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Gil Mantera’s Party Dream is a electronic rock duo from Youngstown, Ohio. Their songs are highly contagious and force you to want to jump up and down uncontrollably, and that’s just on record. See these guys live one time and I promise you that you will leave that venue a changed person. Their stage presence is very memorable and the humor will have you peeing your pants.
The group has released three CD’s, 2000’s out of print “Best Friends”, 2004’s “Once Triangular” and finally 2005’s “Bloodsongs”.
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream is fresh off of the Warped Tour, and I was lucky enough to be granted an interview with the ultimate one himself, Ultimate Donny. This interview contains a few bad words here and there, so if you can’t handle it, don’t read it.
The first time I witnessed the magic of the Party Dream was at the Nyabinghi in Youngstown, Ohio when you opened for Corey Feldman and the Truth Movement. Were you able to meet Corey that night, or did his staff cloak him and run him in and out of the venue?
Oh we met him alright. We shared the dressing room with him, and he wasn’t too happy about that.
Your stage presence is unlike anything else that is happening in the area, how did you come up with your stage show?
It’s just what we do. We never had a meeting. However, if we ever get some real cash, folks can expect a really bizarre, fantastic, grandiose show. Then and only then will I be able to tell you that it’s from years of brainstorming while traveling from show to show.
What kind of incredible adventures have you had while on tour?
There are way too many wonderful, weird and horrible adventures to recall. Here’s a quick glimpse into the madness. A few years ago after a show in Indianapolis, we followed some nice people back to their place where they were letting us crash. On the way there, Gil and I got into a ridiculous fight about nothing where I got so pissed the only thing I could do was punch out my rear view mirror and smash in my dash (while driving). I showed up to those nice folks’ place with a bloody hand and no Gil. He opted to sleep in the car.
Having a slot on Warped Tour is a huge accomplishment, I congratulate you on that. How exactly did that come about?
A few years ago our photographer friend, Lisa Johnson, got us to play one of Kevin Lyman’s barbecue parties in bus world at Warped Tour. That’s how he got acquainted with us. Kevin caught our show at Emo’s at this year’s SXSW. After our set, he invited us to do the whole tour.
Just before the Warped Tour you were going to be on a short tour with Gwar, what was the reason the tour ended early for you guys?
I’ll make this short. It sucked! We proved what we needed to prove and got the fuck out.
There are a lot of bands in Youngstown that would kill to draw in crowds like you guys do, are there any area bands that you like to go see?
Fuck yes. I enjoy anything that my friend Andrew Conrad is in. Currently it’s SuperBird. He’s a super talented singer, guitarist and song writer. I briefly played guitar in one of his bands, Grandstands on Titan. I had to work my ass off to play some of his riffs. Other bands I dig are Rebreather, Posture Coach, The Zou. I’m sure there are plenty more. I just got done with two months of life in a strange world, so forgive me. My mind still isn’t right.
Can we expect a follow up to Blood Songs any time soon? And can you reveal any top secret info about it?
Expect it. I’m not sure how soon it will be, but our plan of attack is to get it out any way we can. We recorded three songs already, one being “Ballerina” which we plan to drop as a new single any day now. We have more than enough new, ultra solid material for an entire album. Its tentative title is Dreamscape.
Have you bonded with any bands while being on Warped?
We got pretty tight with 3OH!3 and had plenty of laughs with them. We had goofy conversations with Reel Big Fish often. They sometimes did signings 5 – 10 feet away from our shows where GMPD was forced upon them.
Alcohol is as much a part of your stage performance as spandex and Gil’s cigarettes, what is your beer of choice?
My favorite is Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale. I love that brewery.
Where is your favorite venue that you have played?
That’s a tough one. There are so many places that I love. Each place has its own character and flavor. One that stands out as top notch is so many ways is the Empty Bottle in Chicago. It’s always a pleasure to play there. I’ll have you know that I could easily rattle off another 10 places that make us feel like we’re at a home away from home. On the other hand there are quite a few where we leave saying, “fuck this!” We try not to ever go back to those places.
Be nice to your bands, clubs. They might be the reason you don’t lose your house some day.
What kind of bands do you think inspired you to do what you do?
All kinds. Obviously the sweet, obscure and sometimes not so obscure 80’s electronic bands have a big influence. Our deal in general has been an evolution. People who’ve been rocking with us from the beginning know that the early years were entertaining weirdo shows with dogshit music. With each passing year, we’ve concentrated more and more on putting out well crafted, cool pop songs. Maybe some of the readers are thinking it’s still crap, but guess what. This is my interview. Now is not the time to play critic, assholes.
As far as the show aspect goes, I think it’s mainly us inspiring ourselves.
Can you give some advice to people who would like to be Ultimate like you?
You don’t want this. Trust me.
I would like to thank Ultimate Donny for doing this interview with us. The photograph above was taken by Lisa Johnson, and the one used in my header was taken by Mike Carney.
Check out the Party Dream on the web:
Gil Mantera’s Party Dream Homepage
Party Dream Myspace
Last edited: Feb 19, 2009 @ 10:52 PM, 392 days ago |
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