Progressive Conservative

L to R: Sam Williams, Milo Todesco, Keith Davies, Dave Smalley

Dave Smalley had to deal with real wayward winds recently.

S&H.cacalled the punk rock veteran the day after Hurricane Isabel passed through Virginia. The Smalley household was spared the storm’s wrath but a friend’s house narrowly avoided being demolished by a falling tree.

Fredericksburg, Virginia, may seem the least likely locale for nurturing layers of punk aggression, but then again, Dave Smalley, lead singer of one of longest standing bands in punk rock, Down By Law, is a blatant contradiction.

With his tattoos and shaggy spiked bleached hair Smalley doesn’t fit the typical image of a southern conservative; he is the embodiment of punk’s spirit

“Punk rock was never supposed to be a cookie cutter mentality or the generic ‘Do what you think everyone wants to hear’ kind of stuff,” says Smalley. “I’m starting to get more and more known for saying ‘Hey, I don’t just think what everybody thinks because that’s the cool thing.’ I’m actually looking at this from my own perspective and trying to have my own opinions and I think people respect that. People might not agree with it, or they might really agree with it, but I never wanted to be a wind-up soldier.”

Despite his belief in non-conformity, Smalley tells S&H.ca he in fact supports the military actions in Afghanistanand Iraq. He doesn’t want his children to grow up in a world thinking Americais an easy target. Though Smalley says this might bring accusations of being a fascist warmonger, or a sell-out, from the Dubya hating punk community, the self-described “renegade conservative” stands by his beliefs.

“I know it’s fashionable to say ‘America’s trying to rule the world,’ or whatever, but I don’t think so,” he admits. “I think we’re trying to take out a lot of bad people who want to do us harm.”

Besides, would a fascist warmonger sign to a Canadian label? DBL’s fine new album Windwardtidesandwaywardsails is the band’s first for Montreal’s Union 2112 Records and the first release since 1999’s lukewarmly received, Fly the Flag.

Ultimately, the decision to sign with the label was a combination of the people at Unionsaying the right things and the band’s desire to be where they felt comfortable and part of the team. The fact that DBL has a large Canadian following, especially in Montreal, didn’t hurt either.

“I think it’s really important to have that sort of family, team feeling,” Smalley admits.

After splitting with Epitaph in the late nineties DBL spent a couple of years in flux. Fly the Flag was a one-off for Go Kart Records to keep the band in the public eye. The band also remained low-key and cut touring and recording schedules, during this time, because it proved difficult for the band to balance these schedules with their family lives.

L to R: Keith Davies, Sam Williams, Dave Smalley, Milo Todesco

The long period between records is largely due to Smalley’s belief that a band shouldn’t record an album simply because the clock says it’s time to do so. He says that he, and the band, wanted to have a strong collection of songs prior to entering the studio.

“I think in that sense waiting, until we were ready artistically, was a real benefit,” says Smalley. “Windwardtides … is a very strong album musically and I’m proud of the fact there aren’t really any skip-overs when I listen to it.”

Windwardtides definitely represents a return to DBL’s punk rock roots. Smalley reveals that it’s his favourite album since their 1996 breakthrough masterpiece All Scratched Up. He’s proud of the contributions fellow members Sam Williams (guitar) and Keith Davies (bass) made on the album.

“Down by Law is at its best when it’s a really powerful melodic punk band,” Smalley says. “We’re a punk rock band but we’re not just a hardcore band,” he proclaims. “We’re not just a screaming ‘not caring about the music,’ kind of band. There’s a lot of bands that concentrate on lyrics and not enough on the music, or vice versa, and I think you have to do both to be a strong musical force.”

Photography by Greg Dixon