Acoustic bands are nothing new, but they rarely rock as hard as Defiance, Ohio, a band that combines punk with folk, bluegrass and a hard political line while defying all expectations.
The band, which consists of six members, utilizes different instruments (ranging from drums to cello, to violin, to banjo) to produce their folk-punk sound. And despite their acoustic label, Defiance, Ohio can seriously rock, as the group proved last weekend at a benefit show at St. Stephens Church in Washington.
Ryan, the band’s bassist (band members refuse to use last names because they believe it separates them from their fans), discussed the band’s next album, The Fear, the Fear, the Fear (set to be released by No Idea Records later this month) and the sound Defiance, Ohio will exhibit.
“I think [the new album] is a lot more collaborative,” Ryan said. “It’s a little bit bigger sounding.”
The band, named after a real city in Ohio (though some of the members have lived in the state, none of them are actually from Defiance), sure isn’t in it for the money: Defiance, Ohio puts all of its recordings online for free.
Lyrically, the band takes a stand against the plight of modern society. In the song “Chad’s Favorite Song,” Defiance, Ohio sings, “We live in the unhappy shadows of skyscrapers freight trains and malls/ To a soundtrack of nuclear warheads and bombs/ Addicted to power, addicted to authority, money and success.” And the band isn’t one that just talks about changing the world while secretly rolling in the dough. Defiance, Ohio’s concert this weekend in Washington saw all proceeds donated to Daniel McGowan, an environmentalist convicted of arson and conspiracy for his role in burning down a lumber company in Oregon in 2001.
Whether or not you agree with Defiance, Ohio’s politics, the band’s walk-the-walk attitude allows it to come off as genuine and sincere – unlike other bands, it isn’t hypocritically collecting paychecks for the anti-establishment ideas it espouses.
“I don’t think it’s about making a choice to be on a label, or how sincere you are,” Ryan said. “From the beginning of whatever you do … you make decisions about how comfortable you want to be and how comfortable you want to make other people. And a big record label isn’t a comfortable thing for you or anyone else.”
While Ryan didn’t condemn political bands that made the jump to major labels, such as Anti-Flag and Against Me!, the band has no interest in following those other groups’ lead.
“I’m not saying what anybody does is wrong, but they’re obviously doing something really different than what I’d want to do,” Ryan said.
Though the band didn’t try to push any specific political agenda because it was playing in the nation’s capital, it was exciting, Ryan said, to see many people in the area caring about political issues.
“Being an activist in D.C., you get to be really close to things like policy that I don’t have access to,” Ryan said. “The proximity to everything going on in D.C. makes a situation where it’s really special to talk about things we care about because people here are so close to it and may be so much more affected by it.”
aggro@umd.edu
