The Jersey quintet Socratic released their first album Lunch for the Sky in 2005, a free EP titled Just Turn the year after, and earlier this year they released their sophomore full length record Spread the Rumors. We were lucky enough to get a chance to ask their singer and guitarist Duane Okun some questions, and if you read on you can see what he had to say about their inspirations, life on the road, the future of the band and much more!

Can you start by telling us who you are and what your role(s) in the band is?

My name is Duane Okun. I play guitar and sing in the group.

For those of our readers who aren’t familiar with your music yet, how would you describe your sound?

Our music varies depending on what record you are listening to. Our first record Lunch For The Sky had a grand piano-driven sound to it. Just Turn was more of a unique-acoustic based project. Our recent record Spread the Rumors is very pop oriented. We knew coming into the studio that we were going to try our craft on some pop tunes. Especially since we were doing the record with Mark Hoppus.

Are there any artists or bands that have been particularly inspiring for you?

We all come from different musical tastes and backgrounds. I’m am a huge fan of 60’s music. The times and the music were so cutting edge back then. It really took music to a different level of conscienceness. Personally I’ve been listening to a lot of classical music. I have recently gotten a bit sick of the typical “pop” sound. Not that it’s bad or anything. I just needed a break from it for a while.

From one thing to another, Spread the Rumors came out in May, and you’ve been on the road quite a bit since. Can you give us mortals some insight into what life on tour is like?

I always have a great time on tour. It mostly consists of driving way more then you would like, eating wherever is convenient, and waiting to play every night. We do a lot of reading when we are away. I remember one time sitting in the van and looking around and seeing everyone reading a book. I thought to myself, ” What a bunch of nerds.” It keeps your head in tact. Don’t get me wrong, we still have our crazy moments of partying and whatnot. Socratic can throw down with the best of em’!

Do you have any special concert experiences that you’ll never forget, and do you care to share them with us?

One of our first big shows we played in Buffalo with Reel Big Fish. I had a bottle thrown at me which I thought was pretty funny. Kevin was electrocuted once in Hollywood from his mic and ended up passing out on the stage. It was wild.   

After Spread the Rumors was released AOL/PopEater predicted that you were “about to pop” - How has the response to the record been compared to your hopes and expectations?

It got the feedback I thought it was going to get. Some people like it and some people don’t. Thats always how it is. You can be the biggest band in the world and have a million people still think you are bad. 

Lingering on Spread the Rumors just a little longer, I just want to say that I think it’s a great record, very diverse and overall extremely catchy. Now I’m a lyrics guy myself, and some of your lyrics seem to be very personal, such as for instance Long Distance Calls. Are your songs based mostly on personal experiences, or are you more like Ben Gibbard when he wrote lyrics for The Postal Service and just took them out of thin air?

Long Distance Calls was Written by Vincent about his family life - extremely personal. We have always giving our listeners a chance to know and feel what it’s like being inside of our heads. We express what we feel and hopefully someone can relate to a feeling of normalness. We barely speak of things that we don’t know of first hand. Nor do we make crazy things up just to speak to masses. We’re just normal guys who experience the same every day trials and tribulations that everyone else does.

What does the future look like for Socratic? Have you started working on any new material?

We have been recording a bunch of new songs the last two months. We are always writing no matter where or what we are doing. It looks like we will be touring in the future and putting out a new record which I feel we be different then all of our work to this point.

Over to something completely different, popdisaster00 really wants to know if you are sick of Denny’s yet?

We have actually not even eaten it yet. Haha.

On a more serious note, what did winning that competition mean to you guys?

It was a very nice thing to win. It will help us out so much when we are on the road. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!

Well that’s about it. On behalf of Silent Sound Waves I would just like to wish you guys all the best for the future, and on behalf of myself I would just like to say that you should come and play some shows up here in Europe next year! In closing is there anything else you would like to get off your chest and share with us? All of our readers can keep a secret, honestly.

I am really a woman!

There you have it, Duane’s a woman, but with that soft voice who ever really thought otherwise? Be sure to check out Socratic’s MySpace profile and Official Website and listen to their music if you haven’t already. Once you do you should be right on your way over to Amazon to purchase their records!

/ Posted: Nov 13, 2008
/ Written by: Lars-Christian
/ Category: Interviews
/ Artist(s): Socratic