Interview

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

Vendredi 14 mars 2008

Photo par Wade Gosslin

1.DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

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is kind of unknown over here. So could you present us the band ? The discography, history, etc.

JAY : Basically the band was started as something to do after school during our senior year of high school. We had all met through being in other bands which had members who went away to college so we decided to start something of our own together. It was an excuse to hang out, have fun and write music together. In the time that we have been a band we have completed a number of tours, released a couple of 7”s, two LP’s and a four-way split 11” with friends from around home. We are now seniors in college! Our next endeavor is a split 7” with Sinaloa to accompany our European tour this coming March!
JOHN : We are a band that formed out of friendship and a connection to each other through musical interest. We started as younger high school students and have enjoyed seeing where it can take us- as for the discography, we have done:
-s/t demo cd
-desert bird (2 songs each, limited to tour) 3" cd
-the desert bird 7"
-baking in the sun tour cassette
-condition LP/CD
-dst/they and the children

they and the children

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split 7"
-ampere

ampere

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/wasteland

wasteland

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/death to tyrants/dst LIVE split 11"
-capital cities LP/CD
-(upcoming) sinaloa

sinaloa

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/dst split 7"
-various compilations
-two documentary films
SEAN : Well the band started a while ago in 2003 when Jay and I got together and played guitar in the summer. We bounced ideas off of each other that seemed to mesh really well. Jay's previous band, Ack Ack Attack, was coming to an invited close as members were going off to college in other states, so the two of us just kept meeting every friday after school to play music. It went on that way into the fall when we asked John and Steve (another Ack member) to play bass and drums respectively. WIth that lineup we put out a 10 song demo and the Desert Bird 7". Steve left the band after our first tour in the summer of 2004. We were pumped to ask Dan to play drums and excited to start writing what would become our first full length: Condition. The lineup has been the same ever since.

2.From where did you get this name : DANIEL STRPIED TIGER? Is there any specific history behind that?

JAY : We were booked to play our first show in one week and we still had not decided on a name for our band. A friend of ours had suggested “Daniel Striped Tiger” and half joking, we decided to keep it. Daniel Striped Tiger is a character, a puppet, on Mr. Rogers. It is meant to represent youth and imagination.
JOHN : The name Daniel Striped Tiger is actually from a children's television program, Mr.Rogers. It was something that we all agreed on when we needed a band name and I feel that it has come into it's own, as a name, it has grown on me and sort of become what we are.
SEAN : The name comes from an American children's T.V. show called Mr. Rogers. A puppet named Daniel Striped Tiger lives in a clock in the land of make believe. If i recall correctly, the drummer of Ack Ack Attack (Jon Kieran) came up with the name. In and of itself, the name has actually come to bear more meaning as we've progressed as musicians than it ever did when we were just sort of struggling to call ourselves something. It has come to represent a sort of youthfulness that I like to think is always present in our sound.

Photo by Tara Sellios

3.DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

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is linked to the DIY hardcore scene. How do you feel in it, and how did you get into it?

JAY : I think we all sort of got into the DIY/hardcore scene by going to see friends bands play as early as high school and eventually that lead to playing in our own bands and networking between other kids at shows from other local towns. You could meet people from other towns and cities that you would not otherwise know. It was always and still is interesting when a touring band is coming through and you can discuss with them how their scene is different and alike to your own. I am very proud to be part of such a wonderful thing and surrounded by so many creative individuals.
JOHN : I got into the DIY hardcore scene at a young age by attending shows at a local artspace in my region of MA. I found that it was a truly inspiring and welcoming scene, which encouraged artistic creativity, individualism, having opinions of your own and voicing them, and really just being able to start something by yourself and be able to have it grow. I think this is an opportunity that all people should have, especially at a young age. I think that art and music are things that should be nurtured, encouraged, and cared for. Communities that support and provide spaces for young people to take part in a scene are so valuable and I am lucky to have been involved in one
for so long.
SEAN : The DIY scene has always been important to us as kids and musicians. The community is really strong and positive. Getting into it was really not much different than joining an after school program or extracurricular activity. It's an extremely positive and creative way to spend time accomplishing a lot of really great things.

4.Did the band have toured a lot in the USA? How do you feel about touring?

JAY : We have toured the USA a bunch since starting the band. We have used a lot of our winter and summer breaks for touring with school and all. Touring is a lot of fun as much as it is a lot of hard work. I don’t think we have all that many complaints about touring in the states. We all enjoy meeting new people and sharing a meal with new friends.
JOHN : As of last summer, we have completed 4 tours in the USA. our first 3 were mainly on the east coast, with the bands (in chronological order of the tours) La Mi Vida Violenta, Bravo Fucking Bravo

Bravo Fucking Bravo

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, and They and the Children

They and the Children

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. Our last tour brought us all the way to the west coast, and was largely on our own. We shared a good amount of dates with Ampere

Ampere

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and Daitro

Daitro

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, which was a lot of fun. I always love touring and view it as an experience in which so many great things happen at once- you get to see the world, meet people, perform to a different audience every day, see other amazing bands, and spend time with your band members day in and day out. I look forward to
touring Europe so much!
SEAN : I love touring! We have toured the east coast a lot and the whole U.S. once.

Photo by Tara Sellios

5.You're preparing an Euro tour with the awesome band SINALOA

SINALOA

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. How's your relationship with that band? How this happen that you gonna tour together in Europe in March 2008?

JAY : We are both from Massachusetts and pretty much share the same mindset and overall attitude about DIY. They had been planning their trip for a while and they recently asked us if we would like to join them. It’s quite hard to decline something like that, heh! We have wanted to tour Europe for some time now and we are very excited to finally be making it over with such awesome friends and musicians.
JOHN : Sinaloa is great. I've always viewed them as one of the most talented, and creatively interesting bands in our area. Certainly in Boston. We played one of our very early shows with them in 2004, and seeing them live made a big impression on me. We continued to play more shows with them over the years and got to know them. They asked us to join them for the euro tour and of course we said yes. Pete, Luke and Brendan are all very friendly and great people. They are also hilarious, so I think the euro tour should be full of laughter. Which is always the best.
SEAN : The seven of us have grown really close in the last few years. We have a lot of fun together as friends and artists.

6.A new record is planed for that tour. Released by Narshardaa Records it'll be a split 7inch with SINALOA

SINALOA

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. Can you tell us more about this?

JAY : The record will be a split 7” released by Nashardaa Records in Europe and by Cleanplate Records in the states. Both bands just finished recording for it and artwork is currently being completed. The record will be out in time for the tour in March.
JOHN : We recorded our songs for this split 7" only a few weeks ago, in December. It was a good idea to have a new split record to bring over with us, to generate interest in both bands. We enjoy doing splits with bands that we feel are different than us but important and are friends. We have two new songs on the record and Sinaloa has one.
SEAN : I'm really excited for this split. The Sinaloa song is really great and I like the way our songs turned out too.

7.What's hidden behind the texts, behind the lyrics you sing with DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

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? What do you want to share with the people you have in front of you?

JAY : A lot of the lyrics refer to personal stories or experiences without hinting to the actual meaning too much. It’s nice to leave some things open to interpretation by others. Very little of what we write about is political, not that we do not like politics though we often choose not to mix it with our music.
JOHN : The lyrics of the songs often come from personal experiences that affect me in some way or another. They can also be more stream-of-conscious and abstract, in this manner they can try to capture a vague sense or feeling that I am going through at the time of writing. A lot of times, I use lyrics and writing to try to "sort out" my feelings and problems, to try to figure out how I really feel. I think that anything the audience can gather from this- be it how they view the four of us, or how they personally relate to the messages they hear and see- are all completely valid and valuable.
SEAN : I've always thought of the lyrics as a sort of random snapshot or line drawing. I like that because it leaves a lot for the audience to kind of make their own. It's too easy to say the songs are about people we've loved or things we firmly believe in; these things are true, but are also complex. A lot of times the lyrics shape themselves over time and mean something different every time we play the songs.

8.Your new album is bit different than previous one. Not really musically but in the constructions of the album. You have kept the energy and melodies, but have created more introspective interlude to the songs. How this all happens to create this?

JAY : Capital Cities was sort of a blur when I think about it. We would all go to school full and work during the week, then we would all meet for an hour or two each Sunday in my parents house outside of Boston. After about three months of this routine we recorded the music which was intended to be a 10”, however we went over the marker by a couple of minutes making it a 12”. We have always been intrigued by bands who never really let up on a record and that can fill each inch of space down to the last second. There’s something enjoyable about listening to a record that flows seamlessly from front to back. The interludes were sort of the glue that stuck everything together, making it one continuous piece.
JOHN : When we create new albums, (full lengths), we often discuss ideas with each other months and months in advance. We try to organize ideas or what we would like to see happen on the next album- we view an LP as a canvas to place ideas onto. We never make a conscious decision to "change" how we sound, but we would never be satisfied if it sounded the same as our previous material, or did not achieve anything new for our discography. I think that "Capital Cities" is just the newest logical step in our progression as individuals, and as a group. We focused on the songwriting and I think the lyrics and music both reflect our interests and experiences of the time.
SEAN : As musicians we've certainly grown more comfortable with each other and better able to create more intricate soundscapes. I think the new record is representative of our growth as musicians and people too. We try to challenge ourselves every time we write a new batch of songs. Capital Cities is one of those challenging chronologies of sound that we are all really proud of.

photo par Simon Simard

9.You've changed label from Alone Records to Clean Plate Records. How's your relationship with both labels? Is it more a matter of friendship, or just a "label relationship" then only releasing the records, helping for tours etc. Seeing this from here Clean Plate Records and Alone Records looks like great record labels with great records and bands.

JAY : The relationship between the two labels are friendly ones for sure. Andrew (Alone) offered to release an LP of ours and through the process of releasing the record we got to know each other pretty well. Our relationship with Cleanplate is a bit different. Will (Cleanplate) plays guitar in a local band called Ampere

Ampere

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so we have known him a bit longer through playing shows together etc. Both labels are great and we are very appreciative of everything they have done for our band.
JOHN : Alone and Clean Plate are both great labels run by outstanding people who work hard to release quality underground music. The releases we have done with each have both been circumstances of the time of the release, and our relationship with them. Alone happened to be more of an offer, as we did not know Andrew at the time of "Condition", while Clean Plate was more of Will's interest in us as our recording engineer, colleague, and friend.
SEAN : Will Killingsworth has become a very close friend and that has certainly changed our approach at the recording and releasing process. As a friend Will isn't afraid to tell us what he likes and doesn't like, but as the brains behind a DIY label he's also concerned with professionalism which I think shines with his releasing of Capital Cities; a lot of work went into putting that record out.

10.What's your next project with the band after this new album?

JAY : To be honest, we have not thought that far ahead yet, haha!
JOHN : After the split with Sinaloa, I'd hope to continue doing great splits. Another full-length or long form record will most likely come about, too.
SEAN : Who knows. I want to do a lot more splits with friends.

photo par Simon Simard

11.It's hard to point a particular influence when you do a band together... But we have often read Fugazi

Fugazi

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like comparisons to DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

DANIEL STRIPED TIGER

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music. So my question is : what's your main, today's or past's, influences of the band.

JAY : I don’t think we really focus on influences as much until after we write something and step away from it, then we often notice similarities between sounds. We all really admire Fugazi. They have such an eclectic style. Friends are always a huge influence.
JOHN : Fugazi certainly was a past influence on us, I think big-time when we were starting the band. Realizing what you can achieve with DIY certainly made an impact on me when I was learning and listening to all the old 80's D.C. punk/hardcore stuff. At all times, past present and future, I think that all of us have unique tastes and interests with music that all come together to influence our sound.
SEAN : This question is really difficult to answer. We all go through pretty polarized shifts in musical influence. I for one have been listening to a lot of Sonic Youth and virtually anything Sam Zurick has anything to do with.

12.Thanks for the interview, and hope to be able to see you on the Euro tour! Any last words?

JAY : Hope to see you too! THANKYOU!!!
JOHN : Thank you! Looking so much forward to the Euro tour.
SEAN : I'm really excited for Europe!

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