Heavy Culture is a column from journalist Liz Ramanand, focusing on artists of different cultural backgrounds in heavy music, as they offer their perspectives on race, society, and more as it intersects with and affects their craft. The latest installment of this column features Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Dean Pleasants.
Suicidal Tendencies are a band with a strong presence, legacy, and vigor dating back to the 1980s. Guitarist Dean Pleasants joined the band in 1996, and is now the second longest tenured member of the crossover thrash act, only behind frontman Mike Muir. Heavy Consequence caught up with him to talk all about music, culture, and so much more.
Pleasants took us through his journey of growing up as a kid and bouncing around from place to place due to his father being in the military. In addition to being encouraged to play guitar by his family and high school band director, he was also inspired by icons like Jimi Hendrix and Prince. His journey is one of depth, perseverance, and a lot of heart – much like the music of Suicidal Tendencies.
The band kicked off this year with epic performances on the ShipRocked Cruise. They have festival dates in September, including the Muddy Roots Festival in Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Virginia, and the Rifflandia Festival in Canada.
Read our interview with Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Dean Pleasants below.
Tell me about your cultural background…
I am like most people in America mixed with everything. So I’ve done the genealogy thing and I’m predominantly African American, French, there’s German, there’s Portuguese, all that. I always tell people I’m Black and French predominantly.
My grandmother had a lot of German ancestry, if you saw her, she looked Native American. She was dark and beautiful and her hair was down to her feet. She lived to be 99, died right before her hundredth birthday. She was just an amazing woman, Laura Jay. So yeah, I’m a mix of a lot of things, like everybody else in the world is.