Interview: Dead Defined

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are pleased to bring you an interview with industrial rock/pop solo project, Dead Defined.

1. How did you get started as a band?

Dead Defined is a solo project that was formed in 2018 and is a Pop/Rock/Industrial project. It’s instrumentally written and sang by myself, Craig Ewan. It is produced and engineered by Mike Dmitrovic of Voodoo Records Canada. I have worked with many bands in the past as a unit but they never got off the ground so to speak, so I decided to take the reins with my own project to move at the pace I wanted to in this ever evolving music industry. It’s more or less an amalgamation of all my favourite styles of music focused into one place.

2. How would you describe your sound?

I like to describe my sound and style as Pop/Rock/Industrial. I have way too many influences when it comes to narrowing myself down to just one musical style so more or less it’s an amalgamation of many genres and artist influence. The reason I chose to create this solo project was also to be able to experiment with different sounds and bend the mould when it comes to my own typical rock’n roll writing style.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

I’m all over the map when it comes to musical influences these days. I have too many to even list but as far as musical influences, off the top of my head as far as band’s and writing styles go would be anything from bands like Papa Roach, Filter, Theory of a Deadman to legit anything on the other side of the spectrum of Chill/Lo-fi or Melodic tunes at the moment. As far as song-writers at the moment I’m a fan of James Michael (Sixx AM) Keith Wallen (Breaking Benjmain, Adelita’s Way) and Aaron Lewis (Staind).

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?

Well, being in the industry for so long I’ve seen the plus and negative side to it. As far as the financial side to it, it’s really given artists a hard time to try and make a living off of their art solely on the music itself. It’s not like the past when people were buying hard pressed albums for $15-20 a pop and being able to have cash in hand for those sales. Now it’s all based on online numbers and digital streaming services. Sadly these services don’t pay a fraction of what music sold in the past was going for. On the plus side, we as artists have access to social media and these streaming services so it’s everything we need to promote our music and get it in front of a new audience daily. It’s easier than ever to share our music with the click of a button, it’s just educating yourself on how to do it properly I find is the new hurdle.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

I’m a very hands-on and artsy type of person overall. I like to build with my hands, take things apart and put them back together. I find it’s very mentally stimulating. A hobby I’ve had for many years is Nitromethane Radio Control Cars. They take a lot of tinkering to get going but they’re great for concentration and focus. It’s a great way to be creative, always purchasing new upgrades and hop-ups (like real cars) to make them your own.

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

As COVID numbers in Canada have just now seemed to stall out there isn’t any set plans for live music in 2021 as of yet. My main focus is to try and write/record/video a new single every 2-3 months to stay consistent and relevant when the time comes to open the venues back up. Plans for the future are to keep on the same path as I’m on. Spiritually and emotionally. I find I write best when I’m not in my head as much. I like to take time to pursue other hobbies and passions other than music 24/7. If I obsess about it I find it zaps my creativity. The nice weather in Canada is now approaching so I like to get out and free my mind so to speak.

Thanks for your time, Much Love!

Links

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