The Kill is Deadly

By Ruth Cooper

26 Apr 2012

Can you tell us a little about your recent European tour. Your new video, Blood On My Fist, gives us a taste, what were some of the highlights/lowlights?
The tour was great, the video pretty much covers it. Lots of walking, lots of shows, lots of different beers. The highlight was the whole trip, it's living a dream for all of us, and while being very hard work and getting very little sleep, it's something we are committed to doing and an experience we are lucky to have had. The lowlight was definitely carrying gear on public transport through the UK and Europe, and sometimes when that transport had closed for the night, walking home in the rain and cold with said equipment. And then getting up on stage the next night and giving it your all again.

What was the general response like?

Very positive. There was a lot of surprise from certain quarters about where we are from and what we are doing, but we found most people very open minded and very keen to involve themselves in what we are doing. From heating up the dance floor to wanting merch, it was great to get this kind of unreserved support from people who know nothing about us. Hopefully we paid them back by putting on a night to remember.

Whereabouts in the US are you planning to tour?

As far and as wide as we can. The tour is moving from east coast to west coast and, as always, packing in as many shows as the band can handle. Highlights include New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. But that is the proverbial tip of the music iceberg that is the United States.

Can you tell us a little more about your EP, "The Kill"?

It was our first real venture as Dead Alphabet into tracking material for listeners to take home. We worked with producer Matt Klawansky on that one and we all learned a thing or two about ourselves, the project and how we would like to record in future. It was tracked in a small, badly lit studio over a few months and, in retrospect, the sound is good considering what we had available at the time. It certainly is an important chapter in the book of Dead Alphabet.

Photo by Hanro Havenga

What's with the name?

It sounds cool and has room for interpretation. People always ask this; do yourself a favour, imagine you had a band, now imagine what you would call it. Then imagine trying to reach consensus with three other people. Then try to take out names that sound emo, stupid, pretentious, boring, copied, lame, associated, sinister or just ridiculous. Finally, search Google to see if anyone else has the same name. See what you are left with. It's harder than you might think.

There is a fair amount of references to killing, blood and cannibalism in your song titles and lyrics. Vampires right?

Who us? The girls? We had a friend "Dave" who told us this story once. He went home with a girl he had met at a bar, at least he thought she was a girl. It wasn't until "Dave" was well into the throws of getting to know this young lady over a glass of wine at her place that he realised that the wine was, in fact, blood and the girl had awfully sharp incisors. That's all "Dave" remembers. He woke up the next morning dumped on the pavement outside his house with a really sore ass and more money in his wallet than he had gone out with the night before. The moral of the story? You don't need to spend money to have a good time. And vampires might actually exist, but if the modern representation of them is true, it's probably just a cross-dressing dude trying to rape you.

If Dead Alphabet could be characterised as an animal what would it be and why?

A wolf, in sheep's clothing or a very small, but irritatingly persistent, mouse.

How would you describe your sound?

Honestly, we'd really just prefer it if people go to www.facebook.com/deadalphabet and listen to it for themselves.

Best and worst things about being a musician in SA?

Best - the people around that you meet in other bands. Worst - the serious lack of professionalism in many quarters of the industry.

What are you listening to these days?

Our current music palette varies from The Mars Volta to The Kills, with The Black Keys, Crystal Castles and Justice thrown in-between. To be honest, we listen to almost anything as long as it doesn't have the days of the week in the lyrics.

Besides US touring, what are future plans?

We have been focusing on writing new material for a full-length album, we have more music videos on the way and we are pushing our public profile locally as well as internationally.

Quick Qs
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the following words:
Puppies: Baywatch
Rock 'n' Roll: Stiff necks and other appendages
Skinny Jeans: Talcum powder
Julius Malema: Sick puppy

www.deadalphabet.com