Interviews

Steve Doerksen and Phil Janzen interviewed by Clare of Sacred Embrace (August 2006)

If you're unaware of Dream Quest... get acquainted with these weirdos! The Winnipeg trio play a high-energy blend of Power / Prog / Epic craziness without leaching onto one specific influence or genre. Steve (drums) and Phil (bass, vocals) sat down to answer some of my questions via e-mail, so read on and enjoy this over-the-top interview! Don't forget to pick up their newest album, "Centralia." Also check out Caustic Truths Magazine, where Dream Quest is featured in the Nov 2006 Local Canada column.

Rock! Thanks to Steve and Phil for their time.

CB: Can you introduce yourself the band a bit?

STEVE: Dream Quest formed when Steve D., Mark D. and Phil J ejected out of fighter jets during a race around the world. We had to eject because the jets were going too slow, and we found we could go faster by playing our instruments, which we had brought with us. We then created Adventure Metal and rode it to a victorious finish in Vatican City. The Pope is a big fan. Mark is a Ninja Sociologist-Criminologist, Phil has a phonographic memory and Steve likes kitties and puppies.

CB: Dream Quest started out a few years ago under “several different names,” even playing gigs and recording demos. How has the band evolved since that time? What did you play back then? Why the name changes?

STEVE: Some of those original songs made it onto The Release, others had sections cannibalized and inserted into new songs. We’ve tried to make each song different than the ones that came before, so there is a lot of diversity, and we’re always trying to stretch our abilities. We had to change our name because the old names sucked.

PHIL: The band evolved over the years in several different ways. First, there’s the obvious being able to breathe underwater, which it could never do before But more subtle changes happened as well. I think it had mostly to do with us all growing more confident in our instruments, allowing us to try new things, and also just getting more and more comfortable with each other and learning to play together.

CB: Your home province, Manitoba, being one of the Prairie-Provinces, is distinctively flat—the total opposite of your music. Do you think the consistency of the landscape has shaped the sound? That’s to say, perhaps inspired Dream Quest to create bouding, epic, Adventure Metal?

STEVE: We didn’t grow up on the farm, so no. We did a lot of travelling growing up, saw the oceans and deserts and mountains. I’ve always wanted to be The Flash, the fastest man alive. So maybe that inspired my end of Adventure Metal….

PHIL: I think it had a big influence on our style. In order to get out and see the world, we had to play a style that wasn’t necessarily ‘the norm.’ I mean, if we just played folksy flatlander stuff, we’d be stuck here forever!! So we forged a new metal and it’s taking us places.

CB: Dream Quest is self-described as “Adventure Metal.” Care to explain what it means?

STEVE: Fast like speed metal, melodic like classic and power metal, stays away from ‘dark’ themes and fantasy, focusing on good times and good stories. Awesome singing. Crazy guitar solos. Pump-up rhythm section.

PHIL: Adventure Metal is the style of music that all the superheroes get together and play after saving the world. Wolverine got kicked off lead guitar cause he misunderstood the term ‘shred,’ but he plays a mean glockenspiel.

CB: For anybody who hasn’t heard your music (they’re missing out), can you describe the sound a bit?

STEVE: It’s the most exciting music humanly possible. Unpredictable like prog, but fun like classic metal, and fast fast fast drums and guitars.

PHIL: It’s fast, heavy, and powerful, like some other metal out there. But it’s not angry or depressing or whiny. It’s also way crazier then just about anything else out there.

CB: Who are musical influences to you and Dream Quest?

STEVE: For me, it’s old bands like Maiden, Priest, Manowar…

PHIL: Start with four cups of Maiden riffs, add one cup of Dragonforce solos, three tablespoons of Manowar vocals, a dash of Sonata harmonies, a teaspoon of Niel Peart, and a pinch of imagination. Mix well. That’s one spicy meatball. Garnish with love.

CB: What’s the band’s writing process? Is there somebody who comes up with the main riffs, song structures, etc?

STEVE: Mark does it all, then Phil and I change stuff around and make it better. Then we dip it in chocolate.

CB: Can you discuss your lyrical themes? Are they based upon real life events / situations?

STEVE: Depends. Some are more self-reflective, the new album is all story-based.

PHIL: They all come out of our collective personality. We’re extremely easy-going, nice happy people. Shiny Happy People, actually. I think REM wrote a song about us.

CB: Do you consider music and lyrics to be of equal importance? Your lyrics definitely seem relevant to the whole Adventure Metal package.

STEVE: Personally, I find the music to be of utmost importance. I’ll overlook bad lyrics by other bands if their music rules, but I can’t like a song just based on lyrics. For us, the important thing about lyrics is not being cheesy and cliched. No dragons or wizards or flying high in the sky like an eagle.

PHIL: Music is what catches people, but there are a lot of bad lyrics out there. Not just cheesy ones, either. Way too many bands sing about daddy didn’t hug me, or kids teased me, or wah, wah, wah. Our message is: Life is fun and awesome!

CB: Is there a message to the music and lyrics?

STEVE: There is for us. You have to figure it out though.

CB: What are key elements in creating what you consider to be good / successful musisc?

STEVE: Skill, forged in the oven of Energy and Passion. Doing the right thing, no matter the cost. That, and a pair of testicles.

PHIL: Catchiness and Awesomeness. It has to be good, but it can’t be boring. We leave that to other bands.

CB: Most other Manitoba Metal is Death, Grind, etc—the more extreme side of Metal. As a Prog / Power / Etc (for lack of a better expression) band, how do you feel you fit in? Do you stand out? Are you happy to be the exception?

STEVE:Yeah, I feel like we stand out. I wish there were other bands more similar to what we do, because I don’t enjoy angry metal that’s all just riffing.

PHIL: We’re totally the exception and that fits us like a Speedo! People should be more happy! And intelligible. DeathGrindKillCore all sounds the same after awhile.

CB: What do you think of Canada and Metal? Is there something distinguishing about the sound / culture?

STEVE:It’s tough to say, ‘cause Canada’s such a big place. In Quebec, for example, we’ve played with some good bands that are more European-influenced like we are. Everywhere else we’ve been it seems like guitar players are content to push out thrash riffs and yell out incoherent vocals.

PHIL: Well, for most of Canada, metal consists of tuning your seven string guitar down at least an extra octave and then chugging out a dropdrop A chord while someone screams and spits into the microphone. Laaaaaaame.

CB: On a similar note, what’s the Metal scene in Manitoba / Winnipeg like?

PHIL: On a similar answer, laaaaaaaaaaaaame

CB: What are stereotypes about Metal and Metal-Heads that piss you off?

PHIL: That metalheads are all angry! When I hear that, I just get so pissed off I want to kill someone!!!! …oh wait. Whatever, life’s too short to get pissed off.

CB: I have to ask… Is there a story behind your red, elfish hats that appear in so many pictures?

STEVE: We like The Life Aquatic. We’re kind of like captain Zissou in many ways, always travelling the globe, searching the unknown, throwing caution to the wind, fighting off pirates.
PHIL: We call them ‘tour’ques.

CB: You’ve just released your second album, “Centralia.” Can you tell us about it? What can fans expect? How does it differ from “The Release”?

STEVE: Don’t let the fact that it’s only 5 tracks fool you. If every album I’ve bought had 5 tracks as good as these ones, I’d be a happy guy. There are no weak or medium weak songs on this album, and it’s still as long as classic albums from Van Halen, KISS, and the like. And KISS had a lot of filler.

PHIL: The new album is everything you dreamed an album could be …. And more! It’s a five song concept album that changes depending on the order you play the songs. So shuffle/random gives you 120 different albums without buying them! Come to think of it, we should charge a lot more….

CB: What’s fan / media response been like for “Centralia?"

STEVE: It’s still early, but fan response has been great, and so far the reviews have been even better than The Release, which had great reviews to begin with.

PHIL: They love it!! The anticipation was so much that I was a bit worried that it might not live up to the hype! But so far, there have been nothing but raving reviews!

CB: What’s the meaning behind the name “Centralia?" How is it relevant to the music / message / lyrics?

STEVE: It’s metaphoric. And only for those who care enough to do the research.
CB: Both your albums have been self-released. Are you currently looking for a label? Have you had any label support for distribution or anything?

STEVE: We are always looking for ways to make more albums and play for more people. We’d eventually like to get overseas and into the states, and will take any help we can get to do that.

PHIL:…do you want to send us overseas?

CB: Dream Quest has an obvious sense of humor, which we can see in your band pictures and web updates, but it also comes through in the music through some quirky elements. Do you think humor is a part of the band’s style and character? Why?

STEVE: We go over the top with crazy fun and joking around cause no one else will. Why does metal have to be about posturing and being barbarian tough all the time? Dragonforce was so fun to play with because they have the same outlook we do, have fun all the time on stage, go crazy, even if you mess up a couple parts. Fans pay to see energy on stage, not perfect reproductions.

PHIL: Yeah, have you ever seen Dream Theater live? They’re boring. I mean, they’re totally on all the time and it’s cool that they’re robots, but they just stand there!

CB: What’s your opinion on the presence of the Internet, downloading, blogs, etc.?

STEVE: As in personal blogs? They seem pretty lame to me. But to each their own. Downloading leads to sales, whether it’s future admission tickets, or shirts and merch, or albums. I discovered many bands by checking them out first through the old, free Napster.

PHIL: I like blogging. It’s an outlet that’s not a conversation so you don’t have to worry about whether it’s interesting for the other person and you can talk forever about whatever the crap you want!

CB: What can an audience expect from a Dream Quest live performance?

STEVE: Expect Mark to run around a lot, and do jump kicks, and bleed on his guitar. Expect Phil to go for all the high notes every time, and never wuss out. Expect a giant beard. Expect Steve to be having fun tossing his drumsticks around like ninja stars in the sky. And expect everything to be played a little faster than on the albums – speed till you bleed.

CB: What do you want fans / listeners to get out of your music and live shows?

STEVE: A kick, possibly to the face.

PHIL: A heck of a good time!

CB: What are some of the band’s long term goals? Where do you see the band, either musically or in terms of your career, in a few years?

STEVE: Long term is to keep kicking butt and releasing albums. We want a van that has heat, and a tour that doesn’t include blizzards or pounding rain. We are going to back up our claim to being the most exciting band in Canada, and eventually the world.

PHIL: To rock your face so hard that you smile forever!

CB: Do you have any sort of personal life philosophy or general outlook you’d like to share?

STEVE: There’s gotta be more to life than what we can see right now. The world is too complex to have happened by chance, let alone the whole universe. I’m still trying to figure out what that means…

PHIL: Have a good time, all the time.

CB: Do you have any words for your fans, supporters and new listeners?

STEVE: Thanks for the kind words and encouragement – the next album will be even better. And tell your friends about us.

PHIL: You should like us, we like you!

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