P. Hi, how is everything in the Big D camp?
Dave: Everything is great. We have a new record that we love, we’re on tour with The Doped Up Dollies our new Doo Wop singing back up vocalists and we have lifts for the sage like that TV program American Band Stand had. All these things are extremely fun for us.
P. I just wanted to clear up something regarding the name. I’ve read so many different accounts of where the name originated, from it being something todo with a pet to a name given to you moments before your first gig…can you clarify how the name came about please?
Dave: We lots of people who play music come up with joke band names. My friend Connor from high school made me promise to call the band BIG D AND THE KIDS TABLE. So when we started playing, I suggested the name, and because we were not a serious band, we thought it was good for a laugh.
Sean: Big D and the Kids Table was from an old AT&T commercial with Tom Sellec doing the voice over. Big D was Dave’s first band after high school, as well as mine.
P. The band has seen so many members over the years…why has that happened and are you confident the current line-up will be the one that takes the band forward for years to come?
Dave: The band started in college for fun; something to do and when school was over some guys left to do other things. I will say this, everyone who has felt they needed to go explore a different path in life has always told us they wish they had stuck around. But this line up is the guys who just love-love-love it. We’re tight.
Sean: Sometimes people just get tired of the road and the routine of being in a band. It’s completely understandable why people leave, but the line up we have now is solid. The core of the band has always remained the same. Now we have the strongest band we have ever had.
P. Your new record is out very soon on Side One Dummy and less than 2 years after ‘Strictly Rude’. You’ve always been quite a prolific band, what inspired you with the songs this time round? What can we expect to hear from the new songs?
Dave: We always like to challenge our selves and make new music. We don’t like writing the same song over and over. We feel that its taking advantage of fans and giving up on creative exploration. We grew up in a time when bands were applauded for making new sounds, yet today people seem to be praised for making the most polished version of whats already been done. So fans may find it odd to see us creatively take different paths from thrash to ska, to dub all the way to mash-ups. But you gotta love what you do and we do just that.
Sean: This record is a soundtrack for the summer, a party of positive, hopeful and danceable tunes. It’s the thing in our lives that we’ve worked the hardest on and we are all extremely excited about it.
P. If someone is reading this and is new to the band which of your records would you suggest they start with and why?
Dave: I would say start with the newest one, the one were our song writing is best. Then go backwards.
Sean: Two of my favorite bands are Nada Surf and the Flaming Lips. They get better and better with each record. That’s what a real band does in my opinion. If your first record is your best, why continue to make records? I would suggest people new to Big D start with Fluent In Stroll and go backwards. Strictly Rude would be second.
P. You’re now in your 14th year as a band. What do you think is the secret to your longevity? How long do you envisage the band going on for?
Dave: Well, I always say there are people in bands with a plan and then there are musicians. I think our secret is we are musicians that love playing their instruments, no matter what.
Sean: This band is our life. We don’t want our life to end. The key to being together for this long is friendship. We are friends first, band second. We’ve learned along the way to communicate, how to make people’s ideas come to life, how to be honest and still have fun. It’s still a learning process and I love that we are our own bosses!
P. You’ve put out around half-a-dozen split EPs over the years – are there any plans for any more? If you could work with any band who would it be and why?
Dave: I love to do another one with Melt-Banana or a new one with the French band Yelle.
Sean: We like doing EP’s as well as LP’s. We’ll probably do a dub record soonish, maybe another punk EP like Beijing To Boston, and who knows what else. As far as doing a split with another band; we like cool, original bands that work hard and put on a good show.
P. Youre doing most of Warped in the US this summer – what are your plans after that? When can we expect you back in the UK?
Dave: We are doing the Warped Tour yes, then after that we will do a States tour and then an England / Europe jaunt. And hopefully Japan, Hawaii and Australia.
P. Are you surprised at the resurgence of vinyl? Do you think the CD still has a role to play with physical music releases or is it simply time now to concentrate on the MP3 and digital distribution?
Sean: CD’s are still relevant. Not only is it an easy way to distribute our music, but also the artwork of every record is extremely important to us and that gets lost in digital music sales.
Dave: I’m so happy vinyl is back and I applaud kids for realizing that. I say buy the vinyl and get a code that allows you to down load the record as well.
P. As a band how important is it to tour? With the Internet as freely available as it is do you think touring, in terms of spreading the word,has become less important? As fuel prices have risen has touring become less viable?
Dave: Musicians would never not tour, because touring and playing music is the entire point of their existence. Writing and recording fall under playing live. The Internet has helped. When we first started our, there weren’t cell phones so you had to pull over on the side of the road to a pay phone to ring the promoter. And web sights like myspace make it easy-as-easy-could-be to book your own tour and promote it.
Sean: Touring is how you survive. Gas is expensive, but what the hell are you supposed to do? We tried touring with a vegetable oil powered van. It didn’t work out so well but hopefully that technology will become a bit more refined in the near future.
P. Michael Jackson – King of Pop or not an influence on the Big D camp?
Dave: Well Michael Jackson is like The Beatles, everyone is influenced by them some way or another. If you don’t like him, then someone if your favorite band does, thus having the influence river flow down stream.
Sean: Kick ass songs…totally weird dude.
P. If you have anything else to add please leave it here!
Dave: I have a two new books coming out, CHALK which is my 14 years of lyric writing and The Art Of Boredom, that’s a collection of poetry and prose. BIG D also has a DVD coming out of our first ten years call Build Up From Nothing. And I have a short film coming out called We Gotta Eat, which can be seen at www.davidmcwane.com