El DopaEl DopaDeep in the bowels of downtown Allston, MA, I met with the members of el DOPA: Krishna Venkatesh, el DOPA's songwriter and MIDI mastermind, guitarist Areun Venkatesh,bassist Alex Smoller, and drummer Danny Lee. With the exception of Krishna's younger brother Areun, a recent college graduate and Boston transplantee, the members of el DOPA have several years' worth of band experience under their collective belt. Smoller, along with drummer Todd Perlmutter of Orangutang, gave the band B.U.S.T. its flipped-out funky backbone. Danny Lee is a veteran of legendary Boston bands Uzi and Cxema/Gutter, pioneering bands on the industrial/hard rock edge.
As for Krishna Venkatesh, he was a member of the cutting-edge industrial band Think Tree from1987 to 1993. Think Tree utilized samples and a keyboards for an innovative techno sound, which caught the eyes and ears of Caroline Records. Think Tree released two records on Caroline, 8:13 in 1991 and Like the Idea in 1992, and their video was promoted on MTV's 120 Minutes. More successful overseas than in the States, Think Tree toured Europe extensively and were well received there. Krishna brings his sampling and MIDI expertise into el DOPA, along with years of band experience and a sincere love of music. (As for the rest of Think Tree, Peter Moore, Will Ragano and Jeff Biegert recently released a CD of their current project Bongo Fury).
el DOPA was born of songs Krishna wrote in the studio while still in Think Tree that just weren't "Think Tree material." e.D. quickly grew beyond the studio walls, however. Much of its very existence is inextricably tied to the art of the performing these songs live for an audience. "After a month of not playing out," admits Krishna, "I already missed it." Last summer, Krishna left Think Tree and approached Alex and Danny for participation n what was then just "solo project".
Quoting from a press release in the works written by Krishna, "...What I wound up with was a band... and a group of seriously funky motherfuckers."
Similarly, Krishna made a conscious decision that his next band would be much less technically oriented than Think Tree had been. "All of our gear wouldn't even fit into two trucks, and sound checks would take hours, and it wasn't because we were pretentious, it was because there were twenty-four cables... I made it a point: 'In my next band, all of our gear is going to fit into one van!" His brother chuckles, "Load-outs now take twenty minutes!"
But more than just the novel convenience and minimal back strain involved with a stripped - down four-piece band, the members of el DOPA are absolutely hooked on performing in both a pragmatic and in a spiritual sense. In another reflection of the band's pared-down sensibilities, el DOPA wants to tour extensively first, to get their name and music out there to an audience before they make an album. As the press release posits, "We all know that no one will buy an album that they do not know exists." Hopefully, some record label will cooperate and finance a tour for them. And in the economical spirit of the day, el DOPA's demo tape was recorded using a home studio and a Macintosh.
And the music? The press release describes it as "a la Thelonious Monk with a tinge of industrial seasonings, Ministry, George Clinton, and John Coltrane's corpse hanging out for a few drinks if you will!!!" Suffice it to say that it is really, really funky. In addition, DAT samples push the mix over the standard funk edge towards industrial. A loose rap winds through all three songs on the demo tape, with some clever catchy lyrics in its favor. It's not often you hear "drool' at the end of a phrase (not men, anyhow). As in all good funk songs, the verses lay down a smooth groove, and the choruses are catchy and unforgettable. "Chicklit"'s chorus is hip, infectious, and truly impossible not to dance and the chorus of the aptly named "Stupid People" goes something like this: "Stupid people/stupid people/ stupid people/stupid people shouldn't breed." el DOPA certainly doesn't stint on its opinions and those with more tolerance for stupid people may read "outspoken" as "obnoxious". Still, it's pretty funny, and the band has a hypnotic appeal that's hard to deny.
In Boston it is customary for the scene to enthusiastically support the most talented bands of the alternative crop and then accuse them of desertion when the band becomes successful and leaves town. And while the members of el DOPA gratefully acknowledge their numerous local supporters, they have also made it quite clear that they do not consider themselves a "Boston band", but a regional/national one. What makes el DOPA different from other bands who also hope to break out of the local headlining rut and into a bigger scene is that they, by virtue of their experience and their appealing music, may just accomplish that.
Reprinted with minor alterations from the Noise, June 1994.
