DEW-SCENTED Frontman: 'I Don't Have Any Problems With Aggression'

Karma E. Omowale of the FourteenG e-zine recently conducted an interview with DEW-SCENTED frontman Leif Jensen. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

FourteenG: What has been the greatest challenge the band has been able to overcome in order to get you where you are at this point in your career?

Leif: "Well, actually endurance, just time you know. Waiting around for many years six albums, many lineup changes and that's always a challenge to get yourself together and continue to progress. Hopefully become better musicians and songwriters, become better performers so kicking ourselves in the ass has been our biggest challenge throughout our twelve years."

FourteenG: I understand that you all have day jobs, which rocks…

Leif: "Well, some of us, others can't keep them because of the touring. We can't survive on music [alone], that's a given. So we've gotta go back and work."

FourteenG: Since the band is not paying for your bills, I would tend to agree, it is the smart way to do it. Do you foresee DEW-SCENTED becoming a full-time gig so that you could drop your day job…but would you do it?

Leif: "We might try, but the problem is the music is too extreme and we would have to compromise at some level, that's not what we want to do. We would like to play the music we enjoy listening to and we enjoy writing. Just for the sake of surviving financially, I would like to change it. If this what we're doing would pay our bills, yeah, that would be great, but I don't think that's gonna happen!"

FourteenG: I read in an article where it said you viewed negativity as a positive thing…

Leif: "Yeah!"

FourteenG: …by which using your lyrics as a sounding board of sorts, an outlet for all of ills in the world and in your life…

Leif: "Correct, yes."

FourteenG: Must be a great release of your emotions in a cathartic manner, of sorts.

Leif: "Where should I take you with this answer? [Smiles] I enjoy metal and extremity is something that relaxes me. It gets certain emotions out that I don't need. I hope it does the same for a lot of the people listening to the music. Something that gets them to respond causes some reaction causes them to discharge some of the aggression that they carry themselves, by listening, by dancing to it by stage-diving, whatever people do to the music. It's a good thing, even though the music is evil and so loud, people dance extreme sometimes. It's all for a good cause, it's all about having fun you know, having a good time with it. [Smiles] It took my parents a while to understand that but I think they respect it by now! [We all laugh] I'm a pretty laid back person, and I think this is because of the music. I don't have any problems with aggression. A lot of people have because they don't have any outlets, they don't have a discharge."

Read the entire interview at www.fourteeng.net.