Editor’s note: Los Angeles duo National Sunday Law are living the dream. Writing, recording & touring because they love doing so.   Does it pay the bills?   Probably not (especially when you give out your tunes for free).   Does it still rule?   Yes… yes it does.

Tell us a little about yourselves… who you are, where you’re from and certainly how you derived your band name?

Darin: Derek was born and raised in LA.  I’m originally from a suburb of Baltimore, MD, but I moved to LA almost 10 years ago.  Due to the influence of my older brothers, my earliest musical inspirations were Pink Floyd, Rush, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and the first two Ozzy solo records.  Derek and I met through a musicians wanted ad about 8 years ago.  We’ve been making music ever since.  

 

Our band name came from a really scary Christian propaganda book that was anonymously mailed to my apartment.  The book begins by describing 9/11 and then proceeds to explain why we are close to the Armageddon.  It predicts the US will eventually become a truly Christian nation and pass the National Sunday Law, which demands everyone go to church on Sunday…or else.  With some states teaching “intelligent design” as a science in schools, the Christian Right continuing to influence government officials, and the rampant anti-intellectualism happening in the country, we thought picking National Sunday Law as a name would showcase this temporary insanity and make light of the religious zealots in our own country.”

Two piece metal bands rarely cover the dynamic range that you guys do.  Have you ever felt the desire to recruit a full-time bass or synth player (especially in a live setting)?

NSL: Thanks to looping pedals and a MIDI foot controller for synths, we can reproduce almost everything on our record live.  So we don’t need to recruit a third member at this point. The final song on “The Fifth Ape” was originally recorded for our first album “La Storia di Cannibali,” but it didn’t sound right without low end.  We were really excited when Joe Lester (Intronaut) talked about jamming because we instantly knew his fretless bass would sound awesome on that song.”

Do you feel your music falls into any specific metal sub-genre?  Obviously you pull from a wider array of influences than most of your peers, but do you feel that sets you apart enough?

NSL: I guess we’re a post-metal or progressive metal band.  We didn’t even know the post-metal tag existed when we started writing heavier music.  Our initial influences for this band were Kayo Dot, Godflesh, Brian Eno and Pink Floyd.  When Derek and I first met,  we started a different band called Lux Medium.  At the time, our sound was more like old Helmet, Shiner, Jawbox, Don Caballero, Hum and Shellac.  So some of those influences come through in NSL as well.”

Do you worry (or care) about the style of music you play becoming over-saturated?

NSL: The standard post-metal formula is becoming a bit tiresome.  But we try our best to not repeat ourselves or rip off other bands.  Plus we’re constantly searching for new inspirations from newer and older bands.”

What are your feelings (and where do you think NSL fits) in the current climate of the music industry?  Did that in any way influence your decision to release your latest EP for free?

NSL:  We don’t really think about the state of the music industry.  We fit right next to all the other bands who have next to zero chance of making any money but continue to play because we love it.  We support file trading, but we also make an effort to buy music and merch from smaller bands.  We just want everyone who might like our songs to hear them.  The more people who hear the music, the better.”

Do you feel that unorthodox distribution & promotion methods (youtube vids, last.fm profile, etc) have helped expose NSL?

NSL: I kinda think youtube, myspace etc. are orthodox methods now for most DIY bands. I think 95% the exposure we’ve had is through that kind of promotion. It’s not like we’re playing to huge crowds, so we can’t reach that many people in person. Handing out free cds at shows works too but that can get expensive.”

What’s your general equipment setup?  I notice a lot of pedals in some of your videos… are you guys “gear-snobs”?

Darin: I play a Gibson SG and Schecter Celloblaster through a Marshall TSL 100 head and a Sunn Beta Lead bass amp.  My keyboard set up is a MicroKorg with a Roland PK-5A foot controller attached.  My microphone is also hooked up to the keyboard for vocoder parts.  As far as pedals, I use a Loop Station, Line 6 DL4 Delay, Line 6 Space Chorus, Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe, and Dunlop Tremolo pedal.  I wouldn’t say we’re gear snobs.  But we do research our gadgets before buying them.

 

Derek: I play a four-piece 1975 Ludwig kit with rather large Zildjian cymbals and a Wuhan China.  Next to my drums, I have a two tier keyboard stand with a Moog Little Phatty and a pedal board that holds our mixer, an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man and Line 6 DL4 delay.  On the floor, I have a Roland Loop Station, Electro-Harmonix Polyphase pedal and a volume pedal so my mic doesn’t feedback.  We run our own PA live, so both keyboards and vocals run through the mixer.  I also use the auxiliaries in the mixer to send vocals and keys through my pedals.”

Explain how synths play a role in your songwriting?  Is that something you’d like to incorporate more of down the line?

Darin: We use synths in a variety of ways.  With my MIDI controller, I can play bass lines with my feet while playing guitar.  Sometimes Derek pulls double duty by playing bass lines on his Moog with one hand and keeping a beat with the other.  We also record live loops of synth melodies and ambience to build layers of sound on our loop stations.  I like to take advantage of the vocoder function on my MicroKorg as much as possible.  We love the robot voice sound…”

We noticed that your prog influences are classic 70’s giants (Yes, Rush, King Crimson), yet your vocal style is mostly aggro/ heavy.  Why did you decide to go that direction?  Any chance you’ll venture even further down the progressive halls in the future?

Darin:  I’m a giant prog nerd.  Pink Floyd is my all-time favorite band, especially the stuff before Dark Side.  Late 70s/early 80s Rush also had a big influence on me.  But in the past decade, King Crimson, Kraftwerk, early Tangerine Dream and all Brian Eno projects have had a serious effect on me.  Some other recent prog/krautrock favorites include Camel, Goblin, Can, Harmonia, Cluster, Yes and Le Orme.  We’re currently working on a side project with Sacha Dunable of Intronaut that features even more progressive rock influence, traditional singing and even vocal harmonies.  Its a bit of a departure for us, but it has its dark and heavy moments as well.”

Any other thoughts/comments?

Download our FREE EP. Thanks for the interview!”