DYOXEN

MICHAEL SANDERS

I have spoken with Michael Sanders who is the vocalist and guitarist of Canadian thrash metal band Dyoxen. A shortlived unit who only recorded two demotapes and one full length-album called First Among Equals.

How did you end up on the label Cargo? And what do you think of them today?

There was this punk band called SNFU that we had seen in London Canada. I had given a demo to the lead singer Chi Pig and he liked it enough to give one to his manager Gubby who worked for cargo records. Our guitar player Alistair had gotten us a great review in Kerrang through his cousin in the UK, and we were starting to get other favorable reviews.

I think that is what caught the attention of Cargo. As a label we didn't get a lot of support from them other than the recording budget. As cool as Gubby was, he was our manager and he worked for the label, which I now realize was a major conflict of interest. Hind sight being 20/20 I think that we still had an opportunity to take things a lot further than we did, but we were too young, drunk, and foolish to see it at the time. It was great fun though. I don't hold any ill will towards Cargo. I am sure that they did what they thought was best.

Is there anything you wished you would have done different?

Yeah. While we were in process of rounding up a second wave of tour dates, our drummer, Derek, who was a musical genius, was going through some personal problems and couldn't play for about three months. I wish I would have got someone to sub until he got better cause it kinda killed our momentum. I wish that we would have stuck to our guns and put out another thrash album. We recorded some new material but I don't think that the label liked it.

They had really put almost no promotion or tour support into the first record and were not about to consider doing it for the next. The material was slower and more introspective but still heavy. We didn't realize at the time that thrash was our bread and butter and we wanted to be more experimental. I also wish that we would have made it to Europe. That is where we sold the most records and that is where people were most interested in what we were doing.

Dyoxen - A Foot From The Edge

You made quite a buzz in the thrash metal underground with First Among Equals. With some radio airplay, touring and even making a video. How was it from your perspective?

The funny thing about that is, aside from the reviews and fan mail from europe, we never would have known it. We were completely insulated from the success we were having over seas. I still get mail from all over the world more than ten years after the fact but very rarely from the continent in which I live.

Of all the bands you've opened for You've opened up for a lot of cool bands, Which gig meant the most to you?

That's a hard one. Playing with DBC (Dead Brain Cells) at the Blacklight in Montreal. It was a full house with lots of energy and a great vibe. I remember being completely overwhelmed and thinking, this is what it is all about. We always loved to play with DBC. I am still good friends with the singer Phil. He does my artwork to this day.

Dyoxen - First Among Equals

What's the highlight of Dyoxens career?

For me there was no pinnacle. I just enjoyed playing music with my friends and partying. It was great to hear from our fans and see articles written about us in languages that we couldn't understand, from countries that we had never been to. But for the most part, those years were pretty much a blur for me. So were the next eight.

How would you describe First among equals for those who never heard it?

Four pissed off young men playing as fast as they could with the intent of saving the world.

What about the songs you wrote after releasing First among equals, will they ever see the light of day?

I doubt it. If there were any interest I suppose we would do something but until that time, those songs will remain shelved.

Andy 'Feedback' Morton & Michael Sanders

Tell us more about your new band 'One tribe'.

Well, the group is now called Michael Sanders and One Tribe Nation. It is a far cry from Dyoxen, more along the lines of Santana meets Jeff Beck and Curtis Mayfield. My debut solo album is nearly complete. I have been working with Neil Citron at Steve Vai's studio "The Mother Ship".We are mastering completed tracks, and re-mixing others. We hope to be finished in early October. In the mean time, you can check out new songs as they become available on my web site.

http://www.onetribenation.com

Joining the Nation for this release are all-star greats like Luis Conte, (Eric Clapton, Santana), Jimi Roberts (Tower Of Power, Rick Braun) and long time Rolling Stones backup singer Bernard Fowler, as well as touring members and session players for such artists as Black Eyed Peas, Frank Gambale, Dio, and Glenn Hughes.

Are there any plans of reuniting Dyoxen someday?

If there was any interest I'm sure everyone would consider it.

Any last words for our readers?

I wish that we could have made it over there to see you guys but hey, what are ya gonna do?

Thank you for your support.

Peace

Mike

By/Ruthless

(23-09-2004)