F R E Q U E N T L Y  A S K E D  Q U E S T I O N S

Just the FAQs Ma'am!

• What kind of music do you play?
• Where are you from?
  
• Why is the band called "Attila & Dave Project" when there are three of you?
  
• You have an enormous amount of equipment. Do you use all of it?
  
• What are your musical influences?
  
• How long have you been together?
  
• Who writes the music?
  
• Is Attila your real name?
  
• Are you a Christian band?
  
• How often do you tour?
  
• Where do you usually play?
  
• Are you signed to a label? Can I get your records at my local store?
  
• How many albums do you have?
  
• Why haven't I heard of you before?

What kind of music do you play?
That's the #1 question we get; Sometimes even after we've played. No one likes to categorize and pigeonhole themselves, but we suppose some basis of comparison is necessary. We are an original rock band whose basic concept floats between Pink Floydian psychedelia, the Beatles at their most experimental, some Led Zeppelin-esque grind and jazz. We are not a party band, a blues band, a punk band or a funk band. We generally don't do covers, we're seldom overtly danceable or "funky," and we're very serious about what we do. Not in a pretentious "high art" way, but we do care a lot about the final musical result and we've each spent years learning our instruments and we actually rehearse. Though we have been embraced by fans of the Dead, Phish and the whole "jam band" scene (and we like this music), our songs are typically a bit more musically structured than that, though there is tons of room for improvisation. Some people have used the now deathly moniker "progressive rock" to describe us, though we really don't fit there either. Our desire is to create moods and colors that are really enveloping and expressionistic. It sounds cliche, but it's really true: There is no other band we've run into who sound remotely like us, at least in the club scene. Some of the contemporary bands we've been compared to are: R.E.M, Travis, Radiohead, Beck (we don't understand that one, but we've heard it more than once), Gomez, Gin Blossoms, Soundgarden, and many others. Go figure.

Where are you from?
That's the second most frequently asked question we get. Assuredly because we're on the road all the time. We call the San Francisco Bay Area home. Technically, we are East Bay based. Attila lives in El Cerrito (Berkeley), Dave in San Leandro and Rusty lives in Oakland. We didn't ask to live in the most expensive area in the world, but we're pretty glad we do.

Why is the band called "Attila & Dave Project" when there are three of you?
That's a prickly situation. The short answer is that this group started as an acoustic duo, and developed enough of a local following that renaming the band seemed like "starting over" from a name recognition standpoint. When Rusty joined the band in 1995 the word "Project" was added to stress that the band encompasses more that just Attila and Dave. Basically, it's an unsatisfactory, but functional, resolution to a difficult situation. It should be stressed that all three members contribute equally to the writing of the music as well as the funding and decisions regarding the group.

You have an enormous amount of equipment. Do you use all of it?
Absolutely. To satisfy our desire to create soundscapes, and to offset the limitation of only having three band members, it's been necessary to accumulate a lot of gear. Our typical electric set up includes multiple acoustic and electric guitars, two bass pedal synthesizers, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Minimoog synthesizer, two keyboard amps, electric bass, bass amp, guitar amp, drums, electronic percussion and a full PA system with monitors. We're something of a three ring circus live, since we have to jump from instrument to instrument so much.

What are your musical influences?
Another very common question. It is clichéd to say "everything," but that's largely correct. Specifically, we have all listened to and been influenced by a lot of early 70's rock, punk, jazz, classical music and world music. We each have influences that we bring to the table, and a pure distillation of those influences is what happens when we write. Attila comes from an "art rock," classical and jazz place, meaning Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, early King Crimson, as well as Miles, Coltrane, Mingus, Bach, etc. Dave brings his guitar rock, punk, folk and classical music influences to the compositions, which means Hendrix, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Dead Kennedys, Zappa, Minor Threat and Bowie, as well as John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Debussy, Albéniz, Bola Seté and others. Rusty comes from jazz, funk, underground rock, 20th Century classical music and the avant garde. Some artists are Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Tower of Power, Lounge Lizards, John Zorn, Tom Waits, The Residents, Steve Reich, John Cage and many others.

How long have you been together?
As a trio, seven years. Attila & Dave have worked together for better than ten years by now.

Who writes the music?
The music is written as a trio, with each member contributing equally. The band rarely writes from a "jam" perspective- rather, each member prepares and presents bits and pieces individually, which are then worked on by the group and expanded upon (if deemed worthy of working on). More often than not, the final results of these "band treatments" bear little or no resemblance to the original ideas. There are, of course, exceptions to this. Compositional ideas are agreed upon democratically, and are all subject to complete (and sometimes brutal) honesty by each member. Attila writes the majority of the lyrics, though Dave and Rusty are becoming more involved in that area.

Is Attila your real name?
Yes. Attila was born to a Hungarian father and Swiss mother, and "Attila" is like "John" in Hungary.

Are you a Christian band?
No. We don't consciously align ourselves with any specific theology. That question has been asked fairly often, and though some of our music contains religious imagery, we are a secular band. However, we are certainly very interested in the concepts and theories behind many religions. In fact, the "concept" behind Illuminated is the idea of various definitions of spirituality and "belief" at the beginning of the 21st century. Some people have asked if the word "project" being in the name signifies an ulterior evangelical motive. Nope. We don't want people who have strong traditional religious beliefs to think we are anti-religion, but we are definitely not promoting any particular theological slant.

How often do you tour?
We are on the road several weeks of the year. Our tours mostly concentrate on the western U.S.

Where do you usually play?
Clubs, colleges, acoustic shows at coffeehouses, anywhere we can. We really enjoy college shows more than anything.

Are you signed to a label? Can I get your records at my local store?
No, and maybe. We are actively seeking distribution, but since 90% of record labels (even indies) are genre-specific, and we don't comfortably fit in any one genre, we haven't found "the one" yet. We try to consign CDs at the record stores in the areas of our shows, and we always have them with us to sell after shows.

How many albums do you have?
Three. Our first, Songs of Innocence & Experience, was released in 1996. Lifeline followed in 1999, and we have just released Illuminated in 2002. We also have a demo cassette from '94 and some odds and ends laying around.

Why haven't I heard of you before?
Excellent question. It hasn't been for lack of trying. We've been touring and recording non-stop for seven years. The most direct answer is that we aren't traditionally "marketable," so label support has not been a helping factor.