The Daily Reveille sat down with Cheat Codes after their Voodoo performance. Formed in 2014, the band features disc jockey and singer Matt Russell, singer and producer Trevor Dahl and singer and self-proclaimed “hype man” Kevi Ford.
Cheat Codes is known for their debut single “Visions,” which reached number 1 on the Hype Machine charts, and for their July 2016 single “Sex,” which samples Salt-N-Pepa’s “Let’s Talk About Sex.”
The Daily Reveille: Can you describe the band’s style and sound? How would you sum up Cheat Codes?
Cheat Codes: Just straight hits. We blend a little of everything. We have some stuff that’s tropical house and some progressive house. We try to blur the lines. We don’t want to be stuck in one genre. We like to incorporate influences from everything. The best way to describe our sound is the cheat code to your party.
TDR: How did you guys get together?
CC: We all met in LA. [Matt] and Kevi got together and we collaborated with Trevor and we’ve kept going from there. One song turned into thirty.
TDR: How do you think the band has evolved since its founding in 2014?
CC: We’ve kept the same mindset with how we want to do things. We like to make things easy. But we’re learning more about how the industry works. Our music has gotten better. We’re able to handle our liquor a lot better too.
TDR: You went on tour with The Chainsmokers. What was that like?
CC: They party super hard. We couldn’t keep up with them. But it was amazing. It was our first tour and it was great to learn from them. We like the way they do their set. They mix it up a lot, which is how we approach our set. We like to throw in a lot of different lyrics and melodies.
TDR: Y’all had over 15 million views on YouTube in 2015. How does that feel?
CC: We’ve set goals for ourselves and we wanted to make sure people see what we put out and we’ve gone well above that.
TDR: What is it like playing Voodoo? Can you elaborate on the experience?
CC: It’s dope. This is our first time playing in New Orleans. It was great until Trevor stepped on a nail. Somebody must’ve put some Voodoo out on him.
TDR: You performed at Billboard’s Hot 100 Festival recently. What was that like? How does it compare to Voodoo?
CC: They’re kind of similar. They’re both cool in a sense where they have all kinds of types of music. We love both of them. Voodoo was run very well. It’s very organized. They’re both great festivals.
TDR: What’s your favorite song to perform?
CC: We like performing “Sex” because a lot of people sing it and get really hype. They really get into it.
TDR: What do you think is your greatest accomplishment as a band?
CC: We’ve gone platinum and multi-platinum in a bunch of countries — Russia, Sweden, Norway. We’ve gotten really big there. Every show that has a good reaction is really an accomplishment for us.
Trevor Dahl of Cheat Codes speaks about previous tours and his views on the band's success on Friday Oct. 28, 2016 at the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience (Voodoo Festival) at City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.
