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Dialogue
Elevaters Crew by Christine Mlodzik | Rift Magazine Talking with the Dialogue Elevaters Crew is like watching them rap on stage. There’s a rapid-fire exchange of thoughts and ideas and the energy they generate, in addition to being infectious, could light up a small town. Ernie Rhodes, Geoffrey Watson (geoffreywatsonMC), Alphonso Flemming (DisputeOne) and Drew Erickson (DJ Last Word) take their moniker seriously, elevating dialogue amongst each other. They communicate with each other and value each other’s opinions, even if they don’t always agree. “We are four different personalities who came from four different backgrounds. But when it comes to making our music, we come together,” said Erickson. Rhodes and Watson, who at the time were each working on individual projects, formed DEC in October 2001. “It started as a two-man co-op,” Rhodes said. “We were helping each other, doing what we wanted, with the knowledge we would bring in other members as it suited us.” They came up with more than a dozen names for their new group, and then narrowed it down to two. Rhodes liked DEC, saying the name spoke for itself. “We were taking the words and the message to a higher level.” Rhodes and Watson continued to perform and promote themselves individually and together as DEC. Flemming was working with his group, Synoptic, and taking in local shows when Erickson’s DJ skills caught his ear. But it was Rhodes and Watson’s fliers that caught his eye. “I saw their names on every damn flier. It was like, who the hell are they?” Then he saw them live. “Those two guys were killing it. I went up to them after their show and said ‘we need to be a crew, we need to do this, we need to come together.’” Flemming told his then-DJ that what DEC was doing was how it should be done. “I saw a strong work ethic and I wanted to be part of it.” After their DJ left, Rhodes and Watson joined with Flemming and Erickson, and the four have been performing together as DEC since July 2003. They wasted no time getting to work on their first CD, “Elevater Music”, which was released in 2004. DEC described “Elevater Music” as a motion picture, with each song a story that can’t be listened to out of order. What you won’t hear is them pushing color, politics or religion. Rhodes said that it’s hard for him to listen to a group preaching to its audience. “There’s a huge difference between expressing your opinion in a song and taking 55 minutes to espouse your political beliefs.” The CD is just one cinder block in creating a solid foundation for DEC. Another is their live shows. The group believes it’s their best self-promotion, and they make it their goal with every show to leave their audience completely entertained. “Come to one of our shows and we’ll give you 200 percent,” said Erickson. “My biggest peeve is a band that sounds great on a CD, but sucks live. A musician’s bread and butter are the live shows – the fans get to see who you are and what you’re capable of.” “Playing live keeps us sharp and on point – and it’s fun,” said Rhodes. One of the best compliments he received was after a show. A fan told him he liked that he could understand every word DEC was saying, and that the group said the words like they meant them. DEC acknowledged that growth and change are keys to their future success, as is staying true to themselves. “If you can’t acknowledge growth and change, you may as well quit,” said Watson. “But too many bands believe that to grow they need to change who they are, and in the end become something they are not.” Flemming agreed about the need to grow as musicians. “If you write stuff with cobwebs, people will dust you off,” he said. DEC is determined not to sacrifice their artistic integrity; to ensure that doesn’t happen, they balance it with a solid business sense, without the help of outside management. Flemming said it’s vital to have an artistically and fiscally sound mind. “We’re the type of group that if someone put an offer on the table where we had to second-guess any of the things we’re trying to do, we’d probably turn it down,” Watson said. As Rhodes, Watson, Flemming and Erickson continue to pursue their own projects, they all reference DEC as their home. “The music we make as the Dialogue Elevaters Crew is always going to be us, definitive to us and as people relate to us,” said Flemming. |
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Ernie
Rhodes
Synoptic
(Dispute One, Lojik Reazon, Mikchek, Livewire)
