You know it’s funny when something incredible is about to happen,
there’s a certain buzz in the air, an exhilarating but tense feeling is
about to overcome your body. That feeling from 1986 when Queen
were at their peak and when Van Halen was shredding so hard it
made the human soul cry. Take a moment for yourself because it’s
all about to happen again…welcome to a galaxy far far away where
“Degrees of Separation” belong. This is an intense breed of the
human vocal melee, exuberant guitar engineering, blatant
downbeat drumming, thunderous bass chops and enough charisma
from the fire within this mob of enigma to turn any planet inside out.
I’m sure wherever Freddie Mercury is, he is giggling with glee as this
is an outfit which could easily match Queen. Strap yourself in and be
ready. This band is going to have you shaking your body, grooving on
the dance floor and jumping with excitement. If that doesn’t tickle
your fancy, take critically acclaimed and world renowned engineer
Mark Opitz (INXS, AC/DC, KISS) at his word: “Good Sound…very impressed”
You’re in a galaxy far far away now…
Welcome to Degrees of Separation.
For bookings and further information, please contact 0419 597 819,
email degrees_of_separation@yahoo.com.au
or visit us at: www.degreesofseparation.com.au
DEGREES OF SEPARATION's SUGGESTION BOX
DRAGGING THE LAKES - ROUND 2
Hey guys! Just been informed that the 2nd round of "Dragging The Lakes" for us has been scheduled for 28 January 2009 at the Espy Basement!! Stay tuned for more info.
MS
DEGREES OF SEPARATION INTERVIEW WITH MARKUS SAASTAMOINEN: LEAD SINGER/GUITARIST
(Thanks to Bree from the DOS Crew page for the interview)
• How did you come up with your stage name?
I had written a song called Degrees of Separation a few years ago for my solo work, and when it came time to name the band I had created, I thought: what better description of a group of vastly different people coming together as one unit? So, it not only describes the band perfectly, but also describes how we as humans are all connected somehow too.
• What is your music background?
I come from a very creative, artistic and musical family. My Mum paints, my Dad sings, one of my sisters paints, draws, takes photos, the other sister has a background in music engineering while they both sing with choirs. I started singing and playing music when I was 5 years old, and have been writing and performing songs since the age of 13.
• What are your musical influences?
I have been heavily influenced by such diverse artists as Queen, Van Halen, David Bowie, U2, Mozart, Sibelius, The Beatles, The Beach Boys.
• Who has been your greatest personal influence on your music?
There’s one person who sticks out: Ken Sheppard! I’ve worked with him for nearly 8 years, and the skills as a Producer are unquestioned. But it’s not just that, it’s the personal advice, friendship and loyalty that he’s shown me over the years that has been even more important.
• How do you describe your music to people?
It’s really difficult to pin it down to one type of music. It has elements all our influences, but it is unique, theatrical melodic rock! I don’t think there’s a lot of music today which sounds like what we do ;-)
• What image do you think your music conveys?
I’d like to think people can form their own images of what our music portrays. Having said that, it definitely is strong & powerful music, and as such it would be a powerful image that is conveyed.
• What are your songs about?
There’s a central theme which locks all these songs together which we call “The Triangle of Life (Life, Death and In Between)”. We’re born, we establish relationships, we fight, we kill, we love, we laugh, we cry, we die.
• Have any of your songs been published?
Not yet, but that is one of the major goals we are working towards!
• What do you like best about the band’s sound and music (band’s strength), and what things are you still working on to improve or what things aren’t fully conveyed yet in your songs?
I think the bands strengths are our songwriting, our passion and especially our live performance! We are of course continuing to improve all of these, as we shall never rest on our laurels!
• Talk some about playing live….What’s the best part about it? What’s difficult?
My favourite part of being in this band is playing live! When we connect with people in the audience, it is the best feeling ever! The only difficult thing is that the show is over all too quickly!!
• Why do you want to record and release your own music?
We deserve to be heard, as we have a lot of important things to say. It’s so fulfilling to be able to share with everyone what comes out of our heads and out of our bodies and instruments.
• Do you write your own songs?
We write all of our songs. The most important person “outside” of the actual band though would be our Producer, Ken Sheppard, who I mentioned earlier. The way that he is able to take what we have written and take the songs to a new and better place is just brilliant!
• Where do you draw inspiration from?
We draw inspiration from how we’re feeling at the given moment, as well as what is going on in the world today. It’s actually a very powerful coming together of forces!
• What are your immediate music career goals?
We aim to refine our stage show even further, while not losing any intensity, having our first album ready for release by mid-late 2009, as well as gaining more fans through our live performances throughout Melbourne, but also around regional Victoria, then the country, then the world!
• What are your long-term career goals?
We would love to make a career out of our biggest love; that is playing and writing music! If we are lucky enough to achieve that through working hard, then that would complete us.
• How would you define the word “success”?
I’d define success as being a good human being, being a great partner and being lucky enough to earn a living doing what I love doing.
• Are you looking for an independent label deal or a major label deal?
We’re looking at whoever is the best fit for us, someone who we not only would have an excellent business relationship with, but also someone who we can grow as people with! Whoever that is, that is in the lap of the gods :-)
• Is the CD as a form of media dead?
We don’t think it’s dead, but it does need to be thought about differently. People aren’t going to continue to pay for the cost of a CD when they can get it MUCH cheaper online. So then the question would be, what can we offer as a package to the fan who loves music, but is trying to survive with the cost of living so high? We need to have something extremely affordable to them, but at the same time we cannot afford to starve either! There needs to be a happy medium of online and CD sales. Maybe the CD can be a “special” package, full of other goodies/merchandise? We also need to explore technologies such as BandTag (www.bandtag.com.au), which gives everyone access to not only the music, but also artwork, posters, etc.
• What live performance experience have you had?
We’ve performed a many famous Melbourne band venues, as well as the not so famous ones! We’ve also played to a number of “important” people, but the most important people we’ve played to has been you, the punter :-)
• How do you rate your live performance ability?
I think we’re one of Melbourne’s best live bands when we’re on form, but we always want to keep on improving all the time! Any suggestions from you out there would be welcomed too :-)
• Have you recorded any previous CDs or posted any audio files on the Internet?
You can hear a selection of our songs at our myspace page www.degreesofsepartion.com.au as well as some videos. We’ve all recorded songs previous to this band, and maybe one day we’ll put them up on our page!
HEY GUYS!
Apologies for the delay in updates!! We’ve taken some time out of playing to write some more songs for you guys to hear as well as bringing you some news about Beau. He’s currently overseas doing some brilliant work with his friend, Vincent Giles. You can read all about it here at www.bkmusique.blogspot.com ? It is an outstanding thing they are doing, so please send all your best to them! In the mean time, we’re giving you a listen to some of our new songs, in Pre-Production form – hope you like! Let us know what you think. Don’t forget to check out the Degrees of Separation Crew page – please give us some feedback on what you would like to see and anything else at all ?
Til next time,
M
WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!!
Thanks to Bree from the Degrees of Separation Crew for her review below:
"Hey there guys, this is Bree checking in with a Degrees of Separation gig report....and what exciting news it is!!!
Well after much anticipation leading up to such a HUGE competition, the boys won their preliminary heat in the 'Dragging The Lakes' showcase last Wednesday night. DOS put on one of their finest performances yet at the Espy Basement, in front of their very loyal group of fans!! (Thanks so much guys, we love you!)
Their set started with a bang in the shape of YOU KINGS AND QUEENS! That was nothing compared to what was coming next, with ZEP ME TO TEARS bringing the house down. ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES followed, with its most passionate performance yet!
While the crowd was cooling down, the brutal riff of DEGREES OF SEPARATION was unleashed! Things slowed down a little with THIS TIME, but the night wasn’t finished there.... SADNESS PART 2 signalled the beginning of the end, segueing perfectly into the final act of the set, SADNESS PART 3. It’s always brings a dramatic end to the show, and once again it failed to disappoint!
MVP of the night would be a tie between Beau, who thumped the HELL out of his drums, and Markus, who sang until his throat was like a vulture’s crotch! Lol, seriously!
Well onto the next round the boys will go, so make sure to stay tuned for when that MASSIVE NIGHT will be and keep an eye out for when the boys will next be playing around the greatest rock city, MELBOURNE!
‘Til next time....Rock on Always,
<3 Bree xxoo <3
Team Leader -
The DOS Crew."
DEGREES OF SEPARATION VIDEOS
Hey guys!
Check out some videos from a few of our shows this year
Zep Me to Tears - Hallam Hotel 27 February 2008
You Kings & Queens - Ferntree Gully Hotel 8 March 2008
This Time - Hallam Hotel 15 June 2008
We also have very few T-Shirts left for sale, so get in touch with us if you want to grab yourself some gear!
Until next time; au revoir :-)
THE DOS BOYS
THANK YOU ALL!!
Thanks so much for supporting us at the Hallam Hotel the other night! Here's the first photos from our show taken by the brilliant Zo @ Damage design:
Rock on,
Markus, JD, Alan, Beau
RIOT ON SUNSET VOLUME 8
Riot On Sunset Vol.8 has now been released! Keep an eye out for it at Amazon.com - you can follow the link at the Riot On Sunset myspace page, as well as at www.272records.com:
The record has also been sent to the 25 California College Radio stations listed below. Please request “Sadness Part 3” as much as can!!
California College Radio Stations:
-KVRM FM
1-530-265-9555
Fax:: 1-530-265-9077
-KKSM AM
1-760-744-1150 ex. KKSM (5576)
-KALX FM
1-510-642-KALX (5259)
-KAPU FM
1-626-815-3877
-KCHR FM
1-510-723-6981
-KCRW FM
1-310-450-5183 or 1-888-600-KCRW (5279)
-KCTY AM
1-562-938-4300
-KDVS FM
1-530-752-1777
-KFSR FM
1-559-278-4082
Fax:: 1-559-278-6985
-KGUR FM
1-805-544-0838
-KHSU FM
1-800-640-5911 (toll free)
-KIDE FM
1-530-625-4259
-KISL FM
1-310-510-SHOW (7469)
Fax:: 1-310-510-2272
-KMUD FM
1-707-923-3911 or 1-800-568-3723
Fax:: 1-707-923-2501
-KRCB FM
1-707-584-2020
Fax:: 1-707-585-1363
-KSCR FM
1-213-740-KSCR (5727)
Fax:: 1-213-740-1853
-KSCU FM
1-408-554-KSCU (5728)
Request Online:: www.kscu.org/request.php
-KSJS FM
1-408-924-4548
Fax:: 1-408-924-4558
Email:: ksjs.ksjs.org
-KSMC FM
1-925-631-4895
-KULV FM
1-909-593-3511
Request Online:: www.ulv.edu/kulv/request.html
-KUCI FM
1-949-824-5824
-KCSS FM
1-209-667-3900
-KSSU FM
1-916-278-3666
-KSUN FM
1-707-664-2623
-KUCR FM
1-951-827-5827
Rock on!
All Production on the songs by Ken Sheppard for Sheoak Music;
Photos by Laura Mehtonen, Leigh Wilkins, Jamie Paul and Zo (Damage Design);
The Stay Human Gallery and badge making lounge is now open. So feel free to swing by. Make your own badges, rent a badge machine, view and buy street art from local and interstate artists or order custom merch like buttons, bumper stickers and ethically made garments.
Also we're having a launch party on friday the 14th of nov, starting at 6pm. hope to see you there.
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