“Are You Listening?” – Dont You Dare Find Their Voice and Their Fire

“Are You Listening?” – Dont You Dare Find Their Voice and Their Fire

Sacramento’s Dont You Dare are a band built on grit, chemistry, and the kind of word‑of‑mouth momentum you can’t manufacture. Vocalist Noah Duarte and guitarist Matt English spent years shaping their sound behind studio doors before their music found its way — through barbers, friends of friends, and pure persistence — to manager Matt Scarpelli of Jamies Elsewhere and eventually The Artery Foundation.

Now three singles deep and fresh off opening for Dark Divine at The Constellation Room in Santa Ana, the duo are stepping confidently into their moment. In this conversation, Noah and Matt talk origins, chaos, heartbreak, generational frustration, and the emotional weight behind their latest tracks “Die For Me,” “Black and Blue,” and “SOS,” all while keeping the humor and honesty that define Dont You Dare.

Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in the band.
Noah: Im Noah, and Im the vocalist.

Matt: And Im Matt, and I play guitar.

Tell me a little about the band. How long have you guys been together?
Noah: Dont You Dare started about three or four years ago. We were basically studio rats at first. Matt and I met on BandMix — I call it “dating for musicians,” like Tinder for bands.

Matt: Were not dating. But yeah, you swipe and find people.

Noah: We are in a band together, though — thats basically dating. He’d swipe left on me now. We spent the first three years in the studio figuring out what Dont You Dare sounded like and what the project was supposed to be. Eventually, word of mouth started spreading. We released a single on our own, someone heard it, told a friend who told another friend, and that chain eventually led us to our manager. He connected us with Matt Scarpelli from Jamies Elsewhere, and he started working with us one‑on‑one. Things just snowballed from there. We finally did our first official release about six months ago.

Matt: Yeah — November. Thats when The Artery Foundation stepped in. Our first single ended up getting taken down, but we already had a full EP ready. We worked on it with Matt, and it eventually landed on Eric Rushing’s desk. Now were three releases in and getting ready to shoot our fourth music video after this show.

Where are you guys based, and what’s the local music scene like there?
Noah: Were based out of Sacramento, California. The local scene is huge — it’s always been huge. We’ve got giants like Deftones, Papa Roach, and Dance Gavin Dance from our area. But the local scene itself is thriving too. You’ve got everything from hardcore to metalcore to EDM. Sacramento has room for all of it.

Matt: A lot of heavy bands coming out of Sacramento lately. Tons.

Noah: And a lot of bigger bands that are on festivals now started in Sacramento — whether that was at The Boardwalk, Ace of Spades back when Eric Rushing owned it, or newer venues like Goldfield and Channel 24.

How has this run with Dark Divine been so far? What have been some highlights?
Noah: We hopped on for just these two shows — yesterday and today. We played Goldfield Roseville last night, and tonight were here at The Constellation Room. It’s been awesome. Dark Divine treats us really well, and the guys in Not Enough Space are super cool and welcoming. Honestly, the highlight is hearing from bands who’ve been doing this nonstop that they like what we’re doing. That means a lot. And getting to play for their crowds — and having those crowds welcome us — that’s huge.

What can people expect from your show tonight?
Matt: Riffs. Big riffs. Lots of fun, lots of sweat — mostly from me, the drummer, and Noah. He sweats too.

Noah: I just stand still. Totally still. I’m kidding. Expect a lot of highs, a little breather, and then we hit you in the mouth again. We’ve got catchy riffs, big choruses, hooks, and of course breakdowns. There’s something in the set for everyone.

You previously opened for Jamies Elsewhere, and I later learned that Matt Scarpelli is your manager. How did that relationship come about?
Matt: We met him through a mutual friend — our barber.

Noah: Our barber! I’d been going to the same guy for like five years. When Matt and I first started Dont You Dare — before it even had a name — I kept telling him, “Dude, this is gonna be sick.” And he’d just laugh and say, “Yeah, you sound like every other local band.” Then he heard our first song and went, “Wait… this is actually pretty sick.” He told another barber friend, who happened to be Matt Scarpelli’s barber, and it all just lined up. Scarpey and Matt started nerding out, and it snowballed from there.

Matt: We basically bugged him to death until he worked with us. He didn’t want to at first — and then he did, and now he’s stuck with us. When we did “SOS,” I think that’s when he realized he was really stuck. We became friends, and when Jamies Elsewhere came back from hiatus and started playing shows again, we were already locked in with them. They threw us on some dates, and it worked out great. Their crowd really welcomed us. We did Brick by Brick with them, and House of Blues sold out. Those shows were incredible — super welcoming.

Let’s talk about the songs. The newest one is “DIE4ME.” What inspired it?
Noah: “DIE4ME” is about heartbreak — that moment when you realize someone’s actions speak louder than their words. The hook says, “I know you’d never lie for me, you’d never die for me,” and that’s really the core of it. People might say they’d do anything for you, but when it comes down to it, they won’t. I try to keep the lyrics open enough for people to interpret them based on whatever they’re going through.

Matt: We wrote it about the chaos of a toxic relationship — when everything starts breaking down and it becomes confusing, frustrating, full of denial and finger‑pointing. Toward the end of the song, there’s a sense of acceptance. That’s what we wanted to capture.

Noah: Anyone can relate to that — whether it’s love, friendship, or even family. Everyone’s felt that “hung out to dry” moment.

Let’s talk about “BLACK & BLUE.”
Noah: “BLACK & BLUE” is a personal one for me. It deals with negative feelings from growing up — not always feeling wanted or understood, feeling like maybe your parents didn’t care the way they should have. But again, I leave the lyrics open for interpretation. The hook — “Black and blue, nothing to you” — that line hits hard. It’s tattoo‑worthy. Who hasn’t felt left black and blue emotionally?

Matt: Writing‑wise, we knew the subject matter was heavy, so we matched that intensity instrumentally. It’s a rager — nonstop. Easily the sweatiest song in the set. Fun fact: we didn’t even have the chorus until two days before we left to record. We tried forcing it for so long because we wanted it perfect. We had 99% of the song, but the hook wasn’t landing. Then suddenly it just clicked — probably a stress‑release moment — and we knew instantly, “That’s it.” We recorded it right away, no time to overthink. It turned out great. We love that song.

And let’s move on to “S.O.S.”
Noah: “S.O.S.” is about feeling unheard — like our generation is misunderstood or dismissed. People think we don’t have the same backbone as previous generations or that we’re too attached to technology. The song is basically saying, “Are you listening to anything we’re saying?” It’s that feeling of being talked down to, being the “little brother.” And it’s also a call for truth — we just want honesty.

Matt: It’s an invisibility song with a rebellious edge. When you feel invisible, it’s easy to surrender — but that’s not who we are. The line “Save our souls, empty out the bottle” is about self‑destruction. When people don’t care about you, it’s easy to subconsciously stop caring about yourself. So the song is about protecting your psyche, even when it’s hard. The gang‑chant “Are you listening?” hits every night. That one rocks.

And now a fun question. Who is the biggest diva in the band?
Noah: We can all be divas — it comes with the territory. Matt’s a diva in the sense that he hates loading in and out. He’ll suddenly get “busy” with his guitar at the perfect moment and disappear. Then at 11 p.m. he’s like, “Wow, you guys loaded everything already? Nice job.”

Matt: That happened one time.

Noah: It happened yesterday.

Matt: Okay, fine. But Noah’s definitely a diva too.

Noah: I’m a diva because I need sleep, I need a shower, and I need things done a certain way — my instrument is my voice.

Matt: Noah is very structured. I… am not.

Noah: If we had two hotel rooms, mine would be clean and organized. His would look like a tornado hit it.

Matt: I’d be looking for all my stuff while Noah already has his laid out. But together, we make something cool.

Noah: We may want to punch each other sometimes — mostly at 4 a.m. — but it works.

Matt: I’ll tell you who the real diva is: I got here ten minutes before Noah for this interview. He was getting all dressed up, putting in contacts, taking a little bird bath. I’m kidding. Were all divas.

What do you hope the rest of the year brings for Dont You Dare?
Matt: Lots of tours, lots of shows, lots of momentum. And a lot of good times for everyone who comes out to see us. That’s what I want for 2026.

Noah: We want to get on the road, meet our fans, and build the DYD family. We love playing shows — that’s when we feel most alive. We hope that energy translates every night. Meeting people who’ve never heard of us and watching them become fans — that’s the best feeling in the world. If our music can be part of someone’s life, that’s everything.

Matt: I agree with all of that. I co‑sign it. That’s my answer too.

In Conclusion

Dont You Dare are a band in motion — not just musically, but personally, emotionally, and professionally. From studio‑born beginnings to Artery‑backed releases and stages shared with Jamies Elsewhere and Dark Divine, Noah Duarte and Matt English are proving that persistence, honesty, and a little chaos can go a long way. Their songs hit hard because they come from real places: heartbreak, invisibility, childhood wounds, and the stubborn refusal to give up.

As they look toward a year filled with touring, new music, and expanding the DYD family, one thing is clear — Dont You Dare arent just building a fanbase; they’re building a community. And if their trajectory continues the way it’s begun, this is only the opening chapter of a much bigger story.

At press time, Dont You Dare released a brand new song entitled I Love The Misery!  Check out the video below…

(Interview by Ken Morton – Photos by Scott Waters)

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