The music of Deaf Club is violent, profane, poignant, and hilarious all at once, often surging to the top of people’s favorite active Justin Pearson projects. The band has clear roots in the already angular, far-from-straightforward sound of San Diego hardcore, but they also launch the genre deeper into outer space than most of their contemporaries.
So really, we doubt it’s much of a revelation that We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness pummels listeners with psychedelic but grinding guitars, explosive drums, and an absurdist wit that straddles the line between self-depreciating and self-destruction. But after listening to the whole thing a dozen times or so, which is due next month via Three One G, we kept finding new things to analyze and return to.
As many have already noted, lead single “Nihilism for Dummies” has one hell of a laser-lead, but it also has a sort of euphoric quality underneath that’s hard to pin down. But you know what? We don’t have to, and not just because it’s Friday and we’ve had one hell of a week – it’s because we are genuinely honored to present this deep dive with the chaotic lords themselves. Only they could truly know the innards of their record’s sonic terms. An interview might not be a permanent state of happiness, but it should last most of you a solid five to ten minutes. Enjoy!
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FB: What was the feeling going into the studio to record We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness? Other than recording the best record you could make, were there any specific goals while recording it?
Brian: It was a different beast altogether. During our first album there was a major pandemic going on. We weren’t always together in the same room. We couldn’t shoot ideas off of each other as easily. It was also mostly us recording ourselves. Whereas with this we slept at Pale Moon Ranch together for almost a week. We hung out and cooked together and we had a more cohesive sound already formed. The goal was to showcase the tightness of the band. The new direction. The four piece version of it. To simplify and make actual songs.
Scott: The feeling for me was and usually is, high pressure. We decided to record to a metronome for every song and we had to map those clicks as we were recording. Having never recorded to a click really with this band, it was difficult, but ended up being work I’m very proud of. We just wanted to be precise and brutal and I think we did it.
JP: Recording is my favorite part of being in a band. I’m grateful for the ability to create art with people who I love and who are bizarrely talented. However, for me, there is a ton of frustration through the entire process, with people’s expectations and assumptions, including my own. Each of our brains are wired a certain way, and I can create a natural nuance for myself, or I can be challenged to do something I wouldn’t normally do. Through the process I tend to love how things turn out, and I enjoy hearing mixes and then hearing the final mastered tracks. Then it all seeps in and I think it’s garbage. This goes for everything I do. With the album, I think it has three good songs. If we make another album we can do so much better.
FB: How would you describe the sound of the record now that you’re on the other side of it?
Brian: For me it feels more dynamic. The chaos is controlled better, presented better. I can sit with it and not regret ideas I should’ve could’ve would’ve – or shouldn’t couldn’t wouldn’t do like on some prior songs.
Scott: Bizarre and brutal.
JP: I prefer to not describe it.
FB: Did you guys try to stay consistent with gear between songs? Were there any big switch-ups in gear / sound compared to the last record?
Brian: I think consistency was key. I used maybe two guitars. I have my set pedal board that I wrote most of the riffs live. I worked them out with these sounds in mind. The most surprising perhaps is the added percussion or noise makers here and there throughout the album. But I think the consistency of sound shows. Again, the last album, due to a pandemic was recorded in a room with no amps mic’s really. So this has a completely different energy.
Scott: This was actually the first I used my own drum set on a full Deaf Club record. Before this session I used the house drums and just switched out to use my snare and cymbals. So this time it was my own drum set but I had to use a house snare drum. I had an ego death about it and everything sounds great.
FB: When it comes to equipment like amps, guitars, drum sets, etc. are these the same rigs you use for live shows?
Brian: Yes. For me I’ve always loved using my Carvin Legacy or Orange Amps – OR100 and Fender Jazzmaster and Fender (Kurt Cobain) Jaguar. Assorted pedals but usually a set board of 21 on my live rig.
Scott: I use the same drums and cymbals as much as I can if I’m on the west coast.
FB: The album kicks off with the single “Nihilism for Dummies,” which features an uncanny laser / space gun sound throughout that doesn’t sound like typical whammy abuse. Is that done with keys? Guitar? An actual laser?
Brian: It’s actually a guitar. I have a couple of distortions stacked into each other. One in particular- Retro Mechanical Labs Electron Fuzz has a setting with a gate on it. So when I slam the strings it cuts the sound off. Almost like a kill switch. It also allows me to tune to the note of the feedback according to the song’s key. I used this trick also on “For A Good Time, Call Someone Else”. It’s a bit laser beam, a bit Morse code. It was based on the sound of “Lowrider” by War. Mimicking the cowbell a bit.
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FB: Throughout the album, we can’t be sure, but it also sounds like there’s a specific ring-modulation pedal employed a few times on the guitar. Are we anywhere near correct?
Brian – Correct yes. I use two. A DOD Gonkulator for a set Ring Mod sound and Way Huge Ring Worm for the random arpeggiated dial up modem glitchy sounds.
FB: If there was a signature Deaf Club effects pedal, what would it be like?
Brian – There actually is one, lol. It’s called the Bad Tones Forever pedal created by Dirty Haggard Audio up in Portland. I worked with him to create a gated fuzz/drone/tremolo pedal. We made I think about 45 and sold them on tour. I’d love to make another one. A ring modulator with envelope follower + delay. Next goal.
FB: Is it difficult to keep the songs under three minutes when every member of the band is capable of making so much noise? How do you balance the band’s influx of ideas?
Brian: It’s actually more difficult to keep it over three minutes than under. We tend to write parts and loop them until they feel right. But until the vocals come in we don’t know how many bars we should play because it might get boring to us during the writing process. Also we play fast music so we usually hit the 2 minute mark and it seems like we can’t expand it further, usually. But with this album we were conscious of our speed, our measures, the amount of breath/time we wanted for vocals. So there are songs that are under 2 minutes and a few around 4. Which feels like we are a real band as opposed to riff, blast, scream and we’re out.
Scott: Honestly it’s harder to get up to 3 minutes for us. We have a lot of ideas, but we like them so condensed for whatever reason. I guess it’s just how our brains work.
JP: I think most of our brains are wired with jacked up attention spans. Plus, look at the state of humanity and its dwindling ability to stay focused. There will be parts that will be so brief, and I have to check everyone, myself included, and say that the riff that happens for ten or fifteen seconds is not long enough, and try to avoid the density of what we typically achieve.
FB: Speaking of noise, balance, etc., what was the noisiest, most difficult to record part / song for the record? And how do you guys deal with massive levels of feedback?
Brian: I think maybe the drum solo to “Frequency illusion”. Making sure we vibed it out correctly. Being able to replicate it all live. Getting down on the floor and manipulating the pedals to complement what Scott was doing. I mean I think in general this record also was less about everyone going off at once and became more like let’s assist that part of the song while it goes off.
Scott: The drum solo section in “Frequency Illusion” was written in the studio and took me forever to figure it out, which is funny because it’s relatively simple, I just had never done it before.
FB: There are some really cool drum / percussion dubs on songs like “Vinegar, Soap, and Holy Water” and “Closed Mind Closed Fist.” Were those always part of the vision for the songs or were they things that just came together in the studio?
Brian: I think Scott absolutely wanted percussion. I think I absolutely wanted percussion. I think some songs lend themselves to that. I’m from Argentina. I listen to a lot of Rock En Español, cumbia, and salsa. Those songs have Latin grooves in them. Honestly Justin and Scott throw down some great cumbia or bossanova in the car whenever we go on tour as well. So it just seeped in naturally. I also used my Astral Whip on “Vinegar” which was a highlight for me.
Scott: Honestly, we just wanted to emphasize the latin elements that me and Brian do all the time. Both of us jam latin rhythms just by ourselves and we wanted to get that vibe on record.
JP: I’m on board for anything that is not typical hardcore.
FB: In terms of energy, it seems like the record seems to build upwards the entire time before burning it all down on “End of an Ear,” which almost teases an eerily melodic side of the band. Is Deaf Club pretty hand-on with the sequencing of records?
Brian: Completely. Nihilism was based on that laser sound which also reflected a rave horn. So it was like, welcome to the party. Everyone wanted to loop that sound even longer. lol. Then End Of An Ear was a song that had been in the mix for a good chunk of time as a band. Scott wanted to create this looping drum fill – personally it reminded me of “Jesus Christ Pose” by Soundgarden a bit. But the song felt long and different than anything we did. I think Justin in particular did not like our old versions of that song – especially the guitar. One day at practice we were stuck on it and I just scraped all of my old guitar parts and out came the song as it is now. It’s also the most melodic vocal wise. It just felt like oh we could do this in the future even more. We aren’t confined to Powerviolence, grind, d-beats. Etc.
Scott: We are very hands on with every aspect of the band though some members more than others.
JP: I think the sequencing of an album is important. For me, I want the listener to put it on and it be a journey, or fluid, from start to end. “Nihilism For Dummies” is the best song on the album, and I would like to say that “End of an Ear” is the second, but it has a couple flaws, mostly on my end. Nonetheless, both of those songs are the most un-Deaf Club sounding songs, which I appreciate in itself.
FB: We wish we could say that things have been any less fucked than when you went into the studio to record your last album, but alas, we are further down the spiral, and sometimes it can make music feel less meaningful. How do you stay grounded and remember what you’re fighting for when you’re writing and performing music?
Brian: Ultimately it’s just good people in the crowd. Justin at times thanks the crowd for how special they are. For how our particular DNA as people and as a subculture of music engages in empathy and support. We aren’t straight up hardcore beatdown riffs. We aren’t tough guy jocks. We don’t want people getting hurt. We don’t want kids afraid to participate. We were all outcasts growing up. We are the weirdos. The discard pile. But usually the scraps taste better.
Scott: Man everything’s been brutal in the world and in my life, so I’m just happy to be here. Glad I get cool friends to help out and jam with.
JP: It may sound lame to say, but music, or art in general is the most effective form of communication. Even communication with yourself. Creating the album was a means to say stuff to my own brain. I’m fucking exhausted in this world. It’s mean, and the billionaire class isn’t making it any easier for humanity to survive. As far as performing live, there is a lot of depth to it, for myself. This may sound stupid, but I tend to transcend, and not be in a rational state, which is a means for me to reset or at least reflect on my position in this world.
Don’t forget to pre-order We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness here.
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