Rob DeStefano
Bands
Biography
From the Dead Sea Souls website:
My musical start came with a group called Heretic. Heretic was a progressive rock oriented band that included a diverse range of songs from King Crimson to Nektar. Our original material blossomed into pieces that would sometimes include the kitchen sink. This approach taught me how to make the most of your part. In 1979/80 we did a five song eight track demo entitled Mortuary Eyes. This would be our most fulfilling moment as well as our swan song. Although finally having the opportunity to record and use multi tracks, it was soon realized that we were limited by only eight tracks. Needless to say, there was more bouncing of tracks than in some NBA games. The end result would make Queen proud. By the end it was evident that music was changing and Heretic's sounds was not of "the new".
It was at this cross in the musical road that my brother Mike and I joined Manhattan cult Punk/Art band The Mad. This was led by Screaming Mad George, a Japanese surreal artist in the Salvador Dali vein. His vocal style and music was that of Bauhaus, Gang of Four, and Throbbing Gristle. This was a mind opener for my brother and myself. I was able to apply all of my overplaying with Heretic to a finely tuned, simplified style that helped preserve a driving yet different sound for The Mad. After countless performances at Max's Kansas City and CBGB's, The Mad was put to bed only to be revamped into more of a performance and film presentation.
After a six month hiatus, The Mad morphed into Irrational. Complete with video screens and dancers for choreographed surreal presentations of each song's journey, Irrational's debut came in June of 1983 at the famed club Danceteria. With the age of MTV, George put his film making ideas into a ten minute showcase of music, masks, and special effects called A Cure For Folly. Although this did receive critical acclaim for originality, it didn't do much for Irrational's music. Eventually SMG raised the interest of special effects master Rick Baker and went off to Hollywood to make movies and videos.
Afterwards saw the forming of Design. Again teaming with my brother Mike, we fused a partnership with two other Long Island musicians from a newly disbanded group Crisis Art. This incarnation was a wonderful recipe of music and songwriting that was heavily influenced by the new romantic likes of Gary Numan and Japan. Since we did not have a permanent bass player or keyboard player, we were all called upon at some time to cover these vacant spots.
After Design disbanded in late 1987, my brother and I took to an acoustic design of sorts. With the technology changing and growing by the day, it was time for me to retire the drum kit and move to guitar with backing tracks. We did a few opening local live gigs for the next year, but as life comes and goes, so did Design.
The 1990s were a transitional time for me. Not being able to play a drum kit due to various living restrictions, learning to play guitar was quite an adjustment for me. It was during this decade that I learned about soundtracks and even putting together various musicians to do some obscure covers that are very inspirational to me. These covers ranged from Bob Geldof to Peter Hammill. This helped my confidence step to the front for not only guitar but lead vocals as well.
In 2002 I moved from NY to Dallas/Fort Worth. The drumming bug was back and I finally got the nerve up to post an ad on a Dallas musician wanted website. I answered a posting that cited curious influences like The Doors, Bauhaus, and Nick Cave, we set a date to play, and that's how I came to be part of Dead Sea Souls.
It was at this cross in the musical road that my brother Mike and I joined Manhattan cult Punk/Art band The Mad. This was led by Screaming Mad George, a Japanese surreal artist in the Salvador Dali vein. His vocal style and music was that of Bauhaus, Gang of Four, and Throbbing Gristle. This was a mind opener for my brother and myself. I was able to apply all of my overplaying with Heretic to a finely tuned, simplified style that helped preserve a driving yet different sound for The Mad. After countless performances at Max's Kansas City and CBGB's, The Mad was put to bed only to be revamped into more of a performance and film presentation.
After a six month hiatus, The Mad morphed into Irrational. Complete with video screens and dancers for choreographed surreal presentations of each song's journey, Irrational's debut came in June of 1983 at the famed club Danceteria. With the age of MTV, George put his film making ideas into a ten minute showcase of music, masks, and special effects called A Cure For Folly. Although this did receive critical acclaim for originality, it didn't do much for Irrational's music. Eventually SMG raised the interest of special effects master Rick Baker and went off to Hollywood to make movies and videos.
Afterwards saw the forming of Design. Again teaming with my brother Mike, we fused a partnership with two other Long Island musicians from a newly disbanded group Crisis Art. This incarnation was a wonderful recipe of music and songwriting that was heavily influenced by the new romantic likes of Gary Numan and Japan. Since we did not have a permanent bass player or keyboard player, we were all called upon at some time to cover these vacant spots.
After Design disbanded in late 1987, my brother and I took to an acoustic design of sorts. With the technology changing and growing by the day, it was time for me to retire the drum kit and move to guitar with backing tracks. We did a few opening local live gigs for the next year, but as life comes and goes, so did Design.
The 1990s were a transitional time for me. Not being able to play a drum kit due to various living restrictions, learning to play guitar was quite an adjustment for me. It was during this decade that I learned about soundtracks and even putting together various musicians to do some obscure covers that are very inspirational to me. These covers ranged from Bob Geldof to Peter Hammill. This helped my confidence step to the front for not only guitar but lead vocals as well.
In 2002 I moved from NY to Dallas/Fort Worth. The drumming bug was back and I finally got the nerve up to post an ad on a Dallas musician wanted website. I answered a posting that cited curious influences like The Doors, Bauhaus, and Nick Cave, we set a date to play, and that's how I came to be part of Dead Sea Souls.
