An Interview with Theo Kapodistrias
Plus an In-Depth Look at Vengeance-core
and it's Hip Younger Brother

www.myspace.com/danceelectric


by Brandon Rabideau
Photos by Scott Sokoloski

This is my interview with Theo Kapodistrias, Dance Electric front man. Dance Electric released their second album A Penance For Your Thoughts in November and is making their rounds in the GTA. They recently played an intimate all ages show at The Dam in Meadowvale, and I was lucky enough to attend.

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Rabideau - What is going on in the world of Dance Electric?

Theo - Right now, we're just trying to pimp out our new record A Penance for Your Thoughts. The release of the record actually set us back quite substantially financially speaking so we really need to sell some copies of that bad boy. We're just going through the grunt work of it all.

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The group's debut We Are Dance Electric was one of the best dance punk albums ever released, but it's nothing compared to this. A Penance is ridiculous! The album is twice as good and five times as aggressive as its predecessor. Songs like Stigmata Baby, Sick Burn and, of course, the scathing title track, are punchy and heavy with every bit of pop sensibility still intact. The tracks have so much beef packed into them that you'd think they processed meat by day to fund their punk rock nights. It seems the royal Mississauga power-couple of Kapodistrias and NJ Borreta just can't run away from their demons forever.

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Theo - We swore we'd never make hardcore music again, but I guess we can't stop...

I feel that hardcore music is innate in me -- so no matter what I do to deny it, it always sneaks its way into the art I make. Part of my decision to break up Strawman was because I was tired of the whole mid-90s hardcore style / scene. All I really wanted to do was to make fun songs that were still kind of punk and totally ignore that part of my musical past. While writing the new record, the songs we were writing got heavier and heavier. It then occurred to me that I find hardcore music incredibly fun to play so I just embraced it.

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With the demise of the epic Strawman Fallacy and flash in the pan experiment August disbanding after 9 shows, the two are forced to use Dance Electric as their sole means of catharsis; with mind-blowing results. Where Dance Electric was groovy and fun and Strawman Fallacy was chaotic and angry; the new Dance Electric is the marriage of those sounds. With a strong rhythm section consisting of a new drummer and a soulless ginger, they seem poised to take on the world and fucking win.

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Rabideau - Is A Penance For Your Thoughts a better album than We Are Dance Electric?
Theo - Well, it is in the sense that it sounds a lot better than the last record. I feel like comparing the two records is like comparing apples to oranges. Both records try and achieve different things. We are Dance Electric was an attempt at writing a pop record without seeming like a pop record. It also embraces a very positive aspect of our psyches. A Penance for Your Thoughts is a little more ambitious in the sense that we were trying to create a hardcore album without losing what makes us sound like Dance Electric. Also, thematically, the record is very dark, even though the message is delivered in a tongue-in-cheek satirical way at times.

Rabideau - What's the best song off of the new album? Or, I guess I should say which is your favourite?

Theo - I really like the way Wall Street Dracula turned out. I dig the line "you view flesh through the eyes of gods." There's something righteous about it.

Rabideau - Is there a lyrical theme on this album?

Theo - The majority of the lyrics are a scathing criticism of a religiously indoctrinated society and how we function in this world when religion is of no importance to us. I also deal with how religion skews the collective view of sexuality and how I wish we'd finally rise above our puritan like judgements about people who enjoy fucking (i.e. everyone who's alive). The themes are somewhat connected to We are Dance Electric since I dealt with the idea of not being ashamed of who you are in that record--this record deals with why we are made to feel ashamed of our natural existence.

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After listening to the disc I was more than a little aroused by the opportunity to catch the group playing in Meadowvale, an area I called home at one point. The group appeared at the all-too-small, all-ages venue The Dam located behind the Town Centre. It had been a while since I had actually gone out to see the group and the biggest shock for me was how much of a draw they are now. Not that they don't deserve to be, but when I saw them last, I recall standing by myself in front of the stage while no one else paid attention. I couldn't be happier for them, they are one of the hardest working DIY bands around, and Theo and NJ especially have been tooling around the scene for a while now. Strawman Fallacy was such a niche band that they always had such dedicated fans, but not enough of them to push forward. With them, you either got it or you didn't. No grey area. Dance Electric, however seems to be tickling lots of folks in just the right way and the venue was brimming with their fans.

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Rabideau - What is it like being popular? I mean not to hurt any feelings here, because you know I've always loved you, but I mean Strawman Fallacy was such a niche band and Dance Electric started very humbly as kind of your side-project, so what's it like to actually be focusing on growing your brand, and getting yourselves out there and having it actually work?

Theo - Well, I don't really consider us popular. Whenever I tell a new person what band I'm in, they always shrug and say "Never heard of ya". We've definitely had some good fortune with a couple of TV appearances and being involved in some higher profile shows, but we still play to 20 - 30 people audiences every so often. Those shows do happen a little less often than Strawman Fallacy shows, that's for sure.

I think what made us focus on promoting the band and actually trying to build our audience instead of being hardcore douche-bags and not caring about that stuff was the harsh reality of adulthood. NJ and I are growing older; the bills are becoming more bountiful. We love playing music so much, but we are at a point of our lives where we can't keep on pouring money into our very expensive hobby; so we've been a lot more business oriented in regards to this band. Ideally, I'd love for the band to be our job. Right now, there is no way we can support our lives on our band salary--especially NJ who just got married.

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After missing the first band and opting to go to the store during the second act it was finally time for the Electrics. My pants got shorter as anticipation was tangible, hanging in the air. Each test strum of NJ's epiphone, each fuzzy pluck of Jamie's bass strings was a tease and the crowd ebbed and flowed in agitation. NJ's trademark red hollow-body was adjusted to nipple height, the bass was at optimal fuzz levels, and the drums were assembled and ready. Theo stripped his glasses and red striped sweater off, revealing his trademark black band shirt and toned arms. He's the kind of geek that would kick YOUR ass and take YOUR lunch money just to teach you the lesson that bullying is wrong.

The lights dimmed and a montage of twisted and violent movie clips danced on the wall behind them. Theo snuck a glance at each of his mates, and each indicated their readiness with a small nod. Then they unleashed; all dance punk hell broke loose. As the band exploded into their set, the tension of the crowd snapped and a hellish mosh pit consumed the front centre. The acrid stench of sweat stung the nostrils halfway through song one, and there was plenty more to come.

Stigmata Baby is an incredible song to see live, the gang vocals extend a collective fist with which to twist your stomach. And with each two minute offering the band set forth, the energy refused to let up. I find too often at shows that the middle of the set is a gaping hole, where people get tired and monotony sets in, but that feeling never came. Dance Electric kept kicking our asses musically, and we kept kicking our asses literally the whole night through. By the end, the group had played their new album in its entirety, plus the fan favourite Flag Burning Party. But like the masochists we are, we begged for more in the form of an encore, and they tried to dissuade us:

"We don't have anything left to play" claimed Theo.

"California Song!" retorted the crowd.

"Robbie's new, he doesn't know how to play it" exclaimed Theo, referring to their shiny new drummer.

"California Song!" said the crowd steadfastly.

* A long and tangible pause *

"...We could try, but it probably won't go well..." said the defeated vocalist, glancing at his mates.

"California Song!"

Jamie stood in an awkward pose, holding his bass in limbo above him, unsure if he was putting it on or putting it down.

"California Song!"

"Alright, we'll do it, but you all have to get up here and sing it!"

A roar of approval rose from the crowd as the die-hards clambered onto the small stage to fight over the microphones. They pushed and wrestled and sang at the top of their lungs, while NJ kicked feverishly at errant legs that came close to trampling his pedals. Security held the monitors and speakers in place with all their worth and what little audience was left on the ground moshed and two-stepped their little heads off. Robbie played the song quite well, with a look of determined focus on his face.

Rabideau - What happened to Tori? And talk a little bit about Rob. What does he bring to the table? What new dynamic does he add to the mix?
Theo - Well, Tori has a lot going on in her life. Though she liked being in Dance Electric, her scholastic career was more of a priority to her (as it should be). She decided that it would be best to focus on it. It was a bummer to see her go--but what can you do?

I've known Rob for a while so it was pretty easy to integrate him into the band. He brings a more dynamic drumming style to the band. Also, his personality makes the band really fun to be in as well. He seems very enthusiastic about being in Dance Electric, and that's what we were looking for in a drummer.

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The show was over too soon, and we were left to the biting chill of the frosty outdoors. Gaggles of show-goers loitered outside the venue, smoking cigarettes and waiting for rides. Nothing brings a group of outsiders together like a mutual love of music... Not to mention $5 door fees and all-ages events.
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Rabideau - What's on the horizon for Dance Electric?
Well, we started writing our next record already which is probably going to turn out super metal. I also want to do an extensive Canadian tour in the summer. Completing a long tour is something I have never accomplished, and it is something I want to do before the end of the band, whenever that may be.

Rabideau - Will you consider bringing back the stache? That thing was spectacular.
Theo - The stache happens quite often. It will definitely make an appearance at one point much to my girlfriend's chagrin.

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Dance Electric is Theo Kapodistrias, NJ Borreta, Jamie Banks and Rob Molinaro. They have been kicking ass up and down the GTA and are poised to expand their brand into your neighbourhood. If you like angry music, you will love this band. If you like fun music, you will love this band. Both of their full-length albums are available on iTunes, Culture Rising or at any of their shows and you can find We Are Dance Electric at your local HMV.