A little while back we were contacted by Derek from L.A. Band Decoded telling us about a series of charity fundraising gigs he was organising. We loved the idea so much, and it’s supporting some fantastic causes, that we caught up with him to find out more.
(((o))): Firstly, tell us a bit about you & your band. How long have you been going, how did you all come together & how would you describe your sound?
Decoded was formed a few months ago before I started revealing the songs to the upcoming EP, “The/Split”. I was previously performing and recording under my own name “Derek Jordan”. Producer Davey Julson-Rieley caught one of my shows in Los Angeles last Summer. We met afterwards and decided to record a new EP at his godaveygo studio in North Hollywood. It was the first time I had really collaborated with someone else during the songwriting process. Naturally, the songs we had recorded had a different sound than my previous releases. It was a whole new direction I was going in. That’s when I decided to reposition myself and call my band Decoded.
(((o))): Rock For A Difference sounds like a fantastic project. Can you tell us a bit about what the ethos behind it is, how did it all get started & what causes you’re supporting?
Decoded‘s second show was in late March at AMPLYFi in Los Angeles. The show went really well and we agreed to do a month long residency there in May. This being my first residency, I wanted to make it special. I thought it would be a good idea to make each show more of an event, so I started reaching out to see if some Los Angeles non-for profits would be interested in being a part of it. It turned out that they were very receptive and, within a few days, I had booked a different non-for profit for every night of the residency. Each of the organizations strive to make a difference in Los Angeles so I decided to call the residency “Rock for a Difference Los Angeles”. We’re covering a lot of causes including dog adoptions, helping troubled youth through arts mentoring programs, cleaner air, and providing the unemployed and underemployed with tips and resources on how they can be frugal with their money.
(((o))): Is it the first time you’ve taken on something like this or are you a seasoned pro?
This is definitely the first time I’ve done something like this.
(((o))): From the list of gigs you gave us, you appear to be running just through May. Any plans to extend this?
No plans yet. We’ll see how it all goes.
(((o))): Who have you managed to get to come & play? Is there anyone beyond that you’d like to get involved?
We have a lot of awesome bands joining us, like Bad Suns, thatwasthen, Ballerina Black, Finish Ticket, and more. I’m pretty satisfied with the group of bands we have. I talked to a bunch of other bands but their schedules didn’t fit.
(((o))): Was it easy to get the causes to engage with what you were doing?
It was very easy because its such a great opportunity for them to spread the awareness of their causes and organizations. Whenever you get a lot of people together with music and incorporate good causes, its a win-win for everyone.
(((o))): Is this something you see being say an annual event or just a one off?
I’ve been asked this quite a bit! Right now, I’m just working on what’s in front of me. It definitely has the potential to grow until something of an annual event, but we’ll see.
(((o))): If there’s any other detail you’d like to impart not covered by these questions then feel free to add it.
At every Rock for a Difference Los Angeles show, we will be raffling off prizes where the raffle proceeds are donated directly to the non-for profit of the night. This is a great element to the whole thing. Not only are we raising awareness but we are helping fund these great causes. As for the music side of Decoded, we’ll be releasing the debut EP, “The/Split”, very soon here. It might happen on my birthday, May 22….
