interview with
r e dDeatah bynStpereoalm Zebrahead and
I h ad the ch ance to interview Dan Palm er ab out ju gglin g b ein g in two b and s, and got talkin g ab out so mu ch m ore. Hu ge th ank s to Dan for takin g tim e out b efore a gig to grab a drink with m e. It turne d into a lot of l au gh s. Hi Dan, got my phone on I think… Testing Testing Testing 123 (Laughing) Haha I was wondering how you juggle being two bands with all the tours and practice etc. It is sometimes a little hard but I figure it out, you know right now with Zebrahead (pronounced ZEEEbrahead) we have a little downtime with tours and we are actually writing a new record and the tour with DBS is only 12 days so I thought ok I can be gone for 12 days so I’ve did that and it was easy. ZH has not been touring much at all, we do a couple of shows now and then, so that is easier. And SW! (Laughing) So when you are writing, is it as a group? Yeah well what we do is go a few different ways, recently in the studio it was just been Ben and I as the others have been
so busy. So Ben and I get the BPM’s, the clicks on the ProTools whatever and write music to it. So we throw ideas back and forward and we have been doing that lately. There are also times where we all get together and get in the same room and write and I much rather prefer that as it is way easier. Is it more pop punk this album do you think? Ah a bit of both, a combination of things, we’ve been writing so much new material, what we are going to do is sift through it and work out whatever is best. Yeah SP do that, they wrote 90 songs for their last album. Yeah that is insane. Most of what we write won’t make it but it is fun writing anyway, like you might write a good part of a new song and that past of the song is great but then you find another part of a different song that is better, you know
what I mean? Then we kinda mix and match. We do that with lyrics and melodies too. So what do you two bands have in common? Well we all like to party! Yeah I had picked up on that! We all like to hang around the stage and drink a lot. Well you have a barman on stage….. Yeah we do! So is Marc your manager? He is our tour manager yeah. Yeah I noticed he was playing in another band in America at the moment. Yeah he plays guitar in a band called Patent Pending. OK, oh with Jaret from Bowling for Soup? His band People on Vacation? Oh they were on tour together but not this time.
Recently you were here on Soundwave, what were you highlights? Other than meeting me of course. Well that is it! Conversation over, no more to say! (Laughing) I loved the acoustic set that you played at the tent. Oh yeah the tent! We did one at the tattoo shop as well. That’s right I could not make that one as I was working. So you have some real die hard Zebrahead fans here. Yeah we do! I’ve seem quite a few of them on this tour which is kinda cool, it was fun seeing them again and hanging out and having drinks with them. So do you have the same for Death by Stereo, like fan group? No not really the fans are a lot less organised that say Callum from ZH Australia.
So touring wise, are there any countries that you have not been to yet that you want to go? Yeah I want to go to Brazil, we have been to a few countries in South America but never Brazil, I want to go to Cuba as well, I want to go where they don’t have McDonalds, I want to go to Thailand, Indonesia. The only country I don’t want to go to is Antarctica. Yeah that is fair. Metallica did a concert down there. Yeah that’s right, no way I would! What do you think of The Voice, The X Factor, do you think that there is a future for music in what you do or will it become just winners of comps? What you mean rockbands? No like winners of the shows. Well what can you do. People are going to watch it if the ratings are high, if the ratings go down then they won’t make any money then they will stop. I am watching The Voice as I really like Joel Madden, that is the only reason I am watching it…… Ha perfect…. Have you got any advice for the bands that are starting out and struggling to get exposure? Yeah stop playing and go back to college!
(Laughing). Keep playing, I think a lot of bands perform before they are ready and put out records before they are ready, I guess because technology makes it so easier. I mean you can record at home and put it out but my advice is to make sure of yourself before putting it out. There are so many bands out there and that first impression is everything. If you put out a crappy first record why would anyone listen to your second? So make sure your first record is the best that you could put out. That is great advice! People’s attenand I at the tion span’s Dan is so small these days, if they don’t like what they hear in 30 seconds they jump to something else. It is easier to move around so that makes it a little harder. So what bands do you have the most fun touring with? We have done so many tours with Less Than Jake, I
love those guys. Yeah they are great! The side wave in Melbourne was one of the best concerts I’ve been to, I mean Bowling for Soup are one if my favourite bands so with ZH and LTJ it was a perfect concert for me. I really enjoying hanging out with them. We are going to do lots more tours with them. It seems like every show we play is with Less Than Jake.
Have you done anything with Reel Big Fish? Yeah we just did a huge tour of the UK with them with also Less Than Jake! They are super nice dudes. Yeah they were at Warped and I got to meet them they were lovely. Funny guys. If you could pick one song, any song in the world that you could of written what song would that be? Final Count Down. Interesting, most people say oh I don’t know can I think about that one?? It is the world’s greatest song!
In regards to e interview Simple Plan, have you ever met them? Yep! I can remember where but we did Warped Tour with them in 2002 and met them at the gym, they were working out, they are really nice guys.
Anything else you can tell us about meeting Simple Plan? Yeah I know that David hires Ferrari’s in the towns that he goes to and drives them around, that is pretty cool. How long did it take to grow your moustache? 4 or 5 years now. I trim it and stuff. Now I am stuck with it. Does it drive you mad? No not at all. It keeps my upper lip really warm. It is a lip sweater. Do you do anything like music management? I like to help other bands write music, like jamming and stuff, I like to play guitar solos on other peoples songs, I don’t care who it is!
Dan and I at the interview Do you like their music? Yeah I do. Fav song? Ummmm Final countdown? NO A SIMPLE PLAN SONG! Haha well track 6. Of which album? Um… Album 5? No 4. Good as there is no album 5! (Laughing - think the drinks we were having were taking effect)
So thanks Dan, that is pretty much it! Thanks for your time and catching up for a drink with me. Hope the show goes well tonight.
The entire tour went really well for Death By Stereo however the Tour Promoter never paid them for their time out here as promised. You can watch here the video of their response when they found out.
danfapctalfimle er So I am going to do a fact file on you, so can you tell me the following:
Sports you like: Basketball and American football.
What team? Minnesota Vikings, my childhood team. Basketball the LA Lakers.
Fav drink? Whatever you are buying!
Favourite Food? Pizza, no Kangaroo Meatpies. YUK! Did you have a meatpie floater in Adelaide? What is that? It is a meat pie in pea and ham soup. It is disgusting. No, sounds amazing! Well no it is not!
What do you do to relax? I go to the gym a lot to burn off the pizza and kangaroo meat pies. It is a good balance, burn off all the calories that I drink.
Favourite band? Van Halen and David Lee Roth
Favourite song? Well I know that one, Final Countdown (Dan hums the song)
Favourite TV show? I don’t watch much TV, I like comedy, let’s skip that one!
Tattoos? I have 2. I know that you have a new one… Well I can’t show you that one here…. In this location…..That is one of my fav new tattoos, I am really happy my mum is so proud of that. Yeah I bet she is….. I also have one of a guy playing guitar on my calf.
You can look up the bands that Dan is in here: Death by Stereo Zebrahead
Death by Stereo Zebrahead