Few bands are able to pull of a heavy rock groove without sounding like clones of those before them, and even fewer can match their intensity. When it does come together, that intensity has a propensity to tear the band apart. West Palm Beach’s Dharmata is a rare breed – bringing the groove, intensity, originality, and a wicked sense of humor to make a band that can rock and have fun with all the bullshit. Dharmata is a band to keep your eyes and ears on , and here’s why you should come running.
Casey Daniel, All Access Music Magazine (CD): Give me your best sales pitch describing the sound of Dharmata:
Jay Slim, Dharmata (JSD): Tastes like change.
CD: Do you write the heavy groove into the songs, or is a sum of the parts that bring it out ?
JSD : It all happens naturally – as written in the First Book of Funk by the Honorable Bootsy Motherfucking Collins, “groove is in the heart.”
CD: You guys have one of the best bio’s on myspace that I’ve seen. Who is responsible?
JSD: I fucking hate band bios. They all pretty much say the same boring ego-stroking bullshit, so I thought “fuck it” – I’ll write a band bio that’s actually interesting and entertaining to read. It’s basically a satire of the generic rock band bios. I wasn’t sure how people would respond to it, but so far, the feedback has been great.
CD: I love the rock names – ‘Ol Dirty Sanchez, Turbo, Diamond – any badge of honor stories that come with the title?
JSD : Like the bio lets on, we’re trying to have fun with this thing. We call Greg “Greg Diamond Phillips” because he may be from the same gene pool as Lou Diamond Phillips, but Greg’s past is a blurry one - are they brothers? Something more than brothers? We just don’t know. What we do know for certain is that Lou and Greg went to different high schools together. The other nicknames have stories behind them as well, but its more fun to leave those stories up to the imagination.
CD: Has your sense of humor helped you deal with the ever evolving music industry?
JSD : I think just being light-hearted in general and not taking ourselves too seriously helps us deal with the roller coaster ride of the music biz. It can get pretty rough out there. In my previous band, I would follow the radio charts every week and get pissed off we weren’t getting played enough. You start pointing fingers, placing blame; a lot of anger and negativity starting to brew on the bus. I stressed myself out worrying about all these things that I couldn’t change. Meanwhile, I was missing out on enjoying the experience of touring the country in a fucking rock band! So, these days, the guys and I just keep it light. There are some funny motherfuckers in this band. Laughing at ourselves just keeps our spirits up and lets us focus on what’s really important.
CD: Any surprises after getting out on tour with Skindred and in a bus?
JSD : We had a strange incident happen on the night of the first show of the tour. A female fan was literally hanging off the side of our bus as we pulled away from the venue .Our road manager had to peel her off the side of the bus, then she bumrushed the door. Turned out, all she wanted was a t-shirt but she didn’t have any money – I guess our t-shirts are fucking amazing.
CD: When can we expect a new record from Dharmata?
JSD : We’re in the studio right now. It might be a full-length album or we might make it an EP. We haven’t decided yet, but whatever it is, we’re aiming for a release sometime in August or September.
CD: Why should the fans come running for Dharmata?
Greg Diamond Phillips, Dharmata: Life’s too short to walk.
JSD : Also- Honesty. Love. Tenderness. Teddy Pendergrass. Unmatched personal hygiene standards. But mainly, we love doing what we do, and it comes through in our performances. We want everyone to be a part of that. People can decide for themselves whether or not they’re into what we’re doing, but the only way to do that is to come see a Dharmata show - So come running the fuck out to the next show.
You can find more on Dharmata at dharmatamusic.com or at myspace.com/dharmatamusic
words: Casey Daniel
July 2009 issue All Access Music Magazine
