Interview with Trey Williams and John Gallagher of Dying Fetus
June 2009 – Summer Slaughter Tour
By: Marisa Connelly
Trey Williams: Hello!
Hello! Ready?
Trey: Ready.
SDM: Who was your favorite Fetus drummer prior to you joining?
Trey: Um, that’s an easy one, [Kevin] Talley.
SDM: So what did you like about his drumming style?
Trey: Actually, I guess it’s Rob’s [Belton] beats that first grabbed me, on the Purification Through Violence album. But the style of playing a groove with the grind and death stuff was already kind of there, but Talley’s a solid drummer, fucking hits hard and he plays very well. He’s a good drummer. I don’t know, you hear somebody good and they’re good, ya know? It wasn’t necessarily just Kevin, I like the band, too. But when you’re on you’re on, and he’s a pretty on drummer.
SDM: Has any one song in particular given you any trouble live, more than the others?
Trey: It’s not any of Kevin’s songs, it’s actually songs written by Rob Belton, beats that Belton played and stuff that Eric Sayenga played. Various songs throughout those eras, those gave me the most challenge. Because stuff played when Duane [Timlin] was around, stuff that was played when Kevin was around and latter stuff with Eric, but wait, Eric wasn’t on any of the Purification stuff…
John Gallagher: No, Eric was in the band in 1996, but he never actually recorded anything. He was there, and we got him back later on.
Trey: OK, those beats, because I guess they approach stuff a little more unconventionally. Where, not to say that Talley’s predictable, because he’s not, but it just makes a little more sense. The notes fall in the right places easier. If that’s an adequate answer to the question. This is more an interview about Talley, huh?
SDM: NO!
Trey: That’s OK, I don’t care. [laughs]
SDM: Do you have any plans to still play with Covenance, Severed or Tortured? Do you miss Covenance?
John: Yeah.
Trey: Yeah, of course! I miss the guys in Covenance. It’s not like I don’t see some of them on a regular basis.
SDM: Do you have tea parties with them?
Trey: Oh yeah! Well, not so much. I’m pretty damn busy with the Fetus stuff, and when I’m not doing Fetus stuff I’m working at my job. So, I will do stuff with all of those bands. When I have time I still jam with Severed Head. I like to bring projects from the past, projects I still nurture, into the limelight a little bit more with my further recognizable- being more recognizable because of Fetus, hopefully. Tortured was like, my high school band. Those were like my high school buddies and the guys I cut my teeth playing with and learned how to play in a band. Some people pursue music like I did, some people pursue careers and family. And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s what they did. I love those guys, but I’ll still do stuff with Covenance if I have time. I wish them all the best. Actually, make sure you put this in there, I have to give a special thank you to Bruce Greig [Covenance] because without his belief in my abilities and taking me on tour in Canada, I wouldn’t have been seen by Fetus and they wouldn’t have asked me to play in the band. I’m sorry that it was kind of a bum out for him and the rest of those guys, but they all understand. I’m still very much friends with all of them. I see Bruce at rehearsals and stuff. But I’m just rambling on now, I’m all drunk and stoned. [laughs]
SDM: OK, so what kind of speeds or tempo’s can we expect to hear on the new effort?
Trey: OK, that’s the stuff people just love hearing about! Well, I will say that the guys in Fetus definitely pushed me to play faster, more consistently, and be a better drummer. And there’s several parts around 240 [bpm’s]. One of Sean’s [Beasley] songs has a part around 250 I think. There’s so many time changes and so many different part changes that it’s all just a bunch of clicks to me- at least it was in the studio. But yeah, there’s stuff around 240, I think that you can’t forget about the grooves. You can’t forget about playing with a groove maybe even at a slower tempo. I had to learn different drumming techniques to be more creative with that speed. I learned how to do double stroke kick rolls on the kick drums to be able to be more creative. Also, I’m not a robot, I can’t play crazy fast forever, some guys out there can. I had to learn how to do that double stroke stuff, so it helps me to play. I have to give a great thanks to Eric Little [Covenance], because he showed me how to do it, and I have to thank John Longstreth [Origin] for inspiring me to want to learn how to do it. But that’s the drum speeds that we did there.
SDM: How have you tried to differentiate yourself from past DF drummers since this is the first album that you’re on?
Trey: Of course I want to put my own groove in there, and my own take on what a riffs drum beat could be. But I’m a fan first and a member second in my own mind. I think I have an alright idea, because Dying Fetus was the band I was going to when I was in high school, and inspired me to want to play heavier music. I think I have an idea of what needs to be heard by the audience, and what the audience craves. And what they crave is some wicked double bass, and some awesome blast beat parts but not blandly done. And the one thing that you can’t forget about is a groove. That is the thing that made Dying Fetus stand out for me. And you can’t forget a groove beat, and there are definitely some slamming grooves on this album. I actually, really, a lot of it is what I think Dying Fetus should sound like. And it’ not so much necessarily what I want, it’s more like, I know what Dying Fetus needs to be. Well, not needs to be, but it should sound a certain way, and that’s what I went for.
John Gallagher said that some of your fills remind him of Neil Peart or Tommy Aldridge style drumming. Are they influences of yours?
John: [laughing]
Trey: Oh! Um, I guess, but actually, I don’t listen to Rush. That’s not a dis on Rush, not a disrespect to Neil Peart. He’s a fabulous drummer and Rush is definitely an accomplished band. So, I can definitely tell anyone out there that Neil Peart is not an influence of mine. And Tommy Aldridge is not an influence of mine either.
John: [laughs]
Trey: So that kind of negates that, but hey, look, if what I did reminds somebody of something cool then that’s awesome.
John: Right!
Trey: And he is a handsome man! Mr. John Gallagher!
John: Well, there a lot of stuff that, when we were working stuff out that we presented to Trey, and when we were thinking of [drum] lines, we had some stuff that was like Neil Peart and Tommy Aldridge. He didn’t know that, but that’s how, it’s not up and down like a straight roll. I don’t even know how to explain it because I’m not a drummer, but it’s more elaborate.
Trey: It’s not just single strokes.
John: Yeah. Single strokes get boring, so you have to try to put some different shit in there. Triplets and whatever. He [Trey] could probably explain it better.
SDM: Triplets are John Bonham stuff.
John: Well, sextuplets or I don’t know. Help me out Trey.
Trey: Eleventees, Seventy-sevens! [laughs] You know what, I really couldn’t tell you because I am an untrained drummer. I just played, that’s what I did.
SDM: So you don’t know any of the technical terms for anything? [laughs]
Trey: Well, I do, you do it enough and you learn some things. But I never went out there like that.
John: Some rudiments.
Trey: I mean, I know rudiments, a few. One.
John: What is it called? A ramacue?
Trey: A ratamacue?
John: Yeah! That’s my favorite one.
Trey: A flamadiddle! Eh, I’m just spurting off, I’m just retarded now.
John: I’m sure you’ll edit some of that.
Trey: Oh, you can leave all of that. I don’t care.
John: Well, [edit] my end.
SDM: With the number of drummers that have been in and out of the band, were you at all apprehensive to commit as the full timer?
Trey: Yeah, actually I was. Joining Dying Fetus was one of the easiest and hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. When Sean called me up to ask me if I wanted to do it, he pretty much wanted a definitive answer there. And I told him, “Dude let me think about this, because it’s going to be a big change for me.” I was a local death metal band drummer that did one Canadian tour. That was literally the culmination of my local career, was opening for Dying Fetus. And I forgot what your question was, and now I’m rambling.
John: [laughs] Being apprehensive about joining the band or something.
Trey: OK, yeah. I was a bit. I knew I was ready for the challenge, because I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think I was ready. I knew I would have to learn up to four drummers’ styles, because John of course, was a drummer too in the band, for a period.
John: I was the best. [jokingly]
Trey: Actually John did some pretty cool beats though.
John: There’s a couple.
Trey: Absolutely there’s a couple. I think I answered the question. That was the shortest answer! Yes, I was apprehensive about joining the band because it would be a big life change and it would be a challenge to learn up to four different drummers’ styles. And play them so people think that’s what they are supposed to sound like live.
SDM: So you guys just did a photo shoot the other day, do you think people might actually recognize you as the drummer of Dying Fetus now? Instead of asking if you’re Duane?
Trey: Um, well, obviously the press material from here on out is going to have my picture on it, although if people call me Duane, if people call me other stuff, it don’t matter to me too much. I don’t care because I’m here now. And if they don’t know, then they’re not really fans. If they are fans, they’re keeping up and they know who’s in the band.
SDM: Well it doesn’t help that even in the recent Decibel Magazine, there was a picture of Dying Fetus and it had both Duane and Mike Kimball in it.
Trey: We don’t necessarily have control over what pictures are used.
SDM: I know, but I think that fans may be confused.
Trey: Well people are going to be introduced to a new level of ugliness that I’m going to bring to the table! I’m here now, and I don’t plan on going anywhere.
SDM: So with a more stable line up, any thoughts on doing a DVD?
Trey: I don’t think we’ve talked about it in particular, but I think it’s something that we’d all like to see happen.
John: We all want to see that happen, but there’s always been like, member changes, and that messes things up. But we did a good interview at Grasspop that was filmed. The idea is to one day at least have a compilation DVD. Nothing is set, it’s just a idea. Maybe we could use that show, different footage, some upcoming tours. But we don’t really have all the necessary footage to combine it into one disc right now. Hopefully in the future we’ll accumulate more footage and do that. We’d like to do one.
Trey: Come out with your video camera, make the DVD!
SDM: Are you calling all fans? That would be a great idea! Have fans come out with their video cameras, submit the footage they get, and maybe it will end up on the DVD!
Trey: Yeah! But then you got a crowd of people with their cameras not doing anything.
John: I’ve always wanted to do a nice DVD with a bunch of different camera angles, make it decent, ya know? Basically, you have to hire a crew and it just hasn’t happened yet. We have done some stuff with a couple people that was pretty good. And there’s plenty of shit on Youtube to check out, all they have to do is go to Youtube and they’ll find shit to keep them happy. So, there’s their DVD, go to Youtube. [laughs]
SDM: OK Since this is the first album that you are on, besides hopefully endorsements, what are your expectations for the future? What do you hope will happen?
Trey: Um, let me think about this for a second.
John: Is that the cue for a drink?
Trey: I just want whatever I do with Fetus to help them become more established and a better band. If drum endorsements come along, that’s great! Because honestly that’s less money out of my pocket. Not to say that anything is free, because I’ve dealt with similar situations. You’re using a product of somebody’s for promotional reasons. They’re giving it to you to promote their product, it’s not a one way street. You got to promote and you don’t necessarily get everything for free, and I know that. But honestly, I’m not worried about that. I just want Fetus to be a better band, and I hope that I can help make Fetus be better, if I can. Live the dream baby! Go out there and see the world!
John: Right!
SDM: Without plugging the new album or saying, “Come to our show”, any last thoughts?
John: Check out our new album, it’s called Descend Into Depravity.
Trey: I’d like to thank John, Sean and Mike Kimball for getting me in the band. I’d like to thank all my friends at home who have supported me over the years. And I’d like to encourage everyone to go out and pick up our new album when it comes out.
John: I told you not to say that! [laughs]
Trey: Well, what did you just do for ten minutes there?
John: I can still talk about it, you can’t.
Trey: Well then edit it out. [laughs] I’m going to get a beer. Oh, and Steve Bolognese from Into Eternity helped me get my cymbal deal with Sabian. Thanks! And I like pizza and beer.
Great! Let’s get a beer!
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