QUICK MAGAZINE: Q&A Exit 380 singer Dustin Blocker

QUICK MAGAZINE: Feature "Cities Townies" EP (2.11.10)

Q&A: Exit 380 singer Dustin Blocker
Alt-rock band ready to release new EP 'Cities/Townies'
Thursday, February 11, 2010
By Hunter Hauk / hhauk@quickdfw.com

Local alt-rock band Exit 380 proved itself capable of evolution when it released 2008's The Life and Death of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Stone. Singer Dustin Blocker and his bandmates sampled a variety of genres on the concept album about the life of a 1930s couple.

They continue their musical tour with Cities/Townies, a 5-song EP they're releasing later this month. Think of Cities/Townies as half rock, half country-folk. And don't be surprised if the band expands this idea to a double-disc release down the line.
Blocker is the band's principal songwriter and the man behind the EP's concept, so we thought we'd drop him a note with some questions.
Here's what we got back.

Q: This is the second record in a row that's built on a concept. What were your inspirations in coming up with the 'Cities/Townies' theme?

Blocker: This time it was completely accidental. The band started demos last January and it seemed that every song fell on one side of the spectrum (mod rock "Cities") or the other (folk-country "Townies"). It felt contrived to buck against the trend of the music the band was laying down, so I just gave it a name to help us focus in a bit.

Q: You seem to be on the cities side in the photos accompanying the EP; does that speak to your upbringing and experience more?

Blocker: That's an oddity, because I spent my childhood in San Angelo, and my teenage/adult life has been in Fort Worth and Dallas. So, my upbringing and experience are from both. I assume that's why these recordings have clicked with me so much on a personal level.

Q: On the more country-folk-oriented songs, what was your challenge in composing and playing them?

Blocker: Funny, it takes a ton of work in the practice room to flesh out the rock tracks and keep them restrained and listenable, yet on the country ones the challenge was all in the studio and in production work. It's the layering of the simple and not pushing things over the top that make those tunes breathe. In a live setting it has [caused] us to take on more roles.

Q: Will there be a more expansive version of 'Cities/Townies', since you have a lot more songs written?

Blocker: Yes, if we can find the energy and schedule it correctly then we have around 20 more songs that we wrote for the project. The original idea was one disc Cities and one Townies. Hopefully we can accomplish the feat in 2010 while the energy from this EP is still floating about.

Q: You guys seem to be in an experimental phase. What are some sounds you'd like to explore in the future?

Blocker: Personally, we all are pushing to explore different avenues. Borden is pushing towards bluesy country, the Hutch brothers for riff-tastic experimentalism, I am getting into rhythmic synth stuff, and Bobby is always bringing fresh ideas from indieland to the table. The best part about this band is that no one member drives the van.

More on Dustin Blocker ...

By day, I am: Special education teacher of children with autism
By night, I am: Asleep
Age: 30

One thing about my early 20s that I wish I could get back: The amount of work that wasn't required of me on a daily basis.
Something about me you wouldn't immediately pick up on is: My wife says it's my affability.
Three musicians who've made me who I am today are: Eddie Vedder, Robert Plant and Dylan. Vedder because of his low voice and aggressiveness, Plant for the raw ability, and Dylan for the words.
My biggest nonmusical passions are: Pen and ink, sports and Mexican food
After an Exit 380 show, you can always find me: Socializing
If I have one pet peeve, it's: People and things who are late
My friends and family would describe me as: Nonstop movement with a touch of worn-out

DALLAS OBSERVER "Cities Townies" EP Review

DALLAS OBSERVER: Cities Townies EP Review (2.11.10)

Exit 380
Cities Townies (Rockyard Records)
By Darryl Smyers

Published on February 10, 2010 at 2:18pm

Denton's Exit 380 is an alternative rock group that, turns out, isn't as schizophrenic as it may first appear. The band's last effort, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Stone, flirted with a vague alt-country notion, and while Exit 380 is certainly capable of a variety of (disparate) styles, the energetic quintet now makes music that fits more comfortably in a Stone Temple Pilots/Alice in Chains groove.

Cities Townies, the band's new EP, is a rock record through and through—and a darn good one at that. Sure, a few cuts feature a nice acoustic riff, but songs like "Street Trash View" and "Caught in a Lie" are much closer to Led Zeppelin than the Old 97's.

Sure, this EP's embrace of straight-ahead rock may well turn off a few fans who favored the country concept of Alexander Stone, but there's no denying the band's comfort level with the material presented on Cities Townies. And vocalist Dustin Blocker's bellicose bellow is best suited to material that makes you want to knock back a couple of cold ones rather than reach for an almanac.

Sometimes the best music doesn't make you work too hard to enjoy it.

"Cities Townies" Studio Project

Exit380: Back in the Studio -- Album No.5 "Cities Townies" EP

We headed back to our studio in January to begin work on our 5th full length album, and the music has been pouring like oil through a sieve (roughly completing 9 tunes). The theme is thus far unchartered for us, but I can promise you that it is already shaping up to be "interesting" to say the least.

Some of the tracks could begin leaking into our live sets, so keep an ear out. We'll hit you with more info as this project progresses.

-blocker (3/9/09)
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The Progression

Okay, the project has progressed. We are in mid-April and sitting at 15 new songs. The music is split down the middle with straight-on Rock, and the other half of Folk.
Having a new member, as well as, additional writer in Jeremy Hutch, has been a huge thrust creatively. The tentative name for the record is "Cities Townies" reflecting the music's duality, and in many ways mirroring our split personality as a band too; half from the city and half from the country, and the varied points of view that produces.
We posted a compilation of some of the tracks thus far, here on our myspace player. Enjoy.
-blocker (4/14/09)
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More, More, More

...make that 20 songs. Another big couple of weeks creatively in the studio and the number of new tracks continues to rise.
Most of the tunes are much more upbeat from the previous outing, "The Life & Death Of Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Stone". Bringing us from the melancholy and a bit more into the light. The form of the record is not close to solidification though, so the final product may still stray into darkness...we'll see.
-blocker (4/28/09)
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POST-SUMMER UPDATE

It has been a few months since the last post and now it's the post-summer season. We topped out our demos at 22 songs in May and have scuddled them away for these months to work them out.
We have decided on a handful (that being 5) to pre-release for an EP. We will be re-recording those tunes in the coming months and my next BLOG post will give you an actual date of the EP release.
-blocker (9/4/09)
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CITIES TOWNIES EP

We've decided to go with producer/engineer Alex Gerst @ Indian Trails Studios near Denton to record half of the EP. Gerst has recorded some great locals including Moving Atlas, The Feds, Slow Roosevelt, Advent, Fair To Midland and more. So, needless to say we are pretty excited about seeing what direction his ear will bend ours.

The month of November will be spent recording at both Indian Trails and AB Studios, putting a release at early 2010.
thanks!
-blocker (11.3.09)
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INDIAN TRAILS SESSIONS

We just wrapped up our Indian Trails Sessions w/ Alex Gerst and just by hearing the rough mixes we can tell this might be the best work yet. We recorded "Street Trash View" and "Caught In A Lie", and we will post them as soon as we get the mix, and you can judge for yourself.
-blocker (11/9/09)
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FW WEEKLY "Hearsay" Section (12/3/09)

One thing I kinda "get" is mod-rock. I like a lot of the stuff I hear from 817 bands but not too much from elsewhere. So I'm a homer. In the words of the fisherman in the painting in Goodfellas: Whadda you want from me? And while indie-rocking hipsters uniformly write off contemporary mod-rock as a junkyard full of wannabe Pearl Jams or Toadies, I think most cool kids are mistaking sonic musculature, melody, and neat structure for artifice. Have we gotten to the point in our culture where rock music done well and in earnest is "fake" or "disingenuous"?
Does a song have to be sloppy, out of tune, and subtle to qualify as "truthful"? Is ironic distance -- essentially, making fun of yourself before anyone else can -- the only criterion for progressive music? If so, my friend, you need to readjust your logic goggles. Moving your preconceived notions to the fore of your consciousness is the first step in achieving an actually honest perspective toward not just rock music but all art. I also bet that more than half of the guitarists and drummers in allegedly progressive local bands (read: Denton post-punks) couldn't sit in with some of Fort Worth's most exemplary mod-rock outfits, including Merkin, In Memory of Man, and Exit 380, bands that are loud, in tune, and tight as hell. So put your prejudices aside for a minute and experience some quality mod-rock for yourself on Friday, when Exit 380 plays Lola's Saloon-Stockyards (105 W. Exchange Ave., 817-386-5008) with Loretti, Pepper Lane, and Potbelly. Co-produced by Alex Gerst (The Feds, Slow Roosevelt, Fair to Midland), Exit 380's fifth recording, tentatively titled Cities Townies, will be out early next year.
- www.fwweekly.com

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Master Tapes

We'll be receiving in our master tape for the "Cities Townies" EP today from Bart Rose @ Fort Worth Sound.
The release date(s) is/are still pending with the bookings getting worked out right now, but the tentative time looks to be late-February for the DFW area!
In the meantime, we posted 2 of the "Cities" tracks here on Myspace, as well as, the album promo shots Courtesy James Villa Photography.
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EP Release Date Set

The release date has been set for Sat., Feb 27th @ TREES in Deep Ellum. We hope you are as excited as we are to push this one out and cram it into your ears.
The discs have been sent out to all corners of the four winds, so look for reviews to start popping up in the local magazines and the like. Darryl Smyers of the Dallas Observer has been the first to post on their DC9 Music Blog.

View HERE: Dallas Observer DC9 - Exit380 "Street Trash View"