What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
The band name actually comes from a dark place but the music is actually quite positive, ha. The origin of it stems from questioning one’s own mortality. I’d been watching too many documentaries at the time about assisted suicide in the critically ill and elderly and the question I always asked myself was how does one define death? It’s a bit morbid I know, but Dead Defined had a better ring to it than any other descriptive pairing of words, haha.
As far as influences I have way too many to list but most come out subconsciously through writing music. I grew up listening to the late 90’s, early 2000’s commercial Hard Rock scene. American Hard Rock/NuMetal was a huge part of my musical influence even if that doesn’t transpose to my own style of writing. I do take a few things here and there idea wise, but try to compose music that’s more relevant for todays listener. Growing up it was bands like P.O.D., Sevendust, Staind, Korn, Creed, Alter Bridge, Nirvana etc. These days I’m all over the map when it comes to new music and ideas as it’s so easily accessible and easy to find daily. I listen to anything from Top 40, Country Rap to Chill Lo-fi and Instrumentals.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I get this question quite often and the answer is actually not really ha! It’s different all the time when it comes to song writing and my approach. Much of it comes out of humming something in my head, then recording it onto my phone. It could be the notes on guitar to a hook for a chorus. I’ve started to write songs many different ways, usually on the fly or out of boredom. I’m not educated in music theory and I seldomly sit down and tell myself “okay, I have to write something right now”. It usually comes out of nowhere when I’m already occupied doing something else. Thankfully we all have phones now that we can record on anywhere 24/7.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I get this question quite often and the answer is actually not really ha! It’s different all the time when it comes to song writing and my approach. Much of it comes out of humming something in my head, then recording it onto my phone. It could be the notes on guitar to a hook for a chorus. I’ve started to write songs many different ways, usually on the fly or out of boredom. I’m not educated in music theory and I seldomly sit down and tell myself “okay, I have to write something right now”. It usually comes out of nowhere when I’m already occupied doing something else. Thankfully we all have phones now that we can record on anywhere 24/7.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
I write my music in hopes of it to resonate within people. I care a lot about word placement and the meaning behind my songs. A lot of artists these days don’t put quality over quantity sadly, but I try to stick to this method as music for me is something that will forever last in the world whether I’m here or gone. I personally identify by my music so what you hear is me 100%.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
In studio when the song starts to come together you can usually always tell if it will be a great live tune or not. Some songs are meant to be just listened to and be absorbed more than others, but the music that makes you want to get up and dance or shout the words back are best performed live and written for the ‘Live’ audience to be able to participate. That’s the best feeling when you can garner crowd interaction. Those are the memories they won’t forget.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
In studio when the song starts to come together you can usually always tell if it will be a great live tune or not. Some songs are meant to be just listened to and be absorbed more than others, but the music that makes you want to get up and dance or shout the words back are best performed live and written for the ‘Live’ audience to be able to participate. That’s the best feeling when you can garner crowd interaction. Those are the memories they won’t forget.
What plans do you have for the future?
As far as music, I’m always working on new ideas. Whether it be parts or full songs they’re always in the mix. I do have a lot of former unreleased ideas as well that I’d like to revisit this year and hopefully ‘update’ to todays standards and my new writing styles. As for personally, I always strive to stay positive in these trying times for musicians. I like to spend my time as of lately working on building 10 brand new music studios in Toronto, Ontario. I’m hoping to manage those in my off time from writing and performing. I’m also finishing my schooling for Music Business. Once I’m finished, I’ll be hopefully doing music full-time in 2022 whether it be writing/performing or managing studios.