Interview: Doom Service
Words by Jackson Balling. Photos by Ryan Scullin.
Taking their name from an episode of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Doom Service has also taken a spot within the Burlington punk community. Formed from the remnants of their previous band, 10K Volt Ghost, guitarist and lead vocalist Justin Gonyea, guitarist Jeff Foran and bassist Roy Larsen teamed up with Tyler Daniel Bean on drums to resurge beyond a typical band breakup and continue with an enhanced sound of their previous group, inspired by 90s punk bands with a hint of pop punk and rock tossed in for good measure. The combination is a supergroup of musicians with the local community, as well as an absolute train of hilarity.
Our time talking at Big Heavy World was filled with more laughter than any previous interview I’ve ever done, and by the end of our thirty minutes together I was more than able to see the chemistry between the four members of the band. From Tyler claiming a throne when I asked how he got into the mix with the others, where he claimed that it was all based around his drumming, to different merch ideas and catchphrases such as “Pee-Wee Herman meets Scooby-Doo” and “You Got Doomer’d!” respectively.
This past Saturday was the band’s first show, a milestone that had been in the works for a long time but finally achieved despite Tyler turning down spots at 242 Main. I specifically asked to be taken to the show, since I couldn’t make it, and it would be a crime to leave this beauty of a quote from Tyler out of the article, “Imagine a room like 242…you’ve got some fireproof blankets across the walls, black concrete floors, a stage that’s like a foot and a half. You’re sitting there behind the drums, and you’re looking out and there’s like eleven people there. And you’re rockin’ and rollin’. And kids are yelling back, ‘What’s it like to be At the Drive-In?!’, or after one song they’re like ‘That’s a song I could get down with!’”
Despite the heavy banter that filled the evening, including Mat Kimball expressing his enjoyment of different tracks that were fast, having their music compared to the Mallrats soundtrack was the highest compliment imaginable, especially to Roy who expressed his desire to quit while he was ahead and live the rest of his life a winner. With that the questions began to wrap up the band humorously mentioned their plans to record a demo the fourth weekend in August, to be released at some point digitally and perhaps physically, such as “answering machine tapes” as Justin suggested.
Doom Service has a couple shows coming up, including August 16th and August 21st, and as well as a fanfiction penned by none other than Tyler that chronicles his attempts to sabotage the band from playing any shows. Be on the lookout for those and more in the future and they attempt to become the goober-iest band you’ll ever know in Burlington. Even if their humor doesn't get you going, they still play amazing music and are yet another group in the music scene to pay attention to in the coming months.
