NEWS... January 2011

by Sam Sinister

As you may or may not know, I recently left the band (you can read a little ore about that here).

Since I'm no longer in the band, whether the rest of the guys decide to go on with out me (which is my hope) or not, it wouldn't be right for me to keep posting here at the Dead City Dealers website. So, as a result, I'm moving all of my blogging over to samsinister.blogspot.com, which will includes news on The Shit Parade radio program, rants (and any other kind of typical "blog" posts), news on any of my future musical endeavors, free music downloads, and event listings for any live gigs I set up in future. So feel free to subscribe, follow, or whatever you want to do to keep up with me.

It's been fun!

A message from vocalist Sam Sinister.

I'm done with being in a band. For now.

This is not a rash decision. I've been talking about leaving the band for well over a year now and going back and forth on what I actually want to do (or not do). I'm just bored and tired of the whole thing.

Everything involved with being in DCD has become all about obligations and expectations, both from within the band and people who like what we're doing and I've become alternately overwhelmed and annoyed more and more frequently as time goes on. It's just not fun anymore.

If Dead City Dealers goes on, it's gonna have to be without me. I'd still like to work with everyone in the band musically, but it's gonna have to be on a much more relaxed and non-serious manner. I know a lot of people have dreams and goals as far as what they're doing muscially, but that's just not me and it probably never will be.

I only want to play shows and write and record songs when it's convenient for me. Maybe that's selfish, but I can't force it. If I'm not happy with what I'm doing and just putting on a happy face, then that's bullshit. It's fake. I can't be fake. I have to be me. No matter what. I can't schedule my free time or take on responsibilities for other people anymore.

All I wanted from the beginning was to effortlessly write songs that were fun and simple. Songs that I would enjoy listening to if I weren't in the band. Not that that's not what we ended up with in DCD, but it always seems like there's this push to go outside of the realm of what I'm comfortable doing musically, effort-wise and time-wise, and how far I would want the band to go (which isn't very far at all, actually).

This is probably gonna read as being a little melodramatic, but that's really not what I'm trying to do. I'm just stating facts. And like I said before, this decision wasn't made lightly. Point blank: I just need a break.

--Sam

Songfacts: "Lonely at the Top"

I wrote this song prior to co-forming the Disliked with former bandmates Ray Wojtowicz, Chris Vermin, Brianne Donnegan (all of whom were in the Яeversatiles with me), and Ryan Bower (formerly of The RUNS). I think at this point I was listening to a lot of The Misfits and watching too many zombie/cannibal movies. In fact, the way the music originally sounded was like Earth AD/Walk Among Us-era Misfits:  Fast, vaguely thrashy 3-chord verses, a longer bridge (sans vocals), and a 2-chord chorus riff with a punchy musical "count off" at the end.

That's not too far off from how the song ended up sounding

Songfacts: "Liberal Stomp"

This song was written entirely by Chris Vermin, and I'm pretty sure it was mainly in response to anti-smoking laws, among other things. The music is a 4-chord progression that never changes and it's very similar to "Social Security" by the Unseen. This was another carry-over from The Яeversatiles days. It's basically about PC, and the restrictions that come along with it. The lyrics are actually pretty funny, if you share our sense of humor. Not many people do, so we don't play this song much any more...

Songfacts: "Sex and Violence" (Exploited cover)

This was one of the few cover songs that actually made it to DCD's early sets, from older bands some of us were in previously (first The Яeversatiles, then later The Disliked). Back in 2001, when I first started trying to form bands with people, I'd insist that the only way it would work was if we based everything we did on 2 songs: "Sex and Violence" by the Exploited, and "Louie Louie".

(Footnote - The Яeversatiles actually did a medley of these two songs, called "Sex with Louie". We'd play the Exploited song forever, then fade out into the opening chords of Louie Louie, while still singing "sex and violence" for the chorus. But that's another story altogether...)

Album Update!

Well, it's official: The album will be titled simply, Dead City Dealers, and will feature 10 tracks, 4 of which have never been recorded before. The release date is October 16th. The track listing will be as follows:

1. Call to Arms
2. Justified Violence
3. (She's a) Zombie
4. 'Til the Walls Come Down*
5. The Bar Song*
6. Paycheck to Paycheck*
7. No Sympathy
8. Plastic*
9. Horrible
10. This City's Dead

*First time recorded. Track order subject to change.

Liner Notes:
Recorded in August of 2010. Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Josh Roman at MindRocket Recording in West Middlesex, PA. Produced by Josh Roman and Sam Sinister.


Dead City Dealers:
Sam Sinister (vocals)
Chris Vermin (bass and backing vocals)
Mario Sapanero (rhythm guitar, harmonics)
Andy Fabich (lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
Ryan Bower (drums and backing vocals)


Additional gang vocally goodness by the STS Crew (Dead City Dealers, Lyndsay Anderson, Duke Manly, Peter Jaye, and Badger).


Cover design: Sam Sinister (with help from Jake Huff).
Photography: Rachel Solomon (PAΧΗΛ Photography).
Packaging layout and direction: Sam Sinister.