crows — red talk — The Red Party Presents

Sean Templar sits down with DJ, Legend & Nightmare Dave Bats

Dave Bats the Legendary DJ, musician, promoter and foodie but what about Dave the man? The Red Party delves deep into the darkened corridors of that which is Dave Bats the impresario behind the legendary mainstay that is Release the Bats

SEAN TEMPLAR: You just had your 21-year reunion. How did it go and did the one-year absence affect the evening in anyway?

DAVE BATS: It was fantastic! The energy in the place was alive and well, as if we just pushed pause in 2018. But this time there were a lot of new faces and first timers so that's great to see! But of course, lots of the original gang were there too, it was great to get together there at The Que Sera again. A year doesn't sound that long but it felt like a long time. Even without the addition of a live band, we were over capacity pretty early on in the evening. Everyone got in eventually but in classic RtB style, there’s a party all night out in front too!

SEAN TEMPLAR: Now that you have had your first reunion party, do you have anything planned for Team Bats in the coming future?

DAVE BATS: Of course! Nefarious plans have been underway for shows that we'd host at other, larger venues. In fact, the very next night after the reunion party, we teamed up with our friends at LA's Sado Maso Disco and had The Vanishing live. We're also making plans to throw some other area shows and a large-scale event in 2020. And of course, our annual joint venture in NY with The Red Party!

SEAN TEMPLAR: Those Bastards! Looking back on 21 years were there any regrets or missed opportunities that in hindsight you wish you would have taken or pursued?

DAVE BATS: Sure, in a way. There were bands that we never got to book for one reason or another, or a talented DJ that we didn’t have. An offer to host a huge tour, or even a small one may have slipped through our fingers a time or two. Who knows! But now, looking back at it all, everything made sense.

While it’s happening it's all in fast forward. When it actually stops you get go review it all in real time. You get to see all the lines in the assembled puzzle and how all the pieces ended up fitting together. To think too much about missed opportunities would take away from the beauty of the creation.

Damn, that's deep!

SEAN TEMPLAR: Don’t worry I plan on adding crude pornographic drawings to lighten the mood

SEAN TEMPLAR: Release the bats has been such a staple of the West Coast scene for 21 years now. How would you compare the artists all the way from the beginning to the ones who are now coming up?

DAVE BATS: That's a long dark highway full of twists and turns!

One thing that just about every performer that got up on that stage and did what they do all had in common, sincerity. They really believe in themselves and their band or performance act. We like bands that wear their message and promote what they mean, and we booked ‘em all!

Now there’s a whole new bunch of cool Death Rock bands coming up and new club nights appearing.

I couldn't really compare the bands from the beginning of RtB to now. All of them are defined in their own styles and genres. Some better or some worse. I've seen some cool new bands and some really bad ones lately. Doesn't mean I wouldn't book ‘em if I still was though. We were often questioned by friends about our choices of bands we'd sometimes book.

But the bands that played RtB, still together or not, had an awesome time that night and that's what really counts.

What do the pigeons do when it's cold and snowing and frozen there?

SEAN TEMPLAR: That was a beautiful answer, why aren’t you in Washington? Next question for you. What were the musicians that lured you into the dark music scene? Was there flashing moment of revelation or was it a slow crawl out of the pop garbage bin?

DAVE BATS: I had older siblings that turned me on to the new "New Wave" as a little kid but my real interests were Metal and Prog. As I got older those genres started to take a backseat to that New Wave they talked about and then Punk, then came the Cure, Siouxsie, Love & Rockets, record shops, stickers all over a lunch pail, boots…you get the picture. And here we are today, just less the lunch pail.

SEAN TEMPLAR: I had a Planet of the Apes lunchbox. Now, a lot of people don’t know this about you, but you are a connoisseur of the Italian folding food known as pizza and since you come from California, what is your stance on the pineapple on pizza argument.

DAVE BATS: I wouldn't dare order pineapple on a pie in NY but out here in LA, it’s perfectly acceptable. Maybe cause we're close to Hawaii? Its good! Try it for Christ’s sake! Lol.

SEAN TEMPLAR: My forefathers would rise from the dead and shoot me down in the street and then bury me in a junkyard. Next time you are in New York, we will hit some of the more famous pizza joints. I promise.

So, after spinning a few times in New York now, what are the most obvious differences between the New York scene and the California one?

DAVE BATS: I don't see too much of a difference really, but it does seem like people in NY are a little more receptive to more unfamiliar bands and music, and also the fact that the nights in NY go way past 2am, I love that! The DJ's are actually able to play a lot more music than here in LA and that makes a tremendous difference at a club night. But really, both coasts have cool people, stuck up people, elitists and vampires in the scene, it’s that way all over the world. It just comes down to cool people throwing great events that attract other cool people that love this music as much as we do.

SEAN TEMPLAR: So, I hear that it is Jenn Bats’ birthday soon. How are you going to celebrate?

DAVE BATS: We'll be throwing a party in the beautiful city of Watts, California at our illustrious co-conspirator Ralphie Nigmatic's house! It’s become a tradition!

SEAN TEMPLAR: I hate that guy! Ok, last 2 questions. I asked Patrick from The Long Losts this question; I thought I would get your opinion as well. Who is your favorite movie Dracula and why?

DAVE BATS: My fav is Frank Langella as Dracula. He played it superbly in my opinion. The music, composed by John Williams, is the perfect soundtrack to it too.

Bela Lugosi's version is an all-time classic and the more modern version with Gary Oldman was brilliant! But my youthful heart will hold Frank Langella as the master.

SEAN TEMPLAR: Now, the first time you visited New York, you didn’t come as a DJ. Can you tell be what you were doing and how you ended up here?

DAVE BATS: My first time in NY was in 1993 when I was on tour with the band STG (Screaming to God). It was my first time there and also my first time in a snowy, icy city. It was crazy! We played at The Bank in Manhattan and got to stay in the city for a couple days. Froze my ass off but we discovered Rumple Minze at a bar called Alcatraz so we found warmth! Ha-ha

Then I came back again in 2015, this time in the summer, and found NY had changed a bit. Less graffiti, less sketchy people it seemed. Alcatraz turned into a fancy bistro of some kind and CBGB…well, everyone knows what happened to that joint.

I do really love it there though, still a cool place to be – obviously, since I've been there every year for five years now throwing 'A Murder of Crows' with some of our sinister cohorts!

SEAN TEMPLAR: Ok, I promise last question. After all this time, what keeps you going and what keeps you excited?

DAVE BATS: Life. Living. Experiencing new things and keeping past experiences in mind as they are all learning experiences. To see joy and happiness in the faces of younger folks who I may have influenced and will someday replace me in this promoter / DJ world.

And pizza.