Interview: Dishwalla

Let’s face it gang—these days there’s just too damn much music to keep up. And let’s face the fact that a lot of it is not even worth keeping up with anyway. What are we really after? I can sum it up in one word … originality. The discs I listen to the most are the ones that are different. Ya, I listen to the same crap we all do but the stuff I really dig is the stuff that has a unique twist, Mark Lanegan, Sky Cries Mary and my newest favorite—Dishwalla. Let’s talk about Dishwalla.

This is a band that can be compared to no one I am aware of. Look people, I’m a busy college kid, I don’t have time to be chasing bands around our fine city and I don’t have time to be interviewing and reviewing bands for SLUG Magazine. Why do I do it then, you ask? Because ever since October when I first heard these Santa Barbara surfer boys, I have ached to see them live. I make time for the occasional band that completely blows me away and with the help of an influential cousin, I had the privilege of chatting with a very down to earth, J.R. Richards, lead singer for Dishwalla. In the relaxed atmosphere of The Bar & Grill, here’s how it went:

SLUG: How do you like Utah?

J.R.: It’s great. I love Utah.

SLUG: This is what, your second time playing SLC?

J.R.: Ya, second time.

SLUG: How do you like touring?

J.R.: I love it. The playing part is great and I basically hang out with my friends all day … I kind of miss family and friends back home.

SLUG: The thing that really struck me about your guys right from the start was your unique sound. These days there’s so many bands that have a generic sound. What have you guys done to avoid that?

J.R.: Well, I think that it helps having guys in the band that have a lot of different things that they’re into. Part of the problem, I think, is that bands get together to write music and they all listen to the same things.

SLUG: What are your personal music influences?

J.R.: I grew up listening to British techno ya know, Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, stuff like that. I like Queen and The Cars, too.

SLUG: What do the other guys listen to?

J.R.: George and Rodney were into heavier stuff, although I know Rodney has a soft spot for Duran Duran. A lot of random stuff. Scott really likes old school funk, too and so everybody tries to work their scene into the song.

SLUG: How do you do that?

J.R.: Well, what it’s ended up doing is making the songs … they have a lot of contrast basically. To appease everyone’s musical tastes you have like a kind of groovy, soft part and then a little heavier part and then a really textual part and we use lots of loops in there. We try to make it so all those things are happening together in one tune rather than writing a separate song for each idea.

SLUG: Does everybody contribute lyrics?

J.R.: No, it’s all me.

SLUG: What’s your main motivation for writing music? Is it like Henry Rollins says, “Poor man’s therapy”?

J.R.: Ya, a little but a lot of it is just observation. A lot of it really isn’t that heavy and then some of it is.

SLUG: What’s the song “Moisture” about?

J.R.: It’s about a relationship I was in where I wasn’t getting anything in return and after awhile it’s like you get to a point where you have something in return to survive: like you need water or moisture to survive.

SLUG: That song “Counting Blue Cars,” there’s a line that says, “… Tell me all your thoughts on God, ‘cause I’d really like to meet her.” What’s that about?

J.R.: It’s less a statement about God but more a statement about how society tends to give anything of major importance a male gender as opposed to a female gender. I just think it is kind of unfair. Especially with someone like God that probably doesn’t even have a gender anyway … I just question why we are so male dominated.

After the interview, I sat and chatted with Scot, Rodney and J.R. as they ate pasta and green salad. George, the man in charge of the skins and the sticks, was shooting pool. With their talent and creativity, they all have an attitude, the cool thing is that they don’t. The Bar & Grill was on fire until 2 am and Dishwalla smoked us. Some of these guys have been playing together since they were 14 and it showed. Their stage presence was amazing and their energy was contagious as hell. I, personally, was in a frenzy all night. If you want something new, trust me, Dishwalla is what you need. They reek of originality! Buy Pet Your Friends and don’t miss seeing these guys in a small club. Every time they come back, they’ll be playing a bigger place. I guarantee it. I’m signing off until the next show worth skipping school for. 

Read more Archive Interviews here:
Interview: Son Volt
A Few Words from Spacehog