figure it out. We weren’t together really. But I really don’t want to discuss my personal life (laughs).

Alisa: OK! I read that you said that your goal was to be the Madonna of garage rock.

Dom: Yeah. We’re a garage band and I’ve always loved Madonna. Madonna’s pretty epic. She has a legacy. A lot of hits. Put that on a party playlist and it’s a sure thing; people are gonna dance. So. I think we want to be that band that’s on the party playlists 30 or 40 years from now.

Alisa: Madonna’s gone through a bunch of different like ….

Dom: Reinvented herself? Yeah. We might do that as well. We might go through a glam phase. Who knows. Right now we just wear a lot of flannel.

Alisa: You’re not wearing any flannel right now.

Dom: I’m just kidding.

Alisa: Do you have a favorite Madonna phase?

Dom: No. I don’t know. I don’t think I ever liked her that much to get in front of the mirror and do faces or anything. Oh, phase! I thought you said faces! I don’t know. Like A Virgin, I guess, because that was the breakout and that’s usually the coolest with most artists.

Alisa: The coolest is the breakout? So you think you’ll go downhill from here?

Dom: Probably. That seems to be the trend with every other band. People will listen to us for a year or two and then someone cooler will come along.

Alisa: You’re re-rereleasing this EP, Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, remixed and remastered. Were you not satisfied with the way it turned out the first time?

Dom: No, we were completely satisfied. It’s the label that wanted to put it out with a different mix and master.

Alisa: Do you think that the fans will be able to tell the difference between the first version and this one?

Dom: No, people won’t know. It’s the same thing pretty much.

Alisa: You just had a digital link of the album before - did you also have it on cassette?

Dom: Yeah, actually the cassette sold a lot better than the CDs.

Alisa: Do you guys use cassette players?

Dom: No, we do digital everything.

Alisa: Are you pleased about it being on vinyl?

Dom: Yes, very pleased about that because it’s actually something that someone can collect. More tangible. People don’t really collect CDs, but vinyl for some reason. I got a few nice ones from my manager for my birthday. He got me some Ariel Pink ones. Very nice. Flaming Lips.

Alisa: Can you tell my about your next song?

Dom: This song is about my cat Bochicha

Alisa: That means, like, a little drunk person in Spanish.

Dom: It does? That’s awesome! I didn’t know that. I was on Google when I first got him and was looking up weird Incan cat deities. That was the one that I thought was the most attractive looking name. Little drunk person. I like that better.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVZ09r8gbmE]

Alisa: I understand [from your Pitchfork interview], that you wanted to be on Lil Wayne’s label, Young Money. Why didn’t you hold out for it?

Dom: That was partly a joke because I was really drunk and I didn’t know what Pitchfork was at the time so I really didn’t take it too seriously. So, I don’t know. Stuck my foot in my mouth.

Alisa: You got a really nice writeup in Pitchfork.

Dom: Yeah, they were really nice to us. I’m not too internet savvy. Now I am. I read blogs and stuff now. Just like the college kids.

Alisa: Did you give them fake information?

Dom: Some of it, yeah. I probably would have freaked out had I known how seriously people take [Pitchfork].

Alisa: How do you feel about music blogs offering free downloads?

Dom: I think that’s great. I think that music should be free. I think people should pay for the show or if [a band] comes out with vinyl, to collect it, that’s what people should pay for. But I think that music should be free. I probably shouldn’t be saying that.

Alisa: So you can make money and continue to make music.

Dom: Yeah.

Alisa: You gave away a free song on your website recently, a song ["Bowl Cut"] that you did with Ayad [Al Adhamy] of Passion Pit.

Dom: It was weird. We met Ayad on Cinco de Mayo and he was a really cool dude. He was feedin’ us shots all night and stuff. He offered to get us in the studio for a single and Bobby and I went to a Brooklyn studio and recorded a track. Then we called our friends Madeline [Follin] and Brian [Oblivion] from Cults and they came through and Madeline sang on the trac and they did group claps. So that was a fun time. It took us two days but just because the engineer was getting everything organized for us and doing his thing.

Alisa: When you first put out the EP, how did you record that?

Dom: We recorded it at Eric’s house, actually. The setup is a little better now but before it was laptop, mikes, and plugging in crappy keyboards and fruity loops.

Alisa: Now are you collecting new gear?

Dom: We’re actually building a tiny studio and collecting a bunch of wacky instruments. A collection of crappy Casio keyboards, nasty keyboards, I couldn’t afford a nice one anyone. A bunch of guitars kicking around and we’ve got a nice live room. We just got a new computer so more recording going on. There’s like five major colleges near where we live and when the kids were gone we had nothing to do and we were snowed in so pretty much my day consisted of getting high and making rap beats all day. Bobby’s in his room on his midi keyboard and Eric’s goofing around all the time. We jam separately and then we all come together. It comes together pretty easily. I try to write a song all at once.

Alisa: What about the next song?

Dom: “Jesus” is the first song that we had as a band. Bobby and I had met and we were going to make an electronic project, be DJs. Then I wrote that song, we hooked up with Eric and he fleshed it out. That’s how we became a “real” band, I guess. It was this song. “Jesus”

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX6kILK65Ww]

Alisa: Plans for a full-length?

Dom: I don’t think we’re ever going to do a full-length just because I prefer to write three, four or five songs instead of trying to meet a quota. I don’t really think anyone nowadays really has the patience to listen through fourteen songs. Nobody has 14 good songs anyway.

Alisa: So you’re working on a new EP?

Dom: Yep, it’s pretty much done. We’re just waiting to go into the studio with it.

Dom Tour Dates:

Mar 05 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse*
Mar 11 Charlottesville, VA – Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
Mar 13 Atlanta, GA – 529
Mar 14 Oxford, MS – Proud Larry’s
Mar 15 New Orleans, LA – Circle Bar
Mar 16 – Mar 19 SXSW
Mar 20 Dallas, TX – Bro Fest
Mar 22 Scottsdale, AZ – Martini Ranch**
Mar 23 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar**
Mar 24 Irvine, CA – Acrobatics Everyday**
Mar 25 Eagle Rock, CA – Eagle Rock Center for the Arts !
Mar 26 Los Angeles, CA – Satellite Lounge #
Mar 28 Santa Barbara, CA – Muddy Waters**
Mar 29 Santa Cruz, CA – Crepe Place**
Mar 30 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop**
Apr 01 Portland, OR – Holocene**
Apr 02 Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore**
Apr 03 Seattle, WA – Vera Project**
Apr 06 Fargo, ND – The Aquarium**
Apr 07 Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry**
Apr 08 Chicago, IL – Subterranean**
Apr 09 Detroit, MI – TBD**
Apr 10 Toronto, ON – Opera House%
Apr 11 Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place
Apr 13 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club%
Apr 14 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts%
Apr 15 Boston, MA – Paradise%

*with Bobby 
**with Heavy Hawaii
! with Heavy Hawaii and Thee Oh Sees
#with Heavy Hawaii and Miniature Tigers
% supporting The Go! Team