Interview: Dante

Band: Dante

Genre: Rock

Year formed: 2006

Location: Bogota, Colombia

Label: Unsigned

Members: Kami R. - vocals
Alexx - guitar
Tank!- guitar
Gonzo B.- Bass
drums- The Jester

Website: http://www.danterockband.com

Interview with: Everyone

Interview though Email

What are some of the bands that influence your music?

     Gonzo (bass player):  "Our influences are mostly based on rock n roll. Each member has different favorite bands, but to name a few, we like guns n roses, motley crue, old aerosmith, HIM, Inxs, Rammstein,queen, and metallica. There are some non rock n roll influences, like ennio morricone, for example."

If some one picks up "The Rorschach Manifesto" what should the expect to hear?

     Kami (lead singer): "I think we where attempting to make an album that was a cool rock n roll album with some catchy riffs & choruses but beside that that if you wanted to find something deeper you could find it in the lyrics, artwork or videos. But sonicwise I think its a hard rock album with some punkish rawer edges and sometimes a few bluesy smoky surprises. A bit like a roller coaster." 

What is the music scene like in Colombia?

     Alexx (rhythm guitar): "The scene down here is very diverse. There's  a lot of metal & punk. But there's also your tropical, as you know Shakira is from here. So there's tons of folkloric things.  There's fusion, a lot of it too. It also depends on the region in our case we live in Bogota which is a cold weathered capital and that influences the sound. Maybe that's why there's so many metal bands in the underground."

     Jester(new member, official drummer): "Well,  rock isn't one of the most "popular" music genres here when it comes to mainstream so its large but underground. So sometimes it's hard for the public to notice you and the radio stations and media to pay attention to national rock bands. But despite that fact, the scene is in a "growing up" stage, since there are more and more people getting interested in rock, more people wanting to play instruments and make bands, and little by little there are spaces that are being opened to let  bands play. So, though it's been taken a while to reach the mainstream, it's getting really stronger and really good products are getting out of it, and people are starting to realize this and to pay a lot more attention to rock here in Colombia, pay a lot of attention to "National rock"."

 What is the message the band what to give there listeners?

     Tank (lead guitar): "Be yourselves, don't let anyone tell you who to be or what to do and explore your creativity, and...welcome to the gang!"

How did you come up with your name?

     Kami: "We wanted a strong name that was easy to say and could work both in a superficial & profound way. Like it could be said easily but like with everything that comes with this band if you dug deeper you'd find other things. In this case being fans of Dante Alighieri the infamous writer who wrote of his journey through his vision of Hell, purgatory & paradise it just worked perfectly for us. Because we used this metaphor to write about personal Hells, Paradises , purgatories...it opens up many possibilities when it comes to rock n roll."
 

What are the bands goals?

     Alexx: "We're just trying to make cool rock n roll & good Art as long as we can. Its been a tough ride but we've gotten the chance to meet many amazing people who have helped and believed in us. Hopefully people will keep liking what we do & support us."

Why did you start this band?
     Kami: "One day, me and Alexx where sitting somewhere just talking about the future prospects. We must've been around 15 or something. We just contemplated a future of working in an office 7 to 5 pm wearing a tie & it just sounded horrific.  Creating art & making cool rock n roll music felt a bit of a better way to go. There weren't many bands out there currently that we liked anyways.  As we progressed we found others that felt the same way...."

     Gonzo: "We decided to form the band at the time when we realized that we could make music that in our opinion was cooler and more interesting than what was playing in the radio & Mtv or whatever. We wanted to make the band sound as cool as some of the classic bands that we liked whichw asn't something happening much when we started the band."