| Theory Of A Deadman |
| April 29, 2005 |
| Dave Brenner |
Katrina: How did you come up with the name for your band?
Dave: It used to be a song that's now called "The Last Song" off our first record and I guess we just changed the name of the song when we were done pre-
production and didn't have a band name. We had a record deal before we had a band name. So I guess Dean just said why don't we use Theory Of A Deadman as
our band name and we were like yeah that sounds cool. That's the story pretty much behind that.
Katrina: What have you learned while touring?
Dave: Wow I've learned a lot, fell like I've learned how to play guitar better. Feel like I've learned not to take where I live for granted and to enjoy the time I get to
spend at home that's for sure. I don't know I think you learn no matter what you're doing. We just happened to spend a lot of time on the road we learn a lot while
we're one the road. I don't know if we necessarily learn because we're on the road. I think we all learn how to put on a better show and that's something that comes
with time. Every time you play you get a little bit better so those kinds of things.
Katrina: Who are your musical influences growing up and have they changed?
Dave: I'm a big fan of the whole Seattle sound. We're from Vancouver so we're two hours away from Seattle and so I was big in and I mean I was getting into music in
the early 90's. Alice In Chains, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, those bands are all my favorite. I don't think they changed much. Obviously I do listen to newer stuff that
comes out but I like a lot of the new stuff. I like heavier stuff. I like heavier bands and stuff like that. I don't know. I like everything. It's hard I think being in a band has
made me more open to listening to other bands where as I might not have listened to them had I never been in a band so that might be strange. That's how I feel, I
listen to everything now, I give everything a good chance, I like a lot of what I hear. My influences though, I don't think they will ever change. I'm still a Jerry Cantrell
fanatic so I learned how to play guitar playing Alice In Chains songs so he's always been my favorite. I don't even want to meet him, I know that if I do it might change
things.
Katrina: Which artist would you like to tour/work with?
Dave: I think right now some of my favorite bands are Audioslave, or Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters, bands like that would be awesome for us to your with. Not only
because I'm a fan of those bands but because I think they're fans would appreciate our music and I think it would be a good audience so those are three bands I
would love to work with right now.
Katrina: How do you write your songs and where do you get your ideas from?
Dave: I don't write any lyrics all I do is write some music. But for me it's just, I never sit down with the intent to write, when I'm playing my guitar and just goof around
and play stuff and every now and again you write a cool riff and then you keep it. I've never sat down with the intent of writing a song because whenever you do that it
just never works. Sometimes you just, it's got to be like in the right mood you know it's got to be no too light, not too dark. I don't know. I find that I write the best when
I'm in a different situation like if I'm doing the same thing all the time, trying to write in my bedroom or something every time because it never changes, I never get
creative. But if I got to some weird area that I've never been or I go to the beach and sit on a log or something those are the kinds of times I feel most creative
personally. I don't know what other people do but that's what I do.
Katrina: What’s your favorite venue to play? (Outdoor, Club ...)
Dave: I like playing clubs. I just think that because I'm such a fan of music I think about where I like to see bands and I like to see bands in clubs. I imagine that people
are probably the same because they're really intimate, not too many people you get to play for a small group of people and I feel like it's a lot easier to connect with
the fans and I know that when I would go to a show it was so much easier to connect with the band in a small venue like that so that's my favorite. I like everything, it's
cool to play for 30,000 people at a festival but I still would rather play for 500 people at a small club. That's cool.
Katrina: What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Dave: I have embarrassing moments on stage probably 50% of the time. Because I'll do stupid stuff all the time, I've fallen off the front of the stage and it's got to the
point where I've had to stop playing and windmill my arms so I wouldn't fall. I'll step on a monitor at the front of the stage and it will bend over real quick and I'll crash
into the ground. I've played once when my shoe fell off. Stupid stuff happens on stage all the time. I never get too embarrassed about it because it's going to happen,
it is probably the most embarrassing stuff that can happen.
Katrina: What’s your most memorable moment?
Dave: My most memorable moment. I think one of my most memorable moments is just when I was able to quit my old job and since then I haven't had to work, I've just
been able to play music. I mean there's memorable moments all the time. To jam with Zakk Wylde which was an amazing time for me. Just seeing bands, meeting
bands is cool. It's all just memorable I think from day one when we got our record deal and I got to stop, I didn't have to work anymore and from then on it's been
memorable for me.
Katrina: What’s the nicest or craziest thing a fan has done for you?
Dave: We got some pretty crazy fans. I don't know. People always do stuff for use, they bake us lasagna or something. You know crazy stuff like that. That's sort of
scary. You know it's cool because they're doing it because they're fans but at the same time you feel a little leery about eating it or something. But we get brownies,
cakes, oh man people bring us t-shirts, all sorts of stuff. They do all sorts of crazy stuff like that. And it's cool, we appreciate it at the same time I mean would you eat
cake that some stranger baked for you? It's a little strange, I still appreciate the thought.
Katrina: What’s your favorite song to perform?
Dave: I've got a few, I like playing rockers because I feel like I get more into them and the crowd can enjoy them more so we play a few rockers that I like to play.
There's a song off the new record called "Better Off" that I love to play live because we get the crowd into it and everything. It's a lot of fun. But then I have some old
favorites too. I like to play "Leg To Stand On" off of the old record and "Any Other Way" off of the old record. I've got a lot of favorite songs to perform and you know it
changes night to night too. A lot of the times whatever song the crowd is into is the one that's my favorite that night.
Katrina: What song do you think gets the best response?
Dave: Different crowds like different stuff. But some crowds are here to see us for the new album, some for the old, some for both. But I think right now one song that
people love is "Better Off" and "No Surprise" our new single has been getting huge reactions too. Because I think a lot of people that come out to our show now never
owned our first record and they're coming out because they like our new single. So I think that's another song that's getting some good reactions from the crowds.
Katrina: Who causes the most trouble in the group?
Dave: I don't know. We're all pretty mellow, we don't cause too much trouble. I don't know, we all like to have a good time, we all drink and stuff like that. As far as
trouble goes, I don't know I don't think we cause a lot of trouble. We sort of stay to ourselves and have a good time. It's all in good fun. We never really cause too
much trouble. There's no one person that causes more than anyone else.
Katrina: What’s one thing you can’t tour without?
Dave: One thing that I can't tour without. Wow, umm, I don't know. I think that taking a lot of the things that I take on tour away from me would be terrible. I mean little
things like my gameboy or I bring a blanket from home, stuff like that. I mean I could tour with out probably all of it but I don't know. There's so many things that you
bring, so many things from home so that you can sort of feel like your at home when you're on the road and I got a lot of those things. Like pictures of my girlfriend
and my dog and just things that I wouldn't be able to. Those are the things I wouldn't be able to be without I think. My cell phone because that's what pretty much
connects me to home so that's probably the best answer. My phone. As sad as it is to say I'm a slave to my phone.
Katrina: What advice can you give to people who are wanting to create a band?
Dave: I think that for bands what a lot of people don't understand is that to be in a successful band what you need to have is good songs. You don't need to wear
masks, don't need to wear makeup I mean that stuff can add to your look and to your band that's great but before you can do any of that stuff, before anybody cares
about what you look like you have to have good songs so I always say to bands, don't worry about playing 100 shows, just sit in your basement and write songs over
and over and over again until you write amazing songs because in the end that's what's going to get you a record deal and that's what's going to get you fans and
that's what's going to get you on the radio is your songs. It's not what you look like it's not how you dress, it's none of that stuff. So for bands it's write and write and
write and then when you think you've got good songs, record a demo and give it to everybody. That's the best way to do it.
Katrina: What do you think about how Canadian music is being shown around the world right now?
Dave: I think it's great. I mean Canada right now is, we spend a lot of time in the States, and a lot of labels are interested in what Canada is doing so I think it's a good
time for Canadian bands, Canadian rock bands. It's good because there's a lot of attention in Canada right now on the bands. American, they're weird, they view a lot
of bands. We'll play a lot of shows in the States and people won't even know we're Canadian. But not that's a good or bad thing, that's their perception is they don't
know. I think a lot of Canadian don't sound any different then American bands and I don't think it should make that much of a difference. A good band is a good band
no matter where they're from. But you know I think Canada was always sort of viewed as a female-solo artist like Shania Twain, Celine Dion, all those kind of singers.
So I think it's good that Canada's putting out some rock bands now. I think that's earning Canada some respect.
Dave: It used to be a song that's now called "The Last Song" off our first record and I guess we just changed the name of the song when we were done pre-
production and didn't have a band name. We had a record deal before we had a band name. So I guess Dean just said why don't we use Theory Of A Deadman as
our band name and we were like yeah that sounds cool. That's the story pretty much behind that.
Katrina: What have you learned while touring?
Dave: Wow I've learned a lot, fell like I've learned how to play guitar better. Feel like I've learned not to take where I live for granted and to enjoy the time I get to
spend at home that's for sure. I don't know I think you learn no matter what you're doing. We just happened to spend a lot of time on the road we learn a lot while
we're one the road. I don't know if we necessarily learn because we're on the road. I think we all learn how to put on a better show and that's something that comes
with time. Every time you play you get a little bit better so those kinds of things.
Katrina: Who are your musical influences growing up and have they changed?
Dave: I'm a big fan of the whole Seattle sound. We're from Vancouver so we're two hours away from Seattle and so I was big in and I mean I was getting into music in
the early 90's. Alice In Chains, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, those bands are all my favorite. I don't think they changed much. Obviously I do listen to newer stuff that
comes out but I like a lot of the new stuff. I like heavier stuff. I like heavier bands and stuff like that. I don't know. I like everything. It's hard I think being in a band has
made me more open to listening to other bands where as I might not have listened to them had I never been in a band so that might be strange. That's how I feel, I
listen to everything now, I give everything a good chance, I like a lot of what I hear. My influences though, I don't think they will ever change. I'm still a Jerry Cantrell
fanatic so I learned how to play guitar playing Alice In Chains songs so he's always been my favorite. I don't even want to meet him, I know that if I do it might change
things.
Katrina: Which artist would you like to tour/work with?
Dave: I think right now some of my favorite bands are Audioslave, or Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters, bands like that would be awesome for us to your with. Not only
because I'm a fan of those bands but because I think they're fans would appreciate our music and I think it would be a good audience so those are three bands I
would love to work with right now.
Katrina: How do you write your songs and where do you get your ideas from?
Dave: I don't write any lyrics all I do is write some music. But for me it's just, I never sit down with the intent to write, when I'm playing my guitar and just goof around
and play stuff and every now and again you write a cool riff and then you keep it. I've never sat down with the intent of writing a song because whenever you do that it
just never works. Sometimes you just, it's got to be like in the right mood you know it's got to be no too light, not too dark. I don't know. I find that I write the best when
I'm in a different situation like if I'm doing the same thing all the time, trying to write in my bedroom or something every time because it never changes, I never get
creative. But if I got to some weird area that I've never been or I go to the beach and sit on a log or something those are the kinds of times I feel most creative
personally. I don't know what other people do but that's what I do.
Katrina: What’s your favorite venue to play? (Outdoor, Club ...)
Dave: I like playing clubs. I just think that because I'm such a fan of music I think about where I like to see bands and I like to see bands in clubs. I imagine that people
are probably the same because they're really intimate, not too many people you get to play for a small group of people and I feel like it's a lot easier to connect with
the fans and I know that when I would go to a show it was so much easier to connect with the band in a small venue like that so that's my favorite. I like everything, it's
cool to play for 30,000 people at a festival but I still would rather play for 500 people at a small club. That's cool.
Katrina: What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Dave: I have embarrassing moments on stage probably 50% of the time. Because I'll do stupid stuff all the time, I've fallen off the front of the stage and it's got to the
point where I've had to stop playing and windmill my arms so I wouldn't fall. I'll step on a monitor at the front of the stage and it will bend over real quick and I'll crash
into the ground. I've played once when my shoe fell off. Stupid stuff happens on stage all the time. I never get too embarrassed about it because it's going to happen,
it is probably the most embarrassing stuff that can happen.
Katrina: What’s your most memorable moment?
Dave: My most memorable moment. I think one of my most memorable moments is just when I was able to quit my old job and since then I haven't had to work, I've just
been able to play music. I mean there's memorable moments all the time. To jam with Zakk Wylde which was an amazing time for me. Just seeing bands, meeting
bands is cool. It's all just memorable I think from day one when we got our record deal and I got to stop, I didn't have to work anymore and from then on it's been
memorable for me.
Katrina: What’s the nicest or craziest thing a fan has done for you?
Dave: We got some pretty crazy fans. I don't know. People always do stuff for use, they bake us lasagna or something. You know crazy stuff like that. That's sort of
scary. You know it's cool because they're doing it because they're fans but at the same time you feel a little leery about eating it or something. But we get brownies,
cakes, oh man people bring us t-shirts, all sorts of stuff. They do all sorts of crazy stuff like that. And it's cool, we appreciate it at the same time I mean would you eat
cake that some stranger baked for you? It's a little strange, I still appreciate the thought.
Katrina: What’s your favorite song to perform?
Dave: I've got a few, I like playing rockers because I feel like I get more into them and the crowd can enjoy them more so we play a few rockers that I like to play.
There's a song off the new record called "Better Off" that I love to play live because we get the crowd into it and everything. It's a lot of fun. But then I have some old
favorites too. I like to play "Leg To Stand On" off of the old record and "Any Other Way" off of the old record. I've got a lot of favorite songs to perform and you know it
changes night to night too. A lot of the times whatever song the crowd is into is the one that's my favorite that night.
Katrina: What song do you think gets the best response?
Dave: Different crowds like different stuff. But some crowds are here to see us for the new album, some for the old, some for both. But I think right now one song that
people love is "Better Off" and "No Surprise" our new single has been getting huge reactions too. Because I think a lot of people that come out to our show now never
owned our first record and they're coming out because they like our new single. So I think that's another song that's getting some good reactions from the crowds.
Katrina: Who causes the most trouble in the group?
Dave: I don't know. We're all pretty mellow, we don't cause too much trouble. I don't know, we all like to have a good time, we all drink and stuff like that. As far as
trouble goes, I don't know I don't think we cause a lot of trouble. We sort of stay to ourselves and have a good time. It's all in good fun. We never really cause too
much trouble. There's no one person that causes more than anyone else.
Katrina: What’s one thing you can’t tour without?
Dave: One thing that I can't tour without. Wow, umm, I don't know. I think that taking a lot of the things that I take on tour away from me would be terrible. I mean little
things like my gameboy or I bring a blanket from home, stuff like that. I mean I could tour with out probably all of it but I don't know. There's so many things that you
bring, so many things from home so that you can sort of feel like your at home when you're on the road and I got a lot of those things. Like pictures of my girlfriend
and my dog and just things that I wouldn't be able to. Those are the things I wouldn't be able to be without I think. My cell phone because that's what pretty much
connects me to home so that's probably the best answer. My phone. As sad as it is to say I'm a slave to my phone.
Katrina: What advice can you give to people who are wanting to create a band?
Dave: I think that for bands what a lot of people don't understand is that to be in a successful band what you need to have is good songs. You don't need to wear
masks, don't need to wear makeup I mean that stuff can add to your look and to your band that's great but before you can do any of that stuff, before anybody cares
about what you look like you have to have good songs so I always say to bands, don't worry about playing 100 shows, just sit in your basement and write songs over
and over and over again until you write amazing songs because in the end that's what's going to get you a record deal and that's what's going to get you fans and
that's what's going to get you on the radio is your songs. It's not what you look like it's not how you dress, it's none of that stuff. So for bands it's write and write and
write and then when you think you've got good songs, record a demo and give it to everybody. That's the best way to do it.
Katrina: What do you think about how Canadian music is being shown around the world right now?
Dave: I think it's great. I mean Canada right now is, we spend a lot of time in the States, and a lot of labels are interested in what Canada is doing so I think it's a good
time for Canadian bands, Canadian rock bands. It's good because there's a lot of attention in Canada right now on the bands. American, they're weird, they view a lot
of bands. We'll play a lot of shows in the States and people won't even know we're Canadian. But not that's a good or bad thing, that's their perception is they don't
know. I think a lot of Canadian don't sound any different then American bands and I don't think it should make that much of a difference. A good band is a good band
no matter where they're from. But you know I think Canada was always sort of viewed as a female-solo artist like Shania Twain, Celine Dion, all those kind of singers.
So I think it's good that Canada's putting out some rock bands now. I think that's earning Canada some respect.
