Interviewed by: Beth Long
Photos: Nicole Kibert
REAX: When I first met you back in 2000, you were DJ’ing in Gainesville. I knew you as Hiebel then. Do you still go by Hiebel, or is it Brian now?
Brian: Yeah. I go by both, depending.
REAX: I’ve read some really good reviews on you, what are your thoughts with your following?
Yeah, yeah; we’ve gotten a lot of crowd response and good rapport… Especially in Miami, with consideration that it was our first time down there, ya’ know. Both nights there were packed, one of them being at capacity… Tampa was the least crowded of our shows, but it was probably because it was a Thursday night.
REAX: You and Matt Creswell have been making music together since you were both in Kitchens of Soul way back when. Has he been a part of the Duppies since the beginning?
We’ve had different projects here and there since Kitchens of Soul, but no. I brought him into the band about three years ago.
REAX: What’s next for the Duppies?
Right now our sights are on the second album, and its completion; getting it pressed some time in the new year… hopefully by February. We’ve discussed going out to San Antonio to do some shows, but there’s no dates as of now. There’s talk of maybe doing a seven inch; we might go to New York to record some of that. I’m really excited for the new album.
REAX: How did you hook up with the Slackers?
Our saxophonist was somewhat friends with them in the past, but our first time playing with them was at the Social in Orlando, three years ago, and we pretty much worked our asses off to get that show. We had to do all sorts of shit, just get on them, but also just be patient and wait. We finally got a gig with them, we were all excited. Then after that, we did some more shows with them and just kind of developed a relationship.
REAX: You do both cover songs and originals. Who comes up with the music and writes the lyrics?
It’s a combination, we all collaborate… the songs usually start with one person’s idea and then blossom just by bringing it to the band and through constructive criticism. A lot of time there’s not much needed to complete a song, just a little bit of work. We try to do a few covers here and there for a few different reasons… if we need to fill a gap, or for those who aren’t familiar with us when we play out of town, but also as a way to show some of the traditional worth of music that our songs stem from. We try to do covers that aren’t too well known, but only kind of well known, and we’ll do it in a way that’s actually exciting for the audience, like when we cover Susie-Q, which is just a lot of fun.
REAX: So, a “duppy” is a Jamaican patois for a ghost or spirit, about which much of Caribbean folklore is based. Who came up with the name?
Yeah that’s right, a ghost from a consecrated grave. The name actually was mostly me, we brainstormed for months and months… maybe even for the first year while prepping to perform live. In the beginning we were kind of sarcastic and joked around about our name because we didn’t know how serious we were going to be. For the most part it was all about having fun when we started, then it turned out to be something that it never really was. We were pretty much just a bunch of young American white kids playing dead music… It is a Jamaican Patois, but it’s not just the fact that it’s mentioned in a lot of reggae songs. It’s kind of a sufferer’s music, ya know. We aren’t trying to approach the atmosphere of similar bands who sing about drugs and partying. We sing more about raw human emotion, relationships: good or bad, with oneself or someone else. A lot of kids come out to our shows and so we try to keep it radio-friendly, no cursing.
REAX: There’s a Jamaican Black Metal band, Orisha Shakpana, who sings a song about the Rolling Calf duppies that can only be seen by drunks...
Oh yeah? I’ll check it out.
The Duppies
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