Duuns

Duuns is something of an exceptional band. Made up of four members (Nathan Gentry, Marc Montez, Mikey Sykes, and Luke Cottrell), not one member has one instrument they play exclusively. Every member dabbles in each others’ speciality, creating a sound that changes from song to song.

They also take influence from a variety of wildly different backgrounds. Nate brings punk rock to the table, Marc brings jazz, and they all add a touch of psychedelia, in whichever form that may take.

Duuns have been working on an album for upwards of two years, and this spring, they’re finally bringing it to the light of day. Twice-recorded, in both analogue and digital methods, and almost entirely DIY, this quartet have lots in store for us in the coming year.

It’s one of those coastal fog days most people who hear about Southern California’s coast would never dream of happening. Just a few hours before meeting the boys at Terra Mar Point in North County’s Carlsbad, a wall of clouds rolled in over the cliff by the seaside, obscuring the sun and giving the air that wet, salty smell one can only experience and not properly describe.

The band has obviously spent a lot of time along the cliffs here, hardly stumbling as they trek along the steep cliffs and rock ledges as we make our way down to the beach, their photoshoot location of choice. After the tides get too high (Mikey’s shoe being soaked along the way), we head back up to the side of the coastal highway to talk about their next album and what it means to be in a DIY scene.

Luke describes their experience recording the album as “turbulent.” Having worked on the album for two years, and having recorded it twice after scrapping a bad first take, they’re finally ready to release their work. “It’s got songs that are almost two years old now,” Marc tells me, “and the new ones, we just finished the writing process a couple of months before we recorded it.” It seems

that there’s an entire catalogue of their work from the band’s career there.

Why record it twice, though? Luke says they just needed more practice. “We weren’t getting tight enough to record in one take.” Mikey agrees: “That was a priority, to be able to play the songs well enough to just do it. We recorded it once, and then we scrapped that, and then did it again. And we did it all to a tape machine, so it was analogue.” “In my garage,” Marc laughs.

The entire thing, outside of paying a friend to help mix, was DIY as well. Nate tells me they did buy a digital interface to record, but it didn’t go so well. “We bought our digital interface before that, trying to record just straight onto the computer, and ended up stumbling.”

Despite it being a long and messy experience, though, Mikey sees it as a learning one. “It was just a lot about making mistakes and fucking up and doing shit wrong. Because that’s the thing, [you have to] expect to fuck up a lot. Over and over again.” Marc sees the benefit of DIY in having every say in what happens to your work: “If you want what you want, you’re gonna fuck up. Someone else might do a good

job, but but they’re gonna do it quick, and it’s gonna be their way. That’s what we wanted. We wanted full control.”

As for other advice in being in the DIY scene, Mikey has a few insights. “Don’t wait for anybody or wait to be good enough. Because I feel like that’s the biggest thing: people think that they’re not good enough or not ready yet. You’re never gonna be ready, and you’re never gonna be good enough. The point it to just start making stuff. It’s up to you, completely.” Nate finds the importance in being resourceful on the small scale. “Work from where you are, out. Expand from your community and where you’re from.”

Especially being from so far north (about an hour’s drive from central San Diego), they’ve had to be resourceful in new ways. The DIY scene in North County, while still being quite integrated with that in central San Diego, is very much its own thing, Mikey observes. “The distance is pretty big, so we’re not going down there to see shows too often, or people are coming up here to see shows, so it’s a little separated. I feel like there is kind of a lack of organization.”

He also sees the downfall in it. “There’s not people coming out of it and going places, necessarily. I wish there was more bands that were taking that next step and growing past it as far as professionalism. It’s up to everybody on their own.” There is still hope though. “It’s growing right now, and it just needs more people to be involved.”

Being so far removed has also influenced Mikey specifically in reference to how the album has turned out. Outside of their own musical tastes and the jam culture they’ve found themselves a part of, driving has moved Mikey to write songs in reference to that. “Lately, in the music, we like a lot of forward-moving, pushing, propulsive rhythm, and I think that comes out,” he tells me. “I’ve always driven a lot, and I live in Fallbrook, which is far away from everybody, so I’m always driving. I’ve always connected that with music in a way, and a lot of people and the franticness of living here.”

They project their next album to come out sometime this spring, so keep your eyes peeled for that and a possible music video/single combo. They’ve also bought a generator to do some shows in the desert, as Mikey tells me, so things are looking pretty cool for Duuns.