Band Biography | David R | Sarit | Pai

David R's Profile

Name: David R

Job in band: Vocalist/guitarist

What equipment do you use?
Guitars – I play a custom Strat, the "Green Goddess" with all Seymour Duncan pick-ups. Although I own more expensive guitars I paid the most for this one – bought it in New York for $1800. Live, I also play a 1963 Gibson Melody Maker – it's the predecessor to the SG, sounds like a Les Paul at about a third of the weight.

Amp – Tried various from Fenders through to Mesa Boogie but I always end up back with my Marshall JCM 800 Lead Series... it rocks!

Strings – Good old Ernie Ball Slinkys. Chris, my tech is always on at me to use another heavier brand cos if you play a bit heavy they will snap but I just prefer a light versatile string, which is what they are.

Vocal Mic – Trusty Shure SM58.

Musical Influences?
Difficult one really, I listen to a vast amount of different kinds of music. I suppose being in a 3-piece historically, I do like a lot of other 3-piece bands whether it's Husker Du, Nirvana, the Jam or Jimi Hendrix Experience through to Placebo, Muse. Review-wise we sometimes get compared to the Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, maybe a bit of Soundgarden and people say Sarit (bass) has kind of a Kim (Sonic Youth) thing going on.

What do you like to do when you're not touring?
Usually writing, recording or working shows with the promotions company that we run. In free time – of which there's increasingly less – I sleep.

Best or worst gig memory?
Again, I've done an awful lot of gigs all over the world and specific good ones and bad ones are hard to remember, but if you pushed me, favourites I really enjoyed are the Astoria with 3 Colours Red, though in all fairness the Academy show in Manchester was really good. The Charlotte in Leicester was a brilliant gig; don't think you could have fitted another person in there. The Donots were really cool as well. Also, Shepherds Bush Empire with the Tubes was a cool gig but probably my favourite was De Boerderij in Holland again with the Tubes – sold out, brilliant gig. A couple of the Four Star Mary gigs were something really special and the AntiProduct tour had its moments. I've mixed emotions about the first time we went out to LA, as the first gig at The 56 was absolutely nerve-wracking and coming at the end of a massive UK tour I think I can speak for the whole band when I say we were absolutely physically and mentally exhausted. The Utrecht Music festival was a bit rough as well, the audience were primarily there for a lot of the French hip hop acts that were on the bill so our Brit Alt-rock on the whole didn't go down that well, but at least the sun was shining and the grass was cheap and we got very very drunk.

Name a few favourite films:
This is another difficult one, it really depends what mood I'm in. I like cheesy hammer horror films, Star Wars, the Godfather trilogy, other good Sci-Fi's like Alien (especially the argument about which Alien film is best), some of the Hong Kong action flicks are cool and I don't mind the occasional art film – everything from Conan through to the Seven Samurai.

Favourite books?
Did English Lit which, after all the cramming, put me off reading for a little while. It's a shame I just don't get that much time to read these days and there's so many great books from Catch 22 through to Lord Of The Rings, and even a little Zen poetry (Nine chains around the world to make a pathway to the Sun, etc.)

What's your star sign?
Capricorn (29th Dec – born right on the cusp)

What are your best/worst qualities?
Don't know how qualified I am to answer that, you should probably ask my band mates. I suppose things like I'm incredibly persistent and can be very focussed – don't know if that's a good or bad quality because sometimes I think people perceive me as arrogant or pigheaded. On the other side of the coin, artistically speaking, I can let things roll along and be quite experimental with my ideas in my own head. I kind of have an overall picture without actually having an overall picture. Next...

If you were an insect what do you think you'd be?
Depends what mood I'm in; some would say I'm a majestic dragonfly whereas others would possibly call me a dung beetle.

What animal sums you up the best and why?Probably a bear; sometimes comical, sometimes scary and always dangerous.

If you could take three things into the next world, what would you take?
Love, drugs and music (I'd have to sneak in my Gibson...)

What are your ambitions in life?
To please myself and those around me in the process.

Give us some words of wisdom:
Keep your pecker hard and your powder dry and the worm will turn.