Keeping Their Heads In The Game

The parking lot at Dayton, Ohio's Knights of Columbus Hall is buzzing. The biker pulls his stocking cap down tight and pedals vigorously from one end of the parking lot to the next, pausing briefly to spin his BMX into a trick. A group of girls chatter about e-bay just a few steps away, while their male counterparts sit in a Honda Civic with the windows down blaring their latest musical purchase. The boys from Waking Kills The Dream have piled into their new tour van to meticulously tune their guitars and two answer a few of my questions.

From time to time one of the busy kids outside the all-ages show space will wander over to ask a member of the band who is playing inside the hall, or whether it is crowded. On more than one occasion they are asked if they are in a band. The boys from WKTD give them a simple, unembellished yes and encourage them to check out the show. And it strikes me….while I am seeing a serious group of musicians who've probably spent a half a century, collectively, playing in bands (Morning Again, Dead Blue Sky, Poison The Well, Keaton, and Etherea), these inquisitors simply see the approachable every-man in them. Here in lies WKTD's charm.

Later, inside the venue, the guitars are a fantastic blast of infectious, dynamic metal. There is no below-the-surface gloss, art-damage, candy coating or gloss; just tried-and-true guitar chording and hypnotic metal soloing. The explosive drumming and steadfast bass work adds to the constant and continuous build, battering and propelling the straight-forward guitar work forward with abandon. Two singers ping from one side of the stage to the other without reservation or pretense. Screams burst from one vocalists throat like blood from a gaping wound, while the other invokes heart-laid-bare sincerity with his wavering tenor singing. Together their voices are both contradictory and strangely compatible.

Bettawreckonize caught up with a few members of WKTD to discuss the hardcore scene in Dayton, Ohio, the current trends in music, and how, despite their past touring and line-up change pitfalls, they are still Depending on Tomorrow.

Interview conducted in person by Tim Anderl, photographs by Anne Anderl.

Name: Matt Tackett (guitar), Kevin Byers (vocals), Joe Anderl (vocals)
Band: Waking Kills The Dream

BettaWreckonize: Under what circumstances did Waking Kills The Dream start and when did the band start playing together?

Matt: January 2001.

Kevin: I had been talking to Matt, trying to get a band together after Morning Again broke up. We found a couple other people who were interested in doing this with us, and we got together and started playing. We started out the J. Bird on drums and Chris Common (The Story Changes) on bass. Then J. Bird quit and Chris Common switched to drums. We found another bass player, Jason Thompson, and we ended up writing a full-length together.
Since then, we've been through a lot of changes, but we are stilling going.

BW: So, when did you guys write the full-length?

M: The full-length has eight songs, and it was written and recorded from January 2001 until June 2001.

BW: You guys started recording right away then?

K: We wrote the first two songs and as soon as they were done we went into the studio to do the demo. We just kept writing from there and as soon as we had enough songs to do the full-length we went straight into the studio and started to record them.

BW: How long has the current lineup been together then, and where did you find the folks who are currently playing in the band?

K: This line-up has been since May 2002. We started by getting J. Bird back because Chris Common started being more active with his old band Rod (The Story Changes). After Chris left, one-by-one everybody started falling off. J. Bird plays in a band with our new guitar player and bass player and they decided to come on board. That is pretty much how that came about.
When Matt Shetler left, we didn't have a definite singer at first. John Gassett (I Cried This Night) was singing with us for a little bit, but we talked to Joe (Anderl) and he was all about it, so we invited him to join the band.

BW: Is it hard to keep the momentum of writing songs and playing out going with so many line-up changes?

K: It has definitely slowed us down a bunch. It bummed me out for a little while, but we are slowly but surely trying to get back into it. Matt Tackett has written a good majority of the music, so it wasn't like we lost the main songwriter. Everybody seems to want to do this now. It has gone a lot slower than what I had planned, but once the CD comes out I think that things will really pick up and we'll be able to get out there and spread the WKTD gospel.

BW: It seems like the Dayton hardcore and metal scene is pretty incestuous. Is there anybody in this band who aren't in two bands, right?

K: I'm not, though I'd like to do a pop punk project if I could find some people.

Joe: I'm not necessarily in two bands either, I just play with myself.

K: I play with myself too, but that is not in a band situation.
(laughter)

K: The best musicians in Dayton are already involved in making music, so you have to borrow from other bands.

BW: Are the other hardcore bands in Dayton supportive of each other or is it competitive?

K: I think it is pretty caddy. Everybody thinks their band is better than someone else's band. I wish people who have bands would come out to each others' shows. But, I know there are a lot of people who's bands I go see that don't usually show up to Waking shows.

J: I think that the Dayton hardcore scene shares and helps each other out when it can. It is good in that way. We helped Twelve Tribes out when we went up to Cleveland for HessFest. We suggested that Twelve Tribes fill a last-minute empty spot on the bill, and we both got added at the last minute. So, we are trying to create a sense of community and help other bands out despite some of the caddiness.

K: We could use a helping hand definitely, but to be honest, there aren't a ton of hardcore bands around. There is us and 12 Tribes….

J: And, Dead Blue Sky doesn't really play in the states very often.

K: There are mainly pop-punk bands in Dayton, and I wouldn't even say that our stuff is all that hardcore.

BW: So, how did you get hooked up with Goodlife Recordings (Belgium) and what is your relationship like with them? When did it start and how is that working for Waking Kills The Dream?

K: When I was singing for Morning Again in 1997 we worked with Goodlife. I'd say our relationship with them really started because of that. Morning Again did tours and CDs and stuff. Then when I was in Dead Blue Sky I talked to Goodlife and they hooked that up (Kevin Byers did vocals on the first DBS 7"). They had always been pretty open to what I was doing and said that if I ever had anything going on that I should send it to them. So, when Waking Kills The Dream got together, we sent them some demos and they pretty much wanted to put out the full-length before they even heard it.

J: They are good people too. I think they are trying to work really hard for us.

K: Yeah….

J: The American distribution leaves something to be desired I think, but they are really trying to work on that for our release. I've been talking to Birger a lot about that lately.

K: There are pros and cons to every label. They've been cool with us so far, and I'd say we can't complain too much.
How many times have you been out on the road together with the new line-up?

K: Not much at all. We haven't done a full tour yet.

J: We tried.

K: Yeah, we were supposed to do three dates out of state with a band called The Burning Dawn, but our van broke down in West Virginia and I thought I was going to kill myself. We've been doing a lot of local weekend shows, but for some reason we've been having a hell of a time getting shows. I think once the CD comes out and more kids start to hear about us things should be a little easier. We have a van now too, so that should help too.

BW: What is the title of your upcoming record? Is there a message or a theme that runs throughout the full-length?

K: The album is called Depending on Tomorrow. We don't really have a message as a band. We aren't really political and we don't write about a lot of social problems, but I think the songs are pretty personal. It isn't depressing, I would say it is more of a "keep your head up" feel to it. We put down whatever comes out, we don't have a hidden agenda. If it was up to me we'd be a hardcore straight-edge band (laughter). Just kidding.

BW: What are the top two shows that Waking Kills The Dream has played to date? What is the worst experience the band has had so far?

J: Hessfest was bad ass. I had a great time doing that.

K: Yeah, Hessfest was definitely our biggest show. There was another Cleveland show with From Autumn to Ashes and Everytime I Die. Who else was at that show Matt?

M: Was that with Poison the Well?

K: No, I think it was Narcissist from Cleveland and 20 North. The place was crowded and we got a great response.

BW: Does having a lot of kids show up and playing with good bands make the experience more rewarding?

K: It's not really that. We've played some other really good shows where there weren't a lot of people there, but the kids have been really into it. There can be 500 kids and if they aren't paying attention I wouldn't consider it a good show. But, some other nights, if there are 35 kids there that are all into it, I'd say it was a great show. One of our best shows was in my hometown of Newark, Ohio. There were about 200 kids there and those kids were really into it. I don't pay too much attention while I'm up on stage, I'm up there doing my thing. I wouldn't really know if it was a good show or not….I'm at the point where I just want to play and if there are 10 or 15 kids who are really into it, cool.
It seems to me that the thing that keeps Waking Kills The Dream going, despite the pitfalls, is that everyone just really likes to play hardcore.

K: Yeah, I wouldn't mind being big, but I've been playing for 14 years now and if I'm not going to be huge, I at least want to have fun doing it. I want to make the best of what I have. Life is too short, not to make the best of your experiences and just have fun.

J: I don't know. I could've done without those 10 hours broken down on the border of West Virginia. Our van was infested with ants, the gas station smelled like crap because they had an outdoor septic tank thing…

K: You're right. It was hotter than a horse's twat. We didn't even make it to the first show.

J: But, I guess it was a blessing in disguise since the show in North Carolina was cancelled. The Burning Dawn didn't find out until they got there.

K: Yeah, that bummed me out though since that was going to be our first long weekend of shows.

BW: What are your plans for the months after the record is released?

K: We just want to get out there, do some touring, play some shows….

J: I think that Goodlife wants us to go to Europe and do a tour from December 28 to January 5. There would be five Goodlife bands out together on a tour liner. That would give us the opportunity to play some bigger clubs and maybe do a couple additional dates while we are there. Also, we are sending our CD to a guy at RadioTakeOver.com who has shown some interest in our band and may be able to hook us up with the American side of some booking. He does the booking for a lot of really great bands and we are hoping that that goes well for us.

K: We have a lot of possibilities floating around, and we are just hoping that things start falling into place soon. I think that we have a lot of potential, sometimes I think we are crapping it down the toilet, but I think that if we get our heads in the game we will be O.K. We aren't the greatest band ever, but….

J: (Sarcastically) No, we are.

K: I think we right some catchy songs.

J: (More sarcasm) I think we are the best band in hardcore today by far (laughter).

BW: Do you think that with bands like Thursday and New Found Glory selling a gazillion copies of their album that the tide of music is primed for Waking Kills The Dream?

K: Music fads are here today and gone tomorrow. I know that if we, for some reason, made it big that we'd just have to appreciate and make the best of it. We could be a band that was big for a year, and if peoples' music tastes changed, we'd get dropped by the label….

J: And we'd have to kill ourselves.

K: I'd like to have a day in the sun. I've worked for half my life in music. I think if it is going to happen we'll have to make it happen soon. The mainstream has already snatched up everything that is underground and I can't predict what people will be interested in next.

BW: Do you think that emo and hardcore will go the way of grunge when people latch onto something else?

K: I think that it will always be there and that kids will always be playing it. I know it is getting big now, but when the media and record labels quit paying attention, the kids who had always been going to shows will still be going to shows, and the kids who have always been playing music will keep playing music.

BW: Have you seen any impact on the size of your crowds because of the media's embrace of this "Hot Topic-ized" emo/hardcore trend?

K: Not really yet. I think maybe we'll notice it in other cities. We don't purposely try to write hardcore or emo. We write what we write, but I think we do touch on all the genres of the hardcore and punk scenes….that may be to our advantage.

BW: Do you guys have a preference to playing in bars or playing all-ages show spaces?

K: I prefer all-ages shows. Not that I'm the straight-edge warrior, though I am sxe and no one else in the band is, but I prefer smoke free. A lot of our crowd is younger too. I guess we bring in a pretty decent crowd at bars, but I'd guess that it cuts out half of the kids who'd come to see us. I prefer all age shows….

J: I prefer stadium tours, but unfortunately we aren't to that point yet (laughter).

BW: What are you guys currently doing in the way of writing songs? It has been a while since the full-length was done and the line up is totally new….

K: Yeah, Chris Common, Matt Shetler, Jason Thompson and Justin Smith (Shetler, Thompson and Smith are all currently playing in Dayton's Simply Waiting) have all left the band. We are trying to write an E.P. We have two songs totally done.

J: We have a third song that is in the works that we just have to write the vocals for.

K: I think Matt Tackett has written the music for two other songs too, we just have to get together and learn them. We are a different band now….we will still play our older songs and we are keeping the name, but I think the new songs are a reflection of the lineup change and who we are now.

BW: What would you say the main differences are between the stuff you wrote with the old lineup and the stuff that you are writing now?

K: We are playing less hardcore and more rock or even pop-punk.

J: I sing a little more in these songs than Matt did on the older stuff. Kevin does about the same.

K: I am working on taking some vocal lessons so that we can start to harmonize and do some of that stuff soon too.

BW: Is it hard to sing songs that you didn't have a part in writing?

J: I was a huge fan of WKTD, so at first I looked at it as punk rock karaoke. I thought, "Great. I'm going to go and sing along with my favorite band." And, it was a little bit weird at first. I've tried to take these songs and make them my own, as much as I can without having written them. You have to do that to play them out live.

K: I think that with the lyrics we've written, they were designed for people to hear them and relate them to their situation. Once you start singing it, you can understand where we are coming from.

J: You can take the words and make them your own….Replacing Matt was really tough for me because that boy has….

K: He has a lot of range and his range is high.

J: It has been a struggle just to do it and to keep my voice.

K: We are hoping to start doing more new stuff and mixing it up with our old stuff when we play out. I think we just need an opportunity, and then we can make this thing happen.