NEVER HEARD OF IT - an online chat

An on-line chat with DJ Dell’osa of Never Heard Of It -By Nikki Neil

Never heard of it? Almost every band has heard that response at least once in their career. It’s disheartening, but the comebacks are numerous. If you reside in Southern California or if you happened to catch Warped 2002, then you have probably heard of Never Heard Of It.

Formed in the Spring of 2001 the Covina based unit—comprised of vocalist DJ Dell’osa, guitarist Jeff Anenberg, bassist Johnny Brittain, and drummer Chris Beltran—turned their burning ambition into a punk rock reality. In this quartet’s world D.I.Y. is more than just a term, it’s a way of life. Realizing that you can’t wait for opportunity to knock on your door, the boys got off their asses and went for it. Their first stop was a used car dealership where they purchased an avocado-green Chevy Express Van. To say the least, it wasn’t the most pimpin’ of vehicles but it took DJ and co. on four U.S. tours, which they booked and financed on their own.

But that’s not all…the self-sufficient lads also produced and put out three albums independently on their Unmotivated imprint. Their latest, Limited Edition, has already sold over 10,000 copies. The group just landed a nationwide distribution deal and, they were the only unsigned band to play the entire Warped 2002 tour. To say the least, Never Heard Of It is an indie label’s wet dream.

How long did it take to complete Limited Edition?

We recorded the whole CD in just ten days.

What was the biggest challenged faced in making this record?

It sucked because we were on a time budget and we didn't get to do all of the things that we really wanted to do. We also didn't get to experiment as much as we wanted to.

Aside from folks just falling in love with the band during a live show, what
tactics do you use to get people to buy your albums?

When we’re on tour we usually arrive early to our shows so we generally have a lot of time to kill before a show. If that’s the case, we’ll go to the local mall and talk to people. We usually go up to people with our CD's and headphones or posters. We just like to talk to people and meet people all over the world. Even if they don’t buy our stuff we still talk to them. It's cool. When we’re at a gas station or in a parking lot we’ll just walk up to anyone and offer our friendship and see if they like our music and see if they would like to come to our show and hang out and party.

Why should someone buy Limited Edition?

Everyone should buy the CD so they can come and party with us at our next show – just rock out with us and sing along. It will be fun.

Where can they buy the album?

You can buy it at a store near you or on line at a bunch of places like www.cduniverse.com, www.amazon.com, www.cdnow.com, www.towerrecords.com.

As an unsigned band, was it hard to land a spot on the Warped Tour?

At first we thought we were playing a few dates and then we found out through Criterion Records that we had ten more dates. Then we were asked to play the whole tour because of our four previous independent tours and the release of our CD nationwide. We were so stoked.

What was the most memorable moment from Warped 2002?

Becoming such good friends with all of the bands that we have looked up to
for so long. It was weird to be able to hang out with them and party with them after looking up to them for so long. It was just really cool.

Overall, what has been your worst tour experience?

The drives that we had to do each day for 8 weeks were miserable. We didn’t
have a tour bus or a driver so we did it all ourselves and most of the drives were 8 to 10 hours -- sometimes more sometimes a little less.

What is the worst / best thing about being on the road?

We love being on the road. There isn’t anything else that we would rather be doing. Playing shows every night and seeing kids come out to rock out with us is the raddest thing ever.

How did you guys go about booking your first tour?

We got a lot of help from Richard at Drive-thru records. He mapped it out for us and gave us all the contacts. We just had to make all the calls and set it all up. Drive-thru has helped us out a lot from the beginning, and we owe them a lot of thanks.

Since the band is so DIY does one person handle all the business aspects or do you split up the duties?

We each work just as hard as the other. We split up the duties to make it easier on ourselves. Jeff and I do most of the booking and Johnny takes care of the merchandise and accounting.

When you guys finally make it big will you sell the Chevy or will you keep it
for sentimental reasons?

We want to sell it eventually and get an RV. We're saving up now, so hopefully we'll have an RV soon.

Why should a label sign Never Heard Of It?

Because we love what we do more than anything and the music that we play means so much to us, which is why we work so hard. All we want to do is tour all year round and make our fans happy.

There are a number of good songs on Limited Edition, but “Tequila” is probably my overall favorite. Do you play it at your shows?

We played it once in our hometown at our headlining show at the Glasshouse, which is our favorite place to play. It was rad because by the time we got to the chorus we just let the whole crowd sing it instead of us. 700 kids were just singing along as loud as they could. I would have never thought...

Do the lyrics change each time you play the song?

We usually play “Tequila” at parties or when we are all drinking and, yes,
the verses always change and they usually get better as the night goes on.

Is tequila the drink of choice?

I prefer Captain Morgan, but Johnny will chose tequila over anything.

Which bands have influenced what you do?

When we started out we were heavily influenced by Screeching Weasel, The Queers, and MXPX. But, we’ve changed a lot since then and now we just listen to such a wide variety of different kinds of music that our music just comes from what we feel at the time.

What song reminds you of high school?

“No Regrets” (off Limited Edition). It's about moving on and not dwelling on the past.

What are your Top 10 albums for 2002? (DJ didn’t supply album titles, so I included each artist’s latest release.)

The Exit – New Beat (Some Records)

Death on Wednesday – Buying The Line (Side Cho)
The Used – Self-Titled (Reprise)

Saves The Day – Stay What You Are (Vagrant) (2001)

Alkaline Trio – From Here To Infirmary (Vagrant) (2001)

Finch – What It Is To Burn (Drive-Thru)

Taking Back Sunday – Tell All Your Friends (Victory)

Good Charlotte – Young And The Hopeless (Epic)

Rufio – Perhaps I Suppose (Militia Group) (2001)

Thrice – The Illusion of Safety (Hopeless)

Who is the biggest mirror hog in the band?

I don’t know. I guess it would be Johnny just because he is always making sure that he's lookin’ good.

What are the goals of Never Heard Of It as a band?

To stay together for as long as we can and keep touring and writing music
that we love.

For more on Never Heard Of It visit www.neverheardofit.com