Looking Deep Behind The Sun
Depswa Look to Create Emotional Rock

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>>   Jeremy Penick from Depswa. >>

"Every person out there is someone we want to connect with," explains Jeremy Penick, founding member and singer for California-based rockers Depswa.  "I think they'll see, hear and feel the emotion."

All it takes is a few moments immersed in Depswa's music to understand the basis for Penick's conviction.  With unbridled passion, he delivers the full range of emotions, from longing and desire to rage and disgust.  Penick's clear vocals are backed by the dual guitar onslaught of Dan Noonan and James Mills matched with the thunderous rhythms of bassist Ryan Burchfield and drummer Gordon Heckaman to form a sound that is at once progressive and also quickly familiar.   All it takes is one listen to "This Time" or "Needles" to get taken in by the undeniable hooks and know that Depswa has the rare ability to combine heavy rock with mainstream sensibilities.

It's no wonder that Depswa has earned spots opening up for the likes of Disturbed and Stone Sour and will be on Ozzfest all summer.  They're in position and poised to rise to the level of stardom that their potential promises.

We had a few moments to chat with Jeremy when he called in from the road.  Here's how it went…

VOX: Here's one you've never been asked…what's the story behind the Depswa name?
Jeremy Penick: It's an African term.  It means 'deep behind the moon' in Swahili.   I think that's really cool.  It also comes from the Venezuelan rain forest, a tribe there, they have their medicine man, and they call him the Depswa.  To me, it's deep and it's out of the norm.  I like that a lot, that it's different.
VOX: At least that's the story you're giving me…
JP: [laughs] No…that's it.  It doesn't have a stigma attached to it.   People can say it, it rolls off the tongue easily, and if they don't know us, they'll say, "what the hell is that?"  Which is fine.  I would rather people wondered what we were all about.

>> Penick's style really connected with the Ozzfest crowd. >>

VOX: How did the signing process go?  What made you pick Geffen?
JP: Geffen gave us everything that we wanted.  They were up front, easy to work with and offered us the freedom to do what we do.  Initially, we were working out some stuff with Corey [Taylor] from Slipknot, but it didn't work out.  There's no hard feeling there, though.  We still see him from time to time, and everything's cool.

VOX: "This Time" is a great song.  Tell me about it.
JP: It's about…as everybody says, when they first meet someone and it starts to move ahead, you say, "this time it's going to be different."  That’s the idea, more or less, and when you are in the relationship, especially in a dysfunctional one, you turn into someone or something that you never thought you could.   You say or do things that hurt the other person and you surprise yourself that you're doing these things.  Eventually, you have to take off.

It's sort of an inward story, I guess, like most songs.  The important thing is that you hope you learn from it and try not to make the same mistakes again.

VOX: Are you guys into the Internet and do you think it's an important tool for the band?
JP: Oh, yeah.  It's huge.  I think that, for any band that is just getting it going, the Internet is essential.  It's hard to imagine how bands or anyone got along without it.  You can to one place and find out pretty much everything that you want.   That's amazing.

VOX: Do you answer e-mail from fans?
JP: We really try to answer all the questions we get, but it's getting harder.  After the Mudvayne tour we had a really hard time getting to them.  Dan would spend hours answering and reading…

>> Penick and bassist Ryan Burchfield. >>

VOX: What should fans expect when they get to see Depswa live?
JP: Umm…definitely people who love the music they're playing and give all they have emotionally.  I think they'll see, hear and feel the emotion and intensity, and know that it's heartfelt.  For us, every person out there is someone we want to connect with and have them stick with us.

VOX: What would you like people to take away from your music?
JP: I want them to get lost in the music, to get away from what's ailing them.  Music is there to take you away from the daily grind and be your escape.  What we want to do is make music that give you that feeling…gives you the chills…