Demanufacture

Album: Demanufacture (1995)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A band composition, the word "Demanufacture" was conceived as the opposite of "Manufacture" (kind of how Fear Factory influence Devo came up with their name based on De-Evolution). In our interview with guitarist Dino Cazares, he explained: "It means to take apart or to break down, and that's basically how we saw LA at the time. Because in Los Angeles, we had the Rodney King riots. We had the fires, we had floods, we had earthquakes, all within a matter of three or four years. We just saw the destruction of Los Angeles: gang violence, police brutality. And then after the Rodney King riots, we had massive fires that burned a lot of the trees and a lot of the brush. Then we had massive rain and there was nothing to soak up the rain. There were no trees, there was no brush. It was just all dirt. When you put water on it, it turns into mud. So we had massive mudslides.

    And then after that, in 1994, we had a massive earthquake. So we just saw the destruction of Los Angeles and we decided, Demanufacture. This is perfect. The breakdown of Los Angeles."
  • This song was written in 1994, not long before the emergence of Pro Tools and digital production. The band used a drum machine for the intro, which gave them a new sound. Dino Cazares told us: "I thought, 'Okay, this is our new style. This is where we wanted to go.' We wanted to show people f--kin' drums. Me being a fan of drums, I wanted the record to start off with drums, and that's what it did. It was a kick pattern. It was a pattern that I played on guitar that I had the drummer follow with his kick beats. So I decided we're going to start the album with the kick drum pattern, and then the guitar comes in and it's going to build from there. Then it explodes, and when the chorus comes in - 'I got no more goddamn regrets, I got no more goddamn respect' - that really hit home with the kids, and it's still a song that all the fans sing live. When you get into that part, everybody likes to shout the chorus. It's amazing."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson

Supertramp founder Roger HodgsonSongwriter Interviews

Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."

Amanda Palmer

Amanda PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Call us crazy, but we like it when an artist comes around who doesn't mesh with the status quo.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.