#dreyfest

First off: ASL?

Austin: Idaho Green- 14 years old (oof), technically I guess gender fluid, and normally would say Brooklyn, but I think technically Caleb lives in Queens now! So I guess I'll just say New York. Originally from Huntley Project Montana.

Jordan: 43, yes please, in my parent's living room but living in the Big Apple where not having anxiety when you go outside is a win

Secondly: How bout them Mets? 

Austin: This could be a big year! All the pieces are there, and they've been put together, it's just a matter of keeping them in place! Plus the playoffs are just always weird- anything where you have to win more than you lose, three times in a row will require luck, no matter how good you are. But I suppose having Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer start your first two games helps lol.

Jordan:  I might have lost $150 in sports betting but they got me through last year and they'll get me through this one. R e s p e c t t h e p o l a r b e a r 

I was about to make a cheeky joke about the high cost of living in some parts of Brooklyn, where you all currently live, but it’s turning out to be pretty comparable to places like Bozeman these days so, there’s not much to say. Aside from the obvious population difference, how do crowds at shows in NYC compare to those in Billy? Anything about playing in Billings you prefer over the Big App, or vice versa?  

Austin: it's hard to say now, because since we only come back every once in a while, Billings shows are kind of objectively cooler and more fun to play than NYC shows, which is super cool that people still come out and give a shit about us! But when I used to live in Billings, and we were doing shows on like a monthly/bi-weekly basis, and the turnout was iffy, that sorta got frustrating. And when that same thing happens in New York, it's less depressing, on like an existential level. Like, the idea of simply surviving in New York feels like a success, which, being a relatively easy thing to accomplish on a day to day basis, makes you feel more successful on a day to day basis. Unless of course, you die.

Jordan: Honestly, I've come out the other side with NYC shows. At first I hated how nobody will mosh or dance but once you get over how it's a rarity you understand that people can be into your band and literally just stand there. Even then - I've been in some pretty fun pits in Brooklyn! But Billings shows are almost always more fun than some shitty New York rock club. 

Since the lineup’s been a bit of a revolving door over the years, could you tell us the current lineup/who will be playing at the fest this year? 

Austin: great question! outside of Me, Jordan, Caleb and Pete, Ty will be joining us. And then I'm sure more folks will be a part of the show, but that will probably get decided a few days/hours/minutes before the actual show. We'll see!

The "Idaho Green Fambly (sic) Band" has been around for about 14 years now, yeah? How does it feel? How much longer can you go? Can we count on seeing Idaho Green open for John Cougar Mellencamp at the MetraPark Arena a couple of decades from now? How do you keep things fresh after all these years? 

Austin: "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" - Neil Young

Jordan: Never tell me the odds

Please forgive the pedestrian question, but what are your top five biggest influences? Musically or otherwise.

Austin: The 2002 Anaheim Angels, my roomate's cat, Pocket, and Travis, Walt, and Hunter from Paris, Texas

Jordan:  "I Think you Should Leave," '60s and '00s Garage rock, the feeling when someone says something that's bullshit but you don't correct them, GBV, massive amounts of anxiety without an available release valve. 

Let’s do a few rounds of kiss, marry, kill:

-Rancher Bones, Uffdahd, Body Language 

Austin: Kill Rancher Bones- it's long and I'm always afraid of fucking up the riff part. Fuck Uffdahd, it's got that kind of energy I guess, at least of those three, and marry Body Language since it's a perfect song.

Jordan: "Kiss" Rancher Bones, kill "Uffhdahd" because you made me do this you sick bastard, marry "Body Language" so sexy

-Gallatin river, Madison river, Jefferson river

Austin: I am ashamed to say I have never fished any of these three or the Missouri! so they are all kind of the same to me

-George, Jerry, Newman 

Austin: You have to kill Newman. George would be miserable to be married to so I will fuck him. Marry Jerry for his money.

Jordan: Marry Jerry (even though he'd cheat on me my whole life), kill Newman (cause I'd rather "kiss" George), "kiss" George because you made me do this you sick bastard. Do you know how awkward/funny he would be about being forced to have to "kiss" a man. Like the best unreleased Seinfeld episode of all time.

One more game: You're stranded on a deserted island, and you can only keep three tools in your dad's truck. Which tools do you bring? 

Austin: Oh damn this is a good one! Hmmm... trying to think of things that would be 1. necessary on a desert island, and 2. difficult to replicate with the resources available. One would be needle nose pliers- being able to grip things, big and small, as well as a half weapon...I'm tempted to say "hammer" or something but honestly, if I'm using my dad's tool box in his truck- I know he has like 50 feet of vinyl rope and a roll of gorilla tape, and I think those would be more valuable than any other traditional tool one would find in their dad's truck. 

Jordan: A leatherman (cause duh), Ty Herman, a tool shaped like a fully-functioning airplane that Ty and I can ride in.

It looks like you’ll be going on a little tour with Scuba Steve & the Sharks following Dreyfest to hit some other MT tour destinations like Missoula, Bozeman and… oh, does that say Havre, the crown jewel of the Hi-Line?… and Whitehall, whose population just reached 1k?… You know, you don’t need to make up a whole tour to get your friends to go to the Lewis & Clark Caverns or Buffalo jump museum with you. You can just ASK! 

Austin: We were actually thinking about going to the Lewis & Clark Caverns! I have never been (have heard mixed reviews from everyone that's checked it out tbh) and if the Whitehall show falls through (I wrote to the city but have not received a reply) I was thinking of finally checking it out. 

Favorite thing about leaving the city/returning to Billings?

 Austin: watering the tomato plants at my parent's house

Favorite thing about leaving Billings/returning to the city? 

Austin: watering the tomato plants on the roof at my apartment 

Jordan: taking all of the things I bought without a sales tax back to Brandon's America. 

Do you have a favorite memory from past Dreyfestestes? 

Austin: I think in 2015 I was living with Caleb at his dad's house and on the morning after day 1, I think I woke up to David from WhiteCatPink in the living room playing the bagpipes, with somebody's dog sitting in the living room just kind of standing right in front of him, watching/listening. Just a totally normal, empty living room, and WhiteCatPink playing the bagpipes and a random dog hanging out.

Jordan: Watching Noise Noise Noise's last ever set and seeing Kelly throw his guitar across the stage in such a way to have it spin and perfectly bounce against an amp. The sound of that guitar bouncing off that amp is the purest distillation of rock and roll. 

What is New York’s hottest club right now?

 Austin: I know the answer for this one- New York’s hottest club is RASH. Located in the produce aisle of a Bushwick Foodtown grocery store, this nightlife hotspot is the creation of senicidal cokehead Andrew Blowmo. This place has everything- gauze, lumps, derelicts, Julia Salazar, A CITI BIKE THAT JUST WON'T LOCK. And look over there- is that Brandon Nimmo? No, it’s just a Honduran woman with a handicart selling bags of sliced fruit.

Jordan: Either Austin's roof or Austin's bathroom

You guys put out Rancher Bones close to four years ago now. Got anything else cookin’ for us hungry, hungry hippos?

Austin: Yes! We recorded some ~new~ songs with Hunter Davidsohn just a few weeks ago- hoping to get those puppies mixed and matched and mastered and plastered and laquered on wax as a 7 inch by the end of the year. Then we're thinking of finally releasing the literal dozens of songs we've recorded over the past 10+ years that have never seen the light of day (if we can find them lol).

You can catch Idaho Green during this year's fest at Nova Center on August 6th at 11pm.

First off, for the people, in your own words, who are you, what do you play, where are you from, and what is the name of your band?

Hi there, I'm Nick Duude and I play guitar and do vocals for Garbage Man from Wisconsin and, more recently, Iowa. 

You guys are a noise rock band, I think it’s safe to say- when I first saw you play Billings maybe 10 (jesus christ) years ago, you were much less abrasive, yet somehow more…. Annoying. In the best way possible. how did the evolution in the sound start? Was the iteration of the band now always the vision, 10 (jesus fucking christ) years ago?

It was! The long reigning problem is booking tours, and having last minute cancellations. Our (then) current drummer couldn't get out of some work obligations, so we said "fuck it" and busted out some trash cans. That was for one tour only, but ended up working out well for us in a pinch.

Are you still doing Bob's Angry Pins? If so, any specials you got going on, that you wanna plug? Or any other side hustles you wanna plug?

You betcha, all for bands all day! Working on getting some new sizes, as well as styles in. Our newest one is going to be reflective iridescent buttons with custom designs underneath. They look pretty neat!

If you're bothering to use your internal voice to read my word, I'll give you 10% off an order! Just mention this interview or Julia Louis Dreyfest from now until the end of August 2022.

[email protected]

Facebook.com

Insta: @BOBSANGRYPINS

I’m trying to remember, last time we played Sheboygan with you, there was like a famous punk guy from the 80s at the show… as you may recall I had a hard time recollecting much of anything from that night for various reasons… am I remembering this correctly?

There was! They are a long-time supporter of local music and have become a good friend of ours, whether it be drinking whiskey on the patio or playing their banjo before/between/after shows. They prefer to roll in the background, so I don't want to out them and their story, but I miss them and our good friend Teek, the WC owner/operator, very much post-moving to Iowa. Viva La WC; the true cultural germ ground whether folks will/did recognize or not.

I don’t think i’ve ever asked you- do you have any opinions on Making a Murderer? As someone who lived not far from Manitowoc I am assuming you are an expert in the subject.

I'm from about an hour away from where this happened, but I prefer to focus and read on other less televised terrible things that have happened in the state of WI. Some recommended highlights to experience this include:

Wisconsin Death Trip

Ed Gein

The Phoenix Ship Tragedy

Scott Walker doing anything to the state of WI 

Killdozer (the band, not the Ed)

Modern-day property segregation in Milwaukee

Over/Under - yes, we all hate pitchfork, and yes, this is like… “their thing” but dammit! It’s too much fun not to play! I will give you a word/thing/idea, and you just have to say if you think it is underrated or overrated, and feel free to expound on your reasoning as much as you’d like, or not at all!

Culvers -

Under; if Craig was even more of a Republican he would have taken over the Midwest fast food game already

Halloween (the general holiday) -

Over, but I feel this is due to me being naturally old/scary-looking. Boo.

Madison, Wisconsin -

Over, but go get some super sexy fries from Mickey's Tavern while you're there.

Tennis (the sport) -

Over, I've heard it just makes peoples' elbows feel funny

Tennis (the band) -

Over, never listened to them before in my life but I can ignorantly and confidently say I feel this way about them

The EPA -

Over, I know just the right amount of emissions my car needs to be emitting, not them.

Stranger Things -

Under, I've never watched it but they appearedly have the ability to get people into music 40+ years old. Cue the Kate Bush metalcore covers please.

Aaron Rodgers, but purely based on his performance as celebrity host of Jeopardy! -

I didn't watch, but I'd hope it ends similarly to "Wheel.......Of Money!"

Cucumbers -

Under as a utility, over as a food item

The Green Bay Packer Cheese Hat -

Under, pop that fucker on + a beer and a bendy straw; you're ready for Sunday mass and noon kickoff.

Marvin Heemeyer/Killdozer -

Over, he had plenty of chances to dump his shitty land for a profit and nestle himself somewhere else before they pushed him out. He almost got the under due to targeted destruction, which is all anyone can ask for in the end.

Super Smash Brothers -

Under, the 3DS port got the short end. I went to the midnight release with a friend and we were the only ones who showed; show some respect!

Hamms -

Under, don't let the label fool you, it tastes exactly like PBR but it's -$10/30 rack cheaper.

Anime -

Under, watch Akira sometime

Rollerblades -

Over, split the wheels up and build a skateboard

Pissed Jeans -

The feeling? Under. The band? Over, but that song Scrapbooking is a shining star

You can catch Garbage Man during this year's fest at Craft Local on August 5th at 9:30pm!

So to start off, what does the name N.I.A.T. stand for?

JR - Never ingest apples, Timmy. Will - NIGHT IN AT TIANANMENS - Take your time and sound it out. Danny - Nice Interstate At Toronto

I saw that you guys recently went on tour, how'd that pan out? 

JR - We had a great time! Looking forward to our next tour in October! Will - For our first tour it went exceptionally well.  Minor vehicle issues halfway through but we were able to perform every date with minimal setbacks.  We are going back on the road in October for a little over a week and playing with some good friends - couldn't be more excited. Danny - It was really dope. I haven't been out in a really long time so getting back out there was awesome.

Favorite venue from that tour?

JR - The Plaid Pig in Tacoma for sure. The locals were all super nice and made us feel right at home.  Will - Haufbrau House = Hall of Fame - the venue in Tacoma, The Plaid Pig, was badass.  Major Railyard (R.I.P.) vibes for sure. Zach - Substation in Seattle! Danny - The pinball bar next door to The Plaid Pig, the venue we actually played at.

Over the years you have had quite the lineup change, how has that affected your sound, or has it? 

JR - I think it has changed our sound in a lot of ways. Everytime we have a member change, the most important part to me is keeping the feel that we have always created. The chaos, the energy. At this point I am the only original member but luckily for this last member change, Danny and I had worked together playing crazy weird music in the past. So it just felt obvious to me to ask him. I have always loved making music with Danny. I can honestly say this new chapter has me more stoked than ever!  Will - The sound has changed to a degree - I think much of that lies in Edward Longo's departure from the band in 2019 (that guy is in a league of his own) but with Danny integration into the band, it has brought back an element that I thought we had once lost.  Having to deal with those abrupt lineup changes has also allowed us to explore different avenues - I started a solo noise project called PLVMES in mid 2020 after Tony Morales departed and now incorporate elements of that into our live sets to replace the samples he wrote for our first album, "Blasphemist".  Slowly working on re-incorporating that again but at the moment, the noise walls become more and more cohesive as we get along it might be awhile before that happens.    Danny - I'm the new guy, It seems like it's changing a lot, but also, it doesn't?!

For the metal laymen, how can you describe the fucked-up sound that is grindcore? 

JR - Imagine driving by a music festival going 90 miles an hour with your windows rolled down trying to make out who's playing. Will - The sound of a government building being razed. Zach - A garbage bag of empty paint cans rolling down a hill on a windy day. Danny - S.C.U.B.A. if you know you know.

I was super excited to see you guys contribute to the Nirvana grind cover album. How did that come about and why Aneurysm as a song choice? 

JR - I want to say Will found the Label that put it together and asked if we could submit. "Territorial Pissings" was already taken so I picked my second favorite song, "Aneurysm". The recording process for that one was a lot of fun. Will - I came across a post in a random grindcore group on social media and contacted Sudden Strike Records out of Ireland about submitting - it only took us a few rehearsals for it to come together before we recorded, mixed and sent them the track.  There were a good number of bands that had already picked their songs so it was our first choice but even if we hadn't been able to get on the compilation, we probably would have ended up covering it anyways.  Zach - Always one of my favorites, we all immediately gravitated towards it (seems kinda obvious). Danny - I have no idea. I was not in the band. If it was up to me we would have tried to do a Weezer song and see if anyone notices.

What's your take on Montanas metal scene, its growth and what it could benefit from? 

JR - It has come a long way. I think the biggest thing is just more bands. More bands making more music. Like Zach says, go record your homies if you can. Make terrible music with your friends until you make something you think is awesome. There's no fast way to make our scene bigger or better. It comes from more people, trying new things. Will - The scenes are ever changing, ever growing - we're still reeling from losing The Railyard and Smiling Dog Records, two DIY mainstays that provided countless bands here the opportunity to play.  The influx of residents in the state has resulted in there being many more musicians around than there used to be, leaving us in a good position where we can really expand what we're working towards if we put in the work - I think much of this can be addressed with better organization and networking.  It is also beneficial to provide a service to your scene if you're able, whether it is flyer design, street-teaming, shooting photos, promoting online, etc.  The list is endless. Zach - At this point in my life I’m very thankful for the metal scene, and Montana music scenes in general for their sense of community and the friendships. I think something the scene could benefit from is more DIY boots on the ground: house shows, homies recording homies in the basement for free, cross genre DIY shows, etc. Danny - It has definitely come a long way. I think we just need more  high quality music of all sorts, there is never too much. Hahaha. 

What is the most annoying thing that people do at a metal show, besides just standing there looking at their phones? 

JR - Gatekeeping. Also people requesting you to play literally anything lol. Will - Showing up late or ditching out early because you gotta work in the morning.  Your job ain't going anywhere, bucko. Zach - Karate bullshit in the pit. Danny - Smoking weed when I'm trying to worship the Lord with my music.

What goes into your writing process? 

JR - When this band started we just liked the idea of writing with no limits. I think we still encompass that. It usually starts with a drum part I make but lately we have been jam writing more with Danny. Will - Generally starts with a skeleton brought to the table by JR; Danny and Zach then take the reins and construct the guitar parts.  Vocals are constantly evolving just like the lyrics and go through multiple edits before anything is set in stone but there have been a few songs where the lyrics were basically written on the spot ("How Long Does Shit Burn?", "Coffee Is For Closers").        Zach - One person brings an idea to the table, usually JR with a drum part, and we expand upon it. Danny - Mostly just starts with a riff, work around it, bring it to the guys and if they like it we keep working around it. Sometimes we just jam one out too. I don't think there's really a right or wrong way to do it, just whatever works for you. Don't be afraid to try new things.

Favorite Seinfeld character and why? 

JR - Morty Seinfeld, I mean the guy worked for Harry Fleming for 38 years. Will - You got a question, you ask the eight ball. Zach - Kramer Danny - Bender

React to this: You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog stuffed with rice. The raw oysters are less acceptable to you than a dish of boiled dog.

JR - The only reaction I can think of, would be to go home and hug my dogs. Will - *lights blunt* Zach - Raw oysters are absolutely delicious. Pop one with a little hot sauce, uncultured swine. Danny - Wait, you guys aren't eating boiled dogs? I thought this was metal.

Working on any new material, what can we expect to see in the future?

JR - Well, you can watch us attempt to write ourselves into a never ending wormhole of weirdness and loud angry noises. Will - Find out for yourself this Saturday @ The Nova Danny - Degeneracy, overall.

You can catch NIAT during this year's fest at Nova Center on August 6th at 10:15pm!

First off, for the people, in your own words, who are you, what do you play, where are you from, and what is the name of your band?

My name is Ethan! i play guitar and sing, I'm from Fishtail, Montana, and the name of my band is "Mido Skip"

We definitely played a lot of shows together like 5-7 years ago, and it seems like the scene has changed a lot since then (as they do)... is that true? For better or worse? A little of both?

When I entered the punk scene in missoula, to me it seemed like it was dominated by punk rock trios who were all a few years older than me and were inspired by bands like the Lawrence Arms, Hot Water Music, and RVIVR. I had completely missed the scene era, which I think a lot of people were trying their best to not be associated with. I remember everyone was so excited that I had a band and was just playing regular punk rock because I was so young. Now, every band in Missoula is so young and so different. It's inspiring to me to see that kids see it as a viable creative outlet, and I'm so happy to see that opportunities are there for music and art. In 2014, people made fun of me for playing rock and roll because dubstep and hip hop were so ubiquitous and seemed like the obvious path forward. there were less people at shows, everyone was meaner, it was gross and smelled like cigarettes and pbr. It was better.

In general, outside looking in, Missoula always seemed like such a strange scene, since you had a combo of locals that were cool, and then ⅓ college kids that were cool, ⅓ college kids that weren’t cool, and ⅓ college kids that were too cool… which made it seem like it was potentially difficult to get any real leverage, since it was always in flux. is that a fair assessment? Curious to hear how you guys tried to/still try to navigate that, especially as a punk band, and not like a reggae cover band or string band or something.

This is a point I love talking about, because Missoula has such an incredible assortment of what kinds of music people are into. If we were in a bigger city, or just a more crowded area, I would have never played with bands like Tormi or Walking Corpse Syndrome or Baby and Bukowski. but the fact that Missoula is so small and such a tight-knit community means you always have the chance to play with someone radically different, and I love that! It also cracks me up that figureheads in the scene change every 2 semesters.

Apologies if I’m misremembering- Mido Skip is a sort of duel-fronted band, with Ethan and Alasdair doing leads on songs intermittently (There’s a reason you guys are called the Beatles of Missoula) first off- is this true? And if so, did you guys write songs separately, and bring them to the table together? Or write together? Or a little of both?

I am so honored to be called the Beatles of Missoula! Alasdair and I mostly shared vocal duties in go hibiki, along with Emory. So far live, I have been the primary vocalist with a microphone for Byron so he can make fun of me in between songs. I'm certain once we record our new songs that Alasdair will have a myriad of vocal parts, though. The songwriting process for us has most often been me bringing in a barebones version of a new song, and us going through it over and over to fill it out or add stuff in!

I’m being told that we aren’t allowed to call the subgenre of emo “skramz” anymore, and it’s just emo or post-hardcore. Was this all just a big practical joke, and this term was never allowed to be used, or are we sticking by calling it skramz still? If so, would you consider Mido Skip to be a skramz band?

Skramz is tied for my favorite genre with country. The term is cool as all hell, we should continue using it and use it more often. I think it started as a joke, and sort of spiraled out of control ala the term "twinkle daddies". But you know what else started as a joke and spiraled out of control? Me turning Mido Skip into a skramz-country band and I love it.

You guys don’t seem to be active, which makes us all the more honored and stoked that you are coming down for the fest hehe…. Are there plans to maybe start chugging back into things in the future?

We played a show on January 29th, 2020 and I kept saying to everyone I was going to work so incredibly hard on making 2020 the year of Mido Skip and I accidentally invented the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19. BUT!!!!!!!! We've been writing a bunch and are starting to record the greatest album by any band in Montana very soon. It's going to be even better than Tarkio Live on KBGA.

What’s keeping you busy artistically, these days? Any new Go Hibiki stuff in the pipeline? Is Burial Etchings playing shows?

I'm not sure how much I can say about it, but Alasdair is the most dedicated recording musician I've ever known and he's working on so much cool stuff. And, when Byron isn't busy making a great horror podcast and doing sweet art for t-shirts, he's working on music that always blows my hair back. I have a few solo songs I've been recording, but I've mostly been working to make the new Mido Skip material as close as I can to the vision I see in my head. I think Go Hibiki is dead for good because Sagat tore out his eye, and he got Burial Etchings too.

When’s the last time you watched the King Elephant documentary?

Alasdair and I laughed so hard when we read this question because we both work at the same place and we watched it at work. There's a short scene where I'm fighting sprinklers and I wish it was extended.

Over/Under - yes, we all hate pitchfork, and yes, this is like… “their thing” but dammit! It’s too much fun not to play! I will give you a word/thing/idea, and you just have to say if you think it is underrated or overrated, and feel free to expound on your reasoning as much as you’d like, or not at all!

-Glocca Morra

Split with Summer Vacation: BASED! Just Married: CRINGE!

-Biga Pizza

CRINGE!

-Drop D teles with capos

BASED!

-SpongeBob SquarePants

BASED!

-Tie-Dye

CRINGE!

-The Blair Witch Project

I tried to watch it once but started crying during the previews because there's something wrong with my brain so - CRINGE!

-Rockin’ Rudy’s

CRINGE! 

-Cats (The animal)

BASED!

-Cats (The musical)

BASED, CHAD and JELLICLE!

-Reddit

CRINGE!

-Super Smash Brothers

CRINGE!

-Wikipedia

BEYOND BASED!

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

pretty good 

You can catch Mido Skip during this year's fest at Nova Center on August 6th at 8:15pm!

First off, for the people, in your own words, who are you, what do you play, where are you from, and what is the name of your band?

Kelsi Rae! I’m from cheyenne Wyoming and I play guitar and sing in prowler.  Prowler was actually my Dads heavy metal band in the late 80’s. He was making fun of me for listening to billy squier, my mom was like hey you covered that shit in prowler! I was like oh yeah you were in a band called prowler. That’s hilarious. When we were coming up with band names my sister is my drummer and she was like dude prowler. I felt like it was a power move so I agreed. I mean a bunch of dudes in a band called prowler let’s be real kinda sus. But when it’s Ana Hannah and I it’s way more badass, I think of like a crazy ass mountain lion mama or something. 

What’s more annoying- having to deal with bullshit being in a female fronted POC punk band in a predominantly white, male space, or answering questions about what it’s like dealing with bullshit being in a female fronted POC punk band in a predominantly white, male space? 

Well definitely the first one because no one talks to us dude! I know it sounds crazy but they don’t. It’s like people avoid making eye contact and stuff I don’t really understand it but I choose to take their silence as a weird respect I guess. I’m not gonna lie I’ve had some confrontational moments from drunk white women at shows that made absolutely no sense. It can be a confusing environment you just gotta be like ok I came here to do a thing I do and just stay focused I guess. Can’t take anything too personal. 

You guys are from Brooklyn? That’s wild! Jordan and I are in Bed-Stuy. Are you guys from Brooklyn originally? Or transplants? We prob know a lot of the same spots! Any favorite brooklyn spots that come to mind?

We were transplants! My sister and I moved to sunset park Brooklyn and then moved to bushwick with our bass player who originally is from Dallas. Her mom is actually from Shell Wyoming so when we left she was like I’m actually down to go with y’all. We left I think 6 months into lockdown? It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of amazing experiences, but we’re all small town gals at heart and we knew we were gonna do music wherever we ended up. My favorite place in bushwick was talon. I know it’s a cheesy goth joint but dancing in the basement of talon was so tight. The BK glove was cool but got closed down.  

Cheyenne and Brooklyn are two wildly different places… what brought you to Cheyenne? How has that transition been?

We were sick of being in New York! That last year was a very pressurized short period of time. All three of us came back to visit and it felt so good to finally have our own space. We were living in a diy co op situation with 12 roommates. Everyone was going kinda stir crazy in lockdown at our house. We came back to Wyoming and it was so calm. We could actually buckle down and focus on the things we wanted to do it was nice. I met my fiancé playing in the scene here so I’m pretty sure it was the correct choice leaving Brooklyn. 

From the demos on bandcamp, and the social media handle, definitely get the “Thrash” vibes, from a genre perspective, but the songs seem more dynamic than a single genre approach. Feels like you guys are sorta letting the songs turn into whatever they are supposed to be, instead of going out and writing “thrash” songs, or “hardcore” songs, if that makes sense? Is that accurate?

Yeah I know what you mean. The thrash reference was kinda a convoluted joke because everything we were writing was so fast and I went on a random deep dive on dave mustaine one night and kept talking about Megadeth. But definitely not about to be trying to box into any one thing when song writing. I love rock n roll and all of its many sub genres. My favorite band is AFI if that clears some things up for everyone. 

You guys have those two demos on bandcamp up (that rip!)- any plans for a bigger release?

Yes! We were supposed to record after tour but life got real fast real quick. So far our plans are to just record it ourselves in our practice space. I have a bit of production experience so it should be at least better than what we got now, that shit was recorded live on my iPhone. 

You recently went on a tour with Dreyfest hall of fame alumn J. Waylon (of Friends of Cesar Romero, The Reddmen, Miller Lite Orchestra), and played at Craft Local, one of the participating Dreyfest venues this year- how fun was that?! Johnny is a trip and a half, eh?

Johnny and Miyo are amazing!  They were fam right away, we had so much fun on that tour. It was so cool connecting with them and the other bands on tour. Really life changing experience for the entire band. Craft local was actually one of the highlights! These 12 year old girls came up and talked to us and got merch and they were so cool! One of them was wearing a the used shirt, it melted my dang heart. It was cool to see them so stoked about seeing 3 women on stage. I saw a lot of young me in that excitement it was so cool. 

I understand that you guys are making a little tour out of the trip up to Billings! Rad! What’s the scoop on that?

I know we’re playing Casper at the pig before! Shout out to the pig! There’s talks of a laramie show before or after I don’t know which one it will be yet but it’s gonna be rad! 

Anything else you are excited to see/do during Dreyfest?

Excited to see arrow evolution rip again! Also Miller lite orchestra. Also excited to watch my hunky fiancé shred in Dirt sucker of course. Also excited for huckleberry beer. 

Over/Under - yes, we all hate pitchfork, and yes, this is like… “their thing” but dammit! It’s too much fun not to play! I will give you a word/thing/idea, and you just have to say if you think it is underrated or overrated, and feel free to expound on your reasoning as much as you’d like, or not at all!

Buffalo Wild Wings:

Overrated- too loud, wings too messy 

piggy banks/collecting loose change:

Underrated- I have a pikachu piggy bank I put all my coinage into. 

Metallica, but only everything after Master of Puppets:

Overrated! Only Metallica songs that Dave Mustaine wrote before they kicked him out. 

Saturdays on University of Wyoming football home games:

Overrated! I didn’t go to college! 

The construction project at LaGuardia Airport:

I haven’t been since it was post apocalyptic airport vibes so I’m gonna go with underrated 

Bodega cats:

Underrated they are the glue that holds New York together 

Cheyenne Frontier Days:

Underrated! I’m going to the village on Wednesday! 

IPAs:

Overrated

The G Train:

Underrated the express is real fast 

The J Train:

Overrated you will have to get on a farty shuttle bus 

The L Train:

Overrated 

Showtime’s Yellowjackets:

Overrated I don’t know what that is 

Rockaway Beach:

Underrated, take the ferry from greenpoint its only 30 minutes and it’s got a bar in it. 

JFK conspiracy theories:

Underrated look up his college best friend 

Maria Hernandez Park:

Underrated was part of a very empowering protest there once 

GG Allin:

Overrated, took up a lot of space for what he was 

Twitter:

Overrated bleh  

You can catch Prowler during this year's fest at Craft Local on Friday, August 5th at 6:30pm!

Who the heck is in The Love Darts? What fine or not so fine locale do The Love Darts hail from? How’s that going?

Currently The Love Darts are Myself and Jeff Jensen playin' guitar and singing, my brother Joey Kehoe playin' bass and singing, and Graham Owen pounding the cylinders. Right now we're all living in Bozeman. It's a little on the pricey side these days, but the thinning breed of cool people living here make it all worthwhile.

Answering either in pig latin, past perfect tense, or in a sentence that doesn’t use the letter “e” how would you describe The Love Darts’ sound to the uninitiated?

LLOR DNA KCOR

What’s the origin story of The Love Darts? I imagine a lot of glitter, not enough water, and no seat belts? Probably too many stops at the Town Pump for bathroom breaks and awkward farts where nobody says anything, me thinks?

It was originally me and Luke Scheeler from GOOCHSLAM and Julie's syrup playing insane rock and roll while our friends Anita Poosay and Sofia Gloria Hull would dance. We added Jacky D and Jake Williams to the line up and had a pretty solid band put together. After a couple years of ferocious rocking I broke up the band and was going to move to Portland when I got asked to join a tour with King Ropes. Me and the drummer Jeff became friends really fast and decided to start a band with my little brother Joey called The Miami Death Party. We realized that name wasn't quite as catchy so I kept the good band name. I had known Graham from my teenage years in the Bozeman music scene before he moved to Washington and he has always been one of my favorite drummers. Right when we began talks of moving Jeff to guitar and getting another drummer Graham announced on instagram that he was moving back to Bozeman and everything kind of fell into place after that.

Bedouin nomads have a saying in their language that roughly translates to “the hard work of creativity leads to pastures of plentiful alfalfa and firm-hipped women.” Ignoring the obvious sexism of this quote, what’s the creative process for song-writing in the band and what pastures do they lead you to?

I have a lot of notes I keep of cool sentences, interesting ideas, weird things I see, and things that I hear people say. Usually when I'm writing a song that is actually good I have a giant random burst of creativity that lasts for around an hour. I use my notes like those light up arrow strips you run over in race car video games to push things forward when the creative burst starts to slow down. There's a part in that new Beatles movie where George says something along the lines of "If you have a good song going you have to finish it then and there" and I've been trying to follow that rule ever since I heard it. Most songs that I've written and really like have only taken a couple hours minus some small changes after the fact. The songs I end up hating are the ones I agonize over and rewrite constantly. So far our songs have taken us to a lot of cool bars and DIY spots with really awesome people. I wouldn't want it any other way.

The Love Darts just released a fantastic record titled Girly. Congrats! Though not sure why you’re not famous yet… Where’d you put that together and how was the recording process?

I wrote most of those songs at the very beginning of the COVID lock down and we had been covering the song "Praise Jesus for Mary Jane" written by the 90's Bozeman band "Cratewasher ''. We were just kind of practicing a lot since there wasn't really anything else to do at that point. We booked some recording time with our friend Chuck Goodwin at his home studio in the summer of 2020 when everyone kind of had that idea that it was over. We would go to the Haufbrau before every recording session and get burgers and a bunch of Gin drinks. Maybe that helped with the mojo and maybe it didn't but we had a lot of fun recording those songs.

So, I’m going to need you to explain your (now removed) Spotify bio - who owns a friggin’ horse?

There was a stuffed horse that me and Jeff spent an enchanted evening with in a Sante Fe hotel room. She got lost near Joshua tree but everything we do in this band is for her honor.

If each member of the band would answer this one, that would be like so awesome - what’s the song that’s playing when you tell your landlord/boss/traffic cop/proto-fascist neighbor to shove it?

I'm not near any of them currently but our battle song for all hardships and wars is Kid Rock's "Bawitdaba"

What’s The Love Darts next big move coming down the pike? Tour? Funko pops of each band member as band merch perhaps?

We are currently wrapping up the recordings for our next album. Probably more touring and another album in the next year till we get our Warner Brothers record deal.

Would you rather be as tall as Joey Ramone or be a singer in The Flaming Lips?

Singer in the flaming lips is probably easier on the knees

Dirt Sucker…. Like a vacuum? How did you come up with that name? I remember there being a reference to something but I don’t remember.

Dirt Sucker. . . . like getting as close to the earth as possible, living in the dirt (but yeah, also a vacuum :P)! Calling something a "piece of dirt" was an old bit Evan and I had back in highschool because it was a way to say something wasn't great, but was also somewhat socially acceptable! In the past few years I remember trying to bring it back and thinking "Dang, that really sucks dirt"; and then thinking "Dang, dirt is actually really tight, it shouldn't be an insult" and then "Hey, I suck hella dirt, we suck the most dirt!" and then voila! Dirt Sucker is born! We are all SUPER passionate about climate issues and the name lends itself well to that! After the name was solidified, we started looking for a bass player; it turned out that the perfect fit for the band (the GOAT Ruben) just so happened to be a PhD student in soil science! The universe is wild! While the name didn't come from a vacuum, the first idea I had for lyrics was about eating the dust and grime out of a vacuum (dirt is just so awesome)! -Madison

Madison- how the heck did Wired get a hold of you to do that piece? Also, how unreal was it to do a photoshoot like that? Does this mean you had to turn in your punk card? How did that feel?

The writer of Wired found me on the NJCAAE coaching website and thought it was cool that there were no other Community College Esports programs near LCCC! I think he just wanted to check out Wyoming, it was totally random! Kinda crazy! Doing that photoshoot was really weird (because idk, yeah it's weird to get photos taken of you like that), but the photographer Shawn Bush (he teaches at Casper College) was freaking amazing! While doing a shoot is weird, at least Shawn was awesome! I turned in my punk card a decade ago when I became a dad :P, I'm not punk and I'm telling everyone! It felt weird, but again; it's hard to say no to an opportunity when you don't know what it's all about! -Madison

My familiarity with Madison and Evan (outside of babes and waves) is through more emo stuff, although there was always a hardcore vein in everything i’ve seen you guys do… was there a catalyst in starting a project that was more straightforward hardcore? Or did it sort of just flow naturally?

Yooo Evan and I know the members of babes & waves, but we were never in that band! B&W was actually from Orange County, CA but they did like to come rip it up in the Mountain West region! I think Dewey owns his own Subway now and has like 6 kids (he really got around on tour)! No one really stays in touch with Risto, I think he moved to New Zealand or something (I know he wanted to leave that life behind)! Blaze now owns a "dirt to dispensary" model marijuana farm / store in California, I hear he's rich! Unfortunately, Chad passed away a few years ago :(, he loved surfing (even during high tide) and I'm glad he went out doing what he loved! As far is the band Dirt Sucker, it's a totally natural flow! We all love so many styles of punk that we wanna mash in as much as we can! I usually write one lil riff before practice and we flesh out like 90% of the songs together! All the lyrics are fully collaborative, while we pretty much all write our own lines, we share ideas and work extremely well together! The writing process for us in both music and lyrics comes very naturally and we all feel extremely lucky to be working together! We're really proud of the lyrics we write! -Madison

Madison, you recently got engaged! If the Wired article didn’t take your punk card away, surely this will take your punk card away! It’s not like your fiance plays in a sick punk band too or anything!

YES I DID :D!!! IT'S THE BEST THING EVER! Again Mr. Dad, I turned in my punk card a long time ago! Would you like to reinstate it for me (jk I don't want one :P)?! Kelsi is the most spiritual, wise, talented, intelligent, and kickass person in the universe and I'm unbelievably thankful to spend the rest of my days with her :D!! She is the brainchild of Prowler (named after Kelsi and Ana's Father's band from the 80s) which is the most "give no fucks" melt your face off rock ever \ m / !! Also the Wired article was TOTAL SHIT! The writer (Brendan Koerner) used my tragedy (which honestly shouldn't have been included) to sell a story about my esports program (which should have been the focus). The article was EXTREMELY disrespectful to women in general (didn't mention my female athletes at all) Katherine (he mocked up an autopsy report; YIKES!) and Kelsi (not mentioned more than one line and not named), chalk full of half-truths, focused on me instead of my students (LIVID about this), and really just made me look weak and stupid by making up his own narrivate to sell the pieice. My program was great, that was the story! He never let me read the article before it came out (I never even read one of the 4 drafts he supposedly wrote) and never told me the title before it was published. The whole article was unbelievably unethical! The man is trying to get a Netflix movie and legitimately wrote that article the way he did so he could make a movie (I told the people at Conde Nast that I would never support a movie EVER)! He kept telling me he wrote the article to help me get a job, but he wrote it so he could make a movie! THERE WILL BE NO MOVIE! I could say a lot more, but just know I hate it and I think it's a 0 / 10, shit a -1 /10 ! -Madison

How did you guys meet Ruben? He is a delight! Do you wake up every morning and practice self-reflection and gratitude that the universe has brought him into your lives? (Ruben, feel free to answer this for Madison and Evan)

I met Ruben at the Green House in Laramie, WY in 2020 (right before COVID)! He was there vibing and we instantly hit it off! He told me about some of his time growing up in Tacoma, WA and the bands he was in back in the day (Red Hex was his favorite)! When it came time to find a third member for DS I reached out and it was like a match made in heaven! Evan and Ruben and I linked up so well on the first day it was kind of freaky! Ruben is unbelievably talented and creative and can play anything he wants anytime (he's too GOATED)!! Yes, Ev and I wake up every morning and thank the universe for gracing us with the greatest person (and bassist for that matter) ever!! RUBEN IS THE GOAT! -Madison

The 7” fucks! So good i had to buy two. I know I’m out of the loop with the greater Denver scene, but Convulse Records seems to have come out of nowhere- do you know anything about the history of that label? Is it a homie who(mst) runs it?

Thanks dad! You're two ;P sweet! Convulse has blown up like crazy! We were just doing our Midwest tour and nearly every band we played with was like "DUDE YOU'RE ON CONVULSE THAT IS SO SICK THEY ARE THE COOLEST AHHH" and honestly, they were right! Adam Croft was the brainchild of Convulse, but we also know James Reed and a couple other Wyomingites were critical in getting it started! Adam and James are both from Sundance, WY (tiny town near Gillette)! In 2012 the now Convulse crew lived in this house called Babe Haus in Laramie, Wyoming and that's where everything really took off! We have been playing music with Adam, James, Cloe, Amos, etc. for over ten years, so we were so freaking excited to see the success of Convulse! No one deserves it more, the label works so hard and is so ethical! Great people, great bands, great ethics, Convulse 11/10! -Madison

 Have you guys been writing any new material? If so, any plans for a follow up?

We are 7 songs towards a full length! We got big plans, update at the next Dreyfest :)! -Madison

Anything in particular you are looking forward to doing this year at Dreyfest?

I'm really looking forward to seeing Idaho Green, that band is kooky and I haven't seen them in like 4 years (there was a band called the High Plains Drifters last year that sounded like them, but without Dr. Tightass it was a lil different)! -Madison

Over/Under - yes, we all hate pitchfork, and yes, this is like… “their thing” but dammit! It’s too much fun not to play! I will give you a word/thing/idea, and you just have to say if you think it is underrated or overrated, and feel free to expound on your reasoning as much as you’d like, or not at all!

PT Cruisers

- Overrated, people still drive them -Madison

Video keno

-Overrated, people still play video keno -Madison

Taco John’s

-Underrated, IT'S GOOD OKAY WYOMING DID A GOOD JOB! -Madison

running/jogging

-Underrated, fitness is lit! -Madison

Rush (the band)

-Underrated, literally the greatest band of all time -Madison

HBO’s Succession

-Unrated, hardly even heard of it :(! -Madison

American Spirits

- Overrated, I like marlboros better! -Madison

Peavey amps

- Overrated, everyone has owned one at some point, but doesn't own it anymore! -Madison

Casper, Wyoming (is this a potentially dangerous question to answer?)

- Underrated, great local spots to play, eat, and drink! Would not live there though! -Madison

Bridges (the musical structure)

- Underrated, critical infrastructure! -Madison

Bridges (the physical structures)

-Underrated, critical infrastructure! -Madison

Bridges (the plural form of the card game Bridge)

-Underrated, ashes to ashes we all fall down! -Madison

Nash Bridges (the police procedural television series)

- Unrated, I'm a pop culture pleb :(! -Madison

Steve Nash (the basketball player)

-Overrated, retire my guy! -Madison

You can catch Dirt Sucker during this year's fest at Craft Local on Friday, August 5th at 8:45pm!