Dead Best Interview: Brian Sokel On His New Project with Adam "Atom" Goren (Atom & His Package, Fracture, Armalite, T.V. Casualty)
Brian Sokel is a Philadelphia native. Sokel played guitar in the influential Punk/Dub band Franklin (sometimes, ! franklin) from 1992 until the band's demise in 1999. They released numerous albums and singles on various labels. Sokel on to play in AM/FM with fellow Philadelphian Michael "Mike" Parsell (Frail) and was the primary song-writer. AM/FM released numerous albums on Polyvinyl Records in the early 2000's. They toured numerous times, but, ultimately, disbanded in 2004. Sokel has, also, spent time throughout his career playing music with Atom & His Package, short-lived Misfits-covering super-group T.V. Casualty, Fracture, The Jai-Alai Savant with his one-time Franklin bandmate Ralph Darden, Aspera Ad Astra, and Gonner. Sokel took a 10-year period off from making his own music between about 2003-13 after which he briefly formed a new project, Gonner, with Parsell and one-time Franklin bassist Roy Binnion.
"Franklin re-formed for about a year and wrote six or seven new songs to, once again, fizzle out. I played for a short while with Ralph's new band, The Jai Alai Savant, but that was Ralph's baby. I wrote some songs at home that I would demo and, then, delete..." Brian Sokel explained within a 2013 post fittingly titled I TOOK 10 YEARS OFF FROM MUSIC. "...and, then, I joined a Punk Rock cover band called T.V. Casualty that played benefit shows for local Philadelphia charities. In 10 years, that was the only music I played with other people after spending the previous 14 years playing music as if it were the only thing that mattered in life," Sokel continued. Brian Sokel ran his own website called GOKIDGO from 2010-20 on which he sporadically posted musings documenting his years and years of music, photos, flyers, and whatever else, so that the folks involved could re-visit it from time to time. Dead Best is Sokel's first band since then.
Friends since the first grade, Dead Best is, oddly enough, the first official on-record proper full-band collaborative effort between Brian Sokel & Adam "Atom" Goren. Their self-titled debut was remotely-recorded in the comforts of their own homes from either side of the fence during initial COVID-19 Pandemic-induced Lockdowns. We've had the unique opportunity to conduct separate, yet complimentary, interviews with both Sokel & Goren, which will be running in tandem here at The Witzard and over at NO ECHO. Check out our interview with Sokel below and Goren's interview at NO ECHO. Shout-out to NO ECHO owner/editor Carlos Remirez for helping make this crazy single-band dual-subject interview series a reality! Dead Best's self-titled debut full-length is out in both physical and digital formats this Friday 12/10 on Don Giovanni Records.
I. How long have you two known each other and how do you recall first meeting?
Brian Sokel: Adam & I have known each other since first grade, so about 40 years. I don't exactly recall how we met, specifically, (Adam might!) but we became wonderful friends. Oddly enough, in fourth grade, Adam left for a different school; so, I didn't see or speak with him until a random chance encounter five years later when we both were in high school. We immediately fell back into our friendship and it's been ongoing ever since.
II. What made you decide to form Dead Best together?
Sokel: While we both have been involved in music for many years, we never had a band together. Our musical experiences were always parallel with each other, but never coinciding within the same band. Adam & I both have families and through the bizarre way the universe works, live next door to one another. During The Pandemic, we were both spending lots of time at home speaking to each other over the fence and decided that working on some music together might be a great way to spend time during The Lockdown. Once we started, we realized we really enjoyed the work and kept pressing on.
III. When and how was Dead Best's self-titled debut full-length (LP) recorded?
Sokel: The record was written and recorded from June of 2020 [through] January of 2021. We recorded it at home passing tracks back-and-forth. This is the modern world.
IV. How did COVID-19-related limitations and restrictions affect the writing, recording, production, etc. processes related to Dead Best (LP)?
Sokel: Both Adam & I have experience writing individually, as well as part of a band. So, while The Lockdown made working together in the same room impossible, working on ideas individually was not foreign to us. And we were able to work "side-by-side," via digital means. While working on songs as a "band" in a live room has a lot of great aspects, the solitary universe provides time to just sit with songs and work on them, just like you might do when painting a picture. You work a little, then, leave it for a while. Then, when you've reached an impasse, you send it "over the fence," per se, and let the other person have a crack at it. I think, we were surprised how easy the entire process was—how natural the flow of ideas came and how much fun we, actually, had.
V. For fans of your previous bands/projects, how would you attempt to best describe the sound heard across Dead Best (LP)?
Sokel: Whew, that's a hard one... I'd say the band is much more noisy, aggressive, and jittery than any of our previous bands.
VI. What would you cite as some of your greatest sources of personal inspiration and influence while creating Dead Best (LP)?
Sokel: For me, I was inspired by the ability to make the record on our own. Not having to work in a studio where you might be watching the clock to monitor your budget allowed for a level of freedom I've never experienced working on a record. This might be the first record that sounds exactly as I hoped it would because we were able to monitor and manage every part of the process from writing, recording to mixing, and producing. There was no middle person in the process... it was just me and Adam.
In addition, the album is absolutely drenched in dread, doubt, and anxiety that was the product of the world in which we found ourselves during those six months of recording. That's all the inspiration anyone would need, ugh.
VII. How do you think Dead Best (LP) holds up compared to/contrasted against your past collaborative efforts together?
Sokel: I'm not sure how to answer that from a listener's perspective, but from the creator's side, I feel like the album represents where we are now and that's the most important thing.
VIII. What was your favorite thing about being able to work with Atom/Adam on Dead Best (LP)?
IX. How did Dead Best (group) initially link up with Don Giovanni Records and what ultimately made you decide to release Dead Best (LP) on their label?
Sokel: Adam & I have known Joe [Steinhardt] (Don Giovanni label head) for a while now—he reports being a fan of our previous bands—so, he's always put it out there that if we ever wanted to work on a new project, he would always give us an ear. So, when we finished the first few songs that we had been working on, we were surprised to find that we were pleased with the results. Just for the Hell of it, we sent them to Joe and he asked if he could release them. Joe is an amazing person, incredible fan of music, and working with Don Giovanni is something we are very proud of.
X. Without explicitly naming names, what are your personal favorite tracks from Dead Best (LP) and why for each?
Sokel: A close friend of ours listened to the album once we had completed it and sent us a multi-page review of the album. That was such a kind and thoughtful gesture that both Adam & I wrote detailed responses about each song. We detailed the writing process, things that we considered making each song, the thoughts behind the lyrics, and the things we, personally, enjoyed about the songs themselves. I don't think we ever decided on a "favorite" and I don't think I could decide on one.
XI. It's rapidly nearing that time of year wherein publications start sharing their year-end lists... so, would you mind sharing a few of your personal favorite releases of 2021?
Sokel: Whew, I am always terrible at questions like this... I can never remember what records came out when. I can say that I've been listening to a lot of Yes. However, not sure if that's a good thing or not.
XII. Now that Dead Best's sheer existence has officially been announced, what do you plan to do/release next?
Sokel: We're always writing. We have about 14 new songs that we're working on and so, we'd love to release some more music in the near future. Perhaps, some live shows? Who knows.