Interview

How did you each get your start in music (and just name for me who's in the band and what instruments, etc they play)
Ben White: I was in the church choir when I was younger. I learned to play guitar by playing churchy music and was in a college chorus for a couple of semesters. I studied music theory, and such, in early college years. I was in a band in Dallas for a short time I began to appreciate good music, moved to Austin and met the boys. I mostly play guitar, but on "Write Me In Metal…" I play guitar, drums, sing lead on a couple, backs on others, and play an assortment of other do-daddies.

Justin McLeod: At the tender age of 11 I learned how to play the guitar & bass by listening to "Pet Sounds" & "Revolver". After years of playing in various bands, I started playing guitar & singing in Hundred Year Storm. Shortly after recording an EP, I left to commit full time to Bayta Darell. I mostly play bass & sing, but on "Write Me In Metal…" I also play acoustic guitar, some electric guitar & drums.

Joffrey Dorman: Started in high school choir. Learned to play guitar for church music, following in the footsteps of my mother and father before me. Stopped altogether after deciding that music in church was mostly unfulfilling for a absoludicrously snobbological bastard of my particular ilk and quality. After a year of finding my tastes, and myself I jumped back into music at the genesis of Bayta Darell. I now play guitars almost exclusively and sing main vocals. I prefer to hone my single instrument rather than play various instruments all very shittily.

Justin Maurer: I took piano lessons for 13 years (5-18) and eventually got involved with the band setting through my church (this is also where I met the Bayta Darell crew). I gradually picked up different instruments and by the time Bayta Darell was formed, I was doing my part playing drums, keys, vocals and the occasional bass or guitar. On the recording I mostly played drums and keys and vocals at times… the right times.

Current Bayta Darell live line up:
Joffrey Dorman, Justin McLeod, Ben White, Mike Delaney (Drums), and, sometimes, the very distant Justin Maurer.

How did bayta darell form?
We found, among friends, the love and longing to create, listen and experience beautiful music. We made the proper arrangements, signed some papers and began our consummation. The band has, and is continually changing form by introducing new bed buddies and losing certain others. The core of Bayta Darell is still tight, even though Justin Maurer is under scholastic discipline in Tennessee.

Tell us the songwriting and recording process for write me in metal/make me forever.
Most of the songs on Write Me In Metal… were ideas, brought to practice by an individual, which the band, as a whole, would fill out by playing through the idea for varying measures/units of time. Most of these songs were played through while watching movies projected on the wall, with the sound muted. This is our favorite mode of writing.
Recording was the collaboration between our producer, David Dreesen, and the band. We brought our shit to David and he made it smell.

Give us a little idea about the process behind writing lyrics. Why do you write the way you do?
We all get together and write a slew of insignificant words and pile them into a hat. Taking turns, we draw words until we have a phrase and then write them down. The phrases that make us cry are then put in another hat, a better hat, and we again take turns drawing phrases. After enough are drawn, the phrases get sent into the final sorting process, "The Great Wording," and that's how, when Bayta Darell really loves each other, they can make songs. Also, we're drunk during this entire process.

Actually, the songs are songs for a long time before they have real words. The singer sings words, but those words are not words. After enough time, certain sounds and phrases stick. Usually before the actual words are written, a story is invented for the song. The sounds and phrases are fit into the story as best as possible. More words that are words fill in the gaps.

Is rock and roll dying?
Most music that is defined as "Rock and Roll" sounds dated. It has lost its impact by becoming cliché. It has left a definite mark on many other forms of music that are experimenting with new sounds and feelings. Rock and Roll is not dead, but now falls under a sub-genre of contemporary music where nothing too exciting is happening. The Spirit of Rock Roll, or Son of Ghost Rock and Roll, is alive and well, existing throughout all forms of indie and pop music, regardless of genre.

Most music sucks ass. There's so much music being made everywhere, the law of averages says that most of it has to suck ass. It also says that there is probably a greater amount of total good music being made now than in the long, long ago. It's all subjective, clearly, but we say that there is more good music to "find" than ever before. If one looks a little bit harder than TRL or the radio, they can find a huge amount of music that fits their taste.

So, no, it is not dying. In the immortal words of Wesley Willis, God rest his tormented soul, "Rock and Roll will never die…Wheaties-the breakfast of champions."

Who are some musicians/artists who inspire you?
Joffrey: Brian Wilson, Sigur Ros, The Prayer Chain, Starflyer 59,

Justin: The Beatles, The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson), Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Pink Floyd, the Who, Starflyer 59, The Prayer Chain, CSN&Y, A Five And Dime Ship, my mom.

Ben: Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Sigur Ros, Mum, Mogwai, Mono, A Five and Dime Ship.

Justin Maurer (abacus): Ester Drang, Mandarin, Sigur Ros, Mogwai, M83, Sufjan Stevens, The Beach Boys, Damien Jurado, Queen, Tom Waits, Richard Swift

What is the secret of communicating the deep things rooted within your soul through music?
We feel certain passions and we inherently create music around such passions. Anyone who listens to our music will take away from it what their person and situation allow. Any one person could attain one depth while another finds a completely different meaning. Communicating happens when we express our passions. We do not actively strive to communicate to the listener through the music or lyrics. What we would rather do is create a world of our own choosing, one where the stuff of dreams come to life and the Whole Fantastic Universe and all of its parts are the way we believe them to be, or the romancing of everything we know and see. From this place, the listener can espy a new place and experience it. Our goal is for the listener to embark on a journey through the space of our sounds because we have been on journeys of our own, without which we would not be who we are, individually and as a band. We think that people should have varying interpretations of the music according to their personal journeys.

Bayta Darell has no "secrets."


What is the hardest part of being in an independent band? What's the best part?
1. We have to do everything our-own-damn-selves.
2. Not having anyone tell us what to do.

Any advice for young bands?
We still consider ourselves a young band, but I would say to know what you love, know what you are good at and then use that to create what you love. If you want to be successful quickly, don't follow in our footsteps.

How has you band been received in the live setting?
We try to approach each set-list with care. Each one is different. Each show is special. The hardest part has been in finding our audience. We know they're out there…

What is in the future for bayta darell?
Albums, hopefully tours. We are in the process of writing for our next album with an even more dramatic mixture of organic, post singer-songwriter style, and our "punk as fuck" sci-fi rock.