Die Young (TX)
Daniel Truth
Scene Point Blank: What are your top five albums that were released in 2007?
- Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell
- Chuck Ragan - Feast or Famine
- Wisdom in Chains - Class War
- Type O Negative - Dead Again
- Loreena McKennitt - Nights from the Alhambra
- Ringworm - The Venomous Grand Design
Scene Point Blank: How will you remember 2007? (In terms of music)
In terms of hardcore music: not too fondly, but with a few deserving exceptions. Sorry kids, I'm just a jaded bastard. Shoot me (please!). In terms of music in general: There's always something interesting going on in the grand scope of what's coming out, so it was an interesting year like any other.
Scene Point Blank: What kind of impact do you think donation-based releases like Radiohead, Saul Williams, etc? will have on the record industry?
I tend to think the only bands that can really afford to put their records up for a price of your choosing are bands that have been successful for a long time now, and/or bands that have gotten to where they are (in part) because of all the corporate label funding they have had. Perhaps a few other, similarly-minded artists may follow in the footsteps of Radiohead or Saul Williams, which I think would be really cool, but I don't expect a stampede of them do so. I don't think any kind of new precedent has been set. The corporate record industry is still the corporate record industry; it's there to make money. On the other hand, when it comes to independent bands and independent labels, I don't see any kind of shift from selling an item at a specific price to donation-gathering happening anytime soon. It just isn't feasible for small business, as far as I can tell anyway.
Scene Point Blank: 2007 saw the decommissioning of two prominent file-sharing groups - Demonoid and Oink. What kind of impact will the increased crackdown on file-sharing have on the record industry? Did it personally have an effect on you?
I didn't know what Demonoid and Oink were until I just read your question. In some ways I am kind of like a caveman. I actually don't download music because I don't have a computer that can handle it, and I still don't have an iPod. As far as an increased crackdown on file sharing, I don't really have any projection about what will come of it because I know nothing about it, and I don't see how it could have affected me. I mean, it's not like people are buying Die Young records anyway. We're not making any money, but I don't think it is because people are only downloading our material and not buying it. We're widely known as a "political hardcore band" so we've already shot ourselves in the foot. If people want to download our albums, it's probably just as well for us. And if they can't...well, it looks like we're just completely fucked then.
Scene Point Blank: What can we look forward to from your band in 2008?
Limited show dates in the U.S.. Ample dates everywhere else. Maybe a final record...?
Scene Point Blank: What three records are you looking forward to most in 2008?
I'm eagerly awaiting new albums from Turmoil, Seven Generations, and Cursed.
Homepage: http://www.dieyoung.com
