Founded in 2003, Italian glam-cyberrockers DOPE STARS INC. are an interesting band. They have the look, sound, and track record to entitle them to a plethora of rockstar attitudes. However, after interviewing them, I discovered that they’re just like us: fans of music and horror movies. Throughout this interview it’s clear that these influences have factored into the gradual development of the band. It’s also clear that they’re just average guys, working hard to make their dreams become flesh, and to make their music become art.  A few weeks ago I reviewed their forthcoming EP release of CRIMINAL INTENTS/MORNING STAR for FANGORIA MUSICK (read that here). When I got it from Metropolis Records I was blown away: it was like Industrial had mated with Glam Rock in some kind of weird Kirk-on-Spock porno! I immediately got in touch with DSI, sent like twenty emails back and forth, and the result lies below. This is one of the most sincere bands I’ve ever interviewed. They’re really normal guys... a little TOO normal. Interviewing them was kinda creepy like trying to figure out who is really THE THING. Think John Carpenter, you’ll catch up to the rest of the class. With no further ado, I’m going to shut up (for once) and let the band take the stage. ve

It’s my pleasure to introduce Victor Love on Vocals, Darin Yevonde on Bass, and La Nuit on Guitar - they are Dope Stars INC.


BENNY HELL (FANGORIA): Dope Stars INC. has a very unique sound. Who were your musical idols/influences, and how do you think their work has effected the development of your style?

Victor Love: That’s one of those questions where you really do not know how to start. Well, I can say we are children of the 80’s sound for both the rock and electronic influences. Through the years I’ve been listening to so much different stuff -from metal to punk rock, grunge, garage, classic rock, blues, synth-pop, ambient, hard electronic and of course classical music. That filled a big part of my childhood while I was taking piano lessons. That was until I was a teenager and discovered rock’n’roll music… heheh. Dope Stars Inc. is also influenced very much by 90’s hard electro, techno, trance and rave stuff as well as EBM, Industrial metal/rock -all mixed up with a bratty rock’n’roll attitude. Because of this mix of cybernetics and dirty punk, the Cyberpunk concept was born and I always thought about DSI as a band that could be in the middle of the rock and electronic world. In a music scene where all has been tried we found a way to create a style that could be the expression both of the music and concept embodied in our works that we used to call Cyberpunk Rock. There are tons of bands and idols I could name, but it would be misleading anyway.

Darin Yevonde: Hey man, it's a really hard thing to name someone specifically, we really have a big background of music influences -from KMFDM to Bowie, to Duran Duran to Skinny Puppy and so on --our sound is made from little pieces of all of our biggest influences and we mixed it all together in a crazy way.

La Nuit: My idols? Well, it depends on the kind of music we're talking about. Mostly I could speak about Depeche Mode, My Dying Bride, Motley Crue, Kiss, Samael, Metallica, NIN, Rob Zombie, Ministry, Christian Death, an Italian poet called Renato Zero and many others... but remember Elvis is the only KING!!!  For sure, you can find in me a little piece of every single artist I mentioned, I grew up with this music. My way of riffing, of playing the instrument, even dancing is subjected to these influences. I think its normal... then you add the best part of your own human being -et voilà --you’ve got La Nuit.

FANGORIA: Have you had a chance to meet any of them, and if so, what was the experience like -did you have any gushing ‘fan‘ moments, and if so, who gushed?

Victor Love: Yeah we had the chance to meet a lot of other artists trough the years that have also been our idols and it has been simply amazing. You know we are just simple guys from Italy and everything looks so amazing to us anyway. Can’t say I’ve ever been a big emotive person when in front of other artists as I always feel a big sense of respect that blocks me from any hysteria. But yeah, sometimes inside me I was like crying for joy and it has been a great satisfaction. Also I am still in touch with a lot of these bands -which means a lot to me --for a matter of exchange of opinions about music and as an important step to grow as a composer and musician.

Darin Yevonde: Meeting people who in the past (and not only in the past) have had huge influences on you are like a dream come true. We’ve met a lot of musicians in the last couple of years and I’m really proud and satisfied by it.

La Nuit: Yes, I'm still so proud of these experiences. We played together with Ministry at Mera Luna 2006 and with My Dying Bride at Summer Darkness 2007. But I think the greatest satisfaction of my career was to have Aaron (Stain Thorpe -singer of My Dying Bride) as a guest at one of our concerts in England. He was there to see our show! It's so unbelievable for me because I have loved his band since I was a teenager and now we are friends :)

FANGORIA: I’ve had the same pleasure, meeting some of my idols through what I do and finding they appreciated it. It’s powerful!  So, coming up later this year, you guys have a new album coming out. How far along are you on it? Do you have a title for it yet? How do you think will it compare -thematically and musically --to your 2006 release, ‘GIGAHEARTS’ ?

Victor Love: The new full length is definitively one step ahead both musically and thematically. We have always capitalized on Cyberpunk imagery and subculture for the concept. Our lyrics are inspired by literature, movies and underground lectures such as the Cyberpunk Manifesto, the Cyberdada Manifesto, and other texts of cyberpunk subculture.

This time I found that I could finally develop the lyrics in a more quiet atmosphere. Also, with the support of other band mates -that respect my work as composer, lyricist and songwriter in the band --I was able to make this a more focused work; something that has been impossible before as most of the time spent and attention was directed at stupid bullshit. I worked in the studio as the producer of the album and had all the time necessary to create the sound we wanted. Now we have it all recorded but there is still a lot to do, a lot of details to fix -the mix, the final sounds and so on. We are also working together to provide a visual dimension that will give more strength to the album and the concepts embodied by it. As for the concept, we are living in different times and we are different individuals now.  Some aspects and themes described in the album find even more connection with the times we are living in and the technological evolutions that are crossing the visionary borders of cyberpunk prophets to become reality. Back to the musical style; -it is a very balanced album that shows all sides of the style of this project including fast and furious rock’n’roll synthesized songs, melodic anthems, hammer beats and an aggressive number of dangerous tracks that are sharp like razor blades. It is digital hardcore, beauty and decay at the same time. But we like to call it simply Cyberpunk Rock.

Darin Yevonde: In one way it is totally different, we have developed a huge concept for this album, Older albums were more to "find a new aspect of our sound". Great albums, but still experimental in concept.  This new record is totally inspired and devoted to CyberPunk culture, William Gibson, and  movies such as Blade Runner.

FANGORIA: Speaking of concepts, I’ve heard a few tracks off the new album from your CRIMINAL INTENTS/MORNING STAR EP and I loved it. What we’re you guys shooting for when you released the EP?

Victor Love: By the time the EP will be out the album will probably be completely finished.  This EP is just a small advance. We picked a bunch of tracks we had almost ready. By the time we decided to do this release we were actually still in the studio recording the album. Since we had some songs almost ready -and a couple of extra songs -- we decided to shoot ‘em out with the album. In the beginning we wanted to have the full length out earlier but we couldn’t make it as I’ve been busy to set up all the business deals for it. So, since we’ve been silent for like 2 years we wanted to get the machines roaring again as soon as possible.

The EP includes a song called ‘Digital Warriors,’ which is one of our favs off it.  Basically this is more so a “rock” EP, apart from ‘Morning Star’ -that track is more electronic and melodic. We wanted to have some songs straight in your face but this is just a small anticipation of what the album will be. The album is a whole thing that has been constructed to keep balance and show all the sides of our style which includes a lot of different kind of tracks concerning style. A bunch are synthesized rock’n’roll, others are very hard songs, or very melodic and more into the synth-pop vibe, and others are just experimental. The EP instead was more of an aggressive attack. But since just a few months will pass by until the full length release, it is just a matter of time. And, you’ll finally get what this motherfucker is trying to say. :)

Darin Yevonde: CRIMINAL INTENTS and MORNING STARS are only the first bullets we are giving to you, they’re like the first taste you can have from our new weapons ;)

FANGORIA: That was quite a mouthful! It’s rare to have artists go into such detail about their work. When you worked on material for this album, where were you at emotionally and stylistically?

Victor Love: I was just out of the production of the new band I’ve founded with Noras Blake, that is called EPOCHATE. We play a mix of classical orchestral music with a soundtrack feel, industrial metal, and combine them with an apocalyptic concept. It has been a very amazing experience as producer but totally in a different kind of mood and feeling. When entering the studio to write the first songs I immediately got the DSI mood back again. I’m usually very fast at songwriting and production, so it often happens that I drop a complete song in one day. This time I also managed to do a couple in one day. Then you have to work on it but, basically the main thing is already up. I also had more time to think about it before writing and do a lot of different tests. It all depends much on the mood of the day and your personal experience. There have been days when I was feeling bad, days I was feeling angry or happy or simply sad for all this world that is just a bunch of shit that doesn’t work anymore. The international crisis has been a thing that in some ways probably influenced us as it is connected to the concept in some ways. Of course we are describing an imaginary world but -if you think about it --most of the things described in the world view of CyberPunk are very similar to the world that we are living in today.

Darin Yevonde: Basically, we worked on it in our minds and then compared the results and put them together. As always, our band and personal visions move in one way, our different influences works together.

FANGORIA: So you guys work together on everything and it bears fruit. Speaking of bearing fruit, your MySpace page has a few samples from the new album; what have the responses been like so far?

Victor Love: It has been a very good response. Also it is really easy to understand how things work thanks to all these web 2.0 sites with stats and all the rest. I am very much into the computer world and Internet. As soon as I could, I put my hands on my very first personal computer. I’ve been like that since the very early 80’s, when I was like 5 year old or something. That’s because of my father being into that stuff. I’ve been a web programmer for years now and also worked as computer technician and IT consultant. I can really tell that after launching again everything, doing a new website, and placing new songs and so on we had a very positive response. We are really proud of these result and we really can’t wait to see what will happen with the album. If this is the feedback for just a bunch of new tracks then we can’t either imagine how it can be with the new album.

Darin Yevonde: The response from the fans, both old and new, is great. The new songs are really kick ass songs, more rock’n’roll and more electronics. It's our best shape ever, you just have to wait and live it ;)

La Nuit: Positive for sure; our loyal fans are loving ‘Criminal Intents and Morning Star’ as with the other songs from Dope Stars Inc. We've recently had a lot of new friends requests due to these new songs, so I guess we won ;) We have a great surprise for all our fans! We could say that ‘Criminal Intents and Morning Star’ could be very near to the past production of the band, but on the other hand, we'll shoot you straight in the head with our new material!!!

FANGORIA: I really respect your energy and drive! You’re reputed to be a very friendly band; always willing to make time for your fans. From what I’ve read, you even give them your personal email addresses. What is your philosophy on the way you treat your fans, and how do you think MySpace aids you in that capacity?

Victor Love: My personal philosophy is that I think all these bands acting like rock stars are simply ridiculous. Besides, they harm themselves in the long run because they are considered dick heads. I mean come on man, we are not living in the 80’s anymore. The vision of the unreachable rock star -taking heroin, fucking every hole, promoting alcoholism, pissing on stage, and trying to appear so cool in front of people --is just bullshit. I think nobody needs more clones of those kind of stars from the past. They were living in different times, experiencing different things and being something else. And, the whole music industry was also completely different. There were a lot less bands before and less information.

It is no big secret that bands spread fake news just to be cool. Now everybody seems to have a band and acts like the old days after registering a new MySpace account, throwing a couple of pics up, and promoting without having written any music.  Everybody can contact you via email or a thousand of different kind of social networks, and they will one way or another see what you are for real. So why should you pretend to be something you are not? Why do you still want fans to believe a ridiculous story where you are so cool, you are so damn strange, weird, alternative or whatever tag you want to put on your face?  I really hate to see bands still using stupid clichés -especially new bands made of young people born in the 80’s. When do you became so popular that thinking to meet your fans is a risk? In the long run some of them try to protect their private life in some way. Being in an Indie band, I see nothing bad about spending the night with your fans and having a beer or a chat together after the show. We are not stupid gods or rock stars and we do not want to be remembered like that. I prefer to be remembered as an humble workaholic that did his best to make music that entertained and inspired people, something that sent a message.

I don’t say I have no girlfriend because it is not cool. What the fuck? Am I telling any of my fans they should not have a private life because they wouldn’t be cool enough to listen to our music? Or that they should all be rockers taking heroin, having casual sex with everyone, smashing  cars in the street and rioting everyday? That’s bullshit. There are still people that believe every stupid line of bullshit bands say in order to sell a couple more copies. That’s something I will never understand. Today you can’t simply hide what you are. When you try you end up being dishonest with yourself. And as Layne (Ed. Note: Staley of Alice In Chains) said. “If I can’t be my own, I’d feel better dead”. 

Darin Yevonde: There's no way to act like a superstar, there are no superstars anymore on this planet! All these bands want to act like they’re in the past. It's really stupid to act like an 80's band in 2009. Your personal way will be always be the best, and our way is to be friendly and close to our fans. People need it, like us! You wanna be the next Motley Crue? Do it on stage first!

La Nuit: Concerning me, it's very simple, they're giving me the last chance to make my dreams true. Added to this, I don't feel like a super rock star, but just a guy playing his music. I usually love to talk and to be friends with my fans.

FANGORIA: You guys have definitely got an evolved sense of what you’re doing. So let me ask you; what is the most gratifying part of bringing your music to people?

Victor Love: First of all, music is a spiritual trip that I do for myself.  First, I do it as a way to get all the pain out of me in a sort of catharsis. When I see that my music is appreciated by others it makes me feel happy. I can see that I made somebody else happy with my music. There isn’t anything better than earning the respect of other people and fans. Respect is all that I really care about in my life. There is nothing more powerful than music sending a message and inspiring other people. This is something that makes me feel like we’re doing something concrete in a world and life that sometimes seems to have no sense.

FANGORIA: Hopefully you can bring that passionate approach to other people soon. In the US, when a band releases a new album, they generally tour for it. You’ve been touring for the last four years, ever since the release of ‘GIGAHEARTS.’ Do you have any plans for a US tour?

Victor Love: We have basically been planning a US tour since the early days. It’s not easy for us to cross the ocean,  even if it seems strange to most of our fans. First of all there are enormous -and sometimes impossible to bear --expenses and risks in order to do an US tour. Second you need to have somebody on the other side, a US based agent or promoter, that can arrange everything in the way it should be. We can’t just come to the USA with backpacks and guitars and jump on a random stage to play. There are thousands of different things that should be taken into consideration to arrange a perfect tour, routing, promotion and so on. Until now we had nobody that could help us arrange a tour in the USA. Now that we’re going to release the album with a domestic label (Metropolis Records) more opportunities will show up. We know there is a high demand in the USA -actually the biggest part of our fan base is from the US --so we hope that after the album release we’ll be able to arrange an extensive tour. We are in touch with some agents now that can make it happen. Let’s see what they will work out. After all, doing an US tour is the dream we’ve been working toward since the start. Until we make it we’ll just continue pushing like motherfuckers ‘til it becomes reality.

Darin Yevonde: We really hope with this album the US will open it’s doors to us. As Victor said, it’s not that easy to come play in the US but we are working hard on it. We’ve really wanted to come there from our earliest years. And people from the US gave us feedback all the time. Being on the SAW soundtracks for 3 episodes gave us a great visibility! Bam Margera spread our names many times in his radio program "BAmRAdio" also.

La Nuit: Well, yes we're planning to tour the USA, but, like they said, it's not an easy thing to organize.  Anyway, I think that our USA fans will be soon satisfied, we hope the event will occur in 2009 or later 2010. Thanks to our US label Metropolis Records, the promotion of the EP has already begun and soon the album will be out… so expect us to hit your neighborhood very soon! You can also request a show on our Eventful so we can keep track of all fans worldwide and hit the most demanded cities.

FANGORIA: Well, I love what I’ve heard off the new EP, can’t wait to hear the new album, and have definitely become a fan. Another thing I’m a fan of, and which this site focuses on strongly, are horror movies. I read that Darin is really into soundtracks, particularly the work of Angelo Badalamenti (who has done tons of work for David Lynch). What are your favorite horror soundtracks, and do you have a favorite director?

Victor Love: We are all into soundtracks. I also have a band Epochate where we play a mix of industrial rock with orchestral elements with a soundtrack feel. Badalamenti is definitively one of my favourite composers as well as Vangelis, John Williams, Kilar and many more.

Darin Yevonde: Angelo Badalamenti is such a genius. He created the exact sound that David Lynch had in mind, one of my favorite composers ever. His mood is really close to my musical point of view.

FANGORIA: I am a Lynch fan from way back. You couldn’t have his movies without Angelo. No question. As I was digging around about you guys, I also read that Darin DJ’ed for the SAW III record release parties in Herford and Berlin, Germany in February of ‘07. What was that experience like, and what did you guys, collectively, think of the movies?

Victor Love: I like the saga of SAW very much. I like movies with complex stories that are full of surprises. It has been an honour for us to take part in the soundtracks and get in touch with the director. We also played a show at the presentation of the movie in Munich by The Times.

FANGORIA: That I didn’t know! Cool!

Darin Yevonde: Yeah! It was a great experience; I played a DJ set with 39 of FEVER (the same course I have in my last gig in Helsinki, vittu!). Saw is a great saga, really violent and direct! One of the best horror movie sagas in the last few years for sure! And we are proud to be part of it! YO!

FANGORIA: It‘s  ‘Beatcrusher’ from GIGAHEARTS, that was used for the movie soundtrack for SAW IV, right? I know the studio people pick the songs, but you have the choice of which song to offer. Why did you guys go with that one?

Victor Love: Because the song lyrics connected well with the movie in some ways. We thought it was good for the movie. Also it was one of the picks of the movies producers so it was cool. However we also wrote a song called “Getting Closer” for the previous one that is directly inspired by the movie too.

FANGORIA: Could each of you give me a brief list of your favorite horror flicks and why?

Victor love: Oh shit, again with the hard questions! This time I will go straight. First of all, of course Dario Argento, my favs are in particular  PROFONDO ROSSO, SUSPIRIA, and PHENOMENA. Apart from these I can name THE SHINING, THE THING, THE EXORCIST, THE EVIL DEAD, THE OMEGA MAN, HALLOWEEN... more in the sci-fi horror  INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, ALIEN, ALIENS, and PREDATOR. On the thriller side,  PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, and hey…well I can keep writing for ages…I probably watched all the horror movies ever and the same I can say of the other guys. We are movie addicts and always suggesting what next to see. Unfortunately there are really few movies from the past we’ve missed probably and yeah…new ones …some cool…some really not the same story!

Darin Yevonde: PIRANHA. It was a B-movie from the early 80s, my first "horror" movie ever! I saw that movie around 100 times when I was young, skipping school in 1985/86. Watch that movie! And most of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci’s movies! Italians made them better!!! ;)

La Nuit: Let me see... I would say immediately the trilogy of zombie films from "master director" George A. Romero and the EVIL DEAD series from Sam Raimi. I have loved these films since I was just a kid!!!

FANGORIA: Right on, you guys are a lot like me: fans of classic horror! Thank you so much for doing this interview. I hope you, and the readers, enjoyed it.

To hear the Dope Stars: Official Site, MySpace, Order Album

Photo Credits: Promo pics by Enrico Caputo; Live pics photography by Daniela Vorndran

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