On April 12, Josh Rundquist (a.k.a. That Drummer Guy) conducted an interview with Ben Weinman, guitarist of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. "Happiness Is A Smile", a brand new song from THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, was made available on limited-edition colored seven-inch vinyl via the band's merchandise table and as a cassingle through the group's VIP packages during THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's U.S. tour, which kicked off on April 3 in New York City. The artwork for "Happiness Is A Smile" was created by BBC Radio One presenter and occult artist Daniel Carter. Says THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN: "So we wrote a song. Rather than wait for a new album and try to figure out how to make it make sense as part of a group of other songs that would be written later, we recorded it instantly so it could be captured as its own statement. We pressed it on a limited-edition 7" vinyl, in a quantity of 500 (never to be pressed again), and have it available on this current tour. It's called 'Happiness Is A Smile'. We've been playing it every night. Here it is." THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's fifth full-length album, "One Of Us Is The Killer", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 25 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 14 through the band's own Party Smasher Inc., in partnership with Sumerian Records in North America. Party Smasher's partnership with BMG covers the rest of the world, including licensing deals with Grind House for Japan and Remote Control in Australia. "One Of Us Is The Killer" was recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts (GLASSJAW, THE CURE, SUICIDE SILENCE), with additional production at guitarist/co-founder Ben Weinman's studio. Mastering was handled by Tom Baker (DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, BEASTIE BOYS). In an interview with Killer Tours, Weinman stated about "One Of Us Is The Killer": "A lot of the inspiration for this record has to do with codependency. This band has a huge impact on everyone in our lives. The conflicts that occur from both being around the same people constantly and also being away from some people constantly makes you evaluate things in a way most people never could. A lot of our lyrical and musical content is a vessel for dealing with that." Interview (audio):
"Happiness Is A Smile" video:
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"Happiness Is A Smile" video:
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