DEAD LEAVES was officially formed in 1994. Even after many rejections and doors being slammed in their faces, they continued to push forward. In 2002, they released their first full-length release, "Your Kind is Labeled", a powerful hard rock album that will stay in your head for a long time. Their bassist, Jamie, left the band in 2002, but they continued to work as hard as ever with their guitar-tech, Jeremy stepping in full-time on bass. After more touring and several showcases in New York City, they returned to the studio to begin recording tracks for a new album. The album was almost complete, when all the tape data was lost and the band was forced to begin again from scratch. Frustrated, they did more touring and slowly worked on some new tracks.
In 2003, a new track, "Morea", was debuted on the Gimme The Medicine II, compilation cd from DRP Records. The track is incredible and gives high hopes for the rest of the new album, which will hopefully be done in 2004.
Rich (drums) and Jer (bass) answered some questions for Morbid Soul.
UPDATE: 07.07.07 Dead Leaves have broken up, but rumors of further post-DL work from the other members are scattered about the internet.
MORBID SOUL: How would you describe the band's sound to someone who has never heard Dead Leaves?
JER: Boy, you start off with the most popular question and the one we have the hardest time answering. I guess you'd say we have a dark, melodic sound. Kind of like a heavy U2 meets Alice Cooper.
RICH: In just a few words Dead Leaves is; inspirational, opinionated, visual, abrasive, rich, intelligent, intoxicating, cerebral, honest, moody, rebellious, social, alive, spectral, haunting, submissive, instinctive, experimental, alive, tranceful, with just enough old school to kick ass! The music is influenced by a number of artists, but the sound is definitely all their own. Fueled by emotion and driven by desire, each infectious track hits deep and engulfs you in enigmatic melodies and haunting grooves. It's a dreamscape of harmonies, melodies, passion and raw power.
MORBID SOUL: Who/What are you influenced by as a band/musician and as a person?
JER: As a band, we definitely relate the most to Pantera, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath and any other dark band. As a person I'm influenced by people that think for themselves and use the tools they were born with. The strongest, most powerful weapon a human has access to is their brain and too many people allow it to become dead weight.
RICH: Everything and everyone we come in contact with each day is a HUGE influence toward our individual personalities as well as us as a band. There is so much going on in the world that it is hard not to be inspired either positively or negatively. We are constantly bombarded every day with so many negative things that it's definately hard not to be impacted. Our home area also reflects of on our music. We all reside in the Pottsville, PA area which is a very dark and depressed area to live in. There is pretty much nothing left here but the skeletal remains of what used to be a thriving coal mining community. I've never seen any other area with as many broken down buildings and depressed people. The only things to do around here are drink, smoke pot, & play music.
MORBID SOUL: Where did the title "Your Kind is Labeled" come from?
RICH: The title "Your Kind Is Labeled" comes from the lyrics of the first song on the album titled "Black Sav". "Your kind is Labeled" refers to a person being unfairly stereotyped because of the type of person (kind) he is or group of people they hang out with. It starts as early as high school with the jocks, the nerds, the heads, and contiues through out ones life. Everyone has their clique and there are always certain values, weather true or untrue, that are attached to it.
MORBID SOUL: Do all the lyrics stem from personal experience and who writes the lyrics?
RICH: Kris writes all of the lyrics to the songs. They definately stem from personal experience. If they didn't they wouldn't have much meaning to him while playing the songs out live. When writing lyrics Kris tries not to look at the obvious as many of today's top 40 bands do but would rather challenge himself to be more creative and descriptive to describe an experience. Instead of looking at point A and point B, Kris will look at everything in between as it is less obvious and more interseting to him both as a singer and a listener.
MORBID SOUL: You've got a new single out, "Morea," which is available on the Gimme the Medicine 2 compilation on DRP records. Are there more tracks recorded for the album yet and any plans for a new album by the end of '04?
RICH: As of right now we have a ton of new material that should soon be ready for release hopefully sometime in 2004. We currently have 7-9 new songs that are almost finished and about 100 riffs and parts that are currently being developed. The biggest part is finding the time to put the finishing touches on the new material. Since we put out "Your Kind is Labeled" we have been playing our asses off. We were averaging 12+ shows a month which was great but it didn't leave much time to work on any new material. Two of the new, unreleased songs besides "Morea" are "Reach Out" and "Step Away". We have played them out unannounced at selective shows just to see how they feel to play out live. Keep your ears open.
MORBID SOUL: Dead Leaves has done so many shows, can you name a few of your collective favorite gigs/venues?
JER: The Crowbar is always a blast for us. It's a club that seems like it was built specifically for us. And the staff/production guys are always great. We have also been a part of the Annual Rock The Block and River Rat Rock Fest for the past 2 years and both events have been highlights of the year. Any All Age show that we do in Reading is also high on the list. Those kids pack the shows and go completely insane ever time we play in the area.
RICH: Fiddlestyx in Milton, PA, which is no longer in business, was always one of my favorite places to play. The owner Jeff is one crazy mutha who knows how to have one hell of a great time. It is also great to play Soundwaves ALL AGE venue in Reading, PA. The fans there are amazing and the view from the stage is incredible! It was also a great time playing in New York City as well as Johnson City, TN & Panama City, FL. There are several festivals that we play each year that are awesome including "Rock The Block", "River Rat Rockfest", & "Buzzfest". Jagermeister has also recently hooked us up with passes to Ozzfest 2003 & the ongoing Slayer tour which were both insane.
MORBID SOUL: What are your favorite local bands and what local/national bands would like to tour with in the future?
RICH: There are a lot of kick ass local bands coming from this are which makes it a very exciting musical community to be a part of. Some of my favorite local bands include Cyphilis, Spinebelt, Anthrophobia, 51 Peg, Rev9, Malvado, Imbue, Ninetail, Ivet, Stept On, Backstreet Law, Imperfect Vision, & Divination amoung many others. Although the bands I mentioned above are considerd hard rock/metal bands I also dig some local pop bands as well including Emily's Toybox, Negative Space, & Poptart Monkeys. All of these bands put out 150% when they are on stage and kick ass at what they do. There are also a ton of up & coming young bands out there that will soon be leaving their mark including Odium, Halestorm, & E.N.V.Y. Be sure to go out and check out all of these and other area bands as you will not be disappointed. There is a ton of great music out there that can be easily over looked due to the constant repitition in todays commercial radio stations. As far as nationals it would be great to tour with our Jager brothers Pantera as well as Slayer. Talk about one hell of a party!!! It would also be fun to share the stage with bands such as Tool, Black Sabbath/Ozzy, Deftones, Type O Negative, Anthrax, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Audioslave, Black Label Society, & Superjoint Ritual. I also wouldn't mind jamming with some old school bands from the recent past who are currently on tour including Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, & Dio. These guys still kick ass.
MORBID SOUL: What's the favorite alcoholic beverage of Dead Leaves?
RICH: JAGERMEISTER!!!!!