Dharmata

Dharmata Interview
Few bands are able to pull of a heavy rock groove without sounding like clones of those before them, and even fewer can match their intensity. When it does come together, that intensity has a propensity to tear the band apart. West Palm Beach’s Dharmata is a rare breed – bringing the groove, intensity, originality, and a wicked sense of humor to make a band that can rock and have fun with all the bullshit. Dharmata is a band to keep your eyes and ears on , and here’s why you should come running.
Casey Daniel, All Access Music Magazine (CD): Give me your best sales pitch describing the sound of Dharmata: Jay Slim, Dharmata (JSD): Tastes like change. CD: Do you write the heavy groove into the songs, or is a sum of the parts that bring it out ? JSD : It all happens naturally – as written in the First Book of Funk by the Honorable Bootsy Motherfucking Collins, “groove is in the heart.”
CD: You guys have one of the best bio’s on myspace that I’ve seen. Who is responsible? JSD: I fucking hate band bios. They all pretty much say the same boring ego-stroking bullshit, so I thought “fuck it” – I’ll write a band bio that’s actually interesting and entertaining to read. It’s basically a satire of the generic rock band bios. I wasn’t sure how people would respond to it, but so far, the feedback has been great.
CD: I love the rock names – ‘Ol Dirty Sanchez, Turbo, Diamond – any badge of honor stories that come with the title? JSD : Like the bio lets on, we’re trying to have fun with this thing. We call Greg “Greg Diamond Phillips” because he may be from the same gene pool as Lou Diamond Phillips, but Greg’s past is a blurry one - are they brothers? Something more than brothers? We just don’t know. What we do know for certain is that Lou and Greg went to different high schools together. The other nicknames have stories behind them as well, but its more fun to leave those stories up to the imagination.
CD: Has your sense of humor helped you deal with the ever evolving music industry? JSD : I think just being light-hearted in general and not taking ourselves too seriously helps us deal with the roller coaster ride of the music biz. It can get pretty rough out there. In my previous band, I would follow the radio charts every week and get pissed off we weren’t getting played enough. You start pointing fingers, placing blame; a lot of anger and negativity starting to brew on the bus. I stressed myself out worrying about all these things that I couldn’t change. Meanwhile, I was missing out on enjoying the experience of touring the country in a fucking rock band! So, these days, the guys and I just keep it light. There are some funny motherfuckers in this band. Laughing at ourselves just keeps our spirits up and lets us focus on what’s really important.
CD: Any surprises after getting out on tour with Skindred and in a bus? JSD : We had a strange incident happen on the night of the first show of the tour. A female fan was literally hanging off the side of our bus as we pulled away from the venue .Our road manager had to peel her off the side of the bus, then she bumrushed the door. Turned out, all she wanted was a t-shirt but she didn’t have any money – I guess our t-shirts are fucking amazing.
CD: When can we expect a new record from Dharmata? JSD : We’re in the studio right now. It might be a full-length album or we might make it an EP. We haven’t decided yet, but whatever it is, we’re aiming for a release sometime in August or September.
CD: Why should the fans come running for Dharmata? Greg Diamond Phillips, Dharmata: Life’s too short to walk. JSD : Also- Honesty. Love. Tenderness. Teddy Pendergrass. Unmatched personal hygiene standards. But mainly, we love doing what we do, and it comes through in our performances. We want everyone to be a part of that. People can decide for themselves whether or not they’re into what we’re doing, but the only way to do that is to come see a Dharmata show - So come running the fuck out to the next show.
You can find more on Dharmata at dharmatamusic.com or at myspace.com/dharmatamusic
words: Casey Daniel
July 2009 issue All Access Music Magazine
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Articles & Interviews, General.
© 2010 All Access Music Magazine
2 - All Access Magazine

Opening band, Dharmata, kicked off the night and
introduced us to the hardcore metal sound to come. Though
the majority of the crowd was anticipating Nonpoint,
Dharmata made sure their name was known, getting the
crowd to chant their name and emphasizing the lack of the
pronunciation of the "h." - OutLoud Magazine

A full slate of metal was on display at Revolution Live: (clockwise from left) Nonpoint,
Dharmata, Simplekill and Beauty to the Moon. (Tony Ozegovich / Rhythm Scene) | Click
here for more photos
For this holiday season, a date was set for homegrown metal to come together and throw
down for one hardcore metal show, at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live on Dec. 26.
The night started off with the closed curtains slowly opening and smoke pouring off the
stage to reveal the West Palm Beach native Dharmata. The lead singer Jay Slim thrashed
his dreads with the rest of the group and quickly got the crowd’s adrenaline flowing.
Soon there after, “the mosh pit” started rumbling and proved that this night was just
warming up. Formed in 2007, Dharmata is quickly rising out of the garage band scene.With performances like this, it’s easy to see that the talent pool in South Florida is ever
growing. - PB Pulse

Dharmata (pron. - dar-mah-tah) originally formed under the moniker Revery in West Palm Beach, FL, in February 2007. The planets aligned when Jay Slim, the former vocalist for Tallahassee-based Rock gods Presence, ran into an old acquaintance, bassist Kevin 'Ol' Dirty' Sanchez at the local public library. The classics were discussed at great length. It wasn't long before the Atticus Finches and Scarlett O'Haras became Jimmy Pages and Janis Joplins, and they quickly began scouring the horizon for signs of life.
Dharmata have gathered a great following in South Florida and beyond, having opened for great bands like Sevendust, Skindred and Nonpoint, plus they were the opening band for Cruefest 2 (West Palm Beach date). This year, they were also featured on the Jägermeister Stage at the Buzz Bake Sale 2009, which had approx. 15,000 in attendance. Their songs, “The Awakening” and “Revery,” have been featured on Buzz Junior for over a year now. They are -- for sure -- a band worthy of your attention!
Dharmata are: Jay Slim – vocals; Chris Turbo – guitar; Greg Diamond Phillips – guitar; Kevin ‘Ol' Dirty’ Sanchez – bass; and, J.C. 'Chip' Rommel – drums
www.myspace.com/dharmatamusic
Jeremy Steve Clark :On-air Host, Buzz Jr., 103.1 FM (Sunday Nights 10 p.m.–12 a.m.) Jeremy.Clark@CBSRadio.com WPBZ-FM now streaming online @ www.buzz103.com www.myspace.com/thebuzzjunior - U.N.C.L.E ISPY

If it's sweat, forceful frets and flying dreadlocks, Dharmata is on stage.

The five-man, West Palm Beach-based band has been rocking its way through the local club scene with detours to Tallahassee since forming last year. Lead vocalist Jay Slim describes their sound as manic.

"It's chill and heavy," he said. "It's one. It's the other. It's both."

Slim is backed by guitarists Greg Diamond Phillips and Chris Turbo, bassist Kevin Sanchez and drummer Chip Rommell. They've built an original works repertoire of varying rhythms featuring lyrics that take a raw, honest look at life. The musical influences span metal to hip-hop. "All of it finds its way into our songs," Slim said.

The mix is presented and tossed out at high energy, positive shows. "Our gigs are the cornerstone of what we do," Slim said. "We're truly in our element performing live."

The group is auditioning its catalog in front of audiences, testing which ones are album-worthy. They expect to begin laying down tracks this month for their debut CD at Hellaphant Records - Sun Sentinel

Interview with Dharmata - 7/11/09


Interview with Dharmata

Composed by Erin Bisanti of ENBPhotography

What makes a band different from every other band out there? Well when it comes to Dharmata there is a long list of things. Yes they are a bunch
of guys that sing and play instruments, but instead of sticking to the text book way of doing things they tend to take the road less traveled and
pave their own way into the music industry. Don't believe me? Check out their myspace bio about how the band was formed. There you can read about watering holes, space exploration, and IPhones! If you are still not convinced then try the fact that they did the an entire tour with Skindred
without even having a full length album under their belt. I had the chance to sit down and have a chat with the guys before a show in Orlando and found out a little more about the band Dharmata from West Palm Beach, Florida.

Dharmata is:
Vocals: Jay (Slim)
Rhythm Guitarist: Greg Diamond Phillips
Lead Guitarist: Chris (Turbo)
Drums: J.C. (Chip Rommel)
Bass: Samich

Question: Is this your first time in Orlando?
Jay (Slim): We just recently plated at the House of Blues in Orlando with Skindred.We just got off a Midwest tour with Skindred. This is actually our second time at the Haven.
Ben (OrlandoBands): Did you go to Ohio?
Chris (Turbo): Nope
Greg: We really wanted to say thank you Cleveland but it didn't happen.

Question: What is the difference between the scene in West Palm and here in Orlando?
Greg: There is a scene!
Jay (Slim): West Palm has some great musicians but the whole area is more into just chilling and going to the beach. It is hard to get all of anyone motivated to play. Here is Orlando there is just an incredible amount of bands.
Erin (OrlandoBands): Miami had some good bands.
Jay (Slim): We have not really gone that far.
Greg: West Palm has the older Metal scene.

Question: So what are your plans for the rest of the year?
Jay (Slim): In the next few weeks we are going to be recording our first album.

Question: Where are you recording your first full album?
Greg: The Powerstation in Pompano Beach. (http://www.myspace.com/powerstation - check out more about The Powerstation who have recorded with such artists as Aerosmith and Sevendust!)
Jay (Slim): We are going to record a few tracks so that we can shop around for a label.

Question: Who would you like to tour with in the future?
Jay (Slim): We would like to tour with a band that gives their 150% every single night. To keep us motivated and working just to be able to hang with them.

Question: Do you have any endorsements?
Chris (Turbo): Not right now.
Jay (Slim): We are still trying to build up a momentum. We don't have a record so we are just playing as much as we possibly can right now.

Question: Do you think you now that you have toured before recording that it will change the sound when you finally get into record some tracks?
Jay (Slim): It will have helped with some song selections with listening to the crowds reactions. A band can say that their sound has changed or developed but people will still say it sound like Dharmata.

Question: Your band brings to the stage three part harmony vocals; How do you come up with the harmonies?
Chris (Turbo): We sing acapella or with our acoustics.
Greg: Slim (Jay-Vocals) will write a lot from home and then we will just stand around and practice them.
Jay (Slim): It is not a cake walk and not a lot of people have done it or are doing it now. It is nice to have the ability to do them.
Ben (OrlandoBands): It is like a sai. You never know when you are going to need one. Then you can just pull it out when you do.
Jay (Slim): Didn't one of the ninja turtles have one?
Erin (OrlandoBands): Yeah to cut pizza... see useful.

Question: Are you coming back to Orlando soon?
Jay (Slim): You are actually playing ClubFirestone on August 28th.
Greg: We are headlining I think.
Chris (Turbo): We are?
Jay (Slim): Yeah...
Chris (Turbo): Good to know.

Question: So where can people go to check out Dharmata?
Jay (Slim): Our myspace. (www.myspace.com/dharmatamusic )
Greg: We have our demos on there. They are a year and a half old but we will have new stuff up soon.
Jay (Slim): There is a unique bio on there too.


Check out Dharmata on myspace and don't forget you can catch them live at Club Firestone on August 28th!

- www.orlandobands.com