It’s safe to say that most bands out in the MidWest and surrounding states in that region, go unnoticed for the majority of their career while some not so good bands who know the right people but don’t have the talent to back it up get signed and head out on tour. Well, I think its time to give the MidWest a voice that will be heard for years to come. Now, with that said, I bring you Des Moines, Iowa very own hometown hero band, “Dead Horse Trauma”.

HMTV: Explain the name:

Eric:  First off I want to say that the name, in no way, promotes or encourages rape in any way. Dead Horsing is when a person is taken advantage of when unconscious, like a passed out girl at a party. It’s how we’re influenced and directed everyday by the media, religion, and factors that affect us at all levels. We like to make people aware that they need to keep their eyes open to the things around them. The public is lulled to sleep while their imaginations are taken advantage of. We plan to use these same methods to fuel our agenda of using similar methods to affecting the consciousness of our listeners.

HMTV: How long have you guys been around:

The idea sparked in 2006, when Matt (our ex-drummer) and I were recruiting members to play the material we had recorded. I had wrote 4 songs with the sound we wanted using a Roland w/ me on guitars (it was written for 2 guitarists), bass, vocals, and samples. We interviewed potential band members while doing our best to stick to interview “tactics” we used to discover the worst in people. We wanted to know if this was going to work as soon as possible. We would refrain from smiling or giving any signs that we liked what we heard to see just how much determination people had to continue to pursue the position. We would be desperate as hell to find members, but would make potential members work for it. When we got our first 5 members, we started learning how to get better at making our music and developing our stage show.  We worked w/ different members and line-up changes to find the right mix of drive and personalities. We finally “clicked” into this line-up in 2008, that’s when I consider our start or rebirth. It’s when the current line-up fell into place.

HMTV: How would you describe your sound:

Eric:  We make the music that moves us. We don’t try to sound like anything out there, we just try to harness each of our creative abilities and influences and work together to form “attitudes” that eventually shape into songs. We are consistently moving in a “heavy” direction, while not eliminating the fact that other feelings shine through sometimes.

HMTV: What are some of your musical influences:

Eric:  American Head Charge, (hed)pe, Marilyn Manson, Ministry, a lot of metal, some other stuff like Bone Thugs n Harmony, Atmosphere, even Mozart. I guess I mostly like depressing, angry, and/or thought-provoking music.

HMTV: Who are some bands you’ve played with:

Eric:  We opened for Otep, Bury Your Dead, Through The Eyes of The Dead, and Destrophy when The Rise Rebel Resist tour rolled thru Des Moines (2.24). We got a lot of good feedback from people that haven’t heard us before, and even from the other bands. Mike from Bury Your Dead left us feeling like our lives were complete by paying us a compliment. I’m pretty sure that made my night… Signed my first shoe.

We opened for (hed)pe recently, that was especially awesome for me since they are one of my top 5 favorite bands. We got to hang out with Trauma (the “new” drummer).

Our first national act was Hemlock, they are a badass bunch of dudes that work way hard.  We’ve opened for them 3 times and they even played our CD release party.

HMTV: Any pre show rituals?

We haven’t washed our stage clothes since we started wearing them.. It’s kinda like we’ve had a lot of luck lately and don’t want to ruin it with added laundry. You know.  We wear different things underneath, but like my commander jacket, I haven’t washed that yet.

HMTV: How does the writing process happen:

Our writing has evolved a lot. We used to write songs in many different ways to keep it dynamic. We write riffs, or sometimes lyrics first, then rewrite building the structure, then tweak that up to make it “better”, then rewrite that. On Infestation, we wrote a few songs on guitar, recorded them, then drums, then bass, samples are added after the music most of the time, to keep consistent with the direction the song moves. Often times Seth and I will write lots of riffs and see what we can come up with. Guess it happens in a few different ways. Sometimes it involves recording a riff on a cell phone or video camera.

HMTV: What sets you apart from the rest:

Eric:  We want to affect our audience on many levels. We want to be so much more than a metal band. We want to use many mediums to convince others to spread the word about us. It’s who we are.

We write music for us, and don’t consider “the rest” when trying to make our own imprint on the world.

HMTV: If you weren’t playing music, what would you be doing in society.:

Eric:  Managing Bands, building websites, writing books, I have no idea. If not playing music, probably writing it.

HMTV: What can fans expect from you in the future:

Eric:  We started working on the next album as soon as Infestation was done. We want to play for every major city in the US. We’re going to do what we can and won’t stop until we go global. It’s probably cliche’, but it’s true.

There you have it guys. A brief introduction to a band that you will be seeing and hearing from in the months to come. I’ve recently partnered up with their manager Morbid Miller and will be doing everything I can to make sure these guys get the recognition and exposure they deserve not only in the MidWest area but all over the continental US.

myspace.com/deadhorsetrauma

Article By: Nadia Guardado