Q: What inspirations came to you while creating the ” The Devil in a Dress ” album?
Well while I was writing the album I was going through a lot in my life. Left a job id been at since I was a teen. Had a break up with a long-term partner. Some family stuff was going on. So a lot of those feelings went into the record. If anything it just inspired me to write more and more every day.
The Devil in a Dress
Q: If you could choose, which song on your new album means the most to you, and why?
There’s a song on there dedicated to my late Grandmother. She passed during the time I was really finding myself in the music scene and it really affected me. Made me think about my place in not just the scene but my place writ large.
Q: Hey, how would you describe your sound to someone who’s not heard your music before?
I’m really bad at answering this question haha. When I was writing and recording it I was listening to a lot of the clash and joy division. I can hear those bands in some ways when I listen to the devil in a dress.
Q: When did you realize that you wanted to become a musician?
I was fairly young. Like a lot of artists in this part of the country, I was really active in the church growing up. And the non-stop recruiting from the various church choirs made me think maybe I could be a musician. But the combination of joining the band in 7th grade and finally seeing someone play guitar at church camp cemented it forever. I finally found something people told me I was good at, and I really loved playing.
Q: What inspires you the most to write your songs?
I have a hard time writing if I don’t feel emotional about the subject matter. Be it a personal situation, political situation, or if I’m just drunk with some friends having a good time. I’ve got to be invested in the thing that inspired me if that makes any sense.
Q: Who would be your ultimate dream collaboration with, and why?
Probably Anthony Raneri the singer of Bayside. I think he’s such a brilliant songwriter and musician. I actually have a couple of tattoos inspired by some of their pieces.
Someone who is probably a bit more stylistically similar is Tom May from the Menzingers. I absolutely fell in love with that band. Every song speaks to me in some way or another. I think some of the lyrics on TDIAD were pretty heavily influenced by them as well.
Q: If there’s one song from your catalog that you wish everyone in the world could listen to, which one would it be?
Actually, that song isn’t out yet haha. It’s going to be on the follow-up to this record. It’s called “Out”. I did that record with my brothers Trey and Sam from our band V-8 Death Car.
If I had to pick one from The Devil In A Dress id probably have to say Field of Daisies. I’m immensely proud of that song. I wrote, performed, and recorded this album by myself, So the 5 part vocal harmony on that song was particularly difficult haha. And it was quite a departure from my normal writing style.
Q: What do you have planned for the year ahead?
This year I am going to be releasing my second solo record. It’s a full-concept album I wrote myself. I did the recording with my brothers Trey and Sam. Trey came through like a champion and played most of the guitars on the spot. We didn’t rehearse at all before the studio. And Sam did the all production and the orchestration, As well as some of the bits of guitar Trey didn’t have time to play. And I’ll be going into the laboratory to bang out the third record this summer!
