Attempting to interview Death By Stereo was just another chapter in the chaotic life of pastepunk.com. After facing many adverse events, (venue change, 250 mile drive from NY to MD, and a massive show delay due to ADAMANTIUM breaking down on I-95 somewhere just south of Baltimore, and having all of the equipment with them for the tour), I'm lucky this show even happened at all. I knew I would want to interview the almighty DEATH BY STEREO if I got the chance, and then of course, when I got the chance, it was like trying to an interview to a roving band of blind cattle being herded alongside a river. Alas, I have gotten off track, but needless to say, I did get to speak with Efrem, Jim, and Paul about their incredible debut album, "If looks could kill, I'd watch you die," and their upcoming new release on Epitaph Records.

Have you ever seen a one-man circle pit? It looks pretty stupid right? Well what if that one-man circle pit was going on during the first song of a band who had never played a show in your area of the country before, and it was the vocalist circling around???? Efrem and the rest of the band were pretty nervous they admitted in playing to a crowd in Maryland, in which they had never been before, but with the way that Efrem worked the crowd, you would have never known. Right off the bat, Efrem sang into your face, over your face, and if he could have, probably inside of your face too. Talk about getting the crowd into it - if he saw that you were the least bit interested, he tried to bring you into the rapidly formed pseudo pit. It didn't take long at all for those previously uninitiated with DEATH BY STEREO to become fans.

Describing DEATH BY STEREO's sound is almost fun to do. Imagine a giant tower of fancy wine glasses stacked up about 3 stories high in the air in a geometrically sound pattern - perfect balance all the way around. Then take out the bottom row in one quick swipe, and crash, bamm, sis-boom-bah, all the glass comes hurdling down to the ground in a magnificent cacophony. One minute, your in full throttle hardcore, and in the next, you are feeling the most twisted depths of metal grasp at your throat. DEATH BY STEREO mock the word dynamic, pulling off more timing changes than a plane continually caught on the international date line. When my friend compared them to FAITH NO MORE during the interview, the band was flattered to receive such praise. Comparisons do not do this band justice though, as no band around has ever forged a similar stupifying sound. By the time DEATH BY STEREO had reached Maryland, they were already into their 5th week of tour, with only two more to go, culminating in Syracuse, New York, at the largely successful, Hellfest 2K extravaganza. "This tour has just been amazing. Every show has been great, especially in Denver and New Jersey. The hometown shows rocked too. Having van problems always sucks, but playing to a receptive audience usually makes up for it. Playing with BANE has just been awesome. They get the best crowd movement that we have ever seen."

When inquiring about the origins of the band, Jim let on that, "we not like a super-group or anything. We each were in a bunch of bands, none of which were getting anywhere, so as luck had it, things ended around the same time and DEATH BY STEREO was formed. Paul had his awesome recording studio, For the Record, which obviously helped us record and get an album out, and from there on, we've been on this huge roller-coaster ride. We have been playing for about 2 years as a band, and since October of 1998 with this line-up." Dave Mandel, head honcho at Indecision Records (and all around good guy), was lucky to have these guys as friends, because when you have friends who are this good musically, you have a lot to be thankful for. Collectively, DEATH BY STEREO offered a ton of praise towards Indecision Records, and said that if it was not for the push that they gave the band, "this whole Epitaph thing would have not have happened at all."

So how did this "Epitaph thing" happen anyway you ask? "Brett had heard about us from a friend of ours who works at Epitaph and he called my house one day and asked for a copy of our Indecision album. He proceeded to check us out a show, and then we signed from there." Paul further added that, "it was hard to leave Indecision, but when Epitaph comes asking, you just don't turn them down. They are the label that put out the essential music that we grew up listening to, and to be a part of that label is a tremendous honor. And oh yeah, Brett promised us drugs and hookers at every show - even the straight-edge ones." When I mentioned DEATH BY STEREO's track on the PUNK O RAMA 5 compilation, Paul beamed, saying that PUNK O RAMA 4 had sold more than 100,000 copies. "I can't even imagine 100,000 people listening to a DEATH BY STEREO song!"

Due to the police telling us to vacate the venue because the building it was in had to be shutdown, this interview had found its way to the back of the DEATH BY STEREO tour bus (okay, okay, it was a bare bones, white Ford Winstar). But the questioning resumed anyhow. What can we expect on the new release? "A whole lot of double bass and more head crushing rhythms." Sounds like a winning formula to me.

Watching this band rip it up live, and then being able to speak with them afterwards was an adrenaline engaging experience. With so many punk and hardcore bands putting out cds like they are demo tapes, it can become difficult to find a true diamond in the rough, and to find out that there is no pretentiousness behind the music is a refreshing and rewarding discovery. Just like DEATH BY STEREO's song entitled, "Bet against me, you Lose," I wouldn't take this band for granted at all.