When Random Lengths News sat down with three of the four members from Dedfuel at the band’s rehearsal space in San Pedro, we spoke with drummer Mike Lane (Detriment, Beer Drinking Weather, & Hellhounds), and vocalist Tommy Pintaric, (Beer Drinking Weather, Knucklebuster, & Sifa).
“I can’t express fully how much I love this band, but it started when Tommy and I were at our wits end,” said Lane.
Click here to see Dedfuel's music video, "Katrina." |
| Detriment will be playing July 19 as the opening act for Warbringer at the Whiskey in Hollywood |
“It was maybe 8 years ago we were perched up on this cliff in Palos Verdes talking about all these bands that we have been in,” Lane said.
“ None of the groups ever really made it big. [It was] a lot of energy expended for nothing. All these people that we had played with had become wasted fuel for these groups, hence dead fuel. So we decided to have this band that would play all the stuff we liked from Panterea to Kiss, Motley Crew to Slayer, and all the bands we love with the best players we know.”
Dedfuel has an edgy sound of controlled mayhem that is at the same time radio friendly. The band has demonstrated a genuine impact on its audience wherever they play.
“But we have opened for Godhead. An idea started germinating. The spelling changed, dropping the “A” in the word “dead” (Local fans have known this group as the mighty DF, a name Pintaric had come up with). Adding two more members from some of the best Pedro bands; On lead guitar Leonard Reeff (Detriment, Beer Drinking Weather and Knucklebuster) bringing some crazy whammy bar sounds ala Randy Rhoades, Tony Iommi, and a touch of Eddy Van Halen to the group. On bass Dan Scala, who has played in Second Guess with Tommy Pintaric and as a sideman for other groups.
Scala has been a road manger and a soundman for bands like Pennywise, & Colin Hay from Men at Work.
“My position in the group is to anchor Mike and Leonard, so that Tommy has a tight sound so that he can sing the melody,” Scala said.
“The plan is a no pressure situation, playing only big shows and making the best out of an ideal scene,” Lane Pointed out.
“This way, we are not grinding out on the club circuit, which is what we all still do,” Scala said. “We are all in a good position to go on the road. We have our lives together enough that we can tour and it would not interfere with our day to day lives.” Scala explained the band’s practice of getting their fee, at least partially, when they are on the road.
“Others I have worked with are a gig to gig situation. You have to get the money at the end of the show and deal with the promoter or club owner.”
The four members all have businesses of their own. Mike Lane has his jean company; Tommy Pintaric does special event displays and rigging for the L.A. Convention Center; Leonard Reeff has his own businesses including working as a tattoo artist; and Dan Scala has a home sound and security company.
“If I have a gig for the band,” Lane explained, “I will call everyone and we’ll do the gig.” We all live our lives so the pressure of the day to day band stuff is not running our lives.”
Pintaric jumped in saying, “The plan for the band is not to have the usual band pressures that Mike talked about but about enjoying what we got into this to do when we were kids. It is not about the material things, it is about the music. Sure, there are bands that go for the one hit, make the money and they are gone. We have been working at this a long time––doing it for 20 years. We have worked in about every band in this town, because we love making music.”
“Mike and I have our opinions and we are still friends,” Pintaric continued.
“Then one day we’re talking about an idea and now we are making music with people we love, making the music that we love.” It was interesting to see these two people interact when we arrived for the interview the two men had not seen each other in a couple of days, yet they acted as if it was five years.
They are down to earth guys living out there life and expressing it through their music. Pintaric shared a story about a time when he had a heart condition.
“The doctors are telling me you might not make it, I did a whole album with one band and it was all about dealing with all that. You know when you go through some thing like that it changes you, and your perspective on life is different. You care about things that matter and not the material stuff, Mike, Leonard, and Dan mean a lot to me.”
Katrina
In addition to its songs, Dedfuel is especially proud of the music video dedicated to the victims of hurricane Katrina. Lane’s family is from New Orleans, but it is Pintraric’s empathy that seemed to drive the idea of the video. Pintaric recalled watching the disaster on television and knowing Mike’s family was down there. The images on the screen struck him deeply to his core.
“I was calling Mike and his family and nobody could get through to Louisiana,” Pintaric said.
The video was filmed on a gloomy day with spliced images of the disaster running through out. Lane wrote a long furious poem that Pintaric rewrote into a song. The song digs deep with lyrics like: “All these tears you’ve cried has taken all these lives… As the anger sets in, leads to world destruction…”
When they finally got into the studio, Pintaric, who wrote the melody, worked out the riffs with Lane and Reeff. According to Lane, “We had worked on it and we walked, had a beer and cigarette, then went back in and nailed the song in one take.” What you have is a low budget, high quality, high impact video that spares no punches.
Lane spoke of two of his relatives, out of a list of many family and friends that had lost their homes in the destruction. Also noting the changes he had seen, he commented on how the locals who had worked for years in the restaurants were replaced by people from other states and cities.
“It just isn’t the same anymore” he said.
“It is like everyone who worked at Busy Bee or Antes were replaced by people from other places. It would not be the same, the food would not, and the service would not, that is how it is in New Orleans.”
The Lane family, which had just returned from New Orleans, commented on the effects of the oil spill in the gulf and how it has affected the people in the region.
“It is like it (New Orleans) is cursed, first Katrina, now this. What we are seeing here on television is not what is being seen down there. People are angry and the effects are going to be felt nationwide. This is a domino effect from fishing, trucking to out of state sales. There are fishing boats that have come for skimming the oil, who are not from the area so there is a lot of that going on. British Petroleum has spent $54 million on ads and it could have gone to the people that have been hurt, and only one quarter of the people who are in the region are even working on the problem,” Mike explained.
If you spend any time with this band, you’ll know how passionate they are toward their families, their friendship, and their music. Dedfuel could be the next big band from San Pedro. They have the maturity and the chops to pull it off. In a town that is overloaded with talent, these are some of the best of the best that are doing it on their terms. Go forth and prosper my brothers, the future is yours. We await the outcome.
When Random Lengths News sat down with three of the four members from Dedfuel at the band’s rehearsal space in San Pedro, we spoke with drummer Mike Lane (Detriment, Beer Drinking Weather, & Hellhounds), and vocalist Tommy Pintaric, (Beer Drinking Weather, Knucklebuster, & Sifa).
“I can’t express fully how much I love this band, but it started when Tommy and I were at our wits end,” said Lane.
Click here to see Dedfuel's music video, "Katrina."
“It was maybe 8 years ago we were perched up on this cliff in Palos Verdes talking about all these bands that we have been in,” Lane said.
“ None of the groups ever really made it big. [It was] a lot of energy expended for nothing. All these people that we had played with had become wasted fuel for these groups, hence dead fuel. So we decided to have this band that would play all the stuff we liked from Panterea to Kiss, Motley Crew to Slayer, and all the bands we love with the best players we know.”
Dedfuel has an edgy sound of controlled mayhem that is at the same time radio friendly. The band has demonstrated a genuine impact on its audience wherever they play.
“But we have opened for Godhead. An idea started germinating. The spelling changed, dropping the “A” in the word “dead” (Local fans have known this group as the mighty DF, a name Pintaric had come up with). Adding two more members from some of the best Pedro bands; On lead guitar Leonard Reeff (Detriment, Beer Drinking Weather and Knucklebuster) bringing some crazy whammy bar sounds ala Randy Rhoades, Tony Iommi, and a touch of Eddy Van Halen to the group. On bass Dan Scala, who has played in Second Guess with Tommy Pintaric and as a sideman for other groups.
Scala has been a road manger and a soundman for bands like Pennywise, & Colin Hay from Men at Work.“My position in the group is to anchor Mike and Leonard, so that Tommy has a tight sound so that he can sing the melody,” Scala said.
“The plan is a no pressure situation, playing only big shows and making the best out of an ideal scene,” Lane Pointed out.
“This way, we are not grinding out on the club circuit, which is what we all still do,” Scala said. “We are all in a good position to go on the road. We have our lives together enough that we can tour and it would not interfere with our day to day lives.” Scala explained the band’s practice of getting their fee, at least partially, when they are on the road.
“Others I have worked with are a gig to gig situation. You have to get the money at the end of the show and deal with the promoter or club owner.”
The four members all have businesses of their own. Mike Lane has his jean company; Tommy Pintaric does special event displays and rigging for the L.A. Convention Center; Leonard Reeff has his own businesses including working as a tattoo artist; and Dan Scala has a home sound and security company.
“If I have a gig for the band,” Lane explained, “I will call everyone and we’ll do the gig.” We all live our lives so the pressure of the day to day band stuff is not running our lives.”
Pintaric jumped in saying, “The plan for the band is not to have the usual band pressures that Mike talked about but about enjoying what we got into this to do when we were kids. It is not about the material things, it is about the music. Sure, there are bands that go for the one hit, make the money and they are gone. We have been working at this a long time––doing it for 20 years. We have worked in about every band in this town, because we love making music.”
“Mike and I have our opinions and we are still friends,” Pintaric continued.
“Then one day we’re talking about an idea and now we are making music with people we love, making the music that we love.” It was interesting to see these two people interact when we arrived for the interview the two men had not seen each other in a couple of days, yet they acted as if it was five years.
They are down to earth guys living out there life and expressing it through their music. Pintaric shared a story about a time when he had a heart condition.
“The doctors are telling me you might not make it, I did a whole album with one band and it was all about dealing with all that. You know when you go through some thing like that it changes you, and your perspective on life is different. You care about things that matter and not the material stuff, Mike, Leonard, and Dan mean a lot to me.”
Katrina
In addition to its songs, Dedfuel is especially proud of the music video dedicated to the victims of hurricane Katrina. Lane’s family is from New Orleans, but it is Pintraric’s empathy that seemed to drive the idea of the video. Pintaric recalled watching the disaster on television and knowing Mike’s family was down there. The images on the screen struck him deeply to his core.
“I was calling Mike and his family and nobody could get through to Louisiana,” Pintaric said.
The video was filmed on a gloomy day with spliced images of the disaster running through out. Lane wrote a long furious poem that Pintaric rewrote into a song. The song digs deep with lyrics like: “All these tears you’ve cried has taken all these lives… As the anger sets in, leads to world destruction…”
When they finally got into the studio, Pintaric, who wrote the melody, worked out the riffs with Lane and Reeff. According to Lane, “We had worked on it and we walked, had a beer and cigarette, then went back in and nailed the song in one take.” What you have is a low budget, high quality, high impact video that spares no punches.
Lane spoke of two of his relatives, out of a list of many family and friends that had lost their homes in the destruction. Also noting the changes he had seen, he commented on how the locals who had worked for years in the restaurants were replaced by people from other states and cities.“It just isn’t the same anymore” he said.
“It is like everyone who worked at Busy Bee or Antes were replaced by people from other places. It would not be the same, the food would not, and the service would not, that is how it is in New Orleans.”
The Lane family, which had just returned from New Orleans, commented on the effects of the oil spill in the gulf and how it has affected the people in the region.
“It is like it (New Orleans) is cursed, first Katrina, now this. What we are seeing here on television is not what is being seen down there. People are angry and the effects are going to be felt nationwide. This is a domino effect from fishing, trucking to out of state sales. There are fishing boats that have come for skimming the oil, who are not from the area so there is a lot of that going on. British Petroleum has spent $54 million on ads and it could have gone to the people that have been hurt, and only one quarter of the people who are in the region are even working on the problem,” Mike explained.
If you spend any time with this band, you’ll know how passionate they are toward their families, their friendship, and their music. Dedfuel could be the next big band from San Pedro. They have the maturity and the chops to pull it off. In a town that is overloaded with talent, these are some of the best of the best that are doing it on their terms. Go forth and prosper my brothers, the future is yours. We await the outcome.