DAVE PARASITE
Give us your background story as a musician and songwriter - how did it begin for you? What were the bands that inspired you the most to start playing and writing? For songwriting specifically, what gave you the sense that you wanted to create your own tunes? Who in your life were you getting feedback from in the early days, and who (if anyone) was encouraging you to go for it?
I've been writing songs since I was a little kid, it always seemed natural somehow. I was always put into my grade school plays because I could sing, though I didn't enjoy it much since I was awkward and shy, which I still am. I had to dress up in a poncho and a huge sombrero for one of those plays, because I was one of only a few kids in my grade who could roll an 'R', and I had to sing a song called "Arroz Con Leche". I'm pretty sure that play in some way has scarred me forever. However, I briefly took clarinet lessons a couple years later, and was lucky to even get a 'C'. I was easily the worst clarinetist in the class. That failure, and the fact that clarinet reeds taste unpleasant, kept me from playing music for a long time. I briefly considered switching to a violin, but I figured that a violin bow would taste more unpleasant than a clarinet reed. I finally tried playing an instrument again after my mother and brother both started playing guitars. They were terrible guitarists, really terrible. Perhaps their bad example gave me the impetus to try another instrument, but no one was really encouraging me, it was self completely inflicted.
I've been writing songs since I was a little kid, it always seemed natural somehow. I was always put into my grade school plays because I could sing, though I didn't enjoy it much since I was awkward and shy, which I still am. I had to dress up in a poncho and a huge sombrero for one of those plays, because I was one of only a few kids in my grade who could roll an 'R', and I had to sing a song called "Arroz Con Leche". I'm pretty sure that play in some way has scarred me forever. However, I briefly took clarinet lessons a couple years later, and was lucky to even get a 'C'. I was easily the worst clarinetist in the class. That failure, and the fact that clarinet reeds taste unpleasant, kept me from playing music for a long time. I briefly considered switching to a violin, but I figured that a violin bow would taste more unpleasant than a clarinet reed. I finally tried playing an instrument again after my mother and brother both started playing guitars. They were terrible guitarists, really terrible. Perhaps their bad example gave me the impetus to try another instrument, but no one was really encouraging me, it was self completely inflicted.
Your songs have always been very catchy and melodic - where these elements that you knew you wanted to focus on from the beginning? How did you develop your knowledge of song composition, and did you do any home recording as you learned? Have you any interest in exploring a songwriting project in which you don't use the Parasites name? Something perhaps outside the realm of pop punk?
Thank you! I'm not sure where my style came from, but it probably has a lot to do with me liking both Beatle-esque power pop vocal melodies and punk rock. I found a lot of power pop was too wimpy for me, and a lot of punk rock had vocal melodies that I thought could be catchier and more complex. The Ramones have to get a well deserved mention here since they pretty much started everything, but The Descendents really put those two genres together in a wonderful way that I've been trying to subtly rip off forever. I'm not going to try to fix something they started that still isn't broken. They're also good guys. My own songwriting was trial and error for a long time, mostly error. I think "Never Giving Up On You" was my first Parasites song that worked out right. I have lots and lots of old home recordings that will never see the light of day for good reason. I've also written many songs outside the pop punk mold, but not with any specific intent other than to further exorcise my inner demons.
Were the Parasites your first band? What were the circumstances that led to the Parasites' formation? What's the history behind your connections with the personnel in the early line-ups? What were your goals when the band started, and how do you feel today about your accomplishments with The Parasites? Looking back on your long list of releases, tours, shows, etc. - do you feel that you'll be satisfied with the legacy left behind? Do you have any non-musical goals in mind for "retirement"? You've mentioned to me that you have a fairly specific checklist of goals remaining for Parasites. Could you reveal those goals?
Parasites was my first band. I joined kind of accidentally. Ron ( later the subject of "Ronnie Is A Psycho") had a band called The Accelerators who had broken up recently, and he started a new band called Parasites. They played one show, and then the guitarist left. Ron had other shows booked already, so a mutual friend drafted me to join Parasites. I'd never even practiced with a band before that. I started out as the bass player, since Ron decided to switch to guitar when the original guitarist quit, so I played a right handed bass upside down for the first year. Later we realized that while I wasn't a very good guitarist, I was the better than Ron by a hair, so Ron and I switched instruments. The last Parasites show that an original band member played was Ron's final Parasites show before I moved to California to continue the band. One of my goals has always been to be bigger than the Beatles, and so far I've been able to cut down the amount of time remaining to achieve that goal to just under 4000 years. Honestly though, the only goal I've ever had, whether musical or non-musical, is to be happy. Happiness can be very elusive, but I still hope one day to find it. It is a little weird to be in the same band for so long. We do OK still, but we never hit the heights of some of our 90s contemporaries, and there's no chance of that happening now. When it stops being fun, I'll stop playing and figure out what else to do, though right now I have no idea what that would be. As far as our "legacy" goes, whatever it ends up being is not up to me.
Your songs are unmistakably pop punk, but you definitely have a unique songwriting voice that is idiosyncratic and distinct. When did you become confident enough as a songwriter to realize this? Was there a point where you began to shed your influences more and trust your own songwriting voice? How has your songwriting evolved throughout the years? Do you feel that you are still progressing in your abilities as a songwriter?
I don't think I ever set out to be Pop Punk, most of my songs turned landed in that genre because that style of music is what I still listen to and enjoy, and I put my own spin on it. If I feel that a song I'm working on isn't going well, I shelve it, and if I feel that it is going well, it gets finished. There are some songs we released that I wish we hadn't, though. At this point, I pretty much do what I do and let the chips fall where they may. It's not my place to judge my own songs. If people find something in them that they like and identify with, that's great, and if they don't no one's forcing them to listen. I'd like to think my songwriting is progressing, but again that's up to the listener, not me.
I don't think I ever set out to be Pop Punk, most of my songs turned landed in that genre because that style of music is what I still listen to and enjoy, and I put my own spin on it. If I feel that a song I'm working on isn't going well, I shelve it, and if I feel that it is going well, it gets finished. There are some songs we released that I wish we hadn't, though. At this point, I pretty much do what I do and let the chips fall where they may. It's not my place to judge my own songs. If people find something in them that they like and identify with, that's great, and if they don't no one's forcing them to listen. I'd like to think my songwriting is progressing, but again that's up to the listener, not me.
Your guitar compositions have become increasingly tight and dynamic over the years - that also goes for the overall sound of the Parasites. Was it/is it difficult to find players who can match your abilities and the demand for that tight sound? How did you develop your skills as a guitarist, and how did your techniques enhance your songwriting? Did you always have a left-handed guitar to play, or did you do the "Jimi Hendrix" thing in the beginning?
Thanks. I am always trying to get better, and am glad you think I have. I've played and recorded with a lot of great musicians over the years, and they definitely deserve equal credit for how Parasites records sound. Other than a friend showing me how to play power chords a long time ago, I've never taken a single lesson in either guitar or songwriting. Any development that has been achieved over the years is due purely to practicing and letting everything develop naturally, which I think also makes my songs sound more like me than if someone else taught me everything. Before I could afford real left handed guitars, I played right handed ones with the strings strung upside down.
Thanks. I am always trying to get better, and am glad you think I have. I've played and recorded with a lot of great musicians over the years, and they definitely deserve equal credit for how Parasites records sound. Other than a friend showing me how to play power chords a long time ago, I've never taken a single lesson in either guitar or songwriting. Any development that has been achieved over the years is due purely to practicing and letting everything develop naturally, which I think also makes my songs sound more like me than if someone else taught me everything. Before I could afford real left handed guitars, I played right handed ones with the strings strung upside down.
Reflecting on the years with Shredder Records, what are the memories that stand out the most? Were you aware at the time that you were part of a scene that would make perhaps the most lasting impact on pop punk music as a developing genre? Were there any songwriters or bands at that time that you were particularly close with? Did you feel a sense of competition with any bands or songwriters in particular?
We signed with Shredder shortly before I moved to California in the 90s. I had been there on vacation before that and saw a scene developing there that I wanted to be a part of, so I moved there and put myself into it, and it was a good decision on my part. There was nothing like that then in New Jersey where I grew up. Once I moved, I became friends, not competitors, with tons of bands, both fellow Berkeley locals, and hundreds of bands we met on tour in the mid 90s. One example that really sticks out was at one of our first California shows very soon after I moved there. My new California bandmates, who were picked out for me by Mel from Shredder Records, all knew lots of people at those early California shows, but I knew no one at the show except my bandmates. We played a show with Tilt in Berkeley, and I sat at our merch table all night by myself. Cinder Block from Tilt was at their merch table, which was next to ours, and we talked for along time. She didn't know I'd just moved there, and when I told her I did and didn't have many friends in Berkeley yet, she gave me a Tilt 7" and said that I have one more new local friend now. I've never forgotten that and I've tried to pay it forward whenever I can.
We signed with Shredder shortly before I moved to California in the 90s. I had been there on vacation before that and saw a scene developing there that I wanted to be a part of, so I moved there and put myself into it, and it was a good decision on my part. There was nothing like that then in New Jersey where I grew up. Once I moved, I became friends, not competitors, with tons of bands, both fellow Berkeley locals, and hundreds of bands we met on tour in the mid 90s. One example that really sticks out was at one of our first California shows very soon after I moved there. My new California bandmates, who were picked out for me by Mel from Shredder Records, all knew lots of people at those early California shows, but I knew no one at the show except my bandmates. We played a show with Tilt in Berkeley, and I sat at our merch table all night by myself. Cinder Block from Tilt was at their merch table, which was next to ours, and we talked for along time. She didn't know I'd just moved there, and when I told her I did and didn't have many friends in Berkeley yet, she gave me a Tilt 7" and said that I have one more new local friend now. I've never forgotten that and I've tried to pay it forward whenever I can.
How did Kid Tested Records begin, and what were your goals for starting that label? How has the experience been through the years - and what was your approach to dealing with the drastic decrease in cd sales in the late 2000's? Is the label still active, and what are your future goals regarding the label?
Kid Tested started in 2008, quite awhile after we signed with Go-Kart Records. I was asked by Greg Ross who owned Go-Kart to pick put the songs for the Pop Punk's Not Dead compilation. I had previously put together the Japan Punk Kills You compilation on Shredder Records and also picked out some of the songs for the Shreds series of compilation CDs. Pop Punk's Not Dead did really well, and so Greg had me start Kid Tested as a sub label of Go-Kart, similar to Ben Weasel's Panic Button. The first two bands I singed were Sloppy Seconds and The Manges. The late 2000s was definitely a killer to indie labels. Anything we released could be downloaded worldwide for free within days, and CD sales plummeted. Kid Tested is no longer active, but I am proud of the 20 albums we put out, and think it was a good label.
Kid Tested started in 2008, quite awhile after we signed with Go-Kart Records. I was asked by Greg Ross who owned Go-Kart to pick put the songs for the Pop Punk's Not Dead compilation. I had previously put together the Japan Punk Kills You compilation on Shredder Records and also picked out some of the songs for the Shreds series of compilation CDs. Pop Punk's Not Dead did really well, and so Greg had me start Kid Tested as a sub label of Go-Kart, similar to Ben Weasel's Panic Button. The first two bands I singed were Sloppy Seconds and The Manges. The late 2000s was definitely a killer to indie labels. Anything we released could be downloaded worldwide for free within days, and CD sales plummeted. Kid Tested is no longer active, but I am proud of the 20 albums we put out, and think it was a good label.
When I first started contacting you, you were involved with online auctions and selling collectibles as a source of income - is that still the case? What kind of schedule and work routine must you adopt in order to be successful in that type of thing? Could you describe your experience as an eBay seller? How did you get into it originally, and how long have you been doing it? Which categories of collectibles do you typically sell the most of, and how do you find this stuff?
I've been buying and selling on eBay for a long time now. It gives me the freedom to make my own schedule both band-wise and personally. Like a lot of other things, eBay's golden days are over now. It's become more and more competitive and oversaturated over time and is a shadow of what it's former self. I still do it, but it's a lot more work for a lot less money than it used to be. I started by hitting thrift shops in the middle of nowhere on our tours, and shipping home boxes of rare items. I had the post office hold all the boxes I sent back until we got home, then I brought the boxes home and started running auctions until our next tour, and started the process again once we left for tour again. I specialize in 50s and 60s Mid-Century collectibles of every kind, though they are harder to find these days since they're very trendy these days and way more sellers know which things sell.
I've been buying and selling on eBay for a long time now. It gives me the freedom to make my own schedule both band-wise and personally. Like a lot of other things, eBay's golden days are over now. It's become more and more competitive and oversaturated over time and is a shadow of what it's former self. I still do it, but it's a lot more work for a lot less money than it used to be. I started by hitting thrift shops in the middle of nowhere on our tours, and shipping home boxes of rare items. I had the post office hold all the boxes I sent back until we got home, then I brought the boxes home and started running auctions until our next tour, and started the process again once we left for tour again. I specialize in 50s and 60s Mid-Century collectibles of every kind, though they are harder to find these days since they're very trendy these days and way more sellers know which things sell.
We've discussed our mutual love and fascination of Japan - what are your impressions of their music scene, and do you feel that Parasites are loved more there than in the USA? Internationally do you feel that Parasites have more of a following than back at home?
Japan is wonderful. The best way I can describe it is that it's like you're in a Saturday morning cartoon all the time. The cities have lots of cool stuff everywhere, and the shows are fantastic. It's my favorite place to play for sure. We're definitely more popular there than we are here. I have no clue why, though. I should also mention Spain. Spain's the foreign country we've played the most shows in by far, and it's also fantastic. Both Japan and Spain have much more of an appreciation for music than we do here these days for some reason.
Japan is wonderful. The best way I can describe it is that it's like you're in a Saturday morning cartoon all the time. The cities have lots of cool stuff everywhere, and the shows are fantastic. It's my favorite place to play for sure. We're definitely more popular there than we are here. I have no clue why, though. I should also mention Spain. Spain's the foreign country we've played the most shows in by far, and it's also fantastic. Both Japan and Spain have much more of an appreciation for music than we do here these days for some reason.
Recently you'd shared some pretty scary/serious health issues with our community, partially in hopes of getting some financial support. What were those specific issues, and what is your condition at the moment? How have these experiences impacted your creative life? Do you remain motivated to create music at this point?
I still do and will have those medical issues, as they are chronic ones. It all came out of nowhere all at once. I was feeling terrible for awhile, but I had no idea what was wrong. It turned out many things were wrong. I take a lot of meds now and I have to watch myself a lot to keep everything in check. Creatively, I don't think the medical stuff has impacted me. I still do what I do, albeit more carefully now,and make sure to bring up any issues I think are going on with doctors, and not do searches on WebMD and scare the crap out of myself. It's just about two years since I got out of the hospital, and we've done three tours and had a bunch more releases in that time, including a brand new digital single that was released today, April 1st 2019. We have many more projects in the works for this year, and if everything goes according to plan, we'll hit 100 total physical releases soon which is crazy. I'm always open to creating music, but as I've always done, I wait to be inspired before writing anything instead of writing a song every week or so, regardless of whether I'm feeling it or not.
What is the recording situation, and how viable is it for you to continue making well-produced, high quality albums in today's musical climate? Reflecting on your career, what are your proudest moments and what are your biggest regrets?
We're actually recording four songs in a couple weeks, right on the heels of the three we recently recorded. As far as recordings go these days, we do choose which projects to do and which ones not to do, but we kind of always operated that way. I'm glad we keep getting asked by labels to do projects for them though. There's actually been quite a few opportunities for us lately. As far as proudest moments go, I think having Milo come to two of our shows and sing a couple Descendents songs with us has to be the best. I don't expect that to be surpassed anytime soon. If anyone had told me when I first started that I'd be a musician for this long, release this many records, and play this many shows, I would have thought they were crazy, but here we are. As far as regrets go, there's no point in thinking about them. Everyone makes both good and bad decisions in life, and sometimes even bad ones can lead to something good eventually, so I try whenever I can to seize the day.
Final question: Who are your all-time favorite songwriters If you were asked to choose a favorite heavy metal album, could you? Something tells me you have shredding potential that is yet untapped...
My favorite songwriters... Well, generally, I'd have to say anyone who writes honestly from their heart. Specifically, John Lennon, Joey Ramone, The Descendents, Pete Shelley and Paul Weller would all have to be on my list though. I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite heavy metal album, as I've rarely owned any in my entire life. My apologies in advance if this bursts your bubble somewhat, but if I do have any untapped shredding potential, I'd say it's much more unwanted than untapped, so I'm gonna have to pass the gauntlet of shredding back to you where it belongs.
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