In his early days, Dave Rand toured the country with his punk rock band. Now a days - he writes, records and performs in his one man electro rock band called Robot Goes Here plus keeps busy a serious scientist working for a PhD at Harvard in Systems Biology. This year he just released his new album "The Byte Is In My Blood", under Infidel Records and hopes to tour Japan. Intelligent, well crafted and catchy unique style of music, Dave spoke to me about his sound to his future musical plans.

Fizzkicks: Your music has a unique style. How Would You Categorize Your Sound?
DAVE: I call it high-energy electro rock. As opposed to electronic/techno songs with some punk influence, my songs are rock/punk songs that are instrumented with electronic sounds. Think the Postal Service with more jumpkicks, Atom and His Package with more philosophy, The Faint with more punkrock, Mindless Self Indulgence with more posi

Fizzkicks: Talk to me about your influences and how have they be inspirational to you in your music career?
DAVE: Some bands/artists that have been really influential for me are punk/hardcore bands like Refused, the Weakerthans, The Broadways, NOFX, and Propagandhi, and also more chill stuff like Ani Difranco, Rilo Kiley, and the Beatles. I really like the lyrics of the Weakerthans and Ani, how they tackle political subjects, but in a nuanced and personal way. And bands like Refused have such awesome hardcore breakdowns that really make you want to move your feet. I feel like alot of my sound is taking that and translating it into electro.

Also, a fairly obvious influence is Atom and His Package - the first basement show I ever went to abot 10 years ago was an Atom show, and he showed me that it is possible to do a one man electronic show.

Fizzkicks: Being in many bands and touring the east coast, what caused you to start up your own project?
DAVE: I played in lots of punk and hardcore bands thru highschool and college, and did a lot of touring, but after I graduated all my friends and bandmates left Ithaca NY where i was living. So with no one to play with, I turned to doing the one man electro angle. And now I really love it - there are so many advantages to making music this way. No one is ever late to practice, scheduling shows is super easy, I dont need a big van to tour, and recording is way easier - i just have to record vocals, all the music is already there.

Fizzkicks: I love the style of keyboards you use in many of your songs. What is your main instrument?
DAVE: I played guitar in most of the bands I was in, and some bass when needed. I actually cant play keyboard at all - eveything in Robot Goes Here I just program directly into Reason 3, drawing notes in with the mouse etc.

Fizzkicks: Which one of your songs connects most with your audience and why?
DAVE: When The Well Runs Dry in general gets the best response, because it is both really high energy and also catchy. What All The Screaming's About also is one of the most popular.

Fizzkicks: When you look to the future, where do you see your music career 3 years from now?
DAVE: I'm hoping my current album, The Byte Is In My Blood, which was just released on Infidel records, will bring me a national audience. Im planning on releasing a covers EP (Iron Maiden, AC/DC, AntiFlag, Sesame St, Ani Difranco) sometime soon, as well as a remix album late this year or early next, followed up a new full length. Im really hoping to do some international touring, particularly Japan. If anyone out there knows people who book Japan tours, let me know!

Fizzkicks:Any plans for touring outside of your hometown this summer?
DAVE: Ya definetely. Im currently living in Boston, and playing out a lot all over MA, NY, RI, NJ, and PA. Im definetely planning on doing some touring this summer, probably East Coast/MidWest.

For more information on Robot Goes Here check out

www.robotgoeshere.com

Band Member:
Dave Rand: Vocals, Guitarist, Sound Programmer