Interview Dance Gavin Dance

Dance Gavin Dance is een post-hardcore band uit Sacramento, California, opgericht in 2005. In 2007 is het niet goed gegaan onderling de bandleden. Hun leadzanger Jonny Craig stapte uit de band, die vervangen werd door hun huidige leadzanger Kurt Travis. Sinds deze nieuwe formatie zijn er gelukkig geen conflicten meer voorgevallen en gaat het prima met de band. Dance Gavin Dance heeft ondertussen getourt met grote namen als A Day To Remember, Silverstein, Escape The Fate, A Skylit Drive, Alesana en Blessthefall en sinds dit jaar een nieuw album erbij. Morgen staan ze in het voorprogramma van A Skylit Drive in de Melkweg Amsterdam. Wij kregen de kans om de gitarist van de band (Zachary Garren) een aantal vragen te stellen:

What was the reason for naming the band ‘Dance Gavin Dance’?
It has to do with the planets aligning and ancient history and egyptians and eggs and a lot of other crazy bullshit that we can’t go into for fear of the government. I’m sorry.

How do you describe your music to people?
Funk Punk. Psychedelic Screamo. Trash.

How and when did you start with Dance Gavin Dance?
Like four or five years ago. It’s not a cool story. Started the way most bands start (aside from boy pop groups). Friends jamming.

What are your influences when making songs today?
We all listen to lots of different kinds of weird, underground music and we try to throw that into the screamo-y stuff we sort of grew up with. We try to make it less stale than all the other bands out playing the same goddamn soul-less music.

How does it feel when you see the crowd getting all excited when you’re playing?
It makes you want to go crazier and end up hurting yourself. It’s a good feeling.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan ever did?
Make us the most disgusting cupcakes ever. They weren’t even edible. I don’t know if they tried them before they gave them to us. I wont go into details, just incase they are a creepy stalker fan and somehow read this.

Are there any bands that you can compare yourself with?
Not really, because we try to do something a little different, but if there is a band we look up to in this sort of genre, it would have to be At the Drive-In even though we dont really sound like them.

What advice do you have for people who want to start their own band?
Don’t. You will go insane. Unless you aren’t good, then you’ll just think you’re really cool and good. If you’re truly good, you will drive yourself absolutely insane. It’s horrible.

A lot of people think CD’s are too expensive, or cant be bothered going down to the local cd-store. What do you think about illegal downloads? Do you feel it’s a threat towards the music industrie, or do you see it as usefull publicity?
I download more music than most people, so I’m definitely not against it. I think it should make bands try and produce better music, because if you release an album with only a couple good songs, people wont care enough to buy it or come see you. If you’re good, people will come to your shows, tell their friends, and buy your merch. Things change. Humans change. Everything is always changing. People who complain about change are ignorant hypocrites who only care about their money.

What can we expect from you in 2010?
You can expect us to be alive for 2 more years before the world ends. Aside from that, we’ll have another CD out, another European tour, and hopefully we’ll be writing pop songs for your radio!

Do you have plans on visiting the Netherlands in the near future?
No clue.

Got anything left to say for our readers?
Stay ignorant. Your life will be much easier when everything is still magical. The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know and you will eventually kill yourself. Oh, and SMILE!

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