Dean Rispler has been involved in all aspects of music. He’s been actively producing records and playing music since the early 90’s and he currently plays with no less than four active bands: SWILSON, KOSMODEMONIC, MIGHTY HIGH and OSAKA POPSTAR. His resume includes stints in classic NYC Hardcore and Punk bands MURPHY’S LAW and THE DICTATORS and producing credits for the likes of KILLING TIME, BAD WIZARD, THE BROUGHT LOW and H2O. In addition to that, he hosts a show on the Metal radio station Gimme Radio, alongside a list of Metal Superstar DJ’s which includes, among others, Dave Mustaine, Ross The Boss, Johan Hegg, Randy Blythe and Danny Lilker. A man truly and fully involved in music: that is where you recognize true passion. Check out his bands when they play and his radio show, Records Of Ruin, for free on gimmeradio.com!
-Cédric N.
Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
THE BAND – It makes no difference from the album Northern Lights-Southern Cross
What can I say about this track? It’s a real fucking tearjerker. Seriously. If you have ever been in love and don’t cry while listening to this song, you need some serious fucking therapy. Amazing.
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS – 54-46 was my number from Funky Kingston
This song is about as hard as it gets with reggae. Not only an amazing song musically (that borrows a lot from James Brown), the lyrics are fucking awesome. It’s all about being in jail and being assigned a number and losing your sense of self-worth. And then thinking that after you get out, some other poor devil has that number now.
AEROSMITH – No more, no more from Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith, despite them being unbelievably annoying in the 90s and beyond, were once one of the greatest bands ever. To put out Get Your Wings, Toys In The Attic and Rocks in a row? Fuck, man. Those records are absolute classics. This song, in particular, I love because it has to deal with the problems of being in a band. And I know all those problems quite intimately. I love when bands write about stuff like that. As you’ll see with my next entry below.
THE STRANGLERS – Get a grip on yourself from Rattus Norvegicus
You know, there are a lot of fantastic Stranglers tracks. And probably some that I like better musically. But the lyrics for this really hit hard – especially as someone who has tried more than half their life to be a professional Rock-N-Roll musician. It’s fucking depressing! And The Stranglers put it all in this song. The chorus alone is enough. (Also listen to One Chord Wonders by THE ADVERTS – hits a lot of the same sentiment).
10cc – I’m not in love from The Original Soundtrack
Sure. This was an AM radio hit in the 70s. So what? It fucking rules. It’s basically Godley & Creme’s updated version of THE BEACH BOYS’ Good Vibrations. And it has the same vibe in a way. The lyrics hit me hard in this one. It’s about denying your love and denying your feelings and actually hurting the ones you love the most. Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.
Which music genre do you listen to the most?
I listen to all kinds of music. I do. I produce records, so I have to be and want to be well versed in many different genres. Since I am lucky enough to work as a DJ/engineer/programmer over at the best Metal and Extreme Music radio station in the world, Gimme Radio (go to gimmeradio.com now!), I get my fill of Heavy Metal. And, of course, within that genre there are hundreds of sub-genres (e.g. Death, Doom, Black, Traditional, Thrash, etc.). I was a metalhead at a very young age, so I love it. And I guess I listen to that the most. But I also love Punk Rock and Classic Rock. And I do like some 80s New Wave. I also listen to a lot of soundtracks – I started collecting movie soundtracks awhile back. I love JOHN CARPENTER, POPUL VUH, HOWARD SHORE and so many others. I am a huge horror and sci-fi fan, so I mainly buy soundtracks from those kind of films. I do love early Rock-N-Roll – oldies as some may call them. That’s the best ever. CHUCK BERRY, JERRY LEE LEWIS, BO DIDDLEY. Love it. And all the great pre-rock blues and country artists. And I love 60s Soul and 60s-80s Reggae. Also 60s Garage Rock. I am kind of all over the place.
Five greatest hardcore EP’s of all time?
VOID – Void/Faith –Does this count as an EP? I would say so. It’s only one side of an album. It rules.
MINOR THREAT – I will count the first two EPs as one. They make an amazing record.
CRO-MAGS – Before The Quarrel (which, of course, was a name for the demo given way later).
DIE KREUZEN – Cows And Beer 7” – Not as utterly fantastic as the debut LP, but really fucking amazing.
BLACK FLAG – Nervous Breakdown 7”
Your five favorite rappers of all time?
I love that you asked for rappers. No particular order.
LL Cool J
Chuck D (Public Enemy)
dälek
Rakim (Eric B & Rakim)
Big Daddy Kane
Five hardest riffs of all time?
Swords & tequila – RIOT – Fire Down Under
Angel of death – SLAYER – Reign In Blood
Armed & ready – MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP – The Michael Schenker Group
Funk #49 – JAMES GANG – Rides Again
Stranglehold – TED NUGENT – s/t
What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
This is hard to say. It is most likely either PINK FLOYD’s Dark Side Of The Moon or IRON MAIDEN’s Number Of The Beast. And the first two 13TH FLOOR ELEVATOR LPs as well – The Psychedelic Sounds Of… and Easter Everywhere. I do still listen to all these records. A bunch. Though I haven’t put Dark Side Of The Moon on in its entirety in a long time. I should. It’s amazing.
What are some of your favorite song lyrics? Lyrics that have been important to you or that had an impact on you?
Well in my top 5 songs I mentioned above, all the lyrics are extremely important to me. They have definitely touched me. But when it comes right down to it, are there any better lyrics than this:
Day in day out all week long
Things go better with rock
Hahahaha! AUTOGRAPH really knew what was up, right?
Do you have a favorite setting or place to listen to music? How does the setting influence the type of music you’ll listen to?
Hmmm, not so sure. I actually love listening to music in the car while driving. When a record I am working on is getting finished and I get the mixes, I love driving in the car and listening to it. I guess that’s my favorite place. I listen on my computer a lot as well. Though not so sure if it’s my favorite – I am just used to it.
Do you have an absolute all time favorite band or musical artist? What makes them so special to you?
I don’t have just one. I absolutely love PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD. I grew up on all that stuff. So it’s all special and timeless to me.
What are your ten favourite albums of all time?
This keeps changing all the time, but let’s see what I can remember right now.
CHUCK BERRY – The Great Twenty-Eight
If you don’t have this record (or the records that these singles were comped from), you shouldn’t ever call yourself a rock-n-roll fan of any kind. Ever.
LED ZEPPELIN – III
Tangerine into That’s The Way? Fucking beautiful.
LED ZEPPELIN – Physical Graffiti
One of the best recordings ever made. Still holds up.
PINK FLOYD – Meddle
Fearless is unreal. So good. So is the rest of the album!
IRON MAIDEN – tie between Killers and Number Of The Beast
These two still have a big effect on me. And Martin Birch is my favorite producer ever.
13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS – tie between The Psychedelic Sounds Of… and Easter Everywhere
I love these records. I bought them when I was about 13 years old and still listen now.
BLUE OYSTER CULT – Secret Treaties
Career Of Evil and Harvester Of Eyes – hell, the whole LP is awesome.
THIN LIZZY – Fighting
With all great artists who put out amazing records, my favorites always change. Sometimes with Thin Lizzy it could be Chinatown or Jailbreak. But it’s usually Fighting.
BLACK SABBATH – Sabotage
Just like Thin Lizzy above, my favorite records from Sabbath keep changing. Lately it’s been Sabotage with Mob Rules a close second.
DEEP PURPLE – Burn
I always liked Deep Purple, but this LP is a relatively “new” obsession for me (meaning the last 6-7 years or so). I never really ventured into the post-Gillan years. And this debut for Coverdale and Hughes in the band is unfuckingbelievable. One of the best.
Runners-up: ROLLING STONES – Exile On Main Street and Beggar’s Banquet – I love those!!!
Do you remember the first time you really appreciated an album or a song?
Yes. I was quite young. Not sure how old. 5? 6? I don’t know. But I used to listen to my mom’s 45s that she had since she was a teenager. The first thing I loved was a song called Thunderbolt. It was the b-side to TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS’ smash hit, Hanky panky. Thunderbolt is a KILLER surf instrumental with insane guitar. My childhood best friend, Dan, and I used to listen to this over and over and over.
What were you listening to in elementary school? then in high school? How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
Like I mentioned above, I was listening to my mom’s records when I was very young. But the first records I made my mom buy me were PINK FLOYD’s The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon and DEVO’s Are We Not Men. I still love all these LPs. And about a year or so later, I got OZZY OSBOURNE’s Blizzard Of Ozz and I was on my way to becoming a crazy metalhead.
These and what was being played on rock radio at the time (now known as “classic rock”) were and are hugely influential to me. I still try to make records that sound like all those mentioned above.
As far as evolving, I try so hard to keep up with new music. I really do. And I have very varied tastes. From metal I got into Hardcore and Punk. And from there, I kinda got into everything.
What beloved music do you share with your parents? Any specifics memories?
I think the only music that I can really listen to with my parents is music from the 1920s through 1965. There are some anomalies after 1965, of course, but not much. My mom used to be a lot more open-minded with music. But the older she got, the less she can take the heavier stuff that I used to play as a teenager all the time. I did make my father listen to a ton of Death Metal in the car whilst explaining the differences between the Florida sound and the Death from Sweden. He thought that was quite interesting – especially since he and my mom recently moved to Naples, Florida which is just a couple of hours from Tampa where it all sort of started.
Most memorable show you’ve ever seen? What makes it stand out?
There are so many. So many. But the best and funniest was seeing BUTTHOLE SURFERS in 1988. It was at The Ritz in Manhattan. The place was completely overpacked – to the point where if the whole crowd moved, you just kind of floated. Yes. Super-packed. When the lights went out before BUTTHOLE SURFERS came on, it was so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. And then over the PA was this horrible metal-on-metal scraping sound along with maniacal clown laughter – really fucking loud. All of the sudden, Pinkus and Paul Leary come out wearing gold and silver lamé clown-style overalls with multicolored afro wigs holding two guitars on fire! They start smashing these guitars. At that point, it was already the best show ever. But they came out with two more guitars on fire! And smashed those! Awesome! And just to make it even crazier, they then brought out two more guitars on fire. While they were smashing those, the films that they used to play behind the band (featuring surgical procedures and films of death inducing car accidents) start playing and the supposed brother and sister team of drummer start playing. Gibby Hanes then comes out wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, singing through a megaphone with his hand on fire. Yes. Just the first 10 minutes of that show was more exciting than anything I have ever witnessed at any other Rock show ever.
Do you have any songs that are meaningful to you because you associate them with important events in your life?
I did mention THE BAND’s It makes no difference up above and also LED ZEPPELIN’s Tangerine/That’s the way. Both of those were big breakup songs for me in 2001 and still hold a lot of sentimental value to me.
What music or artist has been the most influential to you as a songwriter? Do you change what you listen to when you write music? Do you have a go-to record that you use for inspiration? How have these influences changed over the course of your songwriting career?
As far as a songwriting goes, I try to learn something from all great songs. For example, I learned so much from LED ZEPPELIN – especially arrangements. I learned that the best guitar solos are great more because of the solo rhythm than the solo itself. When a band changes keys or tempos for a solo, it makes that solo really stand out.
As far as melodies go, you can’t go wrong with the classics: BEATLES, STONES, CHUCK BERRY, THE BEACH BOYS, etc. I learned so much from listening to all that stuff.
It’s hard to say who is most influential. Everything kinda is – from early classical music up to what’s happening today. A great song is a great song no matter what. I mean listen to EDDY GRANT’s Electric Avenue. It’s a great song (whether you like it or not!) because it’s so memorable. And you know what? It’s ONE FUCKING CHORD! Yes. It’s only one. It doesn’t change. That’s fucking brilliant. We need more one-chord songs!
What is the most impressive band you’ve toured with? The one that you just had to watch every night? Did you learn anything from them/by watching them?
I have been very lucky to have been on tour with many bands since 1992 or so. One of the best experiences was opening a few arena shows with WHITE ZOMBIE when I was in THE VOLUPTUOUS HORROR OF KAREN BLACK. White Zombie were mad cool, but the band before them was THE CRAMPS. I am huge fan and was so psyched to play with them. Not unlike KISS and SLAYER, The Cramps did the same exact show every night – including the same in-between song banter like Paul Stanley. And you know what? It didn’t matter. They were amazing. Completely professional and kick-ass.
Is there any classic / universally acclaimed artist or that you missed out on when they first came out and discovered way later? Any artist that you didn’t like at first and learned to appreciate over time?
I was definitely late to the game with Death Metal. I heard it when it first was coming in, but I didn’t get it. I didn’t like what some call the “cookie monster” vocals. And I overlooked a lot of amazing records at the time. Now I totally love it. Not all of it, but a lot of it.
I was also late to appreciate KISS. When I was a kid, I saw pictures of KISS and thought “This is going to be the heaviest scariest shit ever!” And what’s the first song I hear in 1978? I was made for loving you. At that time in my life, most of my friends and I on our block hated disco (another genre I ended up liking later in life!) and thought that KISS sucked! It wasn’t until college that a friend turned me onto the early records and I truly appreciated them as songwriters and singers. To this day, I can say that Gene Simmons is one of the most underrated vocalists in the business. His range is amazing.
My stupid anti-disco/anti-dance music stance as a somewhat close-minded pre-teen and teenager made me averse to the New Wave 80s stuff. But I kinda secretly loved those songs. They were all so memorable. I wanted to hate DURAN DURAN, HUMAN LEAGUE and all that stuff, but some of the songs are absolutely fantastic. There is no denying that.
Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
Hmmm…I don’t shun any genres anymore at all. I find something to like in all of it. Don’t get me wrong – there’s plenty I really dislike and/or find completely unmemorable, but I don’t shun the genre. So I can’t really answer that question correctly.
Do you have any controversial/unpopular music related opinions that you would like to defend? (eg. The Ramones are terrible, Creed is underrated, St. Anger is Metallica’s best album)
Well, I absolutely hate most of the 90s. Really. I don’t like NIRVANA at all (though I do recognize why people do and I do respect the songwriting). I hate PEARL JAM, SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN DAY, OFFSPRING, etc. I really can’t stand it. I also really find a lot of the records I was buying at the time completely useless and unmemorable. Don’t get me wrong – there are some gems. 90s Hip-Hop and Death Metal are cool. But a lot of what I have from then – Sub Pop, Estrus, Matador – so much of it was complete forgettable garbage. I do appreciate the work that a lot of these bands and labels put in, no doubt. But so much of it is complete filler.
Also, The Ramones are amazing. I love all the LPs up to and including Too Tough To Die. Creed is one of the worst along with Collective Soul and Puddle Of Mudd. And Metallica sucked after Cliff died. End of story.
What bands or artists do you wish you’d have seen live, at their peak?
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Band, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Thin Lizzy (Jailbreak tour), The Meters, Motorhead (Overkill tour), Ted Nugent (on the Ted Nugent LP tour), Iron Maiden (Killers tour), UFO (with Schenker), Scorpions (with Uli Jon Roth), The Stranglers (Black & White tour), X-Ray Spex, Deep Purple (Mark II-IV), AC/DC (with Bon Scott), Lynyrd Skynryd (Second Helping tour), any and all Motown/Stax acts in the 60’s/70’s, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead (with Pigpen), Allman Brothers (with Duane), The Faces (A Nod Is As Good…tour), The Who (Live At Leeds era), Captain Beefheart (anytime), Frank Zappa (anytime), John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Dr. John (Gris Gris tour).
What albums have been on heavy rotation lately?
I am a producer, so I have been listening to records I have just recently finished:
ROSS THE BOSS – By Blood Sworn
THE WIZARDS – Rise Of The Serpent
SWILSON – s/t
UNKNOWN SENDER – no title as of yet (out late 2018)
Since I work at Gimme Radio, I have been listening to a lot of metal:
ANICON – Entropy Mantra
GHOST – Prequelle
MOURNFUL CONGREGATION – The Incubus Of Karma
SLUGDGE – Esoteric Malacology
WYTCH HAZEL – II: Sojourn
CRAFT – White Noise Black Metal
What are some up and coming artists that you would recommend?
I love THE WIZARDS. I am being biased because I worked with them on their last two recordings. And I just finished that UNKNOWN SENDER LP. I like them. I saw EXMORTUS recently. Really great show. Also SPIRIT ADRIFT is a fairly new band that is great. I am absolutely positive I am forgetting a ton.
Is there a band that you’ve discovered live recently that blew you away?
The aforementioned EXMORTUS and SPIRIT ADRIFT shows were really good. Great players. And I am sucker for the THIN LIZZY guitarmonies (guitar harmonies) that both bands exploit quite nicely.
I just saw KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD. They were great! And the openers, AMYL & THE SNIFFERS, were a blast!
What are you listening to right now, while answering these questions?
Right now I have Danny Lilker’s (Nuclear Assault/SOD/Anthrax) show on Gimme Radio. He is playing Breaker by ACCEPT right now! Before that was KREATOR, MAYHEM, TERRORIZER, IMMORTAL, IRON MAIDEN, DARK ANGEL, DARKTHRONE, TEITANBLOOD and ANGEL WITCH!!!
Final thoughts?
Sure! As of right now, Gimme Radio can use as much support as possible. It’s a free streaming radio station. Just go to gimmeradio.com and sign up. All the shows are hosted and programmed by real metalheads. There are no computer algorithms choosing what you should listen to. We have really awesome DJs: Dave Mustaine, Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth), Ross The Boss, Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God), Danny Lilker (Nuclear Assault/SOD/Anthrax) and so much more! And me! My show is rad!
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