You can keep up with Andy here:
www.myspace.com/seeyounexttuesday
www.myspace.com/thefiresidewake
Music has always been an integral part of my life. My dad plays guitar and is a big Beatles fan. He grew up listening to Cream, SRC, CCR… all that good stuff. My mom used to play drums (long before us kids were born) and we always had her kit laying around. It was one of those Ludwig Bowling Ball Beatles Kits from the 60s or 70s. So I was pretty much always surrounded by musical equipment.
My oldest brother took drum lessons growing up so I could always hear him practicing and playing with friends. I started playing guitar at the age of 7 and continue to do so in my spare time to this day. I think the first riff I ever learned was Rolling Stone’s “Satisfaction.” [laughs] I didn’t start playing drums till I was in the 6th or 7th grade when I started playing percussion in grade school and junior high. All I wanted to do was fuck around on the drum kit at school. I wasn’t so much interested in anything else but did enjoyed playing the timpani’s. I had no idea what I was actually doing with drums, I just liked to kick some beats around. Back then it was my goal to get my limbs to act independently of each other so I could play stuff off of Rage Against The Machine’s “Evil Empire.” That Hip-hop kinda drum style was what I first start expirimenting with as opposed to now where what I play is mostly metal, obviously, and jazz. I have quite a ways to go yet.
I played guitar and sang in my first band Can’t Think To Breathe. We were more or less a Smashing Pumpkins / Far / Hum influenced indie Space Rock band. We played some gigs throughout the course of a year or so and then just kinda went on to other things after we graduated High School. Then about a year later, my friend Bear (our vocalist), gave me a call one day and told me that Drew’s (guitarist) old band was calling it quits and he was looking to start a new band and needed a drummer. They knew I had a kit, a PA, and a place to practice so they tried me out. The intent was to do something along the lines of our common tastes of Coalesce, Converge, The Red Chord, Fantomas, and Dillinger Escape Plan.
When we first started the band, I really sucked at drums. No joke. I couldn’t even do running double kick, but I had an innate sense of tempo from playing guitar for so many years, so they stuck with me cause at the very least I was keeping up and keeping the timing of the songs consistant. As Drew’s guitar writing got more complex, my playing had to as well. Anytime I said “I can’t play that” Drew would interject and say “well too bad, cause you’re gonna do it till you get it.” Thank god for that. He really pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of. That pretty much brings us up to speed. Bear, Drew, and I are all original members of the band, with Travis Martin now playing bass, and it’s easily the best times of our lives.
I will continue to write music on guitar and record everything for my solo project. Perhaps eventually if schedules permit and I find other interested musicians, I may start up a live version of my songs where I’d play guitar live as opposed to drums. Or hell, maybe I’ll do both! Anything that prolongs getting a 9 to 5 bullshit cubicle job. [laughs] I’d like to eventually put out some solo records as well.
Andy Dalton Interview:
SD.com: How old were you when you started playing?
Andy: Well, technically I started playing drums when I got my first half assed ludwig kit that my mom bought for me off of a family friend when I was about 13. I didn’t get serious about playing drums untill I was 19 (I’m 21 currently) in February of 2004 when we started up See You Next Tuesday.
SD.com: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Andy: Yep, as I said, I played in the percussion section in junior high. My teacher wasn’t really a good director as far as drums go. He played coronet and I’m pretty sure he had no idea what to do with a drum set. It was still a good expirience for me since I got to mess around on a drum kit during school hours. I remember cutting out early during recess to go play drums hah hah.
SD.com: Ever take any lessons?
Andy: Unfortunately, no. I have no formal training. I’ve watched some videos including Thomas Lang’s DVD, and have frequent conversations with the drum teacher at my local music shop. I pretty much just wing it and get better by playing different beats in context with the music we write. I was always more of a guitar player than a drummer and just played enough drums to get me by to help me write the music I was writing for my old band and what has now become my “solo project.” I still do my solo stuff when I have time, but See You Next Tuesday is definately my main priority. But metal or grind or whatever you wanna call us is in no way the only type of music I listen to.
SD.com: Who are your top 5 influences?
Andy: My top 5 influences would have to start with my guitar player Drew. He’s always pushed me harder than anyone else to accomplish things I didn’t think were possible for me. Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan was a HUGE influence on me. Infact, he’s the only reason I ever wanted to play drums in a crazy loud fast technical band in the first place! He made it sound lke so much fun. Calculating Infinity came out when I was a Freshman in High School and it really turned my world upside down. Jimmy Chamberlin of Smashing Pumpkins is hands down the most creative drummer I’ve ever heard. He doesn’t even look like he’s trying at all when he plays! His fills are always all over the place and his ideas are only comparable to my next influence: Elvin Jones. Considering the time frame hewas in, he’s just unbeatable ‘cept maybe by Buddy Rich. Elvin’s work on John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” blew me away the first time I heard it, especially considering that entire album was cut in a mere 4 hours! Other than that, my final influence would be Bryan St. Pere from the band Hum. It’s not that what he did was so amazing or groundbreaking or anything, but his playing was just so appropriate in the context of their band that I can’t help but be amazed by it still. I’ve been listening to the albums for 10 years now and it still sounds as fresh as it did the first time I heard it.
SD.com: Assuming that influences doesn’t mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Andy: Some of my favorite bands, and drummers of said bands, include Chris Robyn of Far, Abe Cunningham of Deftones, Jimmy Chamberlain of Smashing Pumpkins and The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, Bryan St. Pere of Hum, Dave Grohl, Chris Pennie, whatever the guy’s name is from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jon Bonham, Keith Moon, Tim Dow of Shiner and Year Of The Rabbit, Brann Dailor, Elliott Smith (for just being an all around amazing musician/songwriter), The Beatles, and John Stanier of early Helmet and now Tomahawk.
SD.com: Let us know 5 CD’s that are in your current rotation
Andy:
Hum – Downward is Heavenward, and You’d Prefer an Astronaut
Daughters – Hell Songs
Deftones – Around The Fur
Burning Cities – 1111
Radiohead – Okcomputer
Foo Fighters – Colour & The Shape
oops… I guess that’s 7.
SD.com: Can you remember a night you think was your best playing ever? If yes, when and where?
Andy: I can’t say I recall a specific night that I played better than others. But I do remember being really on top of my game throughout most of the DIY East Coast Tour we did in May of ’06.
SD.com: Do you have a favorite brand of drums or cymbals?
Andy: Currently, I’m playing a clear Vistalite Blue drum kit that me and a friend of mine put together from scratch, scrapping pieces from my old Yamaha Stage Custom that I used for the first year and a half of the band. It sounds amazing. It’s a 10″, 12″, 18″ tom set up with a 22″ kick and a 13″ soprano Mapex birdseye maple snare. For cymbals I generally stick to Paiste and Zildjian. Though I don’t have a particular brand preference, I just go by my ear and what sounds good. Hell, I’ve even used those 30 dollar Wuhan 18″ Chinas before just cause they sound so damn nasty. For heads, I use Aquarian Super Kick III on my kick. And then I use the Evans EC2s on everything else cause they’re probably the best drum head out there right now. For my snare I usually use something coated and double ply, usually an Evans G2. And as far as sticks go, I haven’t used anything other than Vader Power 5As in the last 3 years. They’re the perfect weight and thickness for me and they’re pretty durable considering how hard I play sometimes.
SD.com: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Andy: After I set my kit up, I usually just stretch out my arms, fingers, legs, and go for a short walk or jog just to get my blood flowing. Then I make sure I wash my hands really well. I hate touching drum sticks that have dirt and gunk all over them. It makes everything all sticky and I can’t play as well.
SD.com: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Andy: I’m not much of an advice giver, but the thing that worked for me is to just continually keep playing things that you know you’re not capable of playing untill you get it. Spend a day just coming up with weird beats. Start off slow and then once you’re comfortable with it, play it faster and faster and eventually everything will just become second nature and you’ll be able to play your beats all over the kit with your eyes closed. The most important thing is to set your drum kit up so that it feels most comfortable to you. There’s no right or wrong way to do something as long as it sounds good. Your ears are the ultimate deciding factor. If you don’t like something, get better, or change something. If someone else doesn’t like what you’re doing, that’s just too damn bad. You are your own judge.
SD.com: Who gave the best live performance you’ve ever seen?
Andy: Best live sound I’ve ever heard was from Helmet. They were so loud and Page Hamilton had 2 VHT full stacks along with shit tons of outboard gear. Best performance was probably Radiohead. I saw them twice and it was probably the most elaborate stage & lighting set up I’d ever seen. But my favorite performance was being able to see Hum live. They’re my favorite band in the universe and me and some friends drove 17 hours to see them at their reunion show at Furnace Fest in the summer of 2003 in Alabama.
SD.com: If you had to stop drumming, what would you want to do with your life?
Andy: If I had to stop drumming, I’d dedicate all that time to guitar playing and recording other bands and running a recording studio. I love to record music and mess around with home recording. Hence my solo stuff on www.myspace.com/thefiresidewake. It’s pretty lo-fi but I make due with the materials that surround me. Aside from playing music, I’d like to have a wife and kids one day when I’m responsible enough and financially secure.
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