After we published review of DBS’ debut album, and did a contest
regarding the band, we had a hundreds of replies… So I thouth, some
people should be interested to read an interview with the band…
Check out the interview with Oscar and Sepand from Days Between Stations…
Why did you decide to play instrumental music?
Oscar: I don’t think we ever really decided, to be honest. This
material just sort of developed instrumentally without much
forethought. But we haven’t closed the door on having vocals on
upcoming albums.
Sepand: If I recall correctly, in 2003 we figured while we are
looking for other permanent band members (bass, vocals, drums), we could
work on an instrumental album and release in by April 2004. Well I
think we finished mixing the album in April but it was April of 2007.
According to your bio, band was born five years ago. Why did you wait so long to release your debut album?
Oscar: We weren’t really waiting. It’s just that things kept
happening, both on a personal as well as professional level. I think it
could fairly be said that, at some point during the process, everything
that could go wrong did.
Sepand: There were many times the project almost sank, and we
would go months without recording. But we always came together at the
end and pulled through it all.
Band’s name „Days Between Stations” came from the novel by Steve
Erickson. What is the novel about? And why did you decide to call the
band like that?
Oscar: I’m a big fan of Erickson’s, partly for his non-linear
approach to the novel, and also for the way he borrows from different
genres and integrates this into his own style. In a way, this is what
we are trying to do, as well. On another level though, the name just
seemed to fit the mood and, in a way, the “theme” of what we were doing.
Sepand: The novel is very very hard to explain, it’s very
disjointed, and I would fail to explain it. The name, however, has many
interpretations, and it leaves it flexible to the state of mind you are
in; it is similar with this album, since there are no words your brain
is free to roam.
What is the meaning of your debut’s cover artwork?
Sepand: Visually, the album cover is strange. In my opinion,
there are some very vibrant colors that are attractive, but it leaves me
with curiosity and a slight discomfort. I find the music similar.
Sonically, there are many connections between the album cover and the
music. One simple refrence, would be when Intermission #1 is
transitioning into How to Seduce a Ghost.
What is your musician past? Did you play any bands before?
Oscar: I’ve played keyboards in a number of bands out here in
California, none of which would probably ring a bell overseas:
Shannon’s Closet, One Hand Clapping, The Women. I guess I’ve done my
time in the trenches.
Sepand: I was so terrified of failing in university, I did
nothing but study. I was in some bands in high school, but they were
punk rock.
Do you guys playing a lot of concerts? To tell you the truth I
wouldn’t be surprise if DBS was only studio project… but I heard
you’re playing gigs…
Oscar: Well, we haven’t played live yet, but it’s something that I
personally hope will happen in the not too distant future. There’s
some logistical problems, of course, starting with getting everybody in
the same room, for example!
Sepand: You are right! There just aren’t enough hours in the
day. I personally work about 60 hours a week, and with all the demands
for new material, and Oscar and I living an hour and half apart (you
only have to listen to Laudanum 3 times to get there :-), it makes it
very difficult to rehearse. We have agreed to do festivals, and we are
making things happen so that we can play live.
Your music isn’t simple. Are you autodidact or do you have musical education?
Oscar: I had a fair amount of formal training in college
although, perversely enough, I graduated with a degree in Literature, my
second love.
Sepand: I taught myself for many years, then I hit a plateau and
only then did I start my musical education. The autodidact wants to be
free and experiment, and the formal music personality wants structure
and aptitude. It’s a constant fight between the two
What are your inspirations?
Oscar: Music, books, films, paintings, people, life…though not necessarily in that order.
Sepand: I just want to learn as much as possible, that is my
inspiration. But the topics that attract me are music, literature,
philosophy, poetry, visual arts, history, traveling and meeting people,
sometimes even annoying them.
What are your future plans? I heard you gonna compose some film music??? Can you tell me any details?
Sepand: Radio Song already made it into a movie called “Young
Single and Angry”, and the soundtrack is out. We then just focused on
putting an album out, and now promoting it. We are meeting some
producers next week, to potentially work on some film music
Oscar: Actually, I’m studying film scoring at UCLA, so it’s
definitely a direction I’d like to see the band go in. There’s nothing
currently in the works, but we’ll definitely let you know
When can we expect your second album? Do you have such plans. Or maybe it’s much too early to tell about it?
Oscar: We’ve just started writing material and getting our feet
wet again, so I do think it’s too early to tell. I do think we’d like
to be a prolific band, like The Flower Kings or Marillion. You can’t
force these things, though.
Sepand: We just didn’t think what would happen, happened. We had
no intention of releasing a CD, as a result, we spent a lot of time
trying to catch up to everything, and the great advices given to us.
We are debating whether to do a full album, or just do an EP for now.
We are talking about doing other concepts, and have been practicing our
instruments furiously. We still need to find out what we are about.
There is a great deal of exploration, which leaves us with excitement,
wonder and fear.
Can you tell something more about your EP. Didn’t these tracks fit to the album?
Oscar: Well, there were some tracks that we’re thinking of
including on the upcoming EP that, you’re right, didn’t fit the album as
far as it disrupted the overall flow or cohesiveness. There’s another
track that we didn’t feel we’d done justice to – it didn’t feel
finished. It’s still early in the process, though, and I don’t think
we’ve decided on just what will be included in the EP.
Sepand: The most important for us, is to do better than we did on
a project we did before. If we feel that the leftovers aren’t good
enough for release we will put out a full album of new material.
Who are your favorite musicians/ bands?
Oscar: Ok, you asked for it: The Beatles, Genesis, Marillion,
Yes, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Pink Floyd,
The Who, Stravinsky, Bartok, Beethoven, Bach, Prokofiev, Steve Reich,
Mozart, Debussy, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Charles
Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Poncho Sanchez , Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk.
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Sepand: Radiohead, The Doors, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Genesis,
Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Jesus Lizard, Depeche Mode, She Wants Revenge, The
Melvins, Gorecki, Avro Part, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy
Is it possible to see you on tour in Europe? Do you have such plans?
Oscar: There are no immediate plans, but it would definitely be a
dream come true to tour Europe. Who knows? Maybe for the next album.
Sepand: It would be the first place we would be honored to say
yes to, nothing official yet. But we are hungry for Poland. On this
side of the pond, we know about the amazing caliber of fans of
progressive music you have so we’d be honored to play on your soil.
I wish you all the best.
Sepand: We wish you all the best too. We know the horrendous
volume of music that is available, so we really appreciate your time,
both listening and writing about our cd and especially for this
interview.
What would you say as an outro to Rock Area readers?
Oscar: Thanks for keeping the music alive and kicking!
Sepand: We know about the integrity your site has, and of course
being a popular website, it tells about the integrity of your readers.
We want to thank them for reading about us, and getting to know us…. And
if you feel like writing we would love to get to know you too. All the
best and with the warmest affection from Los Angeles
Interviewer: Piotr Spyra
