Declare This An Emergency

I sent Declare This An Emergency some really dumb questions and they were gracious enough to answer them for me. If you haven't all ready, go over to their myspace page (www.myspace.com/declarethisanemergency) to find out about upcoming shows and hear music by this great, underappreciated local band. Enjoy! - Tommy R.

1) Name/Instrument/Stats

Tony/Vocals/4.79 lifetime E.R.A.

2) What is the Emergency that you’re declaring?

This.

3) All bands debate about things. What do you argue about the most as a band?

We argue a lot about who gets the last beer. We almost broke up once over a bottle of Schell Caramel Bock.

4) How would you describe your music to an older relative who has no concept of punk or indie-rock?

I'd pretty much just make it clear that we're not a metal band. Older people often assume if you're in a band, you play heavy metal. To them there's 2 kinds of bands: heavy metal and not heavy metal.

5) How would you describe your music to a scene-kid who was no concept of punk or indie-rock?

Describing your music is always hard. I usually just say that we're a 5 piece melodic rock band. We're not heavy and we're not too mellow.

6) You recently got to play with Sparta. What went through your mind when you received the phone call/e-mail asking you to support that show?

It was a pleasant surprise. I think we were all a little nervous. It was very exciting. Sparta rules.

7) List three reasons why people who have never heard you before should listen to you. The stipulation is that the first reason has to involve peanut butter, the second reason has to involve mountain goats, and the third reason has to involve a deity.

First reason: The enjoyment you get from listening to Declare This An Emergency is the complete opposite of the enjoyment a person who is allergic to peanuts gets from eating peanut butter.
Second reason: No mountain goats are ever harmed in the making of our music.
Third reason: God listens to Declare This An Emergency. He/She may even own one of our t-shirts.

8) Do you find it difficult to break through to new audiences being people who grew up in “the DIY ‘90s”? What major differences do you see between young bands/audiences now compared to when we were that age going to shows? What are some similarities? In addition, what do you think we can collectively do to improve the music community?

I guess it's been a little bit difficult. We have bands getting signed now. The Twin Cities are getting a little more attention and I think some bands might be focusing more on trying to get signed and not enough on having fun and making friends. When I started playing in bands about 8 years ago, bands seemed a little more willing to help each other out. It wasn't about "scenes" and there were no "rock star" attitudes. There seems to be a little bit of that now, which sucks. We're all the same. We're just people who love music and we want to play our music for as many people as possible. Our local scene almost feels like a competition sometimes. We need to work together and help each other out as much as we can. There's no reason why all of our bands can't succeed.

9) Regarding cereal cartoon characters: Will one of the characters eventually go batshit on the kids who keep him from his tasty breakfast? Which character will be the first to lose it? What will happen? BTW, what cereal do you guys enjoy the most?

I'm pretty sure that the Trix rabbit would be the first to lose it. I imagine he'd dig holes, bury the kids up to their necks, and starve them to death. He'd probably sit and eat Trix in front of them until they died.
They stopped making my favorite cereal. It was Rice Krispy Treats cereal. It was great. I miss it.

10) Using your band name’s acronymn (DTAE), give us four words that perfectly explain yourselves as a band.

Down-to-Earth
Thankful
Ambitious
Emo............haha.