The story goes like this:
“The drummer for Run Westy Run came up to our practice space when we were recording our first demo,” says Druel drummer Mark “Beak” Lenaker. “He heard it and ran right to the phone. Ten minutes later, we had a gig opening for them.”
Now, most mere mortal bands would have to wait many months before scoring an opening slot for a band as big as the Westies. They sure as hell wouldn’t have the more established band ASK them to open. But everything has been happening pretty fast and pretty bass-ackwards for Druel.
In the year-and-a-half that Druel has been playing in the Twin Cities, they have opened not only for old-school faves like the Westies, but also for Suicidal Tendencies, and have built a large following to boot. These Wisconsin natives (three of the band's four members are from Antigo) have made Druel one of the Twin Cities’ better-known rock bands.
Band members are hard-pressed to explain their sound. Members cite Black Flag, Minor Threat, Scratch Acid, early Butthole Surfers (“Just because they didn’t give a fuck, they just did it”), Shellac, Touch is Automatic and Aphex Twin as musical influences (but not the Deftones or Rage Against the Machine, which is surprising, considering Druel’s sonic similarities to those bands). Edgy, intense, pissed-off and loud, Druel is more rant than rave. A raging music machine.
“We get a lot of ‘metal-punk’ comparisons, which used to piss me off, ‘cause when I think of metal, I think of Warrant. And that aggravates me,” says singer/guitarist Ted Fox, a man whose genuine kindness and Kewpie doll-like looks belie his furious stage persona.
When asked about this on-stage rage, Fox tells a story about a recent encounter at the 7th Street Entry: “Some fucked-up dude came up to me and was like, ‘The world is like a glass ball and you guys are rolling on the outside and I’m in the middle watching you.’ He said, ‘What does your music stand for? Really, tell me.’ I said, ‘Let me think for a minute. It’s just all about life, it really is.’ That’s such a fucking cliché, and a dumb thing to say, but it’s just about life.”
“One of our friends said, ‘I think of you guys like a real release for me,” says dreadhead bassist Derrick Pulvermacher. “Not that we dwell on the bad or anything... It’s like a real cleansing, but a happy one.”
“Someone once said we’re like a cow’s udder,” offers guitarist Craig Peck.
“If the milk doesn’t get out, it will get rotten,” says Fox, clarifying the comparison.
Udder aside, the truth is that Druel’s appeal lies in their energy and
nihilistic wrath. They are genuinely excited about what they do, and they disparage bands who brood, stare at walls and smash instruments in fits of surliness. “Fuck that,” says Fox. “I’m sure Black Flag didn’t do that when they were on the road.”
Druel is a young band, still finding and defining its own sound. It will be interesting to see them develop and move beyond the “motherfuckers” presently laced throughout their songs.
The band’s current discography consists of one demo tape, which Druel says is not indicative of their present sound. They plan to record a full-length CD this spring.
On the perks of the band’s growing fame, Fox states happily, “When you have a box full of ice-cold free beer, and you usually don’t get to drink that quality of beer, that’s very awesome.”
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