David and I met as teenagers. I knew this drummer in a band who thought I might be a suitable replacement for their erstwhile singer. One day, he dragged me down to the band’s rehearsal room to meet the other guys. And there, in the midst of this moldy, decrepit basement/dungeon stood this young guitarist, playing these incredible riffs. It was Dave. As it happened, the band liked my voice and, thankfully, I got the job. Even though that project was decidedly short-lived, at least a lasting friendship between Dave and I came out of it. Since then, Dave and I have played together in at least 4 or 5 bands — I forget the exact number, since many of them were nothing but false starts. We could never find the right musicians until now. But there was always a strong bond between Dave and myself — always a respectful working relationship, a good camaraderie, which secured our friendship. So when Dave returned to Chicago after his stint with Manowar and decided to form his own band while finishing his musical education, he tracked me down and asked if I was interested. Almost immediately afterward we started writing new songs, many of which now appear on Ashes To Ashes. About 5 years ago we met our drummer, Eddie Foltz, and decided he was perfect for the job. A few years later we found Brian Gordon, our bassist (or actually, our original bassist recommended him to us), and finally Eddy "Shreddy" Bethishou, our keyboardist, joined up with us several years ago. Let’s see…David Shankle, for starters, is probably Chicago’s busiest guitar teacher, with approximately 100 students. As for myself, I’m a multi-published author (I write fiction revolving around the American Civil War) with several awards for writing excellence under my belt. Our bass player, Brian Gordon, also plays cello and upright bass, and he once toured Europe as part of a youth orchestra as a first-chair upright bassist. Eddie Foltz, our drummer, believe it or not, actually appears on a cover for a historical romance book. Our keyboardist, Eddy "Shreddie" Bethishou, is a concert-going fiend, seeing more live shows in one year, and in various parts of America, than most people see in an entire lifetime.

The new CD is out now. Describe the music in your own words (and with much of them;-))

Hot, heavy, driving, passionate… When writing and recording songs, David and I subconsciously lean toward the styles of Classic Heavy Rock and Metal. Actually, it’s strange — each band member has such a diverse list of metal influences, along with various other genres, yet each of us feels comfortable playing in our current style. It seemed to gel quite naturally, so we just went where our influences led us, which is our current sound.

And the lyrics?

Since I’m a novelist I write the lyrics for the band. Either my ideas stem from what’s happening in the world at any given time or deal with my personal relationships and beliefs. For instance, the songs "Ashes To Ashes," "Masquerade," and "The Magic Of The Chords" were all written about women I’ve known through the years, while world affairs inspired me to write the lyrics to songs such as "A Raven At Midnight," "Madness," and "Calling All Heroes." On the track "Back To Heaven," and also in "Secrets," I wrote about my belief in reincarnation. The two-part song "The Widow’s Grief" and "The Widow’s Suite" is actually about the American Civil War, since that’s my area of historical expertise and the event around which my fiction in centered in my novels.

Only David has a history as a true "metallian." What about the other guys? How do they wanna raise the flag of metal? And what’s the image of the band?

I’ve been in more than 20 bands through the years, if I have counted correctly, as either a lead vocalist or a keyboard player (I started playing piano at the age of 4). Eddy "Shreddy" Bethishou, our keyboardist, has a wide variety of influences like the rest of us, but he’s the only one of us, I believe, who’s actually played in every style of band, and his incredible riffing proves it. Our bassist, Brian Gordon, has also been in numerous bands — his last being the progressive-metal group Ion Vein, before coming to DSG — and recently guested as bass player on the latest doom-metal album by November’s Doom. Our drummer, Eddie Foltz, has also played in dozens of metal bands, many thrash-metal groups included, through the years. So our rhythm section is most definitely out to slaughter!

Why do you chose the name DSG (David Shankle Group) as the band name? Is this only for commercial reason?

Actually, the name DSG simply came about since we could think of nothing better at the beginning, and the name stuck with us through the years! Plus, it’s short and sweet, which I prefer in a band name — after all, just think of how large DSG can appear on promotional material or a marquee!

Tell me something bout "your” country. Some prejudices: The Americans doesn’t drink water out of European water taps, they are eating tons of fast food, they don’t know much about other countries… What do you think? And what do you think about Bush and his "anti-terrorism-fight for democracy"?

We all are proud to be Americans that is for sure. But like all people in this world we suffer for the decisions of our governments. Our out look is one of positive energy and good will win in the end over evil. You can also be sure none of us are afraid to drink the water in Europe, we are so looking forward to touring there for the first time I would drink the water from your garden house.

What’s up with touring?

If all goes to according to plan, we might be hitting the European shores as early as Fall or Winter of 2003. Plans are being finalized as we speak, so it’s hard to tell at the moment. Meanwhile, we’ll be doing a few "warm-up"-shows in America as well as recording tracks for the second release. Thus far we’ve recorded about 6 or 7 new songs, and have several more we’re hoping to lay down within the next few months.

What do you think about this meaning: there are so many bands that there’s a sell-off. And where do you see the chance of DSG?

I see any creative or artistic output as positive, so the more bands the merrier. There’s always room for new bands, new talent, since just about everyone in the world listens to some form of music. Creativity is the key, and the more people who use their creativity, the better.

There’s a famous man behind DSG …

We’re signed to Magic Circle Music, whose president is none other than Mr. Joey DeMaio, bassist of the mighty Manowar! The man and his entire staff are pure dynamos! I can’t recall the last time I met such hard-working, creative, and talented individuals all under one roof. And their support of DSG has been tremendous from the start, so we couldn’t have prayed for a better team of people to work with. It is amazing to see how committed Magic Circle Music is to bringing the highest standards of MANOWAR quality to the fans.