We pride ourselves on making some of the most limited edition products in the industry. From our One Year Anniversary & Thrillin’ Generations tees, to our Sixteen Banner Pack and now, our recently SOLD OUT, Fresh to Death™ limited edition. We thank all of you for allowing us to continue to make such creative, successful projects without selling to the masses. We hope all of you were able to get a Fresh to Death™ limited edition. If not, we hope you get a chance to be apart of one of our future limited edition projects.
Here’s a look back at some of the steps that went into making this project Fresh to Death™.
Mechanical People is not your average three piece rock band. It is a rock supergroup reminiscent of past all-star rock super groups like Traveling Wilburys, Cream, and The Dirty Mac. Their lyrics subconsciously explore the moral dilemmas within the human condition while rocking the faces off of their audiences. I was able to interview Ben Graupner to find out what Mechanical People has in store for 2012… And to see what makes a mechanical person tick.
Sasha Misfit: How have you been?
Ben Graupner: Good, Good. We are back in LA. We are gearing up and getting ready to release our new EP Faith in the Will on Valentine’s Day.
SM: Will it be available on Itunes?
BG: It will be available for pre-sale on our website next week and on Itunes in few months.
SM: Will you be doing shows any time soon?
BG: We will be playing shows in the Los Angeles and San Diego area. Later in the year we will hopefully be able to make it out to the East Coast or Southwest or Southeast . We are also playing the Spencer Bell Legacy Show in Madison, WI on May 12, 2012.
SM: How did you come up with the name Mechanical People?
BG: It literally was when the band first started when Ben [Johnson], Jake [Miller], and I had some down time in the studio in Baton Rouge after we had recorded our song Skyscraper, which has the hook “mechanical people with rhythmic hearts”. Then about a month later we realized that we were going to put out an EP and this was not going to just be a Sunday afternoon project so we needed a name. We began to write a sheet of band names. Our landlord, guests of the house, and anyone we asked would contribute to till we had 4 or 5 sheets of printer paper with just terrible band names. Some of them were the worst band names you had ever heard of. Mechanical People was one of the ones that wasn’t annoying and it was in the hook of the song. Actually that was the only thing we held against it.
SM: How would you describe the sound of the band?
BG: I think it was said best when we played the SBL in Austin last year. The Dallas Observer covered us and said “[We] sound like early Yo La Tengo trying to cover Prince songs in your Uncle’s garage”. I’m really bad at this and I just say we are a rock n’ roll band with a lot of 70s influences but that doesn’t quite cover it. Our music seems to be very moral and seems to focus on right and wrong, redemption and condemnation. I don’t know why it has not been a specific push to go and do that, but when I sit back and look at our 3 CDs we have now it seems to be a reoccurring theme in most of our songs. Which I think is really interesting.
SM: Which specific 70s bands inspire you the most?
BG: The Stones, The Doors, The Who, Jethro Tull
SM: Do you prefer playing in the studio or playing live?
BG: I prefer playing live. I think Ben and Jake would say the same. The joy of playing to a live crowd and interacting with an audience there is nothing like it. You can’t do that by yourself. You have to have a gathering of people to have THAT magic happen.
SM: When was the last time you just flat out fell on your face?
BG: It was this year. I was standing completely still, having a conversation with a friend and BLAM, hit the ground. I fall down a lot. I am not a graceful being.
Ballista started producing at 18. As an ex-metal drummer, dubstep was a genre that gave him a head bangers outlet. After hearing his first dub-tunes like Swagga and Retreat he knew dubstep was a genre that could be heavy like metal, but in it’s own element. Ballista became infatuated with the music. Even before owning a set of turntables he was head over heels into music production, conjuring up demons within his computer.
Ballista has had the honor of sharing the stage with acts like KOAN Sound, Dubsidia, Helicopter Showdown, Vaski, Mark Instinct, Bar 9, Chaosphere, AC Slater, Bryx and many other incredible DJs that helped put him on the map. After being in the scene for less than two years Ransom was released on Monkey Dub Recording a few months after his debut EP Boombox Bangers Volume I.
We hope all of you will help welcome the newest Diamond to the D,CREW family, DJ Ballista…
We hope everyone has had a great new year thus far. The beginning of 2012 marks the launch of D.CREW’s Spring 2012 Line. The first product we are releasing this spring is our “Cartoon D.CREW” tee. We hope all of you enjoy the all the new projects we have in store for 2012… Till then,
