Introducing: Dim Dead Boy

Dim Dead Boy "Phantom Limbs Of A Failed State"

Good afternoon, tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Brian Lynch, the founder of Dim Dead Boy, and I’m from Marlboro, Massachusetts. I started playing guitar back in 1997 and tried to start a band that never went anywhere. I moved on to other artistic endeavours until I started writing and recording until 2021 as Dim Dead Boy. The only other regular member is Christian Campagna from Wrentham, Massachusetts. He’s been in various bands off and on since the 1990s. Kellii Scott from the band Failure out of Los Angeles, California performed drums on our first album, but he’s not a regular member.

What genre of music do you create?

I call us instrumental post-rock with elements of ambient, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, post-hardcore, and space rock. It’s an eclectic mix.

It's quite a selection! Where did you find your passion for music?

I found my passion for music in the hardcore/punk scenes starting in the early 90s. Though I found my passion for playing music in the hardcore/punk scene, I never cared to play that style myself. My influences when it came to writing were more in line with what the members of those bands did after their hardcore/punk bands dissolved. Bands like Into Another or Quicksand. My current influences span a wide range of genres and I think that comes across in our music.

Dim Dead Boy

Tell us about your current album? It's quite the work of art!

Our current album “Phantom Limbs of a Failed State” was released on January 24, 2024. It’s an instrumental 4 track album that’s just over 70 minutes in length. Three of the four songs are composed in a similar fashion to classical pieces of music, a long overall composition made up of shorter, interconnected movements. I started work on it in 2021 when a 2-year bout of vertigo made my other artistic interests impossible to pursue. While it was never my intent, it became a kind of concept album that tells a “musical story”. I don’t like explaining that story explicitly, personal interpretation in music is a beautiful thing, but if you check out the titles of the movements I’m sure one can piece it together.

I guess gigging would be difficult for you?

Yes, we’ve never played live and don’t have any immediate plans to do so. I formed this project with the hope of creating a core of 2 or 3 musicians besides myself and then having other musicians, friends or acquaintances who might like what we’re doing contribute as much (or as little) as they please. I’m not opposed to playing the occasional show if there is interest, but I’m 47 with a family. The idea of touring is just not realistic at this point.

47? You're a mere spring chicken! Is there anyone you would love to collaborate with (or have done already)?

Collaborating with Kellii Scott (Failure has been a favourite band of mine since I discovered them in 1995) was a dream come true. I’d love to collaborate with him again in the future. I’d like to have Ken Andrews (also of Failure) produce an album for us. I’d like to do something with the folks in Mogwai or Slowdive someday as well. I also wouldn’t mind having Cat Myers record some drums for us in the future as well.

What is your opinion of the music industry, has it got better or worse recently?

The music industry, like many other industries, seems to be a bit of a dumpster fire as the capitalist overlords who ran it for decades struggle to hold onto their power, influence, and money. I suppose it’s better in some ways, worse in others. It will be interesting to see how things shake out. Right now, I’m existing on the outermost fringes of that industry and I’m more than happy to be there. I never intended to make money, let alone a living, doing this. If I can find a small audience of people that like what we’re doing and maybe I can make enough that I can afford a new piece of gear every so often, then I’ve done far more than I set out to do. I do feel terrible for artists caught up in the machine that have seen royalties and other streams of revenue replaced by paltry payouts from streaming services and the like. It’s unfortunate that they have to suffer because they’re caught between the short-sighted greed of the “move fast, break stuff” tech-bro, venture capitalist mindset and the old guard industry behemoth stomping around for control and every last cent it can get.

I completely agree with you! But it's good that you have your feet on the ground and stay true to the music. What is on the horizon for you?

We need to find a regular drummer. We’re starting to work on new material. I have been working so hard to get the album released that I’ve got a backlog of ideas for new songs. We also have a couple more covers we’d like to record.

Where can people find you on social media?

We’re on Instagram (@dimdeadboymusic), Facebook (dimdeadboy), Threads (dimdeadboymusic), Youtube (@dimdeadboymusic), and you can find us on Bandcamp or just about any streaming service.

We're about at the end of our chat. What is the one question you wish we had asked you, and what would your answer have been?

Question: “What’s your least favourite part of the music industry?”

Answer: Promotion, especially self-promotion. I’m very much an introvert and self-promotion is borderline painful for me. So I guess I’m glad you didn’t have another question to ask me. LOL

Well, I do have one final question! Tell us your best joke?

Oh man, that’s a tough one. My personal humour comes mostly from witty situational observation, not straight-up jokes... Though I do love absurdist humour, so I guess I’ll tell you a dirty joke... A woman in a white dress fell in the mud. (ba-dum, tish... – runs off the stage)

After that joke, I think we should conclude the interview! My thanks to Brian Lynch for the chat. You can listen to "Phantom Limbs of a Failed State" below