PSYCHOSTICK’S Alex Dontre Talks New Music, Future Academic Plans, Salty Fish, & Alien Anthropology!

So PSYCHOSTICK has long held a top position in the music parody world, and the explosion of their Christmas 2019 adventure, “Zombie Claus,” proved that they’re planning to hold that spot for a long time to come. But is there more to the rowdy Chicago crew than just boobs, beer, and dogs with socks? We sat down with drummer Alex Dontre, who this holiday season also released his debut autobiographical tome, Dichotomies: Lessons from a College Life to get the scoop!

1. First things first, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How was your 2019 Holiday Season with the new single and book releasing?

Certainly! My holiday was great up in the Toronto area. I visited my girlfriend’s parents and whatnot. They hail from Newfoundland, so I got to try some awesome new foods like Newfie Figgy Duff! It’s a real thing, I swear. I also tried salted cod, which was intense! I’m not sure my desert bones are made for salty fishes.

As for everything else, it has been an especially busy year for me. My friend Tommy from URIZEN told me I should write a book a few years ago. It sounded fun, but I wasn’t sure what to write about, so I didn’t put much additional thought into it. Then in October of 2019 I just decided to blast through and finished writing the initial draft in 10 days. Around the same time, Psychostick was recording our holiday parody for the year and filming the video. Then November hit and we looked especially productive!

• Where did the idea for “Zombie Claus” come from? What inspired the satirizing of such an iconic Rob Zombie song with those particular lyrics?

I really can’t remember! We were in the van and someone started singing it. That narrows it down, I suppose. It wasn’t me! Maybe I should make up a fun story instead. It’s tough to answer questions about inspiration because it’s usually very subtle and doesn’t make for a wacky tale.

• The video seemed to be EVERYWHERE online between Thanksgiving and Christmas, how was the fan reaction to this release versus your previous Christmas parodies?

This one was really great! It’s funny, our fans are very supportive of most anything we do. We aren’t really going to hear from people, “Well, this year’s video sucks…try again.” Instead, it’s more the frequency of just how many people are talking about it. That seems to be a better judge. However, it’s also good to ask family because they’ll be real with you. For instance, Matty’s mom likes mostly all of the holiday songs we’ve done, although there was one she did NOT care for. When we put out “Oh Tannenbaum,” she wasn’t particularly thrilled to see her son creepily humping a wreath with a tree.

• What is your bucket list song to parody?

Parodies are fun to do in the moment, but they don’t have any big emotional payoff to them. So I don’t have a bucket list. I have a couple of cover songs I would love to do, however. A super heavy version of “The Cat With 2 Heads!” by The Aquabats would be awesome. I would need to practice a lot if I want to get that drum part down, yikes!

• You also released an autobiography, Dichotomies, around Thanksgiving, tell us a little bit about the book and what fans can expect reading it? Not asking for spoilers, but what is the essential take away?

I certainly did! Actually, it’s more of a story that traversed several years than an autobiography. I don’t talk about how I was a gross kid or anything. Instead, it starts in 2011 when I enrolled in college for the first time while I was on tour. It goes from there and documents the many insane things that happened up to my graduation with my master’s degree in Business Psychology in 2017. I know that’s a huge spoiler, but if I didn’t graduate, the story wouldn’t really make any sense! In any case, I blasted through over 50 classes in that span of time, and Psychostick played over 500 shows in North America and the UK. The goal (in part) in writing it was to share a lot of fun things I learned. I talk about finance, economics, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, you name it. I also want to convey the idea that everyone is busy. If you have a goal in mind but are apprehensive about giving it a shot, my story is proof that with enough drive and commitment, you can accomplish whatever you’d like.

• Over the course of your career, you’ve intermingled Rockstar lifestyle with college student responsibilities and writer goals, how did you balance those very different roles?

Ha! The preface of Dichotomies actually addresses this “rockstar” idea. In my view, I’m not a rockstar. There are too many pretentious connotations. I’m just a musician. In any case, that is exactly what the book is about. I’m not content simply being one thing, and one thing only. I have lots of interests and hobbies that I choose to pursue, but far too often, people assume we all need to just be one thing. I am not just a drummer any more than I’m just an academic. I choose to carve out time in my daily life to accommodate both, much in the way I carve out time to eat and sleep.

• Can fans expect future books? If yes, will you be sticking in non-fiction or will you go into any other genres?

Almost certainly, yes! It was a lot of fun to compose, so I am currently developing some other ideas. I don’t have any plans for fiction at this point, although I love sci-fi. One book idea is to write a non-fiction explanation of various human things told from a space alien’s perspective. I had this idea of a cultural anthropologist explaining to his alien peers about all the bizarre human things like economics or sociology…from an alien perspective. Something like, “The water bags assign value to colorful pieces of paper and trade them in irrational ways. Sometimes, they imagine the value of worthless items on display increases due to something they call a ‘sale.’ During this ‘sale,’ they eagerly dispense a disproportionate amount of their colored paper on items that are seemingly worthless. They then discard the items in their ceiling closets within a few lunar cycles. Avoid visiting the planet during their annual tumultuous season known as The Holidays.”  

• Finally, what can fans expect from both you and Psychostick in 2020? Any live shows or new music in the works?

Yes to both! We are currently finalizing a few weekend shows in various areas around the country. We don’t have plans for any extensive touring right now, so we’re doing more regional shows instead. As for recording, there is always something in the works! I’m actually planning to record something this weekend. Plus, we just announced that I will be filling in on drums for the band Dog Fashion Disco, on tour in June! They are a great group of humans, so it should be a blast.

There you have it, now go check out “Zombie Claus,” if you haven’t already, and grab a copy of Dichotomies, online now!

Purchase Dichotomies Online:
Hardcover & Paperback
United States: Psychostick, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Powell’s
Canada: Amazon.ca &Indigo
Mexico: Amazon.com.mx
Brazil: Amazon.com.br
United Kingdom: Amazon.co.uk & Blackwell’s
Netherlands: Amazon.nl & Bol
Germany: Amazon.de
Denmark: Saxo
France: Amazon.fr
Italy: Amazon.it
Spain: Amazon.es & Agapea
Australia: Amazon AU & Fishpond
New Zealand: Fishpond
Japan: Amazon.co.jp
Singapore: Amazon.sp
United Arab Emirates: Amazon.ae

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