E: Dallas, you're a guitarist for Greeley Estates, which is a Phoenix band that's been tearing up the hardcore scene. With all the great action that we've been seeing from out of Arizona lately, do you think the state is on its way to becoming a centerpoint for music the way locations like California or New Jersey have been?
Dallas: In the time that we've been a band, Arizona's gone from no scene at all to a music hotspot. Really good bands just seem to be popping up left and right here. We're proud to be a part of it. As far as comparing the AZ scene to New Jersey or California, I think the quality of bands is similar, but the difference is that music is such a bigger part of the culture on the east and west coasts. Being in the middle, it's harder to get people to care. This can be seen in the fact that there's only two or three decent places to play left in Arizona. Venues are closing left and right for some reason. Hopefully there'll still be places to play for when the interest in music matches the quality of bands in Phoenix.
E: Do you think the sound and style among Arizonan bands stays pretty consistent within that region?
Dallas: I'd like to think the scene is versatile here. We're kind of a melting pot of different influences. You hear bands like Hidden In Plain View and Senses Fail that have a similar vibe to them since the bands grew up in the same area--New Jersey and such--and were influenced by the same bands. And the scene there has evolved in a way that some of the newer bands coming up out of there sound a lot like these bands. When talking about the Arizona bands attracting national attention, I'd definitely say that we're all in the same genre. But I wouldn't say there's one particular style of music where people can hear any of us and say, "Oh, they're probably from Arizona."
E: Has it taken conscious, working effort to write music that doesn't fit into the day-in-day-out style of today's hardcore?
Dallas: Basically we write stuff that's interesting to us and that, if we weren't in the band, we'd enjoy listening to. We don't worry too much about anything else.
E: Do you think your particular style of music produces a more intense live show than some other forms?
Dallas: It's pretty obvious that a Greeley Estates show is gonna be more intense than a Yanni concert. By the same token, there's a world of difference in the energy level of shows between bands in our genre. Some bands choose to plant themselves on a certain point on stage and occasionally nod their heads while playing the most ridiculously intense music you've ever heard, and others who have not so crazily insane music that go insane onstage and make for an entertaining show. I think we're more of the latter, but we try to find the balance between going absolutely apewild on stage and still playing the music well. We love the music we play and we love the people we get to play it for, and hopefully that shows in our live performance.
E: Is it hard to keep up a powerful performance night after night when you're performing on an almost nonstop tour like you'll be on with Warped this summer? Do you ever feel an energy level drop due to pure redundancy and weariness?
Dallas: Sometimes it gets hard, especially late in a long tour, but for some reason, when we start to play, the energy is always there. It's hard to explain, but if the crowd is into the show, singing along, and going crazy, all the fatigue and stuff just goes away for the 30 minutes or so we get to play for them. Of course after we're done, there's copious amounts of vomiting and we pass out, but we think it's worth it. *Laughs*
E: Is the energy contained within a real live show the same as what you feel when you simply play a song at practice with the band? Or do other factors create a difference?
Dallas: I think fans definitely have 100% to do with our energy level at shows. Our practices are basically like going to work. We take our practice time seriously. Basically we view it as the time when we get good enough at playing our songs that we can just enjoy ourselves playing them at shows and go all out. Energy level is low at practice but through the roof at shows.
E: What are the benefits of performing a song live before it is ever put to record? Is this a practice you've done yourselves as a band?
Dallas: Playing new songs at shows is a good way to get practice and get feedback on new material. Fans like 'em because they feel like they're the first to hear new music. We've done this in the past and we played "Don't Look Away" for 3 months live before we were finally able to record it. The only problem with new songs is that they KILL the energy of your set. Fans like to go crazy to songs they know and can sing along with. We've found that too many new songs are a bad idea live. We chose not to play "Y'all With The Vampire Squad" and "Life's A Garden" live until after they were recorded and put online and kids had access to them. We post all our lyrics on our website, and it's amazing how many kids know the new songs already. Craziness.
E: What opportunities does the band lifestyle present to you that really sets it apart from any other job you could dream of having?
Dallas: We get to play music we love every day to people who actually want to hear it! What could be better?
E: Well thanks a whole lot for doing the interview!
Dallas: Anytime. I'd just like to add that we have a DVD coming out on May 7th that'll be available on smartpunk.com called "The Death of Greeley Estates." You can see the whole energy thing for yourself there. Basically it's called "The Death of Greeley Estates" since when people see the video and the tour footage and see what dorks we are, it'll be the death of our band. *Laughs* |
