DB: Well the band started out as I (DB) was trying to start a solo project. I was piecing together a band of a bunch of awesome musicians. While in the process of doing this I realized I surrounded myself with people whom I have tons of fun with and feed off of while making music, and that is when we decided to just turn it into a band. On our gig on the 8th of January we will officially be a band for one year. It has been only a short while, but it has gone by wicked fast, and we have done so much! We also hope to bring even more out to the people over the course of the years to come.
OOMPH: Who would you consider to be your greatest inspirations or influences as a band?
DB: Wow, we have a lot of different pulls. For our punk side, we pull from bands like Anti-Flag, Bad Religion, The Clash, Green Day, NOFX, The Offspring, Operation Ivy, Pennywise, Rise Against, Social Distortion, and Sum 41, just to name a few. For some ska stuff we look to bands like Big D and the Kids Table, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Reel Big Fish. From there we are have our personal favorites, like 311, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Nirvana, Pennywise, and Thomas Lang.
OOMPH: Making the Hometown for the Holidays Top 12 is quite an achievement. What good things have happened with the band to help you get to that point?
DB: The things that got us here are great opportunities and tons of work. Since we aren’t very old as a band, it took tons of work to get where we are. We always have to stay on top of emailing people, trying to book gigs, and getting the word out about us. Usually when all of your work seems for nothing something pulls through. Like a radio DJ finally checked you out and really digs you so they play your song and come to your gig. Or some one wants to do an article on you or a review. Also the time we played at the Hard Rock Café that was a big boost. Honestly, though, I think the best tool to achievement in this business is the fans. If you can reach some one and get them to talk about you to their friends, you just pulled in ten more people.
OOMPH: What does the songwriting process look like for you and the band? How do song ideas happen for you?
DB: First DB comes up with a riff. Then it either goes two ways: we either collaborate, or DB sits in his basement and gets a good base for the song, and then we collaborate. Sometimes we completely morph a song from what it was originally, or sometimes we just throw on another guitar part and let it be simple. Ideas usually come for a song when something happens in one of the band members’ lives, something happens in the world, or DB reads about something or sees something. Then was the motivation is found DB writes about it.
OOMPH: What role has the Internet played in your success as a band?
The Internet is a huge tool, especially for being a small indie band. It allows us to get in touch with our fans easily. It helps us communicate with other people in the industry too. Most of all it helps us get to more people!
OOMPH: What does 2010 look like for you? What projects are in the works?
2010 is going to be a very busy year for DB and the Catastrophe. We can’t even begin to think about how many things we are getting our hands into. We are looking at some festivals over the summer, and we are pretty confident that there is an EP/LP in our near future.