As a born and raised native we have quite an amazing local and rich scene, and I am incredibly honored and excited to share the story of Las Vegas Icon’s Substance-D (Substance Death) and to have them as my Artist of the Week!
Here is their story in their own words, Enjoy! 😉
VMS:
“I know you guys have a very long and amazing story, tell me about your History as a band and your current lineup. “
Substance-D current lineup is:
Paul French-Vocals
Denny D.-Guitar
Sean Substance-Bass
Nigel Aldridge- Drums
“We got the name of the band Substance-D from the book “A Scannar Darkly” by Phillip K. Dick. It was a drug of the future that was killing everyone. The D stands for Death. We started the band in 1986 and played our first show out in the desert in May 1987 on Losee Road for the”Burgie Fest 3″. It was an annual event put together by Danny Breeden of FSP that had bands and that year had a pickup truck filled with as much of the cheap beer Burgermeister that could be found. We continued to play desert shows all over the city as well as house parties on a regular basis until about 1990 and then an occasional show here and there until the band officially called it quits in 1992.
I had become the new vocalist for the Vegas thrash band Papsmear in 1989 and was kind of back and forth with Substance Death from that point on. Myself, the bassist and drummer were in a band called Intentions of Hate that was doing the same style of hard core for a while but all of us have played in many other projects over the years. We did 2 shows in 2013 after a 21 year hiatus.
In 2020 during the pandemic we decided to get together and record a full length CD of old and new songs. Originally we had planned on doing 1 show when we released the CD in 2021 but 3 years later we are still doing shows and writing new material. To the majority of kids at the shows these days they have no idea who we are or what we have done but for a group of old dudes we are shredding harder and blowing the minds of those who see us play every time.”
VMS:
“I know Paul, you’re a Vegas native, which is amazing since I’m a Vegas native too. We have both seen this city change so much, do you feel it’s gotten easier or worse for the local music scene here to thrive. What changes would you make to this city to make it easier for local artists to get their voices heard.”
Substance-D:
“I have seen our city go hot and cold over the years. We used to never have any clubs that allowed any type of heavy music. We used to rent generators and play any desert spot until the cops caught on to what we were doing. We have played every Elks Lodge, Order of Eagles, Knights of Columbus, all the places like that that had a big room for their organization that would rent it out to us until they finally had enough of dealing with us. These days it is amazing how many places there are to play that allow heavy music and people slam dancing and getting crazy. Unfortunately there are not to many places that are all ages that allow this but I have faith that the younger kids are doing what they need to do to play music the same as we did when we were young.”
VMS:
“What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.”
Substance-D:
“Bands that we were influenced by the most at that time was Definitely the first Suicidal Tendencies record, Circle Jerks, Black flag, but then the next generation of Hard Core with bands like Agnostic Front, The Accused, and DRI. But local bands like FUCK SHIT PISS and 5150 really inspired us by seeing them out there doing it and also embracing our band. They helped us by getting us on shows and supporting us and showing us how to do it on our own.”
VMS:
“What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics and music.”
Substance-D:
“I used to write lyrics constantly about everything, be it about doing or being drugs, nuclear war and the end of the world coming, or whatever was going on around me. The band would come up with a riff and I would put my lyrics that I had to it. It was happening very easily. These days we put more time and effort into the songs. Our songs are more complex now than when we first started where you had a verse and a chorus and we would have a song. Verse chorus verse chorus verse chorus DONE! There’s another song and we would be totally stoked with a simple 51 second song.”
VMS:
“Tell me about your upcoming New EP. Anything you can share about what to expect from new Substance Death music.”
Substance-D:
“We hope to have a 10 song EP of all new material released by the end of the year on vinyl. We are hoping to work with Asteroid M records here in Vegas and get it complete by the end of the year or January 2025.”
VMS:
“You also have an upcoming show as well on May 26th at Sinwave!
Tell me what we can expect from that show and what is the lineup going to be.”
Substance-D:
“We will be opening for DRI at the new venue SINWAVE on May 26th with Authors of Fate and Vegas Locals Society’s Infection and Terror Attack. It’s during PRB weekend and should be a full house if it hasn’t already sold out. It’s gonna be SICK!!!”
VMS:
“What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.”
Substance-D:
“We enjoy what we do or we wouldn’t be doing it. We always hope that the audience can see that we are serious about our music and go ape shit crazy when they hear it. Nothing worse than people just standing and watching and just don’t get it.”
VMS:
“Which local artist would you like to work with and why.”
Substance-D:
“These days we are down to play with any local acts that are continuing to keep hard core punk/ thrash alive. We like many bands of all kinds. SKELETON CREW, LIFE’S TORMENT, SUBURBAN RESISTANCE, are a few that come to mind that we really enjoy. But there are so many good local bands like GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION, GOB PATROL, that we have yet to play with. THE SHAKEWELLS and any band KATE78 is involved with is always a great band to play with. Vegas has always had some of the best bands I have ever seen.”
VMS:
“What’s your overall theme or message of your music.”
Substance-D:
“We really have no message or theme that is anything positive. Don’t trust the government and the world can come to an end at any moment so have fun while you can.”
VMS:
“Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.”
Substance-D:
“We have all kinds of crazy stories about being in LSD while we was young but we won’t get into all that. We opened for the OFFSPRING in St. George UT on my 17th Birthday July 24 1987 and it was the first time they had played anywhere out of their hometown. A year or so later we played with them again out in the desert and someone ran off with all the money collected. We scraped up like $10 for gas so they could get home.”
VMS:
“What does the future hold for Substance-D.”
Substance-D:
“As for the future of the band, all I know is we plan on doing what we do for as long as we can. As long as we continue to have fun playing live and can physically perform live we will be doing this.”
What I love and appreciate about Substance-D is how raw, real, and true they have stayed to themselves and their music after so many years. yes, their musicianship has evolved, like the natural evolution of any musician, however the core of who they are as people and a band has not wavered, which I respect! In the social media age, this world wants us to be perfect, watered down versions of the human experience. But nothing is more real or raw in this world than music, and I love that Substance-D’s core is the same. Creating wonderful hardcore music that you can thrash, lose your shit too, all while they are talking about real issues that matter to them. With Paul’s gritty and commanding vocals front and center, Denny D. and Sean Substance thrashing guitar and bass, and the trashy but complex drumming of Nigel Aldridge that perfectly encompasses the whole vibe of the band, they are a huge forced to be reckoned with. They are loud, in your face and unrelenting, which is all the things I love about Punk Rock Music. Anybody can learn how to play music, but they have the one thing you cannot replicate and that is the sheer passion and love for what they do. I hope to hear some more wonderful music from them soon, but for now, just keep showing those young Kiddo’s how Punk Music is supposed to be done! They are the real deal and I cannot wait to see where the future will take them.
For more information about Substance-D, please check out their website: www.substancedeath.com and Please go support their amazing show at Sinwave May 26th!
——Vegas Music Scene