We've been following Detroit's Destroy This Place since the beginning of hipindetroit.com. In the last four years they have released two full length albums, a couple of music videos, and ventured out on a few short tours. They are on the brink of releasing their third album so we thought it was time to check in and get an update on DTP. This time we reached out to John Nelson, one of the quietest rock stars that we have ever met. He might play very loud music, but he is a very calm and soft spoken person.
The band will release their new album this Friday, October 23rd and they will have an album release party at The New Way Bar on November 7th.
HID- How does the band prepare for the release of a new album?
John Nelson-" This time we hooked up with Brixton Agency to do some promotion and help get the record out there. We'll do a release show in Ferndale a couple weeks after the record comes out and then we'll play shows in Chicago and New York. "
HID- Why did you name the new album Animal Rites?
John Nelson- "It sort of originated from a different title and artwork idea. There was a name we had in mind, but there was some potential of getting sued. Since we didn't want to deal with that we came up with something else."
HID- Why did you decide to put this album out on Forge Again Records?
John Nelson- "We've known Justin Wexler (FAR bossman) for a long time. He put out a split we did with Chicago band Hospital Garden a few years ago. He's also done records by some other Detroit bands we're friends with (Child Bite and Old Gods). When we sent him demos from the new record, he liked what we were working on and wanted to be a part of it. "
HID-Why are you releasing this record a few weeks before the show?
John Nelson- "It's just how it worked out. It should be a good thing. People will have a few weeks to listen to the new stuff and hopefully enjoy the show more."
HID- How does this new album differ from the last two?
John Nelson- "The first two were recorded at Russian Recording in Bloomington, IN. With the first record (Resurrect the Mammoth) we were trying to get a bunch of songs together as quickly as possible. Some of the songs were written before we formed and were probably meant for New Grenada or Friendly Foes. The goal was to capture our live sound so we recorded it pretty quickly.
The second record was more collaborative. We'd been a band for a couple years at that point and had played a lot of shows. We were more dialed in with each other and had more of a vision for what we wanted the record to sound like.
For the new one we took a trip out to Sonelab in Easthampton, MA and recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato. He recorded Speedy Ortiz and some newer bands like California X and Pottymouth. He's also worked with Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth. The process was pretty much the same as the last record but we spent a little more time on this one. Justin was real positive and fun to work with and it was a really good experience overall."
HID- Tell us a little bit about the writing process.
John Nelson- "Usually Ryan or myself brings in a new idea to show the rest of the band. It could start with a rough demo of a song or just a riff or verse. We might spend several practices working it out. The end result might resemble the original idea, but a lot of times it will evolve into something pretty different. Everyone in the band has a lot of input and it takes time to get it right."
HID- There has been a lot of talk lately that rock and roll is dead, do you agree with that statement?
John Nelson- "Not totally, I think there are a lot of good new bands. I can see why people say that, though. It seems like the majority of big rock or metal bands that play larger shows and still sell records have been around for 20 plus years. On a positive note, there are way more festivals now than there were 10 years ago, lots of places to go for music online, streaming, etc. Vinyl seems to be selling really well. Record Store Day has been pretty successful. Rock isn’t dead, maybe just more underground."
HID- Who did your latest promo photos with the black and white background?
John Nelson- "Brian Rozman aka Carjack (brianrozman.com). We spent a few hours in Hamtramck and that mural was one of the spots he wanted to photograph. The mural was painted by Victor Reyes."
HID- Who have you been listening to lately? Got any sweet bands we need to check out?
John Nelson- "Locally, Malo Konjche, Monarchs and Braided Veins are all really good and worth checking out."
John Nelson-" This time we hooked up with Brixton Agency to do some promotion and help get the record out there. We'll do a release show in Ferndale a couple weeks after the record comes out and then we'll play shows in Chicago and New York. "
HID- Why did you name the new album Animal Rites?
John Nelson- "It sort of originated from a different title and artwork idea. There was a name we had in mind, but there was some potential of getting sued. Since we didn't want to deal with that we came up with something else."
HID- Why did you decide to put this album out on Forge Again Records?
John Nelson- "We've known Justin Wexler (FAR bossman) for a long time. He put out a split we did with Chicago band Hospital Garden a few years ago. He's also done records by some other Detroit bands we're friends with (Child Bite and Old Gods). When we sent him demos from the new record, he liked what we were working on and wanted to be a part of it. "
HID-Why are you releasing this record a few weeks before the show?
John Nelson- "It's just how it worked out. It should be a good thing. People will have a few weeks to listen to the new stuff and hopefully enjoy the show more."
HID- How does this new album differ from the last two?
John Nelson- "The first two were recorded at Russian Recording in Bloomington, IN. With the first record (Resurrect the Mammoth) we were trying to get a bunch of songs together as quickly as possible. Some of the songs were written before we formed and were probably meant for New Grenada or Friendly Foes. The goal was to capture our live sound so we recorded it pretty quickly.
The second record was more collaborative. We'd been a band for a couple years at that point and had played a lot of shows. We were more dialed in with each other and had more of a vision for what we wanted the record to sound like.
For the new one we took a trip out to Sonelab in Easthampton, MA and recorded with Justin Pizzoferrato. He recorded Speedy Ortiz and some newer bands like California X and Pottymouth. He's also worked with Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth. The process was pretty much the same as the last record but we spent a little more time on this one. Justin was real positive and fun to work with and it was a really good experience overall."
HID- Tell us a little bit about the writing process.
John Nelson- "Usually Ryan or myself brings in a new idea to show the rest of the band. It could start with a rough demo of a song or just a riff or verse. We might spend several practices working it out. The end result might resemble the original idea, but a lot of times it will evolve into something pretty different. Everyone in the band has a lot of input and it takes time to get it right."
HID- There has been a lot of talk lately that rock and roll is dead, do you agree with that statement?
John Nelson- "Not totally, I think there are a lot of good new bands. I can see why people say that, though. It seems like the majority of big rock or metal bands that play larger shows and still sell records have been around for 20 plus years. On a positive note, there are way more festivals now than there were 10 years ago, lots of places to go for music online, streaming, etc. Vinyl seems to be selling really well. Record Store Day has been pretty successful. Rock isn’t dead, maybe just more underground."
HID- Who did your latest promo photos with the black and white background?
John Nelson- "Brian Rozman aka Carjack (brianrozman.com). We spent a few hours in Hamtramck and that mural was one of the spots he wanted to photograph. The mural was painted by Victor Reyes."
HID- Who have you been listening to lately? Got any sweet bands we need to check out?
John Nelson- "Locally, Malo Konjche, Monarchs and Braided Veins are all really good and worth checking out."
Check out the latest music video for "The Bees", the first single off the new album:
Mark your calendars, we will see you at the release show at The New Way on the November 7th!
~S
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