Dance for the Dying
Austin, TX // SXSW
Interview by Jordan Fischels
Q: Is this your first time playing SXSW? How has the experience been treating you? How does it compare to other shows/festivals you guys have played?
A: Yes, first time. It’s been awesome! People have been so nice. The other bands have been great. It’s been a good experience. It’s been tiring especially here in Texas with the heat. It’s a good tired though. I didn’t realize I was tired until late last night. It was actually nice. It was so nice to be lying down. Compared to other shows, we went to CMJ this year and I have to say this one is almost four times the size. This one is not as spread out. It’s concentrated, so it just feels busier. I think they are kind of similar in terms of how many people there are. This one feels more focused, like a party. We had to work harder to get our gear into the venues here. Usually you park like a block away, but it’s a lot different because you can hear, as you are walking down the street, the music coming at you from all different directions. That’s really different as well. The vibe is cool. It’s really laid back. I like that. It’s not an uptight festival. It feels very chill.
Q: It sounds like you guys have had a lot of positive media reaction to you most recent EP, Puzzles for the Traveler – Including certain tracks even being featured on Rockband! How do you feel about that? Did you ever think you’d be featured in a video game? Have you ever tried playing your song on Rockband? If so, how does it compare?
A: It’s really awesome. At the showcase we played recently, we had someone come up to us from afterwards from Florida who knew about us because they played us on Rockband. Actually, it’s not the first time that it’s happened. It’s happened to us a number of times. We had no idea how much traction that whole experience would gain for us. It’s been a really positive experience. It’s awesome. It’s always so unexpected, that someone is like, “Hey, I know you because I play you on Rockband.” And, it’s neat too, because the Rockband players are so intimate with our music, because they are trying to play it perfectly. They know every part, they know all of the vocals, and they know all the lines. They know the songs, probably better than we do. We tried to play our song once. Got a 60% on easy. [Laughs] M.C.’s vocals were fine, but the rest of us… We had to restart the song once or twice, because Brad kept bombing. The people at the party were laughing at us and nudged us out of the way after. They were, “Let us show you how it’s done.”
Q: How did you all meet and come together as a band?
A: Craigslist mostly. I put an ad out and found Josh and then we started working together. A mutual friendship brought us to M.C. Another Craigslist ad brought Brad in. On a bigger picture I could say the universe put us all together, but Craigslist was huge catalyst for it.
Q: I hear that the name Dance for the Dying was inspired by Chris’s trip to India? Anything you can tell us about that or how it came it be?
A: I was in a really interesting kind of crux in my life. I was giving up music, actually. I was really jaded by it all. I sold all of my gear to get to India. Long story short, for the reasons that I went there, I ended up having kind of an awakening experience while I was there, including the truth that I was given music as a gift in my life. I had taken playing drums for granted all of my life. I’ve been playing since I was seven. But for the first time I realized it was a gift, and decided that maybe I would take it seriously again. Concurrently with that, while I was there, I heard this story of these kids who wanted to put on these skits and dances for these very sick and elderly dying people to cheer them up while they were alive. So, I had written down Dance for the Dying as this thing that these kids were doing for these people. I thought as a musician, as a performer, that’s kind of what I should be doing. I should be cheering people up, enjoying life with the people that are sharing the music with us. So, that was the catalyst for the whole thing. It’s been awesome. To be able to find them the way I did through Craiglist and to have it all come together is a beautiful thing. Serendipitous and awesome. I have written “OM” on my snare drum head to remind myself every time that I play, that it’s all happening for a reason. I truly believe that. Not everybody might share that sentiment in the band, but for me, it’s very personal and very real.
Q: Is there anyone you were looking forward to seeing or have seen at SXSW?
A: We got to see the Zombies last night. I was really excited about that. They’re a band from the 60’s. They did Time of the Season. They’re a lot older and I’ve wanted to see them for a while, but they’ve always been sold out or I was not able to go for whatever reason. Then I was walking down the street, and I heard the music coming out of a window, and I looked. I couldn’t get in, but there was a crowd in the street, and we all just kind of hung. I was pulling myself up on a little fence and staring into the window. I shook the guitar player’s hand. There were a handful of bands that we really wanted to see, but it just didn’t happen. We’ve played so many different places, but it’s like we would have had to be down here at 8 in the morning, and we have stuff in the middle of every day that we’ve been here. We wouldn’t been able to wait that long to get the first come first serve thing, or the official SXSW badges that are like $1000.
Q: What has been the “Highlight” of your career? Personally and collectively.
A: Everything just seems to be getting better and better. I think one of the biggest moments that we had was when we opened up for a sold out show for The Psychedelic Furs. I think that was very defining for us just because it was such an amazing experience. We were only a year and a half into the band at that point. That’s kind of the genre, the era of music that has been most influential for us. They sold out the show on their own. They didn’t need us there, so to be able to jump onboard that and to be invited out to do it was really cool. More of that please!
