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PH: People might not understand just how punk rock your hometown of Louisville Kentucky is. As far back as the mid 80s squirrel bait was an early L-ville punk band. What was punk rock/hardcore like for you growing up?
DB: There was a sense of belonging. Although there was a degree of infighting, most punk youth stood up for each other against many of the outside groups. In Louisville, that usually meant the police, the gangs that would come down to our club and fight us, and anyone else that thought we were some type of problem for the city. Not to mention that there was a sense of lineage that I find lacking in today’s punk. Rat and Mike, who would later go on to form Kinghorse, took care of me when I was in 7th and 8th grade. They turned me on to countless bands and snuck me into over age shows. For years, they treated me like family. I honestly felt like I was an apprentice, as if they were preparing me to lead a band at some point.
PH: Which came first interest in literature or music?
DB: Music. As a dyslexic boy, I didn’t learn to read or write until the sixth grade. Music always spoke to me and I didn’t have to know how to read to enjoy it. My love for literature developed through my problematic relationship with reading and writing. Because so many people taunted me and called me stupid, I always wanted to read the thickest books to show them that I could. It turns out that many of the thickest books were written by strange and fascinating authors.
PH: Favorite authors growing up and favorites today?
DB: I dabbled in Stephen King’s work, but didn’t fall in love with reading until I read Clive Barker. A friend passed me the first Books of Blood during a high school English class. I started reading it under my desk and couldn’t put the book down. By the last couple of classes, I was reading the book in plain view. What’s funny is that my teachers didn’t tell me to stop reading. I think they were just happy to see me excited about something. I read everything by him for a long time. I guess he lost me around Everville, with the exception of the Thief of Always. I also dabbled in Ray Bradbury’s work; however, his uninformed stance on politics quickly turned me away from supporting him. It’s difficult to discuss my favorites today because there are so many amazing books. I study Franz Kafka, so I’m always returning to his works. If I were to compose a must read list of modern authors it would go like this: Bruno Schulz, Brian Evenson, Laird Hunt, Shelley Jackson, Eric Olson, Mary Caponegro. Again, there are so many amazing books, that I find it difficult to list them.
PH: Endpoint (one of your first bands) was legendary in the Midwest hardcore scene of the late 80’s early 90’s. When I was in high school Endpoint shows were emotional, political and amazing blur of audience and performers. Looking back what kind of feelings do you have thinking of Endpoint?
DB: When I watch the videos, I don’t understand it. I was there and I still don’t understand it. I can’t listen to the music because I’ve become far too critical to enjoy it. However, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t necessarily about the music. There was a connection between Endpoint and people like you, David, that made it this strange entity. Critically, the music and the lyrics were nothing spectacular; however, there was something authentic to it. It was only partially the band. So much of it was the connection between the band and the audience (if one can actually say there was a difference between the two).
PH: You went on to a band named Guilt that defied easy definition outside of being very heavy. Musically it’s my favorite of your bands but Guilt and was over looked by the hardcore scene that didn’t seem to get it. Did Guilt have a mission?
DB: Thank you. Our mission was to write music that broke all preconceived notions of the genre. We wanted to do something relatively new. There were some wonderful moments in that band. It’s true we never garnered a large audience, but we did have a great time making people angry.
PH: It seemed you had burned out on hardcore by the mid 90’s when you returned with By the grace of god which was a back to basics straight edge hardcore band. It also marked a return of the Rob(the singer of endpoint) and Duncan working as team. How did this project start?
DB: My mother had just passed away from alcohol related health problems. I was in a strange headspace and I talked with a friend (DJ Rose) while Guilt and Earth Crisis were on tour. He asked me why I didn’t use my music to create a positive image for the straight edge movement. I came home and asked Rob if he’d be interested in playing in a new band. We hand selected some members and went for it. BTGOG was fun. We saw the world and rarely fought (comparatively to the other bands). The best part is that we knew that we weren’t original, so we never felt pressure to push the boundaries. Our band was about the message. We were pro sobriety, pro political involvement, and pro knowledge.
PH: In an infamous interview with punk planet you publicly retired from hardcore. What was behind that decision?
DB: Partially it was a rhetorical device to shine light on the fact that the punk/hardcore scene was losing its identity and its accountability. Most people didn’t understand this though. I still get people asking me how I could “retire.” The other part was that I was exhausted. I had nothing left to give to the scene. Every few years the scene regenerated and I had to participate in the same arguments I had when I was eighteen. I knew that I had a different calling. That year, 1998, I wrote a list of things to accomplish in the next ten years. The first thing on the list was to go to graduate school and focus on my writing.
PH: Since then you have kept up with music with Lull account and dbiddle. What goals do you have musically speaking?
DB: Although my music is still largely political, I play music for enjoyment. I appreciate it when people support me, but I would record the songs by myself even if there were no pressing demand for them. Also, I don’t write songs about my personal life any longer. All of my lyrics are small observations about other people. It’s pretty liberating...when no one is expecting something from you, you can do some pretty interesting things. I’ve always been a big proponent of changing my sound. If one were to put a song from the first d.biddle seven inch next to one from the upcoming CD “Beds and Monsters,” s/he would see a marked difference in style and tone.
PH: You teach English, absurdist literature, how did you end up in this field?
DB: I believe I can make a bigger difference in the classroom than I can in with a band. Because of my problematic relationship with the education system, I have always wanted to teach and be the best teacher I can possibly be. I think I’ve managed to do pretty well in those regards. As far as the absurd goes, I’ve always been attracted to dark and mysterious things. Absurdity in literature addresses subjects that one can’t express in a straightforward narrative. My dissertation looks at ways that we can use absurdity and abstraction to generate new representations of mental disorders in literature. So frequently, literature approaches mental illness in a sort of binary conversation. Authors lead readers through a kind of didactic framework, where the reader ”discovers” that a character is either mad, or living with a dual personality, or even that the character is quite sane. I try to create a type of metafictional problematic where the reader must construct his/her support for the character and make a judgment — a writerly text requiring participation.
PH: How does your academic perspective affect your writing?
DB: My experience in the academic world has helped me to be more critical. An author should be accountable for his or her work. If one creates a diegetic universe, that universe must be rich, thick, and exist according to a set of rules that the author has developed or thoroughly explored. What I find lacking in a large amount of contemporary fiction is research. Some writers think that creative license allows them to be lazy and make unbelievable connections.
PH: You have a novel coming out next year can you tell us about it?
DB: It’s due out this year on Afterbirth Books. It’s a novel called Super Cell Anemia. I’ve been told it’s pretty dark and at times quite humorous. That’s about all I can offer, as I don’t want to guide the reader too much by giving some kind of plot summary. I find that plot is the last thing I think about when I write. I foreground language as I feel that’s the real meat of fiction.
Long term plans as an artist?
I consider myself more of a novelist and I don’t work well in the form of short stories. I’m writing another novel and struggling with some short stories in the mean time. I’ll continue to write music and record. If I’m lucky, people will continue to support me and I’ll be able to tour with my books and with my bands.
PH: Personally as a Writer I have struggled with learning disabilities, when I was in high school I was once told to give up on education and focus on vocation. As writer I still struggle with my learning disability. Years ago we bonded on being LD how has it affected your life and what steps did you take to overcome them?
DB: Anger got me through the formative years of my artistic experience. As one can see in my early writing and music, I had a point to prove, and I took every opportunity I could to show people that I could accomplish anything I wanted. We exist in a time of factory farm education. As you know, people like you and I aren’t learning disabled, we simply learn differently. For me, I have to understand how each education system works before I can strive in it. In high school, I faired poorly until my Senior year because it took me 3 years to understand how the public education class room operates. In college, I failed out during my first year, but returned after doing research on how the system worked. Graduate school’s curve wasn’t so hard because it was just a more difficult version of the undergraduate experience. Now that I feel comfortable with my achievements and feel as if I have done more than anyone could have expected me to do, I need to learn how to slow down, to calm my ambition and enjoy life. For example, I’m currently writing two books, teaching three classes, playing in two bands, and trying to live my life. It doesn’t leave much time to relax and enjoy the simple things.
PH: What hardcore do you still have on the shelf that get spun when you miss the good ole days?
DB: Most of it seems dated, but some things still get me excited (as I say this Hüsker Dü comes on my itunes). I listen to Born Against, Quicksand, Angry Samoans, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, Good Riddance, and Drive Like Jehu. I still have quite a few records left. However, in the 90’s I took all of my records of bands that I thought used the genre and put them out on a curb in front of a show. Kids nearly fought over them. I’d say there was about 1000.00 in records there. I kept all of the bands that I thought were sincere, or records that helped form me as a musician.
PH: If neurosis was playing on the same night as Clive Barker signing which one would you go to?
DB: I’d have to say Neurosis because Steve’s my friend and I always put my friends before strangers. Not to mention, I still listen to Neurosis and I don’t really follow Mr. Barker any longer.
PH: As a writer do feel that you are apart of any genre?
DB: Although I don’t discount genre, I don’t think my writing really fits genre. Afterbirth Books and several other publishers are trying to develop a genre called Bizzaro, which is interesting, but I wouldn’t say that my work fits neatly into that category either. Perhaps Super Cell Anemia meets enough of the criteria, but I think there’s more to it that might make it more than just Bizzaro. I admire the work these people have done though, there’s some interesting material in the genre.
PH: Living or dead, broken up or still rockin name the ultimate line up for live show you can think of 5 bands?
DB: If I could see them all in their prime: Verbal Assault, Inside Out, Void, Angry Samoans, and Battalion of Saints. However, I hate seeing reunions. For the most part they seem sad. I say for the most part, because there have been some good ones. I always admire bands that reunite for a political reason, benefits and what not. To be honest, I’d be curious to see this Police reunion, but the tickets are not realistically priced. 225 for mediocre seats? No thanks Sting… Christ, I saw Devo (in my opinion a much better band) for free.
PH: Final comments?
DB: Thank you so much for allowing me to participate and for being such a kind friend over the years. Treat writing like a political virus.
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