Interview with Dendura - by Douglas Lentes

I have listened to a lot of metal acts over the years

but my first experience with an Egyptian themed band was Dendura.

They combine Middle Eastern themes with a great

straight forward Metal sound. Steve Wethy, their lead guitarist,

stopped by to talk about the band and their music.

Q) How did Dendura get started and what made you guys decide

on the Egyptian theme?

Aziza, our lead singer, is part Egyptian so she's always been

fascinated by ancient Egypt. It's very interesting and the

music from Egypt is very powerful and beautiful.

Q) The band has a lot of diversity from symphonic rock tracks

like In the hall of the mountain King to my personal favorite

the acoustic version of I have a gun. Is this something you

set out to do on purpose or just a natural by product of the

band?

Well, we performed "In the Hall of the Mountain King" for the

Comedy Central web show "Monster Ballz". We did the acoustic

version of "I Have a Gun" to release something a little different

and it wound up on a WGRD Bootleg cd. We're always

doing things different and some things are done are purpose

and others are happy accidents.

Q) When you were growing up who were your influences and who

do you still listen to, to get inspired by?

I was inspired to learn guitar mostly by hard rock and metal

bands like Metallica, Guns N Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Alice

In Chains when I was in school. I still listen to Ozzy and

AIC sometimes, but my musical taste has evolved and I listen

to a lot more types of music. I listen to progressive metal

bands like Iced Earth, Nevermore, Nile, Meshuggah, and Dream

Theater. And I listen to guitar players like Frank Gambale,

John McLaughlin and Jason Becker. Oud and violin player and

composer Simon Sheheen and Dmitri Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky,

and Niccolo Paganini. There's really no end to what I

listen to these days.

Q) You are working on a new album is there anything new this

project is teaching you?

Yes. It's taught me to listen closely to everything!

Q) Your music has appeared in some films and television can

you tell us about them and how it came about?

Aziza has done some acting and some people she has worked

with in the past heard our music and wanted to use it. From

there we've just continued to submit our songs, or record

tracks for a film or tv series.

Q) Where would you like to see yourself and Dendura in five

years?

I'd love to see us be a self sustaining business and have 3

or 4 albums available for our fans. I think a lot of people

will enjoy our new music when it's available and we're already

writing tracks for another album. I have a feeling

that the next 5 years are going to be great!

Q) If people want to get more info or pick up you music where

should they go?

We have our www.myspace.com/denduraband myspace page and

www.dendura.com website. Our music is available for purchase

at www.CDbaby.com, soniccathedral.com, and www.nightmarerecords.

com .

Thanks and stay metal!

Steve Wethy

Center Stage 
Aziza Poggi, Mezzo-Soprano

by CS Staff

Aziza Poggi
Mezzo-soprano
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Please tell our readers about your career highlights so far.

I am an aspiring opera singer, study with Melissa Ferlaak from Minneapolis, Minn., and sing in an Egyptian-themed metal band called Dendura. I sing a mixture of rock, classical, opera, and Middle Eastern vocals. Though I love my band Dendura, I am just as much in love with opera and will be continuing my education in voice at Grand Rapids Community College, then hoping to transfer to Chicago or U of M[ichigan] at Ann Arbor. Our band has had a lot of success such as recording a new album with a Grammy producer, recording a theme song for Comedy Central Network, [being] seen in national and international magazines, and scoring music for films.

What are your goals for the next five years? The next 10 years?

My goals are to continue singing safely in Dendura, progressing my voice and career; to get a solid music education; to learn everything I can from experts and professionals; and to record and sing on the stage for a long, long time.

What is your dream role, and why?

I would love to play Azucena from Il trovatore because she is a force to be reckoned with and a gypsy. I also think my voice suits that role very well.

How do you handle the inevitable rejection that is part of a singer’s life?

When I first started in 2003, I had a hard time with it because I didn’t understand what was wrong with my technique. But after building up my self-esteem and learning more about music, I understand the teachers then were just trying to help me, not hurt me. You have to have self-esteem to be a singer or you won’t do well in this field.

How do you balance career and family?

I have a son. He understands I need to practice regularly and knows my voice is important to me. My friends and parents are the ones who suffer the most, as I don’t visit or attend functions as much so that I can train.

Who is your favorite singer and why?

I love Maria Callas. I know she had vocal problems later in life and dark tones, but she was great on the stage and you could hear convincing emotion in her voice.

What is your favorite techno tool you use as a singer?

I would have to say my computer because I take my voice lessons via skype.com.

Do you have a motto by which you live?

“There is always a way.”

Anything else you’d like to say during your moment in Center Stage?

I started out with a weak voice. A lot of people said I couldn’t sing. In my mind, I knew I could. My self-esteem was bad and I had a lot of problems I was dealing with as a person. It was holding me back with my voice. When I got rid of all the bad people in my life and focused on the beauty of music, it saved me and I was set on never allowing people like that to enter my world and disrupt my mind again. I started out with a two-octave range and now it’s a three-and-a-half. If you put your mind to something, you can achieve a lot.

Check us out in the recent issue of Metal Hammer!
Pg 71 in the "The Weirdest" section, Freak Watch"! A picture of us rests right at the bottom of the page with comments on our debut album "New Life".

Stay tuned for our new album coming out in early 2009! We have a new rhythm section, drummer Justin Lee Dixon and bassist Jason Stevens.  Check out our song Echo of the Sun to get a taste!