Pygmalion Local Focus: Interview with My Dad
With the upcoming show at Error Records this Friday, as well as all of Pygmalion fast approaching, Dave Collis of My Dad took some time to sit down and answer some questions amidst all the hubbub and commotion.MC: So, I have to ask.....two drummers??
DC: Before Stunts (our first album) came out, we just had one drummer (Nnamdi). The idea for two drummers was originally supposed to just be a one-off special performance for the Stunts album release show back in March of 2012. The show went so well that we decided to keep doing it. Now we regularly play with three, even though for this tour we'll only be playing with two at Pygmalion.
MC: How did My Dad come to be?
DC: It originally started back in 2009 as a solo ambient project under the name "Koyaanisqatsi", which is taken from an 80's art film that Philip Glass scored. From mid 2010 to late 2011, the project slowly turned into a full band and changed it's name to My Dad (because who the hell knows how to spell Koyaanisqatsi, and if they do, they'll only find the movie online). On all the current releases, I (Dave) played pretty much every instrument (besides Bobby from Cloakroom/Native who played bass on the last 7"), but recently we recorded a session for Chicago Singles Club and that was the first recording of new material with the full band.
MC: What's the story behind the band name?
DC: Like stated before, My Dad was just a simpler band name than Koyaanisqatsi. It's also just a joke started a while ago between our bassist Aaron and I. Jokes like "Hey man, are you going to see My Dad play tonight?" or "Dude man bro, did you hear the new 7" by My Dad?" Basically we're dumb and we have a dumb band name.
MC: Tell us about the music, who are some of your influences? Where do you get your inspiration from?
DC: As a band, we get our influences from artists like Tera Melos, Make Believe, Prince, Piglet, Converge, The Shaggs, Butthole Surfers, Don Caballero, Fat History Month, and many more all over the place. I'd say the band was originally influenced by Don Caballero and Do Make Say Think, but our music has definitely transformed into a wilder beast over the past year since the line up has solidified.
MC: I remember seeing you guys play Black Sheep back in March, what's changed since then?
DC: That Black Sheep show was so rad! We got added onto that show extremely last minute (the night before) and we're playing there again 2 days after our Pygmalion show. Since that show, we've released a split 7" with Fat History Month on Exploding in Sound Records, Broken World Media and Ranch Records. We've added a 3rd drummer to our line up, and in August we toured the east coast and Canada. We've always been semi-busy, but now we're turning our small goals into bigger things. Like figuring out how to play a show with Outkast.
MC: You guys come from Chicago, what's the scene like up there?
DC: Chicago is awesome. You can be into hardcore, emo/screamo, hip hop, garage rock, noise, post-rock, avant rock or whatever you desire, and you will find it here with an awesome group of people supporting it. I've seen a wide variety of bands in Chicago, and the underlining factor is desire to keep the scene going and help out bands in need.
MC: Are any of you in other projects?
DC: I play in Old F**k, Sword Swallower, and a couple other bands that are still in the developmental stage. Aaron use to play in this band Sharpless, but now he's a professional hand model. Brennan plays in Atalanta and Bbaatbifffs. Smyth plays in Water House and Nervous Passenger, and Nnamdi plays in Water House, Nervous Passenger, Itto, Love of Everything, The Para-Medics and many more.
MC: Have you played the Champaign-Urbana area before?
DC: This will be the 3rd time that My Dad has played in Champaign-Urbana. In early 2012 we played the IMC, early 2013 we played The Velvet Elvis, and on Friday we will be playing Error Records. It's always been great. I love CU and the bands there, and I'm especially stoked to play Error Records.
MC: What's the craziest show you've ever played?
DC: There's two shows that stick out as the craziest. When we played in Kansas City earlier this year, we played in a shed/barn in the backyard of these crusty dudes' house. The floor of the barn was just dirt, so all our gear was all sorta uneven and lopsided. Because of the great response from the crowd, we decided to do a last minute Weezer cover, which turned the crowd into a frenzy and kicked up a ton of dirt. Really weird but fun. The 2nd show that comes to mind was Soybomb in Toronto. That was probably the best show we've ever played. Dudes moshing as we played in the middle of a half pipe. I slipped on some spilled beer in the middle of a song. Nnamdi ran all over the half pipe. Just insane. I love Toronto.
MC: I understand you guys have a few weekend tours planned, what are you most looking forward to about that?
DC: Weekend tours are an easy way of playing semi regularly without having to take off work or miss school. Four of the five band members including me are currently in school, so we pretty much only can do weekend tours during the school semesters. In the summer we can do a lot more touring, but this is all our schedules permit right now. 2014 will bring a lot more touring, but for now weekend tours are the way to go.
MC: What are you most looking forward to about Pygmalion? As in what bands, what shows, anything else about the festival in general?
DC: We'll only be in Champaign on Friday for our show. I REALLY want to go see Metz after our set. They rip.
Catch My Dad this Friday night, September 27, at their show with Lord Snow, Smoke Coke, and Old Fox Road. It'll be off the chain.
