Q&A with DNA

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Torri Ingalsbe
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
For two security forces Airmen at RAF Lakenheath, DNA isn't about genetics...it's the name of the hip-hop music group they've formed. 

Senior Airman Anthony Gross and Airman 1st Class Andrew Decuir, 48th Security Forces Squadron, have been performing music regularly in the local area for about a year and a half. Both Airmen expressed their passion for music and their ambitions for continuing careers in music during a question and answer session March 6. 

Question: What inspired you to begin a career in music? 

Airman Gross - There really haven't been a lot of new acts coming out of Florida, where I'm from, and my family was always really into music. I just figured, hey, why not do something different? 

Airman Decuir - My family and I all grew up playing music and I wanted to do something creative and different than what was popular when I was growing up. 

Q: How did the two of you end up in a group together? 

Airman Gross - We met through a mutual friend in September of 2006. He's gone now, but we're still performing. 

Airman Decuir - I was introduced to Airman Gross by a friend who also wrote and performed with him. 

Q: Where do you want to go with your music? 

Airman Gross - The obvious answer would be the top of the food chain, but I want to just progress and never stop. I want to show people who are in the military and also doing this that you can make it and achieve a higher goal than just being local. 

Airman Decuir - It's also important to find ourselves at a point where we feel like we've done something good. 

Q: How does being an Airman affect your music? 

Airman Decuir - The positive thing about it is there are a lot of people we can relate to. It's easier to find things to make music about, especially being around a lot of people. 

Q: Do you perform anywhere locally? 

Airman Gross - We've performed at clubs in Newmarket and at the University of East Anglia. We also performed at Menwith Hill recently. We have shows scheduled at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall next month and the people at Menwith Hill want us to come back. 

Q: What advice would you give aspiring musicians? 

Airman Decuir - Stick with one thing and try not to wander too far from where you came from. Feed off your own thoughts and be creative and original. 

Airman Gross - We talk about a lot of different things like the current events of the day and how we think and feel. Challenge yourself to be different from everyone else. 

Q: What's your favorite song to perform? 

Airman Gross - I like to do "Got 'em Coach!" It's just a song about being the best at what you do. It's like if you're playing a sport and you beat someone, you can look back to the bench and say, "Got 'em Coach!" 

Airman Decuir - "We Came to Get Down" is my favorite. It's just a song about doing your own thing and letting go of everything else. 

Q: What's one of your most memorable experiences? 

Airman Decuir - It just seems like it's been getting better every time we do a show. 

Airman Gross - When we performed at the University of East Anglia, the crowd was pretty calm for the other groups. We came out to perform, people actually stood up and starting going crazy. We were the only American performers there and the people gave us a chance. It was a really good feeling. We're progressing with these different shows and it gets better and better every time.