Theory of A Dead Man – 24-03-2010

Interview with: Dave
By: Nina Mende

Before the show I was meeting up with Theory Of A Deadman, or rather, with Dave, the guitar player of Theory Of A Deadman.

As we walked to the room where we would hold the interview we already started talking. Dave was wondering why my English is so good and where in the US I lived. So I told him that I lived in Idaho, not in Boise though but in Kooskia. Theory Of A Deadman is from Canada, so they know what it is like to live in the countryside, what it is like to live in the middle of nowhere. And also Idaho is close to Canada. Dave is from Vancouver, B.C.. He has always lived there and loves it there, and plans to always live there and maybe even retire there. Actually Dave is living only a few miles away from the US border, he said it’s only a two minute drive to the border. It takes Dave about two hours to drive to Seattle. We both agreed on that we like Seattle and that we like the West Coast more than the East Coast. Dave likes New York quite a lot though whereas I like Chicago more, because New York is too crowded for me. Dave agreed on that one and also said that he thinks that Chicago is a sort of mellower version of New York. Then we went on talking about LA. Dave likes the weather there (well, who doesn’t) but he also mentioned that he doesn’t like the people there. Everybody there seems to be acting or be in a band, everybody seems the same there. Also people there seem a little shallow and only be friends with you if you are useful to them but don’t really care for you as a person… I partially disagreed on that. Tyler, the singer of Theory Of A Deadman, is living in LA. Other than in LA it rains about 70 % of the time in Vancouver, B.C. but it doesn’t get too cold there. They didn’t have any snow throughout the entire winter.

As the guys started the tour they were in Sweden and there was snow all over. They didn’t get to go to Finland or Norway though. Unfortunately. Dave has never been to Sweden before so he enjoyed it. Dave would have loved to Finland as well though, because at the moment he has some friends there, hockey players from the Vancouver Canucks. They were there for the NHL. One of Dave’s friends is playing for Boston and he’s telling everybody in Finland about Theory Of A Deadman. Since all of the band members love hockey they try to meet as many hockey players as possible. For example they met Mikko Koivu. They got the bronze medal whereas Canada got gold. Canada just had to beat the US, Canada hockey is way too proud. We were sure that Sweden must have been quite disappointed because they didn’t get very far, same with Russia. There is a good German hockey player on the Canucks team: Christian Erhoff. But they also have many Swedes in their team. So obviously you can tell, Theory Of A Deadman love hockey and they always watch it. Dave also told me that when they are on tour in North America they have a PS3 and play hockey on there. They all play on the same team then and have a lot of fun. When playing on line they get screwed by 8year olds though. They still have to learn all the tricks from the kids.

Now I was asking about TOADM playing at the Olympics. They played right after the giving away of the medal for the best female snowboarder. An Australian girl won it, and two Americans. They gave it away and two minutes later they began to play. The cool thing about playing at the Olympics was that the band had the chance to be home for the Olympics. They wouldn’t have been if they didn’t play. But still the band didn’t get to see any of the Olympics live, all they saw of it was on TV. Dave was mostly interested in the hockey part anyway. Dave was very proud because the Canadians did so well this year. Many of his friends went out to the local bars to watch the Olympics. Everybody was out in the streets and the atmosphere was really great out there. A strong bond was there between all Canadians. They shut down the main street in Vancouver to play street hockey. It was a huge party and everybody was getting along. Dave didn’t know how they got to play at the Olympics though. Somebody asked them and they said yes, that’s all he knew.

Then we talked about the Crüe Fest tour. Dave told me that he found the worst part of the tour were the shows because they were all outdoor shows, playing during daytime and sunlight, it was hot as hell… Dave thinks that Rock’n’Roll is supposed to be played in dark clubs, smoky and gross. But the nights and parties were a lot of fun. Dave is sure he lost some years of life on that tour. So much drinking and smoking, it was a lot of fun in all these seven weeks throughout the USA.

After that I asked how they are doing in the USA, because in Canada I am sure they are doing pretty well. In the US they started to do pretty well by now. It took a long time, but with the third album now it seems to finally start working now. They built it up just like they are doing in Europe now: Playing little clubs with 300 to 500 people, meeting the fans afterwards and that over and over again to slowly build up a fanbase and be known by the people. It was a fulltime battle in the USA, in Canada it was not as hard. They are very happy to finally be doing that in Europe now. The European market is too big to be ignored so they just try to come back here over and over again and slowly work it. The people in Europe love live music and rock music. TOADM are willing to work hard and are never satisfied, they always want to be bigger and bigger. In Canada you basically tour for three weeks and you’ve played everywhere. Europe is so much bigger and there are so many different places to play at. Same in America. Then again it is nice to move away from North America for a while and try somewhere else. Right now this European tour costs TOADM a lot of money but they see it more as an investment into the band. They believe in themselves and in their music, that they are doing the right thing, so the guys are sure that someday this investment will pay off. The last time they’ve been in Europe was in 2002 to do 9 shows with 3 Doors Down, later that year they also played at Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park. Also last October they played some shows here, so it’s their fourth time. Dave personally loves Germany, he would also love to try to learn German. He tried once but by now he has forgotten all of it again because he hardly ever uses it. So far TOADM can see a slow growth in the clubs visitor wise.

So far TOADM doesn’t have any festivals planned, they would love to though. Once they are back in Canada after this tour they will start working on the new record after taking some weeks off. It’s been a long time for a new record, the last one is already 2 ½ years old. Dave doesn’t like to write new songs while still being on the road because the old stuff seems to be in your head so if you start writing while still on the road the new music might be sounding just like the old stuff. That’s why TOADM like to take some time off after touring to clear the minds and get a new set of thoughts before starting to write again. Another thing about writing stuff on the tour is that the record label will try to get you into the studio right away to work on the new stuff even though you are totally exhausted and would like to have some time off.

Now we talked about how to keep in touch with friends and family when being on the road. Dave said through email and phone he would keep in touch. But most of his friends and family have just gotten used to the fact that he is always gone for a while, and Dave is not a person that keeps in touch too close with anybody. From time to time he calls his Dad. Usually they are gone for 3 to 6 weeks, so it’s not a long time. This tour is 3 ½ weeks. During the last tour both of Dave’s brother’s wives had kids, so yeah, you miss out on a lot of crazy things while not being on the road. TOADM are never gone for like 6 months straight or something, even though sometimes it feels like it. But usually they try to get a week off in between to get some time at home. Now that the bass player Dean has a baby for a little over a year now, they try to shorten the tours and give themselves more time off. So they are looking forward to work on the new album because then they get to be home more. Dave loves touring though and wouldn’t mind to be on the road constantly. Of course he likes to be home and do something, to watch hockey and such.

In these eight years of band history the lives of them have changed completely. Dave was 22 when it all began. Dave feels like his life at home has been put on pause. He sees his friends getting “normal” jobs and being “stuck” in their hometowns, having kids and moving into houses. Dave is nowhere near that because his focus has been a completely different one. Touring and home becomes two different lives. In these eight or nine years he has maybe been home for three years. When being home he misses being on the road. Of course he likes to be at home, but after a while you just miss being home. He is looking forward to be playing some festivals in the summer. Dave caught a cold here in Europe because of the weather and the little sleep, always yelling over the top of the music in the clubs and such. Dave tries to maintain an 80% rather than being 100% one day and 50% the other.

Ever since the beginning Dave’s dream was to make a living out of music, and he can do that now. Of course it is not millions of $ but better than any shitty job. He gets to travel a lot and meet different bands, play music with his band and be out there. Of course is it hard to leave behind your life at home and being gone all the time. It is weird when you come home and all the sudden there is new streetlights or anything. But it is nice when you see everybody being stuck at where they’re back home. You’re glad to be able to get out of that. Dave mostly lives in the moment and doesn’t plan ahead a lot. He gets an email that tells him where and when to get on a plane. Dave never missed a plane though. His Dad is always early and takes him to the airport in time.
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That was the interview with Dave of Theory Of A Deadman. As we were closing he mentioned how much he likes these kinds of interviews that are more a conversation than an actual question answer game. He mentioned that in America no interviews would be like that and that here in Europe people are much more interested in the real you. I hope you guys out there like these kinds of interviews as much as we enjoy doing them.

I thank Dave for his time and for all his answers. It was a really nice chat and a great interview.

Links:
Theory of A Dead Man MySpace
Theory of A Dead Man Official