Here at the The Thanks List, we always have a special interest for the real passionate musicians, those who play many different styles with many different bands. Justin DeTore, aka DFJ, has been on our short list of people we wanted to interview the most since day one. If you’ve had any interest in Hardcore or Metal at some point in the last twenty years, you already know why, as he has played in an infinite number of great bands. He spent time behind the kit in some of our favorite Hardcore bands of the era such as Mental, The Wrong Side, R’N’R, The Rival Mob and many more as well as handling vocals for the always excellent Sludgy Powerviolence act Minder Eraser and the ultra angry Straight Edge band No Tolerance.
Lately, DeTore has been busy handling bass duties in Magic Circle, and drums in Sumerlands, two very different sounding Traditional Heavy Metal bands, as well as guitars and vocals for Innumerable Forms, a Death/Doom unit that was initially a solo project in which he played every instrument, and drums for Powerviolence band Wound Man. Sumerlands, Innumerable Forms and Wound Man all have new lp’s in the work so make sure to keep your ears to the ground!
Name five songs that you consider “perfect songs” and explain why or what they mean to you.
That’s easy, there’s a lot of perfect songs. I don’t feel like I need to explain why because it’s self evident:
TROUBLE – Last Judgement
BLACK FLAG – Nervous Breakdown
VAN HALEN – Unchained
MINOR THREAT – Betray
MERCYFUL FATE – A Dangerous Meeting
Five greatest hardcore EP’s of all time? (can include demos)
Greatest? Or just my favorites? Those are two different things, but here are my favorites:
EPs (sorry I can’t pick just 5)
MINOR THREAT – s/t
INFEST – Mankind
NEGATIVE APPROACH – s/t
CITIZENS ARREST – A Light In The Darkness
JUDGMENT – Just Be
ANTI-CIMEX – Raped Ass
SICK OF IT ALL – s/t
BOLD – ’89 s/t
Demos
RAW DEAL – s/t
CRO-MAGS – Age Of Quarrel Demo
UNDERDOG – Over The Edge
INTEGRITY – Harder They Fall
TASTE OF FEAR – Who Pays The Price?
Your five favorite rappers of all time? Name one song that best exemplifies what makes them great. (If you’re not into Rap feel free to answer one of these instead: five best guitarists, five best drummers, five best producers, five best vocalists, etc)
I’ll give em all to you, no explanations needed.
Rappers:
SCARFACE
INSPECTAH DECK
GZA
PRODIGY
MAC
Guitar players:
Eddie Van Halen
Randy Rhoads
Ritchie Blackmore
Tony Iommi
Brian May
Drummers:
Chuck Biscuits
John Bonham
Vinny Appice
Cozy Powell
Clive Burr
Producers:
Martin Birch
Rick Rubin
George Martin
Mutt Lange
Don Zientara
Singers:
Lou Gramm (the GOAT)
Paul Rodgers
David Coverdale
Ian Gillan
Glenn Hughes
Screamers:
Daryl Kahan
Darren White
Ray Cappo
Nick Holmes
Esa Linden
Five hardest riffs of all time?
This can change at any time, but here:
BAD BRAINS – Supertouch/Shitfit mosh
BLACK SABBATH – Megalomania outro
TROUBLE – Psalm 9 main riff
SLAYER – Hell Awaits intro
CRO-MAGS – The Only One verse
What’s the album you’ve listened to the most in your life? Do you still listen to it?
Oh man, probably YOUTH OF TODAY – Break Down The Walls, THE DOORS – The Soft Parade and AEROSMITH – Rocks and yeah, I still listen to them all the time.
What are some of your favorite song lyrics? Lyrics that have been important to you or that had an impact on you?
My favorite lyricist is probably Dave Chandler from SAINT VITUS. His stuff is very relatable and honest which I think makes it really powerful. I’m also a big fan of Ronnie James Dio. It seems like a lot of Rock journalist hacks thought his lyrics were stupid or something but if you look closer you can see the deeper meaning within. I also love Scarface, Bob Daisley, Geezer Butler, Ray Cappo, Eric Wagner, Ian Mackaye, and Nick Holmes.
Do you have an absolute all time favorite band or musical artist? What makes them so special to you?
Nah, don’t even. Haha
What are your ten favourite albums of all time (all genres)? Name a standout track on each of these albums.
Well, if the album is in my top 10 ever then all the tracks are good. Actually, how ’bout I give you 11 in no order and we call it a day…
TROUBLE – s/t
V/A “New York Hardcore: The Way It Is”
BLACK SABBATH – Vol. 4”
PARADISE LOST – Gothic
YOUTH OF TODAY – Break Down The Walls
AEROSMITH – Rocks
OZZY OSBOURNE – Diary Of A Madman
BLACK SABBATH – Heaven And Hell
CRO-MAGS – Age Of Quarrel
INTEGRITY – Systems Overload
METALLICA – Master Of Puppets
Do you remember the first time music had an impact on you?
Yeah I always liked music. First time it had an impact on me was when I was very young and heard KOOL & THE GANG.
What were you listening to in elementary school? then in high school? (Your favorite bands/records back then?) How much of that music is still a part of your playlists today? How have your musical tastes evolved since?
Elementary school I was very into MICHAEL JACKSON and a lot of Motown and R&B. I also liked the popular Rock and Pop at the time…we are talking late 80’s here – pre Grunge. Middle school I liked a lot of the popular Alternative Rock but a lot of 60’s and 70’s stuff too like THE DOORS and AEROSMITH. From Hard rock, I got into METALLICA and FAITH NO MORE big time at the beginning of high school and from there I started to get into more extreme music like Death Metal, Thrash, and Hardcore. I was fully immersed in the Hardcore scene by 10th grade so there were a few years where I didn’t listen to much else. By the end of high school and into my late teens I started to dig deeper and get into more obscure Metal across all sub genres. I also got obsessed with BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, THE BEATLES and QUEEN.
What beloved music do you share with your parents? Any specifics memories?
Yeah, my dad was a big fan of THE ROLLING STONES and THE DOORS so I heard good music growing up. My mom listened to the local oldies radio station and that was all great music from the 50’s and 60’s. But also, let me just say something…Growing up in the 80’s and early 90’s was cool because there was always good music in the air. Didn’t matter where you were: the pizza place, the arcade, the mall, or just at home watching TV…you were always gonna hear something good.
What are some of the most memorable shows you’ve ever seen? What makes them stand out?
BURN reunion in 1997, LEEWAY at CBGB’s 1999, the JJ CRO-MAGS shows in 2000 at CB’s, anything at the Rat and the Berwick in Boston – 90’s til early 2000’s…BLACK SABBATH original line up 2001, all the Heaven And Hell gigs, STEVIE WONDER “Songs In The Key Of Life” tour 2014, THE CURE in 2000, VAN HALEN reunion tour with DLR 2007. AUTOPSY at Chaos In Tejas 2011. Let’s see what else…DEMILICH at a tiny bar in Boston in 2006, INTEGRITY in the summer of 2003 which was also at a tiny bar in Boston. All classics.
The two times where I was like “wow, I’m in the presence of a true star” was when I saw PAUL RODGERS a few summers back and when I saw SMOKEY ROBINSON in 2002. I straight up Jedi mind tricked the security guard and got backstage and was able to meet Smokey and get my picture taken with him. It was pretty incredible.
Is there any band that you’ve always wanted to see live but never had the chance to catch them? Any classic show that you wish you could have experienced? (Could be a show you’ve seen videos of, heard stories of, seen flyers of, etc.)
I was lucky to have seen most of the bands I wanted to see (albeit not always in their prime) but there are a few that got away…
EXODUS in 2000 with Paul Baloff singing. I was out of town. Probably better that I didn’t go because I would have either gotten beat up or arrested.
I missed the CARNIVORE reunion in CT and CELTIC FROST (Monotheist line up) in Worcester because I was on tour at the time. That hurt.
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?
The one band I toured with that I watched every night was IRON AGE. Really great band. They taught me that you to can be tight and professional without being corny and “pro”. I think people will know what I mean when I say that. It didn’t matter how bad the show or venue was, they were always good because they had real energy and natural charisma.
What are some of your all-time favorite music books and/or zines, documentaries, biopic?
I don’t like watching music documentaries and I usually don’t read music books. I’m not against it but I often find them self important and pretentious. Also, I don’t want to know something that will change the way I look at a band or a record that I really love. However, I did buy the King’s X book (and got my copy autographed, by the way) and it’s pretty sick.
Is there any classic / universally acclaimed artist 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?
Hmm, that’s a good question. RUSH was always a band that looked really cool on paper but it didn’t click for me until my early 30’s. Same with GENESIS. I love them both now. Modern music is so bad nowadays that I’m at the point where any music created before like, 1995 sounds incredible to my ears. I’ll hear a DIRE STRAITS song on the radio or a STEVE WINWOOD track at the grocery store and I just can’t believe how good it is.
Do you have an artist that you love in a genre that you don’t usually listen to? What makes them stand out?
You know what? I really don’t. If it’s a genre of music that I really don’t like I tend to keep my distance.
Do you have any unpopular music opinion that you would like to defend? Something that you love and yet can hardly find anyone to agree on how great it is?
Nah, not really. I find if I have to “defend” something like straight edge Hardcore to a person then I really don’t want to know them.
Do you enjoy live albums? What are some of your favorites? Can you think of a few examples where the live version of a song is better than the studio version?
Yeah there are some that I really love. Big fan of AEROSMITH – Live Bootleg, FRAMPTON Comes Alive! and MOTÖRHEAD – No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith. I’m not sure how “live” some of these albums are but they are all awesome. I think in the case of Frampton, that’s his best work. As far as individual songs go I would say that every live version I’ve heard of Be My Friend by FREE is superior to the studio version. Free have great records but I think they were a live band, first and foremost.
Name one or several cover songs where the cover is better than the original? What makes them superior?
Yeah, I’ll name one. It’s called All Along the Watchtower.
What albums have been on heavy rotation lately?
MISFITS – Earth A.D., MASS – Unchained EP (shout out to Ian Larrabee), both BADLANDS LPs (always), THE CULT – Dreamtime, JUDAS PRIEST – Turbo, GILLAN – Mr. Universe
What are some up and coming artists that you would recommend?
BRAIN TOURNIQUET, MORTIFERUM, LIFELESS DARK
What are you listening to right now, while answering these questions?
Dude if you must know I’m listening to an album called NO FOR AN ANSWER – A Thought Crusade.
Final thoughts? Is there anything (new album, tour) you would like to promote?
Thanks for letting me be so self indulgent. This is maybe one of like five interviews I’ve ever had fun doing.
New Innumerable Forms tape (new LP in the works as well), new Sumerlands album coming soon as well as a Wound Man LP down the road. Maybe some other stuff too, we’ll see what happens.
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