INTERVIEW: Unsane
Interview with Dave Curran, Bassist for Unsane
Relapse Records
By: Sonya
Unsane brought their NY based noise-rock to EJ's on Sunday April 28th on their "Occupational Hazard" tour. Unsane is Chris Spencer (guitar/vocals), Dave Curran (bass/vocals) and Vinny Signorelli (drums). Also appearing were Firing Process, Witch Mountain, and Heavy Johnson Trio.Unfortunately for me, I had to leave EJ's before the entire Unsane set was over. After having worked all day, another long workday ahead, and waiting through 3 other bands.... I decided to make the long trek for home by 1am, or face the possibility of a collision on the road and ending up looking something like the carnage from one of Unsane's rather graphic CD covers. I did get a definite feel of the band (gut-wrenching, over the top & intense) and I thought they put on one incredible show. I was definitely having a hard time breaking away from the club that night. You don't just hear Unsane, you feel them as they blast through your body.
I did get the the chance to talk to Dave Curran (bass/vocals) prior to their set.
Sonya: Why did you pick EJ's as a venue as opposed to a larger club?
Dave: We've played here about 4 or 5 times before.
Sonya: Do you still prefer to play smaller clubs then?
Dave: Yea', we never really pack huge venues, you know what I'm saying....I'd rather play at small places.
Sonya: Do you prefer over 21 clubs?
Dave: Yea', it's weird.. it's like we've played all-ages shows and I don't mind them... but I don't know... it doesn't seem like we do so good at all ages shows.
Sonya: So where is your favorite place to play?
Dave: Actually, Texas... no shit... Austin's really cool... like Emos.... we've played there a dozen times.....
Sonya: I wouldn't have guessed Texas (laughs).
Dave: Really? I'm all about some Texas, man (laughs).
Sonya: Has Chris's accident slowed you touring down at all?
(note: Chris was brutally attacked by 4 men outside a club in Vienna in January and had to undergo major surgery).
Dave: No, he's fine now...we thought we might have to cancel our 3 week tour in February in the states on the East Coast when he was fresh out of the hospital... but he said he could do it and his doctor said, yea' he's probably recovered enough to do it...so I guess he was in pain for a little while, but we did it, we didn't really have to cancel anything.
Sonya: Did the guys ever get caught who did this?
Dave: Naw, hell no, they were just fuckin' punks, man.... hell no, they delivered the beat-down , then skipped the fuck out....
Sonya: So they are still out there?... Well, bad karma will get them I guess, huh...
Dave: Yea', there ya' go.... they will get hit by a bus or somethin'.... a band on a tour bus (laughs).
Sonya: Did they know who he was?
Dave: No, it was some bullshit thing like I think he had an American flag on his jacket....
Sonya: How is Occupational Hazard doing so far?
Dave: It seems like it's doing good...we've been on tour so we just call the record label and say how's it goin' and they say "doin' good"....
Sonya: So is Relapse considered an Independent label then?
Dave: Yea', I mean they have money... but scored big because they picked up on that death metal shit when it was big, and there's money with that... they've done the best job of any label we've been on.... just promotions wise, yea', like crazy....we were even on Atlantic for awhile and they didn't do half as good....
Sonya: And who does your artwork concepts? You seem to have a theme going...
Dave: I don't know... I mean, this one, Chris did....some of 'em are like real photos and stuff.... I don't know, it's like different shit ....some of the earlier ones, the old bass player set up... but the new record, Chris went out with a bunch of friends.... I was outta' town.. but he took a bunch of pictures, splattered cows blood over the bridge...
Sonya: Are you going to do a video off Occupational Hazard?
Dave: Yea' we're working on a video for "Sick", that's pretty much almost done...we're gonna' start working on somethin' else, too, like for Committed.... But I don't think MTV's gonna' play the video...
Sonya: Well, you never know, they did before (laughs)...
(note: The video for "Scrape" made MTV's top ten funniest videos)
Dave: (laughs) but there's a lot more blood in this one!
Sonya: So was touring with Slayer your favorite band to tour with?
Dave: For me... well I like touring with a lot of bands, but Slayer was cool 'cuz those guys are really nice.. for me they were such a fuckin' legend, you know..... I can die a happy man if I tour with Slayer.... the tour was cool, those guys are really nice ... but in terms of "touring/touring" guys like "Today's the Day", friends of ours... or "Neurosis" or some shit like that... 'cuz when you're on tour with those guys, it's like we are friends, you know what I'm sayin'.... so those tours are obviously more fun... but the Slayer tour was just like....yea'.....
Sonya: So was it hard going from smaller clubs into the big venues with Slayer?
Dave: ..kinda', we've toured with bigger bands at bigger venues like Bio Hazard....and for Slayer they were trying to do smaller clubs to be more punk rock for the punk rock record....it was fun... it wasn't too huge or intimidating....
Sonya: So your most influential bands then would be....
Dave: ....Slayer.....for all of us it's like different guys....Chris is all into the Stooges and shit....which I like too, but he's a Stooges freak....and 15 years ago it was like AC/DC and shit like that...and Vinnie was all into The Who and Alice Cooper...we all sorta' meet up with like Black Sabbath....
Sonya: Any good horror flicks lately?
Dave: I haven't seen too many gore movies lately... but over in Europe we picked up a copy ....I'd seen before years & years ago...but this movie called Tenebrae... which is called Unsane in America...but we were watchin' that in Europe for a little while....and Bad Taste, Peter Jackson movies, he did Meet The Feebles.....Dead Alive is probably one of my favorites...It's called Brain Dead everywhere else but America.....'cuz there's another movie Brain Dead in America so they had to change the name to Dead Alive....it's awesome man, this dude crashes into the zombie party with 20, no more than that, like 80 zombies dancin' around.... motherfuckers gotta' fuckin' lawn mower and he just plows through all these zombies and shit's flyin' everywhere...it's hilarious...
Sonya: Any misunderstood aspects of your band?
Dave: Not really..... this one German dude thought we killed people to make our album covers...he's like "no I know, I have proof"... (laughs)... get the fuck outta' here man, sure, we go murder people for our album covers.... (laughs)....
Sonya: So what does the future hold for your band?
Dave: We're goin' to hell in a handbasket (laughs)...that's all I know....
Sonya: So you want to just keep crankin' it out and playin' clubs?...
Dave: Sure, 'till it's no fun anymore....
