They function on what they call a “Do-It-Yourself Ethic:” no corporate nonsense, no superficiality, just pure, stripped-down rock ’n’ roll. They cite George Bush and Karl Marx as musical influences. In concert, they try not to play on stage, but rather move to the ground in hopes that everyone, band and audience alike, can together be absorbed by the music. If one were to evaluate the evolution of modern rock music, Durham-based rock duo Des Ark is probably about the closest a band is to existing purely for the sake of the music itself.
They have their day jobs: Aimee Argote, the band's guitarist and lead singer, works at a coffee shop. Timothy Herzog, the drummer, builds guitars. But, as with most budding bands, they have their dreams as well. They want to quit work and live as a self-sustaining outfit; however, they don't want to become a business.
“Ideally, I want to just tour around; it’s just the place I am at in my life right now,” Aimee explains. “I just want to travel and play music; I want to meet people who are living the same life. For me, Des Ark is a vessel that will allow me to do that.”
Although they formed more than three years ago and have been playing many local shows since, Des Ark’s debut album Loose Lips Sink Ships is set to be released early next month. Putting a genre label to the album's sound is a difficult task: the songs range from punk to folk to straight-up rock.
Such a struggle to define Des Ark, however, is not a foreign concept to the band. “It’s funny to see how people categorize [our music],” Aimee says. “We don't really think about different kinds of music when we write our songs. In some senses, the fact that we're a two-piece band makes us hard to define, because we have to take up more space than other bands and requires us to be more creative in utilizing our instruments.” But labeled or not, in the end, strip Des Ark down and they’re “just a rock ’n’ roll band.”
Apart from their debut album, Des Ark hopes to achieve their dreams by embarking on a month-long tour, traveling to cities from Washington, D.C. to Houston. In concert, Des Ark is in their prime. “It's not going to be one of those concerts where you can stand there and not be a part of it,” Timothy says. “When we move into the crowd, we're not dependent on a sound guy to make us sound good; we're completely in control of our own sound.”
By playing on the floor and with the audience, “the power dynamic between the performer and the observer is totally changed,” Timothy says. “Aimee definitely forces the people who are watching us to become a part of the music by physically involving them in what's going on. You can’t stand in front of us and not get spit on or hit.”
Aimee furthers the explanation as to why the band moves away from the stage. “To move the show into the [audience], into their space, really makes a difference,” she says. “Even if there are four people interacting with the music, it's worth it.”
They may be on the brink of getting much bigger, but Des Ark remains unfazed. “Just because we've sold some records, it's not like our sound it going to change,” Timothy says.
Aimee agrees, adding that “We will never join a major label; we would never participate in corporate rock.” For now and always, Des Ark wants only to be a rock ’n’ roll band: no gimmicks, no hiding behind fake personas.
“There is no better feeling than driving all day in a van and getting to a venue, meeting awesome people and playing rock music,” Timothy says. “That’s really the best thing in the world. That's all we want.”
Des Ark will be holding a free record release party for Loose Lips Sink Ships Feb. 26 at Chapel Hill’s Local 506.
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