The thing I like about the band [Dead Child] is that there's no pretense. We aren't even trying to be artists or poets.

My kids don't really like when I sing for some reason...but they like when I play guitar. So I started writing songs just playing guitar for them.

The thing I like about the band [Dead Child] is that there's no pretense. We aren't even trying to be artists or poets.

Now since I've gotten back into it, I've been listening to a lot more of the 1990s death metal type stuff.

On a musical level, I do find it rewarding. It's not like I want to blow my brains out while I'm playing these songs from so long ago. I am still surprised by the way the songs are constructed - note choices, the way the arrangements are made, the way these songs are assembled. I'm still amazed at times.

We just have to plan everything in advance and concentrate it so that we get everything done in time. It's not as laidback as I wish it could be.

We were pretty normal - suburban kids having a good time playing in bands. We were silly. We weren't dark, intense, humorless people. Humor was one of the connecting forces among us. It was more like camaraderie.