Even though he is a day short of being 16, Dylan Becker, sophomore, still has had a pretty impressive musical career. Becker started rocking out as the lead singer of the band Project Blank – which included his younger brother Deric playing drums, and then soon formed Decedy with Deric (who moved to guitar) along with friend/drummer Chris Schmitt. Decedy has been playing gigs left and right and even has an album on iTunes, so I decided to sit down with Dylan and chat about his music.
Seth Eisenkramer: Where did the name come from?
Dylan Becker: I get asked this question all the time. The name “Decedy” actually comes from the combination of all three of our names. (De – Deric, C -Chris, and D- Dylan). Yes, we weren’t very creative.
SE: How many gigs have you guys performed?
DB: We’ve performed well over thirty gigs as of now, ranging from backyards, basement parties, bars, amphitheaters, etc. Our favorite venues the Sky Music Lounge on Kehrs Mill Road, (which we perform at monthly) although we’re stoked to play the Chesterfield Amphitheater located behind Chesterfield Mall tomorrow night.
SE: What does a typical set-list look like?
DB:A typical Decedy set-list consists of 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and even music that came out last week. Occasionally, we try to include some of our original songs in the sets. We have a LP as well as an EP that you can hear on our facebook.
SE: What are you favorite songs to perform?
DB: My favorite songs to perform are punk songs just because the intensity is so high and they are just fun songs to play instrumentally as well as vocally [Seth’s Note: The Band even has a song called “Punk Rock Saved My Life”]. The best feeling on stage aside from those songs are when I see people singing OUR songs that WE spent time writing. It really means a lot that people appreciate and feel we write good music. All we want is to make good music that people can enjoy.
SE: Are there any songs you wish you could perform but can’t [i.e. too complicated, take more instruments, etc]?
DB: I feel my guys are talented enough we can play just about anything. The problem: There are only three of us. We have only so many limbs. We do try to include synthesizers played by Deric into our shows though! We love big songs with a lot of cool Pink Floyd – esque instrumental parts. It really defines the complexity of a band’s music.
SE: Which do you like more, to sing or play bass?
DB: I like to sing and play equally. You need both. Bass however is more relaxing to me. It’s like how people sew or solve a puzzle. It just is something that I am doing at all times of the day and it keeps my head on straight.
SE: Deric, what is the best part of playing in a band with your brother?
Deric Becker: Being in a band with Dylan really makes it easy to communicate what we need to do musically and what we need to do to reach the “next step” and finish that tune or add a new track to a song.