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Midlands-based trio TREMENDOUS recently released their debut album ‘Relentless’, and with Classic Rock magazine on board, the trio has been quietly gathering a reputation as a band worth keeping an eye on. We spoke to guitarist/vocalist and founding member Mark Dudzinski about ‘Relentless’ (available here), what it meant having the Classic Rock seal of approval, as well as reflections on his own personal musical memories.
DGM: Let’s get the hard or annoying one out of the way first! Tremendous is quite a bold name for a band; what was the reason behind it? And are you sick of people asking you that question?
Mark: Lol, no, not at all. Blame Joey Diaz, the Cuban-American comedian – it’s sort of his catchphrase! We’re big fans of his.
DGM: What are the origins of the band, and how long have you been playing together?
Mark: It started around early 2018. It just worked right from the first rehearsal, though some songs I had written way before building the group.
DGM: How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?
Mark: The first show? Well I really didn’t know what to expect or how it was gonna translate to a live situation. By the end people didn’t want us to get off the stage. It really was at that moment that I knew we were on to something.
DGM: Classic Rock magazine featured some of your tracks on their popular “Tracks Of The Week” poll. Did you see an upsurge in traffic to your social media and Spotify accounts after a mention like that?
Mark: Oh definitely. It really is early days but the last two singles were nominated. We were voted higher than bands such as Steel Panther, Starcrawler, Dirty Honey, Black Keys etc, which was just unbelievable. The first time we were voted for we hadn’t even done one show. I can’t remember the name of the band, but one was at No.1 in America that week which made the whole thing even more surreal. Yeah, the socials jumped right up, which was really flattering and the kind of boost we needed at the time.
DGM: The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent. In what ways do you feel a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?
Mark: Consistency, great songs, and of course being spectacular live. I hate the word “content” in terms when it comes to bands and their social media. Unfortunately, it’s the times we live in and really takes the mystique out of artists. You’re always fighting against algorithms and it makes the whole art sterile. You really have to have a great live show these days more than anything. All I ever seem to see are bands filming themselves doing a half-arsed acoustic song while balancing their phone on their kitchen table or something. Forget about that shit… it just cheapens the act. Just practice to death then become a force to be reckoned with on stage.
DGM: Who do you feel will be the next band to break out?
Mark: Some really overrated band called TREMENDOUS.
DGM: What band out there at the moment do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Mark: Haha – anyone who will take us? I dunno… Rolling Stones, The Manics, The Darkness. Let’s run before we can walk eh?
DGM: You don’t shy away from a Glam Rock influence, so many influential greats from this classic era, but who would you class as a hidden gem amongst the likes of Bowie, Slade, Bolan, Roxy Music, Mott The Hoople, etc?
Mark: Well not Glam exactly, more Power Pop, but an extremely underrated band from the 70s called The Raspberries. They had moderate success in the States but I don’t know for the life of me how they weren’t bigger than they were here in the UK. They were the best parts of The Who and The Beatles combined.
DGM: In your opinion, who is the ultimate power-trio?
Mark: Hanson! Haha, just kidding. Oh, that’s an easy one. The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
DGM: Who would you class as an underrated songwriter?
Mark: Again, while on the subject of The Raspberries, I’d have to say Eric Carmen.
DGM: Bob Dylan has just released his latest album ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’. The album is a double and the second disc is made up of just one track, ‘Murder Most Foul’, a 17-minute story of JFK. Can you go too far as an artist and lose the listener halfway through a track as long as this? Or is it giving the listener something to lose themselves in?
Mark: Well, I went to see Dylan a few years ago and he went too far that night. He did about 12 songs on this little keyboard thing and was pretty incoherent. I had never seen so many disgruntled and bewildered fans leave a stadium. He only played a couple of the oldies which 90% of the people there had really come to see. So yeah… you can. I just don’t think it’s fair when fans are spending so much money on tickets and want a good night out.
DGM: What are your first musical memories? And what was the light bulb moment that made you go “I want to do that!”
Mark: Another easy one. Guns N’ Roses live in Paris on the Use Your Illusion Tour. That really was the big bang for me as a kid. I must have watched that show 187 times already. They really were the perfect band.
DGM: Are you a guitarist that also sings, or a singer that also plays the guitar?
Mark: I’m a guitarist who tries to sing, haha!
DGM: What is the album that you have in your collection or Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Mark: Probably Lady Gaga. She’s one of the last major crossover artists who’s pretty much done every genre and not come across insincere or inauthentic. It’s too easy to say she’s a guilty pleasure, but you have to give it to her.
DGM: How active are you on social media, and where can people connect with you?
Mark: You can find us at:
https://www.facebook.com/TremendousMusic
https://www.instagram.com/itstremendous
https://twitter.com/tremendousrocks
