With influences primarily focused in punk and post-hardcore with small splashes of classic R&B and 80s pop, Dampé songs are characterized by a memorable melody accompanied by introspective, intentional lyrics.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Dampé is Matt Everett (lead vocals/instruments) and Tyler Simmons (backing vocals/instruments)
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Dampé? How long has the band been around?
The musical partnership began in late 2016 when Matt recorded and produced an acoustic pop-punk EP for Tyler under the name Bitter Quips (the ladies loved it). Soon afterwards, we began writing songs together and thus Dampé was formed in mid 2017.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
After the Bitter Quips EP, we began a conversation about the relevance of singles and EPs as opposed to albums in the streaming age. In addition to being a play on the name Danté, Dampé spelled backwards is “EP mad” which sort of fits with our philosophy of releasing music.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
All the songwriting is a completely collaborative effort between the two of us. We try to leave most of the meaning a little bit ambiguous and open-ended, but we did feel like there was a continuous narrative that connected the five songs on the EP, including themes focusing on unrequited love, coping mechanisms, and reflections on mental health. We can neither confirm nor deny whether these topics will change over time.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Matt: The new 1975 record is one of my favorites in a while, and I’m also constantly listening to Hands Like Houses and Matt Nathanson.
Tyler: Pierce the Veil, I the Mighty, La Dispute, Hands Like Houses, and Saosin.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Matt: Easy. Muse.
Tyler: I just wanted to impress girls
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Up until now, Dampé has been solely a studio project but we are looking forward to hopefully putting together some live shows for 2019. However, almost every successful Dampé studio session has started with a Little Caesar’s pizza.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
More than anything, we love songwriting in all genres, and earlier this year we were selected as semi-finalists for a national songwriting competition for a country song that was written and composed as a joke in 30 minutes. We’re also kinda proud of this EP too, I guess.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Don Broco because we need to learn how to party.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We’re super stoked to have the Hour of the Wolf EP out in the world, and for the future we plan to focus on some multi-genre songwriting and production projects, and maybe take things a little bit heavier for a couple new Dampé singles we’ve been working on. Stay tuned!