IE: What’s up Dan, you guys have a new record on the way soon. Can you start off by telling us some details?

Dan: Hey Chris, first of all, thanks for inviting me to do this interview. I, and the rest of the band, really appreciate your support. You’ve done so much for so many bands and we’re really grateful that you give us any of the limited space in your zine, not to mention your time and patience in wrangling this interview out of me.

It’s true, we are working on a new full-length record but we aren’t really close enough to completion to answer a lot of questions. We need to finish a few more songs and then we’ll begin the process of picking tunes for the record and mapping it out. It’s been a slow process for us but we’re making progress and think that we’ll have a great record when the time comes. At this time our plan is to record right here in DC with Mike Schleibaum of Darkest Hour who also recorded our last full-length.

In the meantime, we demoed a song with our friend Dan Abh at The Lab in Alexandria, VA which we’ve since decided to make a video for. We also just decided to do a split 7” with our friends Killer of Sheep from Pittsburgh. This is hot off the presses news and we don’t have a label yet for the release but we’re committed to doing the project. We just tracked two songs at Recording Arts in Falls Church, VA with my great friend Mark Reiter at the helm. So far the songs sound incredible. Mark is mixing them now and we should have the finished product pretty soon. We can’t wait to get these songs out and we’re really excited to be able to pair up with KOS on this. If you haven’t seen or heard Killer of Sheep, I highly recommend them. 

IE: The history of this band almost has the story of two bands. When you guys started off in the mid 2000’s you played a lot more than you guys have over the past 3 or so years. What was it that caused this shift and which way to you is more enjoyable?

Dan: Yeah, what a difference nine years will make. This band started when all three bands that the four original SC members were previously in broke up at almost the exact same time. It just happened to be that the three bands were very active at the time so we really benefitted from the momentum that those bands had built up. When I put this band together I wasn’t thinking at all about popularity, ex-members, releases, the future, etc. My goal was simply  to get a band together with people who loved playing music and wanted to write short, fast and loud tunes and weren’t dicks. Rule number one was that we had to have fun and two was that we had to be good. Well, we had a LOT of fun, wrote a handful of tunes and people seemed to dig us. Things moved very quickly for the band and, due to that momentum from our prior bands, we had lots of contacts and show offers and help from all sorts of people. We played our asses off for a few years straight and managed to get a few releases out with the help of two great labels, Basement Records and A389 Recordings.

In reality though, we were playing too many shows, having way too much fun and we just weren’t focused on writing and recording. And I think by about 2009 or so, we all just found ourselves in different places in our lives than we were in when we started in 2005. You know, we really never intended to tour or play as much as we did or any of it. We were already older than most bands when we started this band and after four years I started having kids and needing to focus on a career and all that type of stuff. Touring non-stop was just out of the question for all of us too. We didn’t talk about it or plan to slow down, it just kind of happened. And it took a long time to adjust. I’d say it took until 2012 to adjust, haha.

In 2011 we agreed that we would put out a full-length or break up. In 2012 we managed to release our “debut” full length which was such a long time in the making and a huge accomplishment for us. Getting that record out was a huge milestone for us in a lot of ways it closed the chapter on a set of tunes that we started writing many years prior but it also signaled the end of a long period of inertia for the band. It was hard work and a lot of work, and having someone produce our record was a big adjustment. I learned a lot about songwriting and arrangement (among other things) throughout that process. Start to finish it took over a year to get the record recorded and pressed. It was a long year man, and by the time the dust settled, Reiter (drums) and Todd (bass) both left the band. They each left for different reasons and on good terms but it was difficult to lose not only the “whole” rhythm section but two close friends that we spent 7 years with. Boo and I were kind of in shock for a while but we decided to get it together, replace our friends and move on. It was NOT easy, let me tell you. But, fast forward to finding their replacements in Andrew (bass) and Ryan (drums) and we couldn’t be happier. I’m certainly not glad the other guys left but, honestly, we’re a better band now and a different band. Musically, I guess it’s only slightly different but on a personal level, it’s a whole new world. Andrew and Ryan came with new influences, new ideas, new energy and I think we’ve all learned a lot from each other. We’ve settled into this new version of the band like you mention. The funny thing is that yeah, we play less and don’t go out of town as much and seem more relaxed but we’re actually way more focused and motivated as a band now than we’ve ever been. There was 5 years between the release of our EP and LP. But we’ve had releases in both 2012 and 2013 and are working on one for 2014 as well as a follow-up full-length. We write more songs now and are just really more productive than we’ve been in the history of the band. I guess the simple answer to your question is that I like the new relaxed Supreme Commander. I’m really happy with what the band is doing right now and I’m genuinely excited about the future too.

IE: What (if any) are any other obstacles that may slow the band down these days from playing more and how often does the band get to practice these days?

Dan: I think you hit the nail on the head with the last question. Our only real obstacle is scheduling. We’ve been extremely motivated lately and have been writing, recording practicing, working on a video, making merch, writing for a new record, trying to plan a release or two, booking shows and more. We can always find some place to play and if we can’t, we’ll just practice more. Like I said, time, or lack of time, is the only obstacle for us. It doesn’t really matter why there’s not enough time. I mean, sometimes it’s because of important shit and sometimes it isn’t. My priorities are my family, keeping a roof over my family, my job and playing music. I have to fit it all in and somehow I do.

We practice once a week for three hours at a place called Dangerously Delicious Pies. Pies you might ask? That’s right, it’s a restaurant in the front and a rehearsal studio in the back. It’s a great place and one of only a few commercial practice spaces in DC. Fortunately, for me, it also happens to be 3 blocks from my house. 

IE: You guys seem to have a close friendship with NY’s Two Man Advantage and have done a split with them in the past as well as sharing a few shows. Do you recall how the two bands started becoming close?

Dan: Yeah The Two Man are good friends of ours. It’s a simple story really. Reiter, our original drummer was previously in a band called Daycare Swindlers who were label mates with TMA when they were both signed to Go Kart. Those guys toured the country together and became close friends. Reiter introduced The Commander to Two Man shortly after we began playing shows in 2005. I think our first show with them may have been at The Continental in NY. It must have been 2005 or maybe 2006. We hit it off instantly and continued to help each other out over the years. We hooked them up in and around DC and they hooked us up in NY. We did a few short tours with them too. They’re really a great band and I’m proud to have them as friends. These guys put 110% into every show, every night and show everyone what it’s like to be professional, all while drunk as shit on a thousand beers and countless bottles of Captain Morgan. On top of that they’re just the best dudes and would simply do anything for anyone.

IE: You were telling me a crazy story once about Two Man and SC out in rural VA and some crazy stuff that went down with a particular sound man. Care to give us the details of that?

Dan: Right, that was one of the worst shows ever. And it’s too bad because it was a great lineup and I think there were lots of people there. This night was bad right from the start. The show was in Winchester, VA which is about 2 hours from DC but it took us 3 hours due to traffic. We found out along the way that we would be opening the show and arrived just in time for our set. We loaded to the stage and the sound guy immediately started harassing us. To say he was a giant dick can’t possibly illustrate just how giant of a dick this guy really was. Not to mention that he was quite possibly the worst sound guy we’ve encountered.

He didn’t like a crack that Boo made about a neighboring town so he turned off the PA for just about a whole song and eventually cut us off after a 9 minute set. Needless to say we were pretty mad about the whole thing but we stuck it out for as long as we could. He ended up cutting every band off really early for some reason. We took off early and missed it when he cut off Two Man but rumor has it that harsh words were exchanged and a certain dread-locked guitar player may have introduced the sound man’s face to the soundboard and then invited him to experience additional pain behind the club. The sound man apparently declined the invitation as he quickly exited through the front door leaving his post and his $200 bar tab behind. 

IE: Would you classify that as the most off the wall craziest SC show and if it isn’t what other shows can you slide into your "most crazy"?

Dan: Oh man, we’ve had some crazy ones. That show was one of the worst but definitely not even close to one of the craziest! We had another show out in rural Virginia that probably takes the cake since we were essentially run out of town right before local, county and state police showed up after a guy called 911 and reported a riot on his property. Let’s see, there was the show outside of Philly where we played in standing water in the flooded basement of an abandoned house. There was the Halfway House right in Philly which was just insane. There was the time in Baltimore where we had to drag our friend in to the bar and lock the doors because he got himself mixed up in a street fight with some machete wielding maniac. The time where the sound guy fell off the wagon, got wasted, put on a football helmet and passed out standing up and knocked over the sound board in the middle of a set. The list goes on and on. So many great shows and there were even crazy shows where nothing bad happened like the Marshall Ruritan shows out in VA where hundreds of kids would show up and freak out to 8 bands on a bill. The Warehouse Next Door shows in DC which were all awesome. Goons House shows were always a crazy good time too.

IE: Looking over your old show flyers it is clear you guys have played a ton of benefit shows and have done a bunch for charity.  What are some of the ones that may stand out to you where you feel like you may have made a difference?

Dan: We’ve played what seems like thousands of benefits. I couldn’t possibly remember them all or what they were all for without looking over those flyers. Hopefully they were good causes and someone actually benefitted! We just love to play, ya know. If someone can “benefit” from us playing, even better. If doing what I love to do anyway, which I would, and nearly always do for free, can also bring in some cash to help some kids or abandoned animals, or a DIY show space or a friend with no health insurance then we’re always happy to participate. Anyone who isn’t is a dick. One occasion that really sticks out in my mind is a benefit we did for our good friend Kofi Rozzell who runs One World Studios here in DC. Kofi had a bit of a health scare and found himself in a financial bind as a result. Someone organized a benefit concert with a mixed bill of bands from the many different scenes that Kofi has personally helped out over many many years and it was simply amazing. We raised a shitload of money and were able to hand a Kofi a wad of dough at the end of the night. To see the money go right in his hand and the smile on his face was something I’ll never forget. First thing he did with the money was buy himself a nice cane. To see him walk around with that cane paid for with the money we raised just felt good. That’s why I do it. They don’t all end up with a story like that but it doesn’t matter.  

CLICK FLYERS TO ENLARGE

IE: Mixing the past with the present give us your top 5 DC area punk/hardcore bands if you had a guy with a gun standing in front of you forcing you to give him your top 5 favorite DC area punk/hardcore bands.

Dan: There are so many great bands from the area both past AND present. It’s hard to pick just five but my all-time favorite “classic” DC hardcore bands are Bad Brains, Minor Threat and Dag Nasty. One of my favorite hardcore bands of the 2000’s was Set to Explode. What a great band, not to mention that every one of the dudes’ previous bands also ruled; Striking Distance, The Goons, The Aftermath, Worn Thin to name a few. Last but not least I’m going with The AKs - a young DC Punk band that was active in the early 2000’s and, in my opinion, one of the best (and least known) punk bands to ever come out of DC. And you know what, you can’t talk about DC area bands without at least mentioning Baltimore, our sister city. My all-time favorite band out of Baltimore is Slumlords who, hands down, had the best sense of humor in hardcore, ever. If you don’t know them it was just Jeff Perlin of Breakdown, Dom Romeo who runs A389 Records and Scotty P and Dougie Fresh of Stout, NBD.