dredg - VISIONS mag scans [2002 & 2005]

[Clockwork4168]

p.m.

got it 8)

[zah]

Again, you 2 are awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[apenguininthedesert]

I wouldn't... Pink Floyd are a bity overrated... but somehow, I doubt he thinks that...

he isn't the first to wear that shirt....in the rock n' roll kind of way...

[lcfranklin]

I wouldn't... Pink Floyd are a bity overrated... but somehow, I doubt he thinks that...

same guy that thinks finger eleven is a good band

[futuresmydesign]

re: dredg - VISIONS mag scans [2002 & 2005]

Here is the translated article

.:. Visions 08/2005 .:. No. 149 .:.

(provided as pdf-file in order to facilitate download/print out)

http://www.sandra-fielitz.de/dredg.html

Just click on the photo and

Enjoy!

Sandra

.:. shortcut .:. http://www.sandra-fielitz.de/visions149_translation.pdf .:. for the impatient .:.

[zah]

Sandra: Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're awesome . Your time and energy are much appreciated. I'm gonna go give it a read in a bit.

Thanks again!

[Clockwork4168]

thanks a lot sandra! I really like how you typed everything neatly and got it in a pdf.

[zah]

A little bit later, a DJ makes music. It is dark. People dance or sit and watch what’s going on. Mark disengages from the masses, sits down.

1 - "How are things going?"
Mark - "Shit."
1 - "Why? People listened to you and you have
played better than yesterday."

Mark says nothing for a long time.

Mark - "Yes, people have listened, and we played better. But which standards are these? This damn pressure! It is so fucking frustrating! You spend your days waiting, 23 hours. You sit in the bus, talk nonsense, give interviews, kill time, and the only thing that you really have is the show. And the show was good today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday. Do you get it? Good. We just cannot do the best everyday, and burst the whole hall. We have sound problems, we are jetlagged, and everyone expects something special, because this is what some see in us. We are glad about this, but in the end, we are not more than just a rock band. Please understand this, finally!" Mark stares into the silhouettes. "Led Zeppelin also sounded way rougher live than on their albums. It is not that we would ever compare ourselves with them, but some have never understood how this band worked! That they were loved because they always did their own thing. Always." He rolls up his right sleeve and a maybe 10 centimetres long and 5 centimetres broad mixture between an abrasion and a laceration can be seen on his arm. "At least no one can say that we are not trying it."

He gets up and disappears in the crowd.

[Knifeboy]

Sandra, you're awesome!

Great interview.. I laughed at the part where Mark apologises for Spitshine and Matroshka, haha

[amitface]

That's an awesome interview! Thanks for translating, Sandra!

Curious about the new album idea they're talking about in there.. sounds interesting

[psycadelic]

re: dredg - VISIONS mag scans [2002 & 2005]

damn, you really spent some work on this. i'm gonna need a few more days cuz of my boring business economy study. and my translation won't be nearly as good as yours. how comes that your english is so perfect?

[futuresmydesign]

re: dredg - VISIONS mag scans [2002 & 2005]

The article is really great, isn't it. It is not the 'usual blabla' that many other interviews present. The author was able to catch the mood and looked deeper, under the surface, if you want. At some points, when he describes what the 4 are doing, I can almost see them in my mind... with their facial expressions and everything.

@Amy:
The part that you quoted touched me deeply... I think it says a lot. You know, I often asked myself how they can deal with all that pressure and where they get their energy from. I mean, when do they have time for themselves? For how long have they been touring now? And still, if you look at them, they have their open, friendly smiles & faces... I must say that I admire them for that (and for many other things as well). They really seem to love what they do, and even if things get rough, they hold on to their dreams. They have all my respect...

One funny anecdote I'd like to share: That Sunday evening, I met with a good friend of mine and we 'indulged our common passion' - which is eating PIZZA!!! LOL!!! Well, however, for this I had to drive into the city, and on my way there I passed along that 'Universal' building - you remember the interview? When Drew looked up the building and said that the blue sign on the building certainly cost more than their whole career... So, I drove along that building, looked up at that sign, too, and in my mind's eye I saw Drew - the imagination of this really made me smile :-)


Sandra

[zah]

Sandra - that's exactly why I quoted that part here. I read that section, sat here silently, and thought: "Wow..." Bands face constant pressures - putting on great shows, pleasing fans, pleasing the record company(ies), making the sales - all while still trying to define themselves in their own way. It can be very difficult to balance the energies here. Are the compromises worth it? Is the energy real? Are the changes natural? Is the music still the most important part of all of this?

I think dredg (as well as many other bands) try to maintain self-identity in face of all these pressures. It's STILL about the music and art, the message or theme or whatever you wanna call it. Are more people listening to the band now than before? Yes. Would some say dredg is attempting to find their way into the "mainstream?" Yeah. Could all this be because of the musical changes on the new CD? Of course. Could fan opinions change if the next album is experimental? Yeah, maybe. Do some people expect certain things from the band? Yeah, you see that all the time. But dredg is still just trying to be dredg, and that can be pretty damn hard.

So, I respect that. A lot.

Sorry, I usually don't go on about things like this, but I got caught up in the moment .

P.Sx1. Sandra - Your imagination made me smile, too.

[psycadelic]

re: dredg - VISIONS mag scans [2002 & 2005]

Ok, here is my poor attempt of the Visions 2002 article translation. Have fun and feel free to correct my huge amount of mistakes:

DREDG (visions Nr. 116)
Bound? Less!
Author: Jochen Schliemann

In Los Gatos, California was founded a band, which embodies, what timeless and modern rock music means nowadays. Their stylistic openness, technically skill and amazing creativity doesn't make them the next big thing but because of their principles and shyness they stand in the tradition with the real big. Nobody knows whether they ever will become one of them. All you can do is contributing in an adequate way for it.

Sacramento, three days till Gameover.

Rod looks in his hands once again. He holds a crinkled green-white banknote. 100 Dollar are not much at all. Especially when you need to feed 7 people: 1 Tour manager, 2 Roadies and 4 Musicians. Dredg get 100 Dollars each day on this tour. They need to pay Food, Gas, cheap Hotels, Guitar strings ect. from that money. Rod's full name is Rodney Boon and he is the Tour manager, Driver, Band-daddy, Booker and much more. "We only earn money for the merchandise", says Rodney. "That's why we don't have a bus like all the others". We're going to drive this Van as long as possible." He leans against a white Minibus, which looks inside like a Mafia Headquarter after a razzia. "That's how a car looks in which a rock band drove across America", he laughs. Every day he compares the CD and T-shirt sales with the other bands. "Chicago and New York had been great", he romanticizes. "Look!" He shows the billing. "In Chicago we sold even more than Deadsy!" The catering in Sacramento sucks. Bland chicken, overcooked Pasta and warm coke with ice-cubes made of chlorine water. The meal tastes as bad as the landscape looks: a never-ending industrial area somewhere outside the California capital. "All the big bands have played here", says Dino. "I have no idea why." He gets up for a refill. The P.A. sounds bad, there are backstage rooms for 3 Bands and it's only allowed to drink beer in certain areas at the bar. A few buddies from Los Gatos have arrived. The sort of friends you like a lot but since graduation you don't have much contact anymore. Jacoby Shaddix is there, too. Papa Roach and Dredg know each other through the Bay Area Scene. Dredg, that knows Jacoby Shaddix as well as everybody else in here, deserve it for a long time, and with a record company supporting them it could happen. Jacoby is joking around and shares Europe experiences with Dino. Dredg visited our continent with the two unsuitable Bands Alien Ant farm and 4lyn. They played their only solo show this far at the Visions Party in June.

Jacoby: "Europe is fucking great, dude!“
Dino: "Yeah, that’s true. It's...."
Jacoby: "It's insane, dude! Are you shooting a video, too?"
Dino: "Yes, an animated one. We won't be appearing...."
Jacoby: "We signed a big Deal. We're going to provide one song for a Pepsi commercial and they're going to pay us 2 million dollar!"
Dino: "That's....cool.“
Jacoby: (hesitating) "Isn't it? Man, you know how the wind blows...."

San Francisco, two days till Gameover.

"Guys I have a little surprise for you", announces Rod and rubs his Hands as he enters the backstage area in the cellar of the "Slim's" after the Show. Their eyes are getting big. "Outside are people from the record company" - their eyes are getting small - "must we talk to them? They just want to know why we forgot them on the thank list." Rod stays patient like with kids who don't want to go to school. Finally Gavin and Dino are facing the "wild-pack". The debacle between enthusiasm and Smalltalk lasts about half an hour. The previous show was, concerning the audience reaction, one of their best. San Francisco is a melting pot of cultures. Different nations merge here to a big community just like in London or New York. This concentrated package of different influences provides a perfect breeding ground for such an open-minded band. San Francisco is the Home of Dredg. Some Band members live here and Gavin worked here a short time ago parallel to his Study in a Cafe at Height Ashbury. After a fan hands a painting that was inspired by the Song Triangle through the window, the convoy heads of to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, one day till Gameover.

"Oh really, they have smoke detectors in here?“ Drew turns around. His look moves beside the Hotel door up to a small white box. He stops for a second. "Anyway, it didn't react so far". He hands the pipe over to his brother who came together with his girlfriend to L.A for seeing the two shows at Roxy. Drew shares a single room with two roadies who also came from Los Gatos. The 24 year old is responsible for most of the paintings shown during their shows. Furthermore the story printed in Leitmotif including the photos is from him. Inspired was the story by a journey round the world he was doing during a Holiday semester. "I travelled with two friends on a boat. We visited nine different countries: Japan, China, Turkey, Vietnam, Morocco, India and a few more. This was the best thing I've ever done. I think if didn't make this journey I wouldn’t be able to deal with touring so good." Drew likes Jeff Buckley, Sigur Ros and Björk. He started making music in 8th grade. "Friends of mine were looking for a bassist. Firstly I rented a Bass then I got one for Christmas." His parents always supported him, he remembers - it was the same for all the four. The show this evening is thought to be good. Though L.A is more a place for Eighties-Retro-Metaler with makeup like Deasdy, only a few people don’t like the complex sound of Dredg with Stereo-Guitar effects, Slide guitar, trumpet and a lot more experiments.

Los Angeles, 4 hours till Gameover.

"I think this evening will even be a bit better", Gavin is smiling while we have seat for the official interview at the Hotel pool. Obvious he is more relaxed than in February this year. Visions and Dredg meet for the first time when they were touring with Alien Ant farm. At that time it took almost 15 minutes till the man opened his mouth and talked to us. "Me" was the answer to the question "who is the singer here?" It was one of their first interviews Dredg have ever given. "Actually it's going better and better for the last 10 years", resumes Gavin visible satisfied. "Slowly indeed but certain. The new record will also take some time, too. But that’s good. We're not afraid of countable failure as long as we are able to do what we want." Gavin studied Art until it got serious. At first in North Arizona, then in San Francisco. "I could see myself making special effects for Videogames or Movies in future. Creating worlds and characters with a team. That fascinates me." Speaking about new records he recommends Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum, The Black Heart Procession, Anticon and the new Fugazi. Gavin is the biggest surprise on El Cielo. Whereas on Leitmotif he was switching between relatively thin melodies and screaming he's now changing the whole character of Dredgs music with his voluminous voice and free singing lines. "This development didn't come from one day to another", he relativises. "You shouldn't forget that Leitmotif is already 5 years old and we dealt different with the world. Leitmotif was an angry record. When you're young you try to fight your fears with hate. When you grow older you learn to search your expression in more beautiful things." Gavin is 24 years old. "Furthermore hard music was an alternative at that time. Now it's Mainstream. For an alternative Band it's usual to search for different ways of expression then. Honestly I have no idea how the new record is going to sound. Perhaps very spontaneous and loud." According to Gavin Dredg will never be a band of compromises. "What I like is if everybody agrees it can only can continue in one direction." For the Albums concept - different reports of sleep paralysis providing the creative frame - are Gavin and Drew responsible. For days they have been doing research in the Internet for printing true reports in the booklet instead of lyrics. "It's amazing, there are a few people who have nightmares about running away without being able to, others are telling stories about experiences which changed their complete way of living." About his doubtless interesting lyrics Gavin prefers to say little or nothing at all. He simply seems to be uncomfortable. He seems to be impassive while talking about their own music. "Sometimes I can't get a line out of my head for days", he thinks. "I write it down and perhaps I'm going to use it one day. The lyrics of Sanzen are about not knowing what I should sing. But the Refrain is one sentence, which I found in my notebook while the others we're playing. -Hold on, we’ll be with you soon- It just fitted. Somehow." It is the same with "Does anybody feel this way? Does anybody feel like I do?“ from the Canyon behind her or „We live like penguins in the desert“, a thesis which appears on both albums. That's are all sentences which aren't appearing by chance in the context of dramatic music. They fit, despite their free interpretation, perfect to the music and prove that Dredg aren't a Band you listen to on a Party while drinking and dancing, you listen to them if you're walking home alone after the party. A good example for that is the middle from the first single Same ol Road which was chosen because the song represents Dredg's many facets: Groove orientated, catchy, melancholic, epic and inspiring. Gavin remembers: "The middle of the song was actual always instrumental until I recorded these lyrics at 4 o clock in the morning on an old tape recorder: "All you need is a modest house in a modest neighbourhood in a modest town where
honest people dwell.“ He doesn't know anymore whether these lyrics we're meant sarcastically. "It was about modest people in a normal suburb with a normal job and a normal family. I hated this in the past but now I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe it's all about being frugal with what you have. Arriving somewhere." He is silent for a moment. " I do not know either. I just hope we progress", he stands up and welcomes the photographer. Everybody who still discovers this band can call himself lucky.

The show is moderate. The audience seems bored during the 30 minutes. Compared with the other singers Gavin doesn't talk very much. "Thank you for your ears", is like so often his only sentence. "I don't want to be the front man", he says a bit later while putting his slide guitar in the Van. "The person who tells the people what to do or proclaims a political opinion. That's not me." Later that day he is it though. "Yo man, I want everybody in this fucking room to fucking jump until...“, he's fooling around while we're leaving Sacramento with a full Van and trailer. He doesn't come any further. The laughing is too loud. Drummer Dino is driving, the others are sleeping or playing Playstation. It's one o clock in the morning, the night passes by. Everybody wants to come home and sleep once only in a month in his own bed. The radio plays firstly a piano cover version of Radioheads "Paronaid Android" and after that "Orgigin of Symetry" by Muse. "I really don't understand why a band like Muse don't even get released in America", wonders Dino and pushed down the accelerator. On the glove box is the Dredg Symbol made of duct tape, above the front passenger's seat hangs a notice, which says "first week record sales". A bet between 7 people concerning how much cd's of El Cielo will be sold in the first week. "When your on tour for 1 month then you get such ideas", Dino laughs. The winner gets a single room for one night. Dino is an American born Italian: Half Sicilian half Northitalian. "Sicily is the best place in the whole world", says Dino and feels ashamed because he didn't learn the language yet. The 24 year old was responsible for the Booking before there was Rod. He's more talkative as the others. He studied business economy, "because I was good in mathematics at school. I hated the university. It was a club, like a closed circle. The more I rejected my daily life the more a wanted to success with the band." One day the record labels couldn't ignore Dredg any longer. Interscope - among others the home of Limp Bizkit and Nine Inch Nails- signed Dredg with conditions, which gave the Band enough Time for recording a complex, melodic and experimental Album produced by Ron Saint Germain (Tool). Dinos first musically influences have been European "Major Acts": He got familiar with Mozart, Strauß and Beethoven while he was learning classical Piano between the age of five and thirteen. The Piano elements on Leitmotif and El Cielo are from him. "I stopped playing only because of my mother, she yelled at me if I didn't practise every day. Chaos Ad was the name of the Protest soundtrack. Since I heard Igor Calvera playing for the first time I wanted to become a drummer." Dino's influences today are more electronically nature. "Ltj Bukem and DJ Shadow make me freak out, he emphasizes." Dredg Songs like The Canyon behind her, Sanzen or Eighteen People live in Harmony life through their Drum-and-Bass like fast drum parts in the Verse and epic, wide opened Refrains. Modern Elements are combined with classical Song writing. "Everything is possible, there is just one rule: It must be handmade." Just like Radiohead, who sound modern but work only with alienated manual sounds. "That's the only way of making music which outlives yourself."

Los Angeles: Game Over

The comparatively unspectacular Opener named Dredg with their unimposing, trumpet playing singer doesn't say one word to the audience and extends so the waiting time for the main act. The audience punishes them with disinterest. Until the last Song: The front man stumbles and knocks down a cymbal. Instead of setting it back up the knocks down the whole drum set. Followed by 30 seconds of deafening noise terror including the destruction of a slide guitar. Before the situation escalates completely the band finishes the last song with the remaining instruments. After that they destroy every instrument including the mic. "Thank you for your ears", says the singer into the bassist’s mic who just rips of the strings from his instrument.

Los Angeles, ten minutes after Gameover.

Rod holds Gavin’s, hardly to recognize, ex-mic up and takes a look at it. "What just happened is called a Gameover. Every now and then it happens. I don't know why, too.

Los Angeles, one hour after Gameover.

"So, what will you write", asks Mark Engles while he takes a seat. He nervously drinks some beer and looks expectant. The 23 year old still doesn't know what to think about the decision that Visions wants to put the relatively unknown band, in which he plays guitar, with their first international release on the Cover of November. When he heard about it three days ago before the Sacramento Show he reacted with the following words: "Why would you do that?", then he left confused. After the Soundcheck he came back. He heard from the others about the scheduled Photo session. "Wouldn't it be okay if you just do a story without being on the cover? You know how much we hate photos." Meanwhile we made it from Sacramento to Los Angeles and Mark did hardly survive the horrible Photo session this afternoon. Bass player Drew Roulette, Singer Gavin Hayes, Drummer Dino Campanella and he felt obviously uncomfortable in front of the camera but they handled it more relaxed as their first photo shooting ever (also with Visions) a half year ago. We're sitting in the traditional club Roxy at the Sunset Boulevard, right above the stage, and drink our last beer. The one-month long lasting tour from Taproot with Deadsy and the everywhere unknown Band Dredg ends here with the second from two shows in the Entertainment Metropole. Mark hates L.A.. Although the roots of Dredg are only 5 driving hours to the little town Los Gatos near San Francisco away, this band has so much in common with L.A. like the Taj Mahal with Limp Bizkit. We enter the "On the Rocks" right next door and we find ourselves between members of System of a Down, Jack Osbourne, Rod Stewart and Alicia Silverstone. "I’m glad we don't need this", says Mark. For Dredg is, like for every other Band this evening, a table at the Scenebar reserved. That's the tradition. There's a card with the Band name. Compared with the amount of kids and cameramen around Jack Osbourne or the much too young women around Rod Stewart and the other people who obviously are having a good time, the Dredg table looks like a Stronghold. Drew sits there with his brother and smokes weed secretly (in California bars smoking is forbidden), Gavin talks to his girlfriend and is about to leave, Dino gets beer. Dredg are hosting a party, which they don't belong to. When the DJ plays Refused Mark is glad: "At home in Los Gatos we always knew what's about to happen next. Whether it was Korn, Sepultura or Refused - we obtained the CD as quick as possible and listened to it while we were driving through the city in Drew’s car. A few month later everybody has been listening to the same music." Mark loved the first two Biohazard records, Ozzy Osbournes "Tribute", Slayers "Season in the Abyss", Sepulturas "Chaos A.D." and Adrenaline from the Deftones. All Band members have extremely been influenced by Kyuss and Pink Floyd. "Above all I will never forget my first Korn concert while they were opening for Sick of it All. Nobody knew them but right after they started playing, the club went crazy. Also they are very cheesy nowadays - I will never forget this.” Dredg have been founded in 1993, like so many other Bands, in Highschool and haven't been discovered, like so many other Bands, for a long long time. The quartet started recording some Demos and EP's, until the debut Leitmotif was released in 1998. A concept album recorded in 12 days in the same Studio as Faith no more's "Angel Dust" and "Album of the Year". The Album was sold at Club shows and via Internet. Maybe the big Breakthrough didn't happen because it never was their intention. "We never have objected a quick record deal", Mark explains. The Band was put off by all the negative-examples in their surrounding, like Papa Roach, who suddenly developed into Teeniestars, or Korn who lost the ground under their feet. Even the big Deftones have lost some of their credibility, according to Mark. Back in these days. Already at that time Dredg didn't get their inspiration only from Rock music. At Portishead, Radiohead, in Books or on journeys the Band found their "Kicks". Retrospective seen "Leitmotif" denotes this boundless way of thinking already and stands in one row with groundbreaking Hardcore and Punk Albums like „The Shape Of Punk To Come“ by Refused - with the difference that nobody noticed. That's almost how it seems. Than beside the fan base in California there matured slowly a worldwide Dredg community in the Internet. Among the worth seeing Homepage www.dredg.com there emerged a Pool of interesting Domains, on which Dredg inspired Poems, self-made Paintings and Interpretations of the Lyrics are being collected. Good examples are http://kayasuma.tripod.com/dredg/MAIN.HTM or the german Version www.dredg.de. Slowly but certain the ball began to roll. Mark doesn’t want to hear anything about a great future and big chances. "If it doesn't work out with dredg than I will become Geo-Scientist or something like this. The earth itself is amazing enough." Mark studied geology in Santa Clara until he had to decide between the music and the other carrier. If you ask him what he wants to achieve with the Band he thinks very long and gives a short answer: “Making music and touring”. If you ask him what he doesn’t want to do you get a quick and la bit longer answer: "We don't want to be like what we see on MTV. We want to get inside the system without giving up our principles. We need people behind us who will accept that we possibly will be playing for a very long time in small clubs. "

[zah]

Thank you, psycadelic. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. I'm about to start reading it now .

Added after 21 minutes:

"Chicago and New York had been great..." - Rodney (about merch sales)

Woo! Chicago! Heh.

"When you're young, you try to fight your fears with hate. When you grow older, you learn to search your expression in more beautiful things." - Gavin

I liked that.

Dino is an American born Italian: Half Sicilian, half North Italian. "Sicily is the best place in the whole world", says Dino, and feels ashamed because he didn't learn the language yet.

Hee hee.

The comparatively unspectacular Opener named Dredg with their unimposing, trumpet playing singer doesn't say one word to the audience and extends so the waiting time for the main act. The audience punishes them with disinterest. Until the last Song: The front man stumbles and knocks down a cymbal. Instead of setting it back up, he knocks down the whole drum set. Followed by 30 seconds of deafening noise terror including the destruction of a slide guitar. Before the situation escalates completely the band finishes the last song with the remaining instruments. After that they destroy every instrument including the mic. "Thank you for your ears", says the singer into the bassist’s mic who just rips of the strings from his instrument.

Los Angeles, ten minutes after Gameover.

Rod holds Gavin’s hard-to-recognize, ex-mic up and takes a look at it. "What just happened is called a Gameover. Every now and then it happens. I don't know why, too.

Hmm.

"We don't want to be like what we see on MTV. We want to get inside the system without giving up our principles. We need people behind us who will accept that we possibly will be playing for a very long time in small clubs." - Mark

That was good. Visions has some great interviews. Thanks again, psycadelic. I think you did a nice job.