As soon as I heard HORROR SECTION's debut full length, released at the very end of last year by Eccentric Pop, I was totally sold. All their songs are inspired by 80’s horror movies and the quartet delivers what sounds like the perfect punk rock soundtrack to a drive-in slasher flick but all done with ultra catchy tunes. If -like me you- dig Teenage bottlerocket, The Lillingtons or Dan Vapid and the Cheats, this record is really gonna be right up your alley.
So it was time for your truly to have an interesting chat with TEFLON DAVE, mastermind behind HORROR SECTION.
Hi there! Horror Section is a 4 piece from St. Louis, Missouri that plays Ramones style pop punk all about horror movies. We’ve been together about 6 years. The band is Gabe on drums and backing vocals, Tommy on lead guitar, Nick on bass, and Teflon Dave (me) on vocals and rhythm guitar.
2) About the latest record "Horror Section" released on Eccentric Pop, what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" in the studio recording or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
Our recording process is a little different from most bands. We don’t live super close to each other so we send files as much as possible. Gabe Usery is not only our drummer but records and mixes all of our material. We definitely use the tools at our disposal to make a quality record. While recording ‘live’ is cool, we don’t have the time or schedule for that.
3) Do you use the nowadays digital recording technology or do you guys only work with analog machines in analog studios?It’s all digital.
4) Is there a main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
The song writing process for most of the material goes like this: I will come up with the main song and melody as well as the lyrics and send to Tommy to refine it. He’ll switch up some components and add a lead or solo and then send over to Gabe. Once we have the pieces of guitar and bass Gabe helps with final touches and backing vocal ideas. It’s really a good relationship / process.
Over the last year or so Tommy has been writing more music and I’ll adds on vocals which is great as it adds more of his perspective to the song writing process.
5) What is your favorite topic/topic that comes easily when you write a new song?80’s horror movies of course! I like to take a movie plot though and write a song from a unique point of view or about a certain character in the film. I like challenging myself to writing something more subtle vs. a straightforward approach. My favorite example is the song ‘Survive’ which is about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
6) To what kind of music did you listen to as teenagers and does it still influence your today work? What were your favorite bands as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
The same bands that influenced me then still do today so that’s easy. Ramones, Misfits, The Mr. T Experience, and the Lillingtons.
7) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the LP?
We have several videos on YouTube! Some tracks from the new LP are on there but we don’t have an ‘official’ video for any of the songs. We do have some made for other songs though and a few live performances if you look us up!
8) What can concert goers expect at a gig of HORROR SECTION? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
We play a straight forward set. No costumes or theatrics, no stage banner, as few breaks as possible. We try and let the music do the talking. As for covers, we haven’t incorporated any into our set but we did do a short Mr. T Experience cover set once.
I’d say the closest is the Lillingtons. We’re nowhere as good but if you like Death By Television or The Backchannel Broadcast I’d say there’s a fair chance you’ll be into us.
10) What are the plans for the rest of 2019 as far as HORROR SECTION is concerned?
Halloween is just around the corner! We’re working on a fun surprise for the season as well as combining our out of print titles for another project. 2019 ended up being a bit slow for shows and releases but we hope to be back in full force in 2020!
11) Anything you wanna add?
Thanks for interviewing us and also for reading this far! I’m stoked people across the world enjoy our music. This started as a one off 7” EP project and here we are years later still putting out records and playing really fun shows. I hope to keep putting out music and putting our spin on horror pop punk!
Check us out on bandcamp, Spotify, Apple music, etc.! Our online store is https://horrorsection.limitedrun.com if you want to check out vinyl, CDs, shirts, and much more. I suggest you put on an 80’s slasher film, put on our latest LP, and have yourself a beer. Thanks and cheers!
