Austin-based four piece Dexter Freebish formed nearly 10 years ago, and have achieved many things including the great honour of winning a Songwriting contest (The John Lennon Songwriting contest, no less.) I got the chance to ask bassist and vocalist Chris Lowe some questions. Read on to find out about roller coasters, writing songs and predestination.

What has the band been up to recently?

We just released our 2nd CD "Tripped into Divine" and are currently on tour in the United States.

How would you describe your music?

Pop Rock

You named your band after a roller coaster. Are you all big theme park fans or did you just think the name suited you?

We thought that the name suited us. When you are in a band there are many highs and lows, kinda like a roller coaster.

The biography on your website mentions things like fate and predestination. Are you all big believers in divine intervention and higher powers?

Absolutely. We all have a spiritual side to us. I think that comes across in several of our song lyrics such as "How Do I Get Through to You" and "Save Me". We always try and treat life with an optimistic attitude and we believe good things will happen because of that.

How do you start writing songs? Do you find it's a difficult process or does it come naturally?

Sometimes it can be difficult when it is "forced". The best songs come when you least expect it and then they kinda sneak up on you. There is no set way that we write. Usually we start with music and the melody, then we write the lyrics.

How do you go about choosing which songs go on your CDs?

We wrote about 70 songs for this CD. We were able to narrow it down because we all kinda agree which are the better songs and which ones are throwaways. Our producer and A&R guy helped as well.

Do you have any favourite tracks that you're particularly proud of?

"How Do I Get through to You" and "Heavy". Those are the kind of songs that make me want to play music. They are the ones that hit you on a deeper and more emotional level. I also liked "How Do I" because we got to work with Paul Buckmaster on the string arrangement. He has done all of the strings on most of the old Elton John records so we really enjoyed that.

What are your musical influences?

They really are all over the map. We love everything really.

How did you come to work with producer Matthew Wilder (No Doubt)?

Our former A&R guy at Capitol Records set a meeting up with him and us and we really liked his vision for the record. He also pushed us really hard in the studio so we were challenged.

Do you have any heroes or idols whom you really respect?

Musically, I respect U2, because they are able to stand the test of time and remain viable and relevant. That's hard to do these days.

What has the band got planned for 2004?

Tour, tour, tour. And maybe get some sleep in there!

Is there anything else you'd like to say or promote?

You can purchase our new CD "Tripped Into Divine" off of our website at www.dexterfreebish.com. We also recently won Best Rock Song in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with our current single "Prozak". We also won the whole contest with our song "Leaving Town" a couple years ago. We actually got to hang with Yoko Ono at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a couple years ago. That was really cool because of all the history there!

Thanks a lot to Chris for taking the time to answer my questions, and as he says, you can go to www.dexterfreebish.com to find out more about the band. Thanks also to Laura for organising the interview!