Questions for Richard Bacchus, & D~Generation.

It is absoloutley amazing news that DGen are back, The internet is a buzzing globe right now!! Please tell us how did this come about. how did you all decide to return to the Punk Scene as DGen,?

Promoter Friends of ours in Spain, Heart of Gold ask us, every couple of years, to do a reunion. Their bill this year had The Buzzcocks and our friends, The Bellrays on it so we decided to give it a shot.We had no idea that it would come together so well.,What Plans do Dgen have in storeNew Album on the agenda??

We are planning on some new releases, as well as reissues and rarities

Are you currently song writing?

I've got a couple of pots on the stove, it's a very slow process with me. I have bits and pieces, from decades ago that I'm still trying to figure out.

What inspires you to write?

Stuff in the news. funny shit that friends and band mates say. I write down things I hear, or think I've heard and loop them in my head till they become a verse of a chorus. I'm generally inspired by very disfunctional people. I like writing from different perspectives. You could call me a cut rate Cervantes.I get ideas from movies and documentaries, I read a lot too.

i recently heard that a band i know lost all their new songs they recently wrote on a blackberry?? When you song write, do you still use a good old notepad & pen,? or have you reverted to using modern technology,?

Google docs baby. I'm all about cloud computing.

any ideas on which producer you will use to make any future recording?

I'd like to try and do it ourselves.

Will anyone be helping you with the new album if there is going to be one..?

That depends on what you mean by help. we have a great management team at Strong Management, They help us out immensely..are you currently signed to anyone, or has anyone approached you to be snapped up?

I don't plan on ever signing another record deal. That business model is obsolete

Will you have a Manager?

I mentioned Strong Mgmt. earlier. I think for us to do D Generation without a manager would be impossible. The logistics of having band members living all over the country can be a real headache.

Back in the 90s you were signed to emi and chrysalis records. whom were some pretty major labels back in the heyday, will you again sign to a major label or will you go smaller and more intimate this time round?

Much smaller, shorter runs and limited edition. I'd like for us to produce artifacts that will be worth having.

Will you do a full on Tour ?

As much as our other projects will allow. Jesse has The St. Marks Social and I have The Luckiest Girls.

Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.~

The band is more fun than most bands you see out on the road these days. We always will and have had our own sound.We hang it out pretty close to the edge of complete chaos at times, something that I don't think many band do these days.

Do your fans/audience effect the way you play? ie a lively audience promotes a lively show, would you say thats correct with DGen?

A pumped up crowed is always nice. I settle for dumbfounded or even terrified.

Describe your show, visual and musically~

We're still a fairly stylish bunch, a bit more refined that we used to be. Within the first ten minutes we're all completely soaked in sweat.five minutes after that, Jesse Malin starts the old striptease. We're never how daring he'll be on any given night.

Musically it just massive, melodic, hooks, upon hooks, upon even hookier hooks. Great slabs of Rock n' Rolickin' riffs and rhythms.

Will you still have venues being trashed or now your all older & Maybe matured!! will that side of things have calmed down do you think???

We really never know where the night will take us. Aside from the home-made confetti, none of that stuff is premeditated.

Are there any special venues you always play at?

Irving Plaza in NY, The Troubadour in Los Angeles Honestly though, we're not that picky, we'll play anywhere, for anyone.

What advice would you give to fellow bands & New Bands Forming today?

Be true to yourself. Stop copying other bands, stop listening to the music that you think your trying to make.The shit is getting so homogenized these days, you go to the mall and it all sounds exactly the same.Just say "no to auto tune", it has no place in Rock n' Roll

How do you feel about Digital Downloading and Illegal Downloading?

Piracy has alway existed. A digital copy is just that, a copy of something that is real. Come and see me for the real.

what do feel you bring to the music scene. What makes you unique and makes you stand out from the other bands?

Our brains, our fingers, that a the fact that we answer to no one but each other.

Which band member is like the mother figure, who keeps you all together

We take turns, Jesse and Danny take the most turns, I take the least. being the Mommy is brutal cos' we're a bunch of bratty bastards.

Do you still like to record on to vinyl or are you now recording straight onto CD??

I like vinyl for its three dimensional qualities. I like dragging my nails across the groovy parts of the record.

Who used to always be the songwriter, and who will write new material?

It's a free for all. Everyone can hold there own in the writing dept. Jesse probably writes most of the lyrics.

Who are your past time influential idols??

Marc Bolan, The Saints, Slim Harpo. Horace Andy, Mudd, Alvin Stardust.

I am a Green day fan, Do you have any Favorite Bands you like to listen to Too?

I love so much music. Right now I'm into Major Lazer, Valient Thorr, Lykke Li, Lissie Trulie, The Stalkers.Frank Carter, Ex Singer for Gallows has a new project, I'm excited to hear that.

I have a pretty unhealthy Nikki Minaj obsession right now, ooh I love Rihanna too.

Tell us about your past tour with Green day, i bet you all had so much fun?!

I missed that tour. I'd just quit the band when they got it.

thinking back to past time memorys of dgen and the tours with bands over the yrs, what are your special memorys,

Social Distortion and L7 were great fun, as were The Dickies. The Ramones Tours were the best though.I'm still pissed that I missed the Green Day tour.

You must have some fun past time stories to share,?

Loads and loads of great times.

I remember when we were on tour with Kiss, waking up in the tour bus inside the Toronto Skydome. it was like waking up on the Millennium Falcon, in the Death Star.

I looked out the window and Gene Simmons stormed by in his make-up cape and boots, just like Darth Vader.Gene Simmons was much nicer than Darth Vader, more like a really big Yoda. "Merchandise you must sell, retain publishing rights you must."

where did you first play live? How big was the first audience? How did you get together as a Band,?

My first show ever was at CBGB with a band called The Fugitives, with Steve Lewins from The Count Bishops and Chelsea. D Generation's first show was at a loft on W24th Street in NYCWe got together because everyone else in NYC was playing Glam Metal.

What inspires you to do what you do?~

I do it because I can, I guess I just have something to say. I enjoy reaching people, transporting them in someway.Proving to them that I'm a bigger idiot than they are. I always say that we're stand-up comedians, hiding behind electric guitars.

What do you think about the ska trend that seems to influence punk, do you play any ska at all?

I've got a huge reggae collection. I have family in the caribbean and grew up listening to all the Trojan stuff. I lived in the West Indies as a kid and heard nothing but Soca and Calypso for years and years. When I got to the states I discovered The Clash and heard what context they had taken from living in Brixton and Notting Hill.I have a dub track on the Richard Bacchus & The Luckiest Girls album, Dubnacious, a reggae version of a punk song of mine, Pugnacious.

Do you get to "Hang" with other bands and play together if so what bands do you enjoy to play music with ?

The best part of being in a band is meeting other bands. I live in Raleigh North Carolina these days and there's a thriving music scene here.We just did a bunch of dates with our friends from Atlanta, The Biters, another great band from Atlanta is The Booze. We just played Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin TX. and had a great time hanging out with Trash Talk who are amazing. I got to hang out withTom Araya and Dave Lombardo from Slayer too.

Tell us about the side bands the band members currently play in, and are any of you in any side bands together?

Right now only Jesse and I have other bands. Michael plays drums with different people from time to time but nothing steady.

I am from The UK, I read your also from The UK, Do you return to the uk much? Do you still have any roots here?

I get over to play every year or two. My Sister lives in London, my brother is in Olney, My mum's up in Blackpool.

I have a UK chapter of The Luckiest Girls based out of Swinton.

Which two luxury items would you always take with you to a gig/tour?

My friend Jane is always making fun of me for traveling so light. I live out of vending machines and H&M'sI must always have an iPhone, because it isn't a tour, until I've lost my iPhone.

My friend comes up with fun qs for me at times and this one was her recommendation, ..Like punk music; marmite is an aqquired taste. It is said that you either love or hate it. So guys, marmite: do you love it or do you hate it?.... Being english im sure you remember Marmite??

I like it in hot water, not so much on toast. I'm more of a Bovril guy.

If you were a fly, whose wall would you want to be on?

Heidi Klum's, I think she might be the funniest person that's ever lived, and she's fun to look at.

Whats your favorite thing to do in life,?

it's a tie:Roll down a highway or Cooking dinner at home.I guess that's a bit schizophrenic.