Dw Dunphy (August 2010)

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Dw. Dunphy is a US-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, author, columnist and radio show host. Active in a variety of fields, music is the area where he first started drawing attention to himself as part of the cassette-only collective Secret Decoder in the mid 90's, creating lo-fi pop music under the moniker No-Fi.

...... According to the PA profile. You can read the rest of the biography here
His albums is free downloads and the very active multi-talented Dw Dunphy has an interesting story to tell. I got in touch with him and here is his story.
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Our Dw Dunphy biography at Progarchives
is pretty extensive so I am jumping straight to your albums. Please
give us your long or brief thoughts on all your albums from Buckaroo
in 2002 to A War Story from this year.

These albums are all free downloads, if
I am not mistaken. How is your business model and why are you
releasing free albums ? 

The truth is that making music is
totally compulsory to me. I can't help it. It's my first love,
really, and if I could make a living doing it, I would. Even so, I
could never be like a J.D. Salinger, writing and storing away the
manuscripts. An album is complete when someone else listens to it.
For me, if I can't make money, I still have to get the music heard in
order to complete the process.

You have also published a book called
Drivers of the Plague and you also do are radio show. Please tell us
more about your book and the radio show.

The book is fiction and centers around
the concept of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" being
ordinary people who suddenly come down with the disease of powers -
famine, plague, pestilence and death. They want to be normal very
desperately, but they're destined (or doomed) to be what they are.

The internet radio show (called
Radioshow With Dw. Dunphy) is just my way of introducing listeners to
all kinds of music. Radio, even Internet Radio, can get so
genre-centric. I like the widest possible variety. I hope I bring
that to listeners over at http://www.ThePenguinRocks.Com.

I'm also a writer at http://www.Popdose.Com. This
month I'm spearheading a mini-series called 50Prog50, which counts
down what I consider to be worthwhile prog and prog-flavored albums.

An album like A War Story is about the
wars USA is currently fighting in Iraq and Afganistan. Other artists
and writers from your generation also writes about Iraq and
Afganistan. Forty years ago, Bob Dylan and Neil Young was also
writing and singing about their war; the Vietnam war. Do you find any
parallels and differences between these generations of writers and
artists ?

The only sad parallel is that we're
doomed to keep repeating ourselves. There's no end to it, so there
can be no end to those who try to think about it from an artistic
standpoint.

Just to find out some more about you,
please give us your opinions on........

Growing up in the USA
It's okay except for the rampant
materialism. It's all about money in America. And the fact that we
don't play nice with the world, and try to refashion other cultures
in our image. I never appreciated those things. Still, I'm glad to be
here.

The Baby Boom generation vs Generation
X

Both had their heroes and their
villains. You can't really judge a generation, only the individuals
within it.

The author Barack Obama vs. the
president Barack Obama

The author is stirring and
inspirational. The president isn't either as often as he could be.

Fox News vs CNN News

Both have their biases. You have to
watch both, or neither, and make up your own mind. As George Harrison
once sang, "Think for yourself."

The American Dream vs. The European
Welfare State

I can only speak for the American
Dream, which is noble in spirit but flawed in action.

The art of writing novels

Let the story take over. If your
characters take on lives of their own, let them. That makes them
real. You're only telling their story, not playing God.

Record labels

Record labels used to be a wonderful
thing. Think about it. In America, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Nat
King Cole and Pink Floyd were all on Capitol/EMI. There was history
there, and a commitment to seeing artists through good and bad times.
Then in the early 1980's it all became about the money and the
bean-counting. Now the labels wouldn't know something great if it ran
over them with a tank.

Radio vs. the internet

The Internet will remain vital and
healthy so long as it doesn't gentrify all the spirit out of itself
the way radio did. There's a place for Beyonce and Lady Gaga - just
not all day long.

The epidemic drugs culture in USA and
Europe

You want the real culprit for worldwide
terrorism? If America would stop craving heroin and cocaine, the drug
wars in Afghanistan and Mexico & Colombia would end. No money to
wage terrorism if you stop giving it for drugs. It's supply and
demand.

Your ex band Nightmare Visions

An exciting experiment among five
players determined to make something unique. Too bad nobody listened
to it.

Progressive rock

Is alive and well. There are as many up
and coming prog bands now as there was in the '70s. Just let them
know they're welcome and we'll be ready for good, brand new music
from them.

The High School musicals and movies
from the Disney Corp

Excepting the Pixar movies, I chafe at
being talked down to. Disney media is some of the most pedantic,
pedestrian oatmeal out there. 

After these rather very nerdy
questions; what is your plans for the rest of this year and when will
we get a new release from you ?

I'm working on expanding "People
Wearing Masks" - I'm also readying a book of art and photographs
to coincide with the album to make it an audio/visual piece. That
will take me through 2010 and into 2011, and this time, I might
actually try to sell it!

Anything you want to add to this
interview ?

I appreciate the prog rock community
all around the world, keeping interesting, difficult, but ultimately
rewarding music from disappearing. Prog rockers and their fans are
smart, creative people. It's the creators in this world that are
going to save it from the destroyers. That may sound mamby-pamby, but
I still believe in the creative spark, God help me.

Oh, and to download my albums (for
free), go to:

http://dwdunphy.bandcamp.com/ 

The Penguin Rocks -- online radio for
real music fans...

The Penguin Rocks - online radio
station from Belmar, New Jersey broadcasting indie music 24 hours a
day.

Thank you to Dw Dunphy for this interview

His Myspace page is here

Edited by toroddfuglesteg - August 04 2010 at 12:25

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toroddfuglesteg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Retired Joined: March 04 2008 Location: Retirement Home Status: Offline Points: 3658	Topic: Dw Dunphy (August 2010) Posted: August 04 2010 at 12:24
	Dw. Dunphy is a US-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, author, columnist and radio show host. Active in a variety of fields, music is the area where he first started drawing attention to himself as part of the cassette-only collective Secret Decoder in the mid 90's, creating lo-fi pop music under the moniker No-Fi. ...... According to the PA profile. You can read the rest of the biography here His albums is free downloads and the very active multi-talented Dw Dunphy has an interesting story to tell. I got in touch with him and here is his story. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Our Dw Dunphy biography at Progarchives is pretty extensive so I am jumping straight to your albums. Please give us your long or brief thoughts on all your albums from Buckaroo in 2002 to A War Story from this year. These albums are all free downloads, if I am not mistaken. How is your business model and why are you releasing free albums ? The truth is that making music is totally compulsory to me. I can't help it. It's my first love, really, and if I could make a living doing it, I would. Even so, I could never be like a J.D. Salinger, writing and storing away the manuscripts. An album is complete when someone else listens to it. For me, if I can't make money, I still have to get the music heard in order to complete the process. You have also published a book called Drivers of the Plague and you also do are radio show. Please tell us more about your book and the radio show. The book is fiction and centers around the concept of the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" being ordinary people who suddenly come down with the disease of powers - famine, plague, pestilence and death. They want to be normal very desperately, but they're destined (or doomed) to be what they are. The internet radio show (called Radioshow With Dw. Dunphy) is just my way of introducing listeners to all kinds of music. Radio, even Internet Radio, can get so genre-centric. I like the widest possible variety. I hope I bring that to listeners over at http://www.ThePenguinRocks.Com. I'm also a writer at http://www.Popdose.Com. This month I'm spearheading a mini-series called 50Prog50, which counts down what I consider to be worthwhile prog and prog-flavored albums. An album like A War Story is about the wars USA is currently fighting in Iraq and Afganistan. Other artists and writers from your generation also writes about Iraq and Afganistan. Forty years ago, Bob Dylan and Neil Young was also writing and singing about their war; the Vietnam war. Do you find any parallels and differences between these generations of writers and artists ? The only sad parallel is that we're doomed to keep repeating ourselves. There's no end to it, so there can be no end to those who try to think about it from an artistic standpoint. Just to find out some more about you, please give us your opinions on........ Growing up in the USA It's okay except for the rampant materialism. It's all about money in America. And the fact that we don't play nice with the world, and try to refashion other cultures in our image. I never appreciated those things. Still, I'm glad to be here. The Baby Boom generation vs Generation X Both had their heroes and their villains. You can't really judge a generation, only the individuals within it. The author Barack Obama vs. the president Barack Obama The author is stirring and inspirational. The president isn't either as often as he could be. Fox News vs CNN News Both have their biases. You have to watch both, or neither, and make up your own mind. As George Harrison once sang, "Think for yourself." The American Dream vs. The European Welfare State I can only speak for the American Dream, which is noble in spirit but flawed in action. The art of writing novels Let the story take over. If your characters take on lives of their own, let them. That makes them real. You're only telling their story, not playing God. Record labels Record labels used to be a wonderful thing. Think about it. In America, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Nat King Cole and Pink Floyd were all on Capitol/EMI. There was history there, and a commitment to seeing artists through good and bad times. Then in the early 1980's it all became about the money and the bean-counting. Now the labels wouldn't know something great if it ran over them with a tank. Radio vs. the internet The Internet will remain vital and healthy so long as it doesn't gentrify all the spirit out of itself the way radio did. There's a place for Beyonce and Lady Gaga - just not all day long. The epidemic drugs culture in USA and Europe You want the real culprit for worldwide terrorism? If America would stop craving heroin and cocaine, the drug wars in Afghanistan and Mexico & Colombia would end. No money to wage terrorism if you stop giving it for drugs. It's supply and demand. Your ex band Nightmare Visions An exciting experiment among five players determined to make something unique. Too bad nobody listened to it. Progressive rock Is alive and well. There are as many up and coming prog bands now as there was in the '70s. Just let them know they're welcome and we'll be ready for good, brand new music from them. The High School musicals and movies from the Disney Corp Excepting the Pixar movies, I chafe at being talked down to. Disney media is some of the most pedantic, pedestrian oatmeal out there. After these rather very nerdy questions; what is your plans for the rest of this year and when will we get a new release from you ? I'm working on expanding "People Wearing Masks" - I'm also readying a book of art and photographs to coincide with the album to make it an audio/visual piece. That will take me through 2010 and into 2011, and this time, I might actually try to sell it! Anything you want to add to this interview ? I appreciate the prog rock community all around the world, keeping interesting, difficult, but ultimately rewarding music from disappearing. Prog rockers and their fans are smart, creative people. It's the creators in this world that are going to save it from the destroyers. That may sound mamby-pamby, but I still believe in the creative spark, God help me. Oh, and to download my albums (for free), go to: http://dwdunphy.bandcamp.com/ The Penguin Rocks -- online radio for real music fans... The Penguin Rocks - online radio station from Belmar, New Jersey broadcasting indie music 24 hours a day. Thank you to Dw Dunphy for this interview His Myspace page is here Edited by toroddfuglesteg - August 04 2010 at 12:25