Interview with Steve of Détente 2010

By Bradley Smith and Fenriz

Hells!  Can you give me a little insight as to the events that led up to the reformation of the legendary Détente?  Did it feel a little intimidating restarting a band with such a cult following?  Were you afraid you couldn’t live up to its legacy?

Steve- The reissue was selling well so we started getting offers to play, I literally had not spoken to Dennis, Caleb, or Ross for at least 15 years but I said what the hell and tracked them down, Ross obviously was more interested in continuing that side gig of producing (laugh). The original intention of the reunion was really about playing a few shows with guys who were with me at an important time in my life but yeah it was a bit intimidating because Détente really did have a cult and so did Dawn, we took some abuse from the hardliners.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, what led to the original break up of Détente?   How did the acid burn accident and the band’s handling by the label play into its original demise?

Steve – The band had a difficult time in the studio. Dawn hated the producer, Dana Strum and Ross brought Dana in so it was a big drama. Dawn also was just beginning her downward spiral with her drinking so she would storm out of the studio and we were on a tight budget: it was tense and really frustrating, but I think it actually added to the feel of the record.

After we recorded the album we did a show and the band was sounding tighter than ever; it seemed like we would get past it. We were putting together a European tour and we decided that we would all take a couple of months away from each other prior to the tour and the next thing we know we get a call from a friend who has just visited Dennis in the hospital, he has been there for weeks and we did not know: he nearly died. We go see him and he is burned over a large part his body and it turns out Dawn is in Europe promoting the album and rumors are flying that we are replacing Ross; it just seemed over.

With the untimely death of Dawn Crosby, how were the band members affected?   How has the transition gone from such a legendary female frontwoman to Tiina Teal, and what qualities were you looking for when Tiina was brought on board?

Steve- When I heard about Dawn my heart sank, it just felt awful because even though Dawn was a mess at times and could be such a difficult person, at the heart she was a great person with such immense talent that we all wanted her to get it together: we had all made amends years earlier.

Now finding Tiina was proof that sometimes good things happen to bad people (laugh). The only criteria I had for a replacement was someone with integrity who was passionate about their worldview and not afraid to share it. We stumbled upon Tiina through a friend of Caleb’s: I checked out her page and thought her voice was a perfect fit, after talking to her on the phone I knew she was a perfect fit because she shared our vision of what the band was about.

From a specific songwriting standpoint, what do you think made Détente unique?  And when someone says “crossover” what do you think they are describing when they say those words?  Which elements within Détente’s music were the most important to you, the punk or the thrash and why?

Steve- what makes Détente unique is that we are very honest in our approach, we never sat around thinking how do we make ourselves famous: while everyone around us wanted to be the next Slayer we just wanted to write good songs that had meaning. When people say we are crossover I think it is really our social views and the attitude that connected us to punk, while Détente were influenced by punk art, and culture we were not really influenced by the music much, but we were no fan of the praise Satan metal lyrics either. So the punk message was similar to our worldview while we were more metal from a musicianship perspective.

Lyrically, Détente is more in line with the punk scene than your typical thrash peers.  Why did Détente head in this direction and what issues interest you the most?  What is your goal when it comes to conveying a message to the audience?  Do you want them to think for themselves?

Steve- We never really planned a direction we just did what came natural: we wrote the music very dynamically and collaborated in real time. If I had a song I would walk into rehearsal and Ross might add a part and Dennis would make suggestions and Dawn would listen and have lyrics by the time we had the core the song, often in 15 minutes! She was amazing. We all had grown up in difficult environments so social issues resonated. We were lucky to find Tiina who very much has a similar background knack in her writing.

I think of a part our audience typically gravitates to us because they want to hear music with some sort of message, but given the heaviness of the tunes I think many don’t know the difference; plenty of Détente fans are listening to the popular thrash and death metal bands.

And since we are on the topic of the politics and social issues, what did you think of the outcome of the recent mid-term elections and the Tea Party movement within the US political scene?

Steve- Obviously we would not be considered for conservative events but I think government as a whole has moved to serving the interest of big business, keep in mind big business may be a corporation or a union; I don’t believe either party is serving the people of this country. We need such movements to make sure that our government is serving the interest of the people. I would now like to see the liberal side take a stand, maybe a cue from the French and take to the street and demand change. We are nearly bankrupt as a nation with 60% of GDP as debt and a government that caters to the money pouring in from special interests, basically a one party government: the part of money.

Why do you think that Metal Blade didn’t put much effort into promoting/supporting Recognize No Authority?  How has the rerelease of the album gone?  As I understand it you had to sever ties with one of the distributors.

Steve- Actually the lawyer for Roadrunner back in the day put it this way: “Steve, you have to remember that all of these records are like shit to us, you throw it against the wall and see what sticks”. So you have your Metal Blade product and this band Détente you licensed from Roadrunner who just happen to not fall into a precise genre, what do you do? You push Lizzy Borden because it is truly shit and it is sticking.

The reissue has sold a few thousand copies worldwide and the distributor thing happens, sometimes you walk into an agreement that just does not work out: a distributor screwing us out of a few bucks is not new.

Détente has been referred to as legendary, but what do you think makes a band legendary?  And how does Détente meet these requirements, or do you even see yourself as “legendary?”

Steve- I don’t know about legendary but when we played the Netherlands and Germany we had a lot of people who came from all over Europe who had listened to the band for 25 plus years and were telling us how the music impacted them, it was a humbling experience for us. If people are still talking about us in 15 years I will reconsider being legendary but for now I will accept being a well-worn underground band.

(Question from Fenriz of Darkthrone)   WHY DOES THE SOUND (on Recognize No Authority) RESEMBLE darkness descends so much, hehe?

We probably were recording them about the same time, probably on about the same budget (10K and 10 days through mix) We rehearsed the tracks for a few weeks prior and then went into Baby O studios Hollywood, we had to pay off the night crew 20 each to let us record for 10 hours but pay for 4 (5k had gone to the producer and his engineer). Michael Jackson was recording so we would ugh “borrow” his outboard gear at night (eventide harmonizer, etc.). The focus for us was capturing the live energy and spirit of the song, even if the tempo is moving around. Live basic tracks were done in an evening and kicks were triggered, Dana had just recorded Vinnie Vincent invasion and loved the kick-drum sound they had so we triggered Dennis’s kick drums which became an issue because we were faster than the sampling could handle, Dana kept pushing us slower so the triggers would work on certain songs. Sound wise Baby O had this nice old English board, these old mixers just had their own sound back in the day, not like digital. I think the fact that we were more focused on the energy and feel and the financial and time constraints created a certain sound.

I know you have an upcoming tour with Sentinel Beast, how is it that two legendary female-fronted thrash bands are going to be hitting the stage together?  What’s it like to be experiencing life on the road after all these years and what can the audience expect from Détente when they see them?

Steve- We brought Sentinel Beast down for a show in LA at the Black Castle (RIP) a couple years ago so when Debbie was approached by a promoter to do this “women of metal tour” and she mentioned us, the promoter had never heard of us (not unusual). As far as road life we rarely go out for more than a week here and there, we all have work and families so on.

Aside from the Sentinel Beast tour, what are some of the other near-term plans for Détente?  Any new recordings or other tours you have planned?  Any other related projects headed our way?

Steve- we are actually doing a European reissue of Decline with additional new tracks, remixes, and listener favorites, I assume we will do another couple weeks in Europe to support the release. To be honest I never know how much further we will take Détente because we seem destined for a respected obscurity.

I’ll leave any final words of dissent and societal displeasure to you, thanks again for taking for the time for an interview.

Steve- Make Détente your Political Action Committee by buying Decline! Actually thanks to all those present and past who have supported us, we have enjoyed the experience and feel lucky to have met so many cool people.