Def Con Dos

On July 11, Def Con Dos performed at the Pirata Festival in Gandía. For me, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, as it would allow me to go on stage to take pictures, hang out with the band, and chat with César Strawberry and the rest of the band.

It was a late or early performance, depending on how you think 3 in the morning is. However, Def Con Dos was wide awake, and fans filled the festival grounds.

As always, they played an incredible list of old and new tracks. Starting with "Sintonia" and ending with "Mi Reino".

César Strawberry and his unmistakable voice dominated the center stage with Alberto Marín playing guitar on the right, Jesús Al Andalus doing what he does best on bass on the left, Kiki Tornado on drums and completing the set, Samuel Barranco and Sagan Ummo contributing additional vocals.

90 minutes passed in what seemed like minutes and Def Con Dos walked off the stage, leaving fans begging for more.

Backstage I met Cesar -

The last time we saw each other was at FCKCNSRSHP, Villena in January - since then it seems that you haven't stopped traveling - Seville, Granada, Castellón, the list of places goes on! What has been the highlight of the year so far?

In 2024 we are taking the last concerts of the XXX Anniversary tour of the edition of our first successful album, entitled "Armas pal pueblo" (1993), while preparing the release of a new album next October, with the start of its presentation tour as well.

Tonight we're here at the Pirata Beach Festival and you'll be playing to a sold-out crowd, it looks amazing out there. After all these years of touring and performing, do you still get nervous before concerts?

Despite the seniority of having been on stage for 30 years, the unresolved insecurities that one brings from home continue to generate concern when facing each concert, which does not mean that he does not already know how to enjoy being able to carry out any concert despite the incidents that may arise in the event.

You launched a new release two weeks ago: Palmaréis Igual. It's been described as a return to the initial sound of Def Con Dos and I personally love it! Can you tell me about the song, why you wrote it, and what it's about?

"Palmaréis igual" is the third advance single of the album that we will release in October and repeats our usual effort to make the institutions that represent the most rancid of Power in Spain uncomfortable; In this case, the injustice that, in our opinion, is to condition a person to reign in a country by family allowance without having first asked them if they really (ironically worth it) want to dedicate their life to carrying out that work instead of developing any other work activity following their personal concerns.

Def Com Dos celebrated 30 years last year, which is an incredible achievement! You still sound as raw and fresh as you did in your early years and it feels like you still have the energy of youth on your side when you perform! What's next? Are there any new albums on the way? Excursions? Autobiographies?

As I mentioned before, our most immediate projects are to finish the XXX Aniversario tour and prepare the presentation of the new album, with all the promotional work of content development and dissemination of proposals that they entail, in addition to coordinating new concerts in Latin America for 2025.

The music industry has changed tremendously in the last 30 years and it seems harder than ever for new bands to break through. What advice would you give to bands trying to break into today's scene?

Anyone who is considering dedicating themselves to music in today's Spain I will always advise them to do so out of the conviction of giving an outlet to their artistic concerns above any other consideration, aspiring more to the satisfaction of trying to fulfill your dreams than to the specific goal of achieving them. I believe that the greatest success in life is being able to dedicate yourself totally or partially to what you like without aspiring to any public recognition.

As always, I'd like to give a huge thank you to Def Con Dos for their hospitality, Cesar Strawberry for the interview, Alberto Marín for the video message he sent to my daughter, and Javier Giraldez, who always takes the time to secure me a pass backstage and makes sure I have access to the stage photography.

Words and photos: Rhyan Paul

Article originally published in the Spanish publication, Rock Bottom Magazine.

https://www.rockbottom.es