We thought it would be nice to interview two ‘Under the Radar’ bands from both sides of the pond at the same time, Ten City Nation from Bury St. Edmunds in
Ten City Nation (TCN) questions were all answered by guitarist/vocalist Seymour
Dot Dash (DD)
Hi and how the devil are you today, in fact where are you as well?
(TCN) I’m very well, thank you for asking! I’m sat at my computer at home in sunny
(DD) Very well, thanks. Everyone is at work. Terry and Hunter are in the ‘downtown’ area of D.C.; Bill in
How long have you been a band and how did you come together, what was the spark?
(TCN) We all used to be in a sort-of punk band called Miss Black America, who got together back in 1999. Mike (bass/vocals) and Neil (drums) were still at school and I’d just dropped out of university to concentrate on being an idiot. We did reasonably well but we toured Black Flag-style without any backing for two years and didn’t cope very well with a prolonged diet of crisps and lager, so the band fell apart. But gradually we became friends again and around 2007 we realised we were all listening to the same records – Chas & Dave Live At The Budokan,
(DD) We got together in the front part of 2010. We had all played in various bands over the years and knew each other, or had travelled in similar circles, and decided to give it a whirl.
Dot Dash
What if any influences did you gain from your parent’s record collections. and what was the first serious record you all bought?
(TCN) My Dad’s a lifelong Beatles obsessive – he once head butted a Norweg
First serious record I stole from my parents was Be Yourself Tonight by Eurythmics and first CD album I bought with my own money was Bite by Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. I think Mike’s first big albums were Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd and Levelling The Land by Levellers. And Neil’s always been a huge fan of The Stone Roses’ first album. 90s and proud.
(DD) Terry – My parents had some records that I liked by Herb Alpert and Walter Wanderley (who, I later came to realize, sounded like Felt.). The first record I bought with my own money was Cheap Trick, Live At Budokan.
Bill – Parents: 70s stuff, Simon and Garfunkel, Bread,
Hunter – My parents didn't have a record collection. They had an 8-track collection. My Dad loved The Beatles and The Monkees, and my mom enjoyed listening to folk songs about death, usually by The Kingston Trio.
Danny -- Parents record collection would be Miles Davis - Kind of Blue; Art Ensemble of
How do you approach getting your name known, recording, gigging, social networking?
(TCN) We started out gigging like crazy but unfortunately in the
· (DD) Accosting passers-by on the street — e.g., “Hey, c’mere, do you like music?”
· Shouting our band name (repeatedly, in a hysterical voice) in crowded public places
· Billboards adjacent to major urban traffic arteries
· Novelty pens
What is the furthest place you have travelled to, to play a gig? Most memorable gig so far and weirdest?
(TCN) Ten City Nation have never gigged outside of the
(DD) Gosh, not very far. We play lots of gigs in and around
What format would you ideally chose to issue your music on... CD, Vinyl. Cassette, download? Do you anticipate unique releases? i.e. Limited editions, hand crafted sleeves etc?
(TCN) If we ever sign with a label, we’ll insist on everything being released on vinyl. Me and Neil are obsessed with old records at the minute – he was given a turntable for his birthday and keeps bringing his new purchases to practice for us to geek over. Ideally, we’d spunk millions on an album sleeve as awesome as the gatefold of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti and hand out free copies to anyone who wants them. It’s not the best business model, but if you’re going to lose money, it may as well be for a righteous cause.
(DD) CDs are fine by us: populist, unpretentious, shiny. Limited editions, hand crafted sleeves, etc? … Um… not really, but who knows….
What are your views on giving away music for free?
(TCN) If we hadn’t done it, no-one would have heard us. For the most part, the people who seem to object to the idea are people who got used to making sack loads of cash. The days of excess are largely gone; anyone can release anything now without anyone’s permission or backing and that can only be a good thing. If you’re still unconvinced, read Kill Your Friends by James Niven and tell me you miss the old days of buttering up A&R wankers.
(DD) we’re just happy for our music to get around. Fortunately, we’re affiliated with a record label – the mighty and wonderful Ottawa-based The Beautiful Music – which has the same attitude.
What is your favorite lyric and guitar riff of all time?
(TCN) Favorite lyrics of all time are the entirety of Faster by
(DD) Terry – The Ram Jam Band: “Black Betty had a child/The damn thing gone wild.”
Bill – Lyric: Dunno, but Pete Townshend and Paul Weller are among my favorite lyricists Riff: Rated by how I felt when I first heard it, one of the top would be U2’s “I Will Follow” -- such simplicity but made you feel, ‘A-ha, you can do THAT!’
Hunter – My favorite lyric is either "in the end it took me a dictionary to find out the meaning of 'unrequited'" from Billy Bragg's "The Saturday Boy," or "I will be in the bar, with my head on the bar" from Morrissey's "The More You Ignore Me." My favorite guitar riff is probably from "Smash It Up" by The Damned.
Danny -- Favorite guitar riff is “Horror Show” by The Scars. Favorite lyric is Adam Franklin, "Never Lose That Feeling.”
What interesting fact should we known about your home town?
(TCN) It contains the second oldest building in
(DD) Plethora of traffic circles (unusual for an American city) confuses tourists -- and motorists from
What do you think is the main benefit of being in a band based in the
(TCN) Our naturally rugged good looks and perfect teeth.
What do you think is the main benefit of being in a band based in
(DD) Easy access to new “family-sized” bags of Utz Crab Chips.
What question would you like to ask Dot Dash?
(TCN) How are you? Me and the boys have been worried about you. You never write, you never call…
What question would you like to ask Ten City Nation?
(DD) “Hello Ten City Nation: We in Dot Dash collect currency from other countries. Would you please, as soon as you are able, send each of us a five-pound note, a ten-pound note, a twenty-pound note, and a fifty-pound note for our foreign currency collections? There are four of us in the band. Thank you.”
Ten City Nation have a video out soon for 'His Just Reward' and the track is available as a free download, here: and here is a live video of them playing the track supporting Graham Coxon a few weeks ago!
Dot Dash on facebook A few songs from the album -- two of them as free downloads -- are posted here:
Album info: Released by Canadian indie The Beautiful Music: