D Generation {topic}

Entrevista a Howie Pyro


Big Wheel recently sat down with Howie Pyro, Bassist of D Generation for an in depth interview retracing the bands history and how the bands reunion shows this summer are concerts you don’t want to miss!

First off, thanks Howie for taking the time to sit down and talk to us, We are big fans of D Generation and are excited about the reunion show taking place at the Troubadour. First off, your tale is an interesting one, you were living in NYC and became a part of the earliest American punk scene as it was dawning in 1976, you saw and became friends with just about every band that matters from that era, and thankfully you’ve survived the long hard decades where many unfortunately haven’t. How did D Generation form out of that very scene?
Well Jesse (vocals) was from my neighborhood where I grew up, I didn’t know him, but everyone kinda knew me cos I was that one crazy person. We had met in the 80’s at some point, he was kind of that hardcore guy, he didn’t like me and I didn’t like him (laughs), I was like a creepy punky gothy guy into drugs and he was straight edge and had a shaved head, he was in that band Heart Attack. Danny was also in Heart Attack, and I was already friends with Rick, so as time went by basically we had all changed and were neighbors living in Brooklyn. Jesse had a van service where he moved bands equipment around, he had moved equipment for one of my bands, so we had worked together and became friends, then we started to live together. Things became boring in the late 80’s, we were looking for something to do and it seemed like there was nothing, we wanted to play music, things had become kind of crappy like 80’s hair metal bands, uggh! So we threw this new years party in 1990, and a couple of us DJ’d and invited a ton of friends and evidently we weren’t the only ones feeling that way because our parties became massive. I had just decided to play all the records that I liked, and people were dancing to it, now it’s so normal to dance to that music, but then it was absolutely unheard of to be in a club spinning The Stooges and seeing punk rockers dancing. That was a club called Green Door, so it just became very popular and we threw it once a month, it became massive! Early on you could find disillusioned people like us hanging out there, but then eventually others started showing up and hanging around like Joe Strummer, Ray Davies or Johnny Ramone, you had to be there. Me, Jesse and Rick were all a part of that, we started a band that was pretty much the line up of D Gen (without Rick) but that didn’t work out, so me & Jesse started a new band and that was D Generation. Jesse had been thinking Degenerate something. We got the name from an adult movie poster I had, “Love Thy Neighbor and his Wife, the story of the D Generation!” So we were still forming, then I went over to England to tour with another band, The Action Swingers, and when I returned to NYC we started doing things with the 5 members that people know as D Generation.

How did the Green Door scene help propel the band forward?
Yeah that party, we played our first gig there. It was at this legendary building on 24th street owned by Giorgio Gomelsky, the dude who discovered The Rolling Stones, produced The Yardbirds and all sorts of crazy shit. So at his building he had a rehearsal space where bands would practice, an S&M club called Paddles, Murphys Law even played their first show there too! It was this insane place, and its still going on today! He let us open the Green Door there, it was a home base for us as a band.

So you’d been playing at the Green Door and gigging around town, how long was it before you guys would get to record and put out your first album?
Well we had already written our first album before we had recorded it, we had a lot of songs and we started to get really popular really fast, so as things heated up we got a deal. We eventually signed with Chrysalis records (home of Blondie, Jethro Tull, Pat Benatar)..it was a major label, part of EMI. Before this we recorded an album produced by Andy Shernoff (The Dictators) & Daniel Rey (Ramones) but it never came out, except for 2 indie 45's, one on Gasatanka Records & one on Sympathy For The Record Industry.

Was there a negative reaction when you guys signed to a major label, did that matter to fans in the NYC scene?
No! No one was in Crass, no one was playing that stupid game, people just wanted us to succeed and represent the NYC scene.

It’s odd that most punk rockers hate bands that sign to major labels and automatically deem them sell outs; though the core Punk bands were on majors ie The Ramones, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Dead Boys, and even The Damned! I suppose punks and most 2nd generation punk bands just have a different way of thinking.
Those bands and those fans, they feel that way because they were never invited, just throw a contract their way and you’d see how they’d react and run straight to their bank accounts, haha. The only way to infiltrate and change things is from within, you can’t just preach to the converted.

So what’s the name of your first album and how was that experience?
It’s our self titled album, “D Generation”, though it was a really weird thing, we were really popular and did it really quick and drew tons of coverage, their was this huge buzz. Though at the time of our albums release the guy who had signed us got fired, and our support from label basically became nonexistent. So with no interest from the label, we asked them to drop us from our contract. Our career was going well and we didn’t need anything holding us back, so they dropped us, which isn’t something that bands ask for, it usually happens to bands the other way around, hahaha.

So where did the band go from there?
Well the band moved to LA for the summer of 94’, we came out here and lived in this crappy motel, the same place where Divine died. So we lived there and played around town a lot and threw parties and played up and down the west coast and got a great fan base going. Before we went back to NYC we decided to throw this huge party, it was at this bar where I once hung out with Rozz Williams of Christian Death on Halloween. Joe Sib (now owner of Side One Dummy Records) and the band got together one afternoon and built this stage there, and basically kind of started a venue. We had a huge going away party there, it kind of created more buzz for us once again as a happening band.

How did you guys go about getting picked up by another label?
We were being written about a lot in the New York Post & Daily News & we made a big deal about EMI & being dropped & told the news we dumped the master tapes in the East River & for some reason we always made trouble & parties & music & they loved to write about us, so this bidding war started and it was crazy, we’d get flown to LA a couple times a week and meet up with labels at dinners and take advantage of that fully on their dime, though because we couldn’t visit other labels on the same trip, we'd have to go back home and fly back to LA like the next day, it was insane!
We ended up only talking to Columbia Records though, as they were based in New York so it seemed to make most sense. Their president Donny Einer was really cool, he actually blew off Bruce Springsteen to come see us, we were impressed by them, they were pretty cool….at first…

So now enter what would become your 2nd album "No Lunch", how does the band deal with a new label and pressure to make an even bigger and better album than the previous.
Well we wanted to test our new label interests loyalty, so we come up with this idea that we’d only sign and go forward with them if they agree to open up Coney Island early, get all their staff and lawyers to get on the Cyclone Roller Coaster, and ride with us and sign us directly on the spot.. They went through with it!
So we decided to get Ric Ocasek of The Cars to produce our album, he was an artist, a musician and he understood where we were at, where we were coming from and let us know he was on our side and not a pawn of a label, we believed in him & he fought for us as an artist with power which we loved.

At this point punk rock is about to make a huge comeback with bands like The Offspring, and Green Day and what not, where did D Generation fit in the modern scene of the time?
We ended up becoming main support for a ton of bands that took us allover the world because they were fans & we were a great party band. We went out with Green Day which we thought would be weird, but it ended up being really cool, we went over to Europe with them and toured with them multiple times. There were also tours with Social Distortion, The Ramones, and even Kiss, their first reunion tour in 96’ when they put the makeup back on, there is a picture of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tim Armstrong and myself floating around the net from that time. We did do our own tours though in large clubs around the country too. We also shot some music videos, it was insane and a very busy time for us as a band. We gained a lot of fans, they varied too because of all the bands we played with, we played to Green Day crowds but also had that hardcore punk crowd as well, there were so many factions of our world there, it was really special, skinheads, drag queens, young punks and older punks like members of the Ramones and the Clash and they were all at our shows.

What came next for the band?
We are back in NYC and the Jesse & some of our friends invested in this big club/building on St. Marks Place so we could have a club 7 nights a week instead of the Green Door just being a once a week night, it became known as Coney Island High. It was insane, there were bands playing upstairs, bands playing downstairs, everyone played there! One night you’d go there and Iggy Pop, The Ramones or Beastie Boys would be playing, it was our home, pretty ridiculous, its unheard of really, turned out to be really successful (but not financially so much as drinks were basically given away endlessly). Though because of that Nazi Rudy Guiliani and his new laws, the city decided to cut down on clubs and fuck up the nightlife for some bizarre reason. In part the neighborhoods were changing, they wanted the undesirable people out, and that killed the club.

You guys would go on to put out another album after No Lunch entitled Into The Darkness…
Well towards the end of the No Lunch tour cycle which ended up being very very extensive, we ended up having some issues with our label, they weren’t listening to us, thing started getting crappy. It frustrated us as a band, Rick ends up leaving the band, were now trying to figure out what to do. Todd Youth ends up being in the band, the label wants us to put out a record, so we decide to go forward with that. We met with legendary producer Tony Visconti (Bowie, T Rex, Sparks, Thin Lizzy, Iggy, Morrissey, etc.), I got along with him great, he was super cool, he had let me use the bass he used on The Man Who Sold The World album. During the recording of the album he actually got a phone call from David Bowie, and it was the first time they had talked in like forever, they had this reconciliation and we had witnessed it, it was pretty cool, he’d later go on and work with Bowie again after that. But things got weird, and we decided to break up as the album came out, mostly due to struggles & frustrations with Columbia Records. Me and Jesse formed a band PCP Highway. Michael & Todd formed a band, Chrome Locust. So we get this huge tour offer from the Offspring, and at the time they were the biggest band around, and they just so happened to be on the same label as us. We didn’t want to, the label didn’t want us to, but The Offspring really insisted we do it, so we scrambled to get a lineup in time to do the tour with a new guitar player & drummer. We would go on and do one last show at Coney Island High, it was not announced as a last show, but we knew it was…there's a recording of it in a box somewhere. I did the band with Jesse for a while before I wound up in Danzig, which was a really great time in my life.

So more than a decade has passed since D-Generation has played together with its original lineup, how did the reunion come about and where are the shows gonna be taking place?
Well for the last 5 years probably we’d been getting huge offers to play and tour, though at the time they hadn’t seemed right for us. I'm always really busy with my radio show (Intoxica Radio), DJ’ing clubs and parties all over the world doing DJ tours, I play once in a while with Kid Congo Powers, I live for it and always have. Right now I get so much email/messages on Facebook & stuff about D Generation it just seems right to do some shows. I have spent most of my life obsessing on what came before me & going to see bands many years after the fact when they get back together & that is a real thrill for me & I wouldn't wanna deny that to anyone else. We are definitely playing in Spain at the Turbo Rock festival in August, we're pretty popular there. We come back to North America and play Irving Plaza in NYC, a venue we played in the past, which is really cool because I have seen some of the best shows of my entire life there. Then one week later we come to LA and play at the Troubadour which is gonna be really cool. There is also San Diego and Oakland and this huge festival in Chicago. The first gig will now be in Seattle at Seattle Sound Fest on August 18th. Check here for tour dates: http://devildollsbooking.com/on-tour/d-generation-dates/

That’s really cool that you guys are doing this for the fans, how do you plan to make a set list that pleases old and newer fans.
We are gonna definitely play what everyone wants to hear, we’ve already gotten emails from fans who are requesting songs they want to see live, it’s gonna be a good full set!

A huge thank you to Howie Pyro for taking the time to sit down with Bigwheel and do this interview.

No way out

casbah escribió:

Joder no me esperaba que tocaran esta. Vaya alegrón!!!!

Omar Little escribió:

casbah escribió:

Joder no me esperaba que tocaran esta. Vaya alegrón!!!!

Es una alegría ver que Richard Bacchus accede a tocar temas de Through The Darkness.
No como otros!!!

Through the Darkness es un disco infravalorado to the max...

Carpi Malone escribió: Through the Darkness es un disco infravalorado to the max...

Es un discazo, pero comparándolo con "No Lunch" (uno de los 10 mejores discos de los 90) siempre quedará un poco infravalorado.

Como todos estoy ansioso de ver una de las mejores bandas que parió los 90 ( y por consiguiente que han sido paridas ) .El caso es que a parte del j.Malin (al cual por cierto ,no le pillo el punto en solitario ) ,no he seguido la carrera de ninguno de sus componentes.
El caso es que estoy escuchando algo en solitario de RICHARD BACCHUS y suena potente .¿Que os parece ? ¿ lo mas recomendable ?

efecto diablo escribió: Como todos estoy ansioso de ver una de las mejores bandas que parió los 90 ( y por consiguiente que han sido paridas ) .El caso es que a parte del j.Malin (al cual por cierto ,no le pillo el punto en solitario ) ,no he seguido la carrera de ninguno de sus componentes.
El caso es que estoy escuchando algo en solitario de RICHARD BACCHUS y suena potente .¿Que os parece ? ¿ lo mas recomendable ?

Al resto de la banda no les he seguido la pista.
En cuanto a Jesse Malin, me pasa como a ti. Aunque justo después de separarse DGeneration formó Bellvue y sacaron un cd llamado "To Be Somebody" que estaba bastante bien (es decir mucho mejor que la discografía en solitario de Malin).

A pesar de todo, algún día tendré que volver a ponerme con sus discos en solitario.

JohnGarcia escribió:

efecto diablo escribió: Como todos estoy ansioso de ver una de las mejores bandas que parió los 90 ( y por consiguiente que han sido paridas ) .El caso es que a parte del j.Malin (al cual por cierto ,no le pillo el punto en solitario ) ,no he seguido la carrera de ninguno de sus componentes.
El caso es que estoy escuchando algo en solitario de RICHARD BACCHUS y suena potente .¿Que os parece ? ¿ lo mas recomendable ?

Al resto de la banda no les he seguido la pista.
En cuanto a Jesse Malin, me pasa como a ti. Aunque justo después de separarse DGeneration formó Bellvue y sacaron un cd llamado "To Be Somebody" que estaba bastante bien (es decir mucho mejor que la discografía en solitario de Malin).

A pesar de todo, algún día tendré que volver a ponerme con sus discos en solitario.

Estoy escuchando unos temas de Richard bacchus y si que te imaginas que es el guitarrista de D generation.Parece que nos hemos equivocado siguiendo la pista a Malin en vez de a Bacchus.

casbah escribió:

llevo dias soñando con que acaban el show con ella y dgenerated

Carabirubi escribió:

casbah escribió:

llevo dias soñando con que acaban el show con ella y dgenerated

te vienes a la pozona santanderina?

nacho escribió:

Carabirubi escribió:

casbah escribió:

llevo dias soñando con que acaban el show con ella y dgenerated

te vienes a la pozona santanderina?

solo el sabado sabadete

Carabirubi escribió:

nacho escribió:

Carabirubi escribió:

casbah escribió:

llevo dias soñando con que acaban el show con ella y dgenerated

te vienes a la pozona santanderina?

solo el sabado sabadete

me parece que la vais a liar muy gorda la horda del noroeste, porque ya me he enterao de los otros bárbaros que vienen

nacho escribió:

Carabirubi escribió:

nacho escribió:

Carabirubi escribió:

casbah escribió:

llevo dias soñando con que acaban el show con ella y dgenerated

te vienes a la pozona santanderina?

solo el sabado sabadete

me parece que la vais a liar muy gorda la horda del noroeste, porque ya me he enterao de los otros bárbaros que vienen

Fraga los cria...

Por fin ya están los horario del Turborock (en facebook):

TURBOROCK! FESTIVAL 2011 - HORARIOS OFICIALES

SANTANDER ( Escenario Santander)

VIERNES 2 DE SEPTIEMBRE.

The Tormentos - 16:45
The Nu Niles - 17:45
King Salami - 19:00
The Sadies - 20:15
Gigolo Aunts - 21:45
Matthew Sweet - 23:15
Nada Surf - 00:45
Man Or Astroman? - 02:30

SÁBADO 3 DE SEPTIEMBRE

Layabouts - 16:45
Jesse Malin - 17:30
The Del Lords - 18:45
Buzzcocks - 20:15
Urge Overkill - 21:45
The Bellrays - 23:15
D Generation - 00:45
Slim Cessna's Autoclub - 02:00



BENIDORM (Auditorio Julio Iglesias)

VIERNES 2 DE SEPTIEMBRE

Layabouts - 16:45
Jesse Malin - 17:45
The Del Lords - 19:00
Buzzcocks - 20:30
Urge Overkill - 22:00
The Bellrays - 23:30
D Generation - 01:00
Slim Cessna's Autoclub 02:30

SÁBADO 3 DE SEPTIEMBRE BENIDORM

The Tormentos - 16:45
The Nu Niles - 17:45
King Salami - 19:00
The Sadies - 20:15
Gigolo Aunts - 21:45
Matthew Sweet - 23:15
Nada Surf - 00:45
Man Or Astroman? - 02:30

Apoteósicos ayer, en plena forma y dando mucha cera. Ojalá se animen a grabar un disco y vuelvan en serio.

Omar Little escribió:Apoteósicos ayer, en plena forma y dando mucha cera. Ojalá se animen a grabar un disco y vuelvan en serio.

tu amiga es el doble de Jesse Malin

Stoner escribió:

Omar Little escribió:Apoteósicos ayer, en plena forma y dando mucha cera. Ojalá se animen a grabar un disco y vuelvan en serio.

tu amiga es el doble de Jesse Malin

No será pa tanto que no nos dieron bocatas gratis como a Jesse

Me sonaron a gloria puta bendita.
Uno de mis conciertos preferidos de los últimos años.
No sabría con qué momento quedarme. Quizás cuando tocaron "Waiting for the next big parade", pero la verdad es que fue temón tras temón.
Malin lo dio todo. Es un grande.

atabal escribió:Me sonaron a gloria puta bendita.
Uno de mis conciertos preferidos de los últimos años.
No sabría con qué momento quedarme. Quizás cuando tocaron "Waiting for the next big parade", pero la verdad es que fue temón tras temón.
Malin lo dio todo. Es un grande.

Yo igual me quedo con esa también, Helpless me encantó también. Muy grandes ayer, noche histórica para mi.

Creo que lo que más me ha gustado a diso The Del-Lords

atabal escribió:Me sonaron a gloria puta bendita.
Uno de mis conciertos preferidos de los últimos años.
No sabría con qué momento quedarme. Quizás cuando tocaron "Waiting for the next big parade", pero la verdad es que fue temón tras temón.
Malin lo dio todo. Es un grande.

Un concierto memorable,apoteosico .Efectivamente,de lo mejor que he visto en los últimos año . Malin hecho un terremoto y el repertorio de infarto .GRANDIOSOS.

La única pega, la escasa duración.
Le suman unas pocas canciones más como "Disclaimer" y "Too loose" y me vuelvo loco.

Quizás fuese corto pero DIOS......increible concierto.

Despues se dejaron sacar fotos y saludar en el puesto de merchandasing .Me saqué una foto con Danny Sage y le dije que adoraba sus discos y me dijo " oh,muchas gracias ,¿como te llamas ?" le respondí y me dijo "yo me llamo Danny " ,naturalmente me reí y le dije que ya lo sabía y se dió cuenta de la situación y se empezó a reir dandome un abrazo .

¿Alguno de los que hablasteis con ellos os dijeron si van a seguir juntos y hacer más giras?

Hay un par de videos en Youtube de la actuación de Benidorm. A ver si alguien cuelga pronto de Santander... Tengo ganas de revivir ese conciertazo que, aún sabiendo que me iba a gustar mucho, me dejó noqueado.

Rizzy escribió:¿Alguno de los que hablasteis con ellos os dijeron si van a seguir juntos y hacer más giras?

Sage dijo que era una posibilidad y que la audiencia española era de lo mejor.

Omar Little escribió:

Rizzy escribió:¿Alguno de los que hablasteis con ellos os dijeron si van a seguir juntos y hacer más giras?

Sage dijo que era una posibilidad y que la audiencia española era de lo mejor.

Lo que daba a entender Mallin en el concierto (lo poco que le entendía debido a su manera de hablar en plan metralleta ) ,es que "habían vuelto " .Y sobrevuela la impresión en sus declaraciones que la posibilidad existe .Yo iría mañana mismo a verles .Estoy en una nube.

Directo en Santander: Degenerated, She stands there, ....

efecto diablo escribió:

Omar Little escribió:

Rizzy escribió:¿Alguno de los que hablasteis con ellos os dijeron si van a seguir juntos y hacer más giras?

Sage dijo que era una posibilidad y que la audiencia española era de lo mejor.

Lo que daba a entender Mallin en el concierto (lo poco que le entendía debido a su manera de hablar en plan metralleta ) ,es que "habían vuelto " .Y sobrevuela la impresión en sus declaraciones que la posibilidad existe .Yo iría mañana mismo a verles .Estoy en una nube.

En la entrevista de El País dicen que vuelven con todo, nuevas grabaciones incluidas.

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/Oda/guitarras/electricas/elpepuculmus/20110901elpepucul_1/Tes

casbah escribió:
Directo en Santander: Degenerated, She stands there, ....

Madre mía como suenan...

Qué sigan juntos y venga de gira!

Rizzy escribió:

casbah escribió:
Directo en Santander: Degenerated, She stands there, ....

Madre mía como suenan...

Qué sigan juntos y venga de gira!

Yo sigo en una nube .Uno de los conciertos de mi vida .Creo que ya he contado la anecdota en el topic del turborock pero es de lo que se te queda en la cabeza respecto a la humildad de ciertos tipos .
Me acerqué a Sage para comentarle que adoraba sus guitarras en Dgeneration y el tipo se alegró de verdad y de manera espontanea me pregunto el nombre .Le contesté y me dijo " yo soy Danny " a lo cual riendome le dije "que lo sabía muy bien". El tipo se dió cuenta de lo absurdo de su presentación (por innecesaria ,claro ) y se empezó a descojonar dandome un abrazo.

En otra foto Hpyro me mete el dedo en la boca.Grandes tipos.

estos en apolo 2... sería la bomba!

Rockenberg escribió:estos en apolo 2... sería la bomba!

Rockenberg escribió:estos en apolo 2... sería la bomba!

Visto el articulo del país y la supuesta continuidad del grupo según Malin, supongo que la gira de salas por aquí pronto será un hecho

ion escribió:

Rockenberg escribió:estos en apolo 2... sería la bomba!

Visto el articulo del país y la supuesta continuidad del grupo según Malin, supongo que la gira de salas por aquí pronto será un hecho

A rezar ( nos entendemos ) sea .

En Benidorm, Malin, comentó al final del concierto que nos veriamos el año que viene(típica despedida, que no me la llegué a creer, porque la he oido muchas veces y el grupo en cuestión ha tardado años en volver o no lo ha hecho)

Se les veía de muy buen rollo entre ellos, incluso Malin comentó enmedio de una canción que el nuevo disco estaba disponible en el stand y miró a Danny Sage y se rieron los 2. Lo estaban pasando en grande en el escenario.

Spirit 76 escribió:En Benidorm, Malin, comentó al final del concierto que nos veriamos el año que viene(típica despedida, que no me la llegué a creer, porque la he oido muchas veces y el grupo en cuestión ha tardado años en volver o no lo ha hecho)

Se les veía de muy buen rollo entre ellos, incluso Malin comentó enmedio de una canción que el nuevo disco estaba disponible en el stand y miró a Danny Sage y se rieron los 2. Lo estaban pasando en grande en el escenario.

Si que parecía que había buen rollo .Pero de hecho yo creo que la complicidad nunca la han perdido (continuas colaboraciones,Malin llevando a Bacchus o a a Sage de teloneros....) .Lo que me sorprende es que parece que es Malin el mas interesado en reactivar el grupo .

Porque Malin en solitario no se estará comiendo un colin. Caso parecido al de Soundgarden. Como hay buen rollo, pues a ver si conseguimos el éxito que nos merecimos y otros(Strokes) se llevaron siendo infinitamente peores.

ion escribió:

Rockenberg escribió:estos en apolo 2... sería la bomba!

Visto el articulo del país y la supuesta continuidad del grupo según Malin, supongo que la gira de salas por aquí pronto será un hecho

Yo lo doy por hecho!

Spirit 76 escribió:Porque Malin en solitario no se estará comiendo un colin. Caso parecido al de Soundgarden. Como hay buen rollo, pues a ver si conseguimos el éxito que nos merecimos y otros(Strokes) se llevaron siendo infinitamente peores.

hombre, con Glitter and the Gutter alcanzo un status bastante bueno, Broken Radio tuvo rotación gracias a la colaboración de Springsteen que sale incluso en el clip... quizás con el último no haya alcanzado lo que deseaba y le han entrado ganas de punk rockear de nuevo.

A eso es a lo que me refería, quería convertirse en Ryan Adams pero no ha llegado a su nivel.

Spirit 76 escribió:A eso es a lo que me refería, quería convertirse en Ryan Adams pero no ha llegado a su nivel.

Quizás pero no creo que piense que con Dgeneration va a llenar pabellones .Yo tengo fe en que si sacan un disco sea buenisimo .Quizás no pueda tener la rabia de los viejos Dgeneration pero a mi me parece que aun hay mucho talento ahí .Solo hay que ver las canciones que han compuesto estos años Sage y Bacchus.Y claro ,el propio Malin.