Forming back in 1996 American metallers the Dillinger Escape Plan has grown from strength to strength. In 2007 the band entered the studio to begin production on their third full-length album 'Ire Works' which became the bands biggest critical and commercial success to date! Tracks like 'Milk Lizard' were featured in an episode of the television drama CSI: NY and the band were performing 'Black Bubblegum' on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Dillinger Escape Plan's history, like many bands is filled with lows and highs and various line-up changes. Guitarist Ben Weinman is now the only remaining original member of Dillinger and is proud of what the band has accomplished thus far! Besides his work as Dillinger's shredding axe-man, Ben has also been heavily involved in the production of all of the band's previous albums and has also self managed Dillinger since the bands inception. Raised in New Jersey Weinman attended Fairleigh Dickinson University where he received a degree in Psychology. Whilst playing with Dillinger he went on to study Corporate Communications at University before quitting to concentrate on Dillinger full-time! In early 2008 the band hit the Australian shores for a series of sold-out shows, playing their hits and tracks from the band's latest offering 'Ire Works'. Not even twelve months later the band are set to return as part of the Soundwave Festival bill alongside Nine Inch Nails, Devildriver, All That Remains and Minus the Bear to name just a few! It was recently announced that the band would also be headlining their own side-shows in Australia which has excited the fans no end! Over the Christmas break I had the pleasure of speaking with the man behind Dillinger's driving force Ben Weinman, we discussed the bands return to Australia, being a part of the Soundwave Festival, the success of 'Ire Works' and the bands plans to release a brand new DVD which will be titled 'We're Not Trying to Impress You'! As the countdown for the Soundwave Festival begins kick back as we chat with Dillinger's 'Party Smasher' Ben Weinman! Metal Fanatix: Firstly mate I really want to thank you for speaking with us at such a crazy time of morning! How is everything going mate? Ben Weinman: Pretty good man! It’s 3:30 in the morning here! Metal Fanatix: Damn dude, that’s insane! Let’s get straight into it mate... The countdown to this year’s Soundwave festival is now on and what an amazing line-up of artists, I would imagine you guys are thrilled to be part of it? Ben Weinman: Yeah were extremely thrilled to be a part of it! Not only are a lot of our friends bands playing that we’re excited to be hanging out with, but were also really excited to be seeing Nine Inch Nails and Alice in Chains, bands we grew up listening to... so that’s going to be really cool! Metal Fanatix: Tell us, how did you become involved with the Soundwave festival, were you approached by the promoters or is this a festival you have wanted to do for a couple of years now? Ben Weinman: Initially I don’t think we were going to go cause we were over in Australia fairly recently. I believe Scars on Broadway cancelled and they asked us if we would be interested in taking their slot. Metal Fanatix: Other bands on the bill includes Minus The Bear, Lamb Of God, Silverstein and Unearth to name just a few... are there any bands on the bill you’re really looking forward to checking out while ya here? Ben Weinman: Oh god there’s so many! We’re good friends with Poison the Well and Every Time I Die, we’ve toured with those bands a great deal, I’ve probably seen those bands more times than anyone of their fans so I don’t really need to see those guys. I’m really looking forward to seeing Minus the Bear who we’re also friends with. I’m also looking forward to seeing the guys from The Bloodhound Gang, I haven’t seen those guys in a long time too! Metal Fanatix: Ben, as you mentioned it wasn’t all that long ago that Dillinger Escape Plan were touring Australia, what can the fans expect from you this time around? Ben Weinman: Everytime I do an interview somebody asks me that and it’s really the hardest question, cause all we want to do is play and not be horrible that’s our goal [laughs]! People are always asking what can people expect and this and that and finally I just started making things up [laughs]! How we’re going to ride out onstage on a camel and how Greg’s going to do a duet with King Diamond! Metal Fanatix: [Laughs] Ben Weinman: Honestly we never know what to expect, every show is always different! We always try to give 150% at the very least and I think for people who have never seen us before they’re going to see something that they’ve never seen before... not something that they may hate, but something different! Metal Fanatix: Unfortunately being a festival the running slots are never as long as we would like them to be, will the set-list be dramatically changed from your last Australian visit?
Metal Fanatix: Speaking of your last Australian tour... what comes to mind when you look back on that? Ben Weinman: Everytime we play there it just gets better and better! I’m always overwhelmed by the acceptance that the Australian fans have for crazy music! A lot of bands that are considered to be a little out there always do really well in Australia. I remember hearing that Mr. Bungle would be played on major radio stations there in Australia and that’s just exciting cause that would never happen here in the states! Australia has always been one of our favorite places to play in the world, not only is it a beautiful place but the people are so awesome and knowledgeable. Metal Fanatix: Mate, I recently read that you guys are putting together the finishing touches to a new DVD which covers the bands history, what can you tell us about that? Ben Weinman: Yeah, it’s been a real pain in the ass to track down old crappy video tape footage, and really hard to track down people who were around the band so long ago to give a word or two about us! I think it’s really cool even for people like Greg who weren’t in the band way back then; it’s really cool for people to see what it was like when we first started, when it was very difficult. As much as we’re going against the grain now we were going against the grain even more. We were starting a band in a condition that was much different to how it is today! There was no YouTube, there weren’t even cell phones, we were booking tours via pay phones, it was a very different time and I think that it will be really cool for the newer bands to see a very different time and environment! Metal Fanatix: Mate tell us more about the DVD, what details can you give us at this stage, obviously it is going to have a lot of early footage, what else can the fans expect when it’s released? Ben Weinman: Initially it was going to be a lot of footage from a lot of old shows, some of the footage is just so hard to use cause the sound and quality is so bad! We’ve done it a lot more documentary style with a lot of interview footage, interviews with people, who were around the band when we first started that have some insight on what it was like when we first came out, behind the scenes footage, Davey Havok from Afi talks about when we first started out, there are a lot of veteran bands and newer bands adding there thoughts. Some people may not understand why someone like Davey would be on a Dillinger DVD but back in the day the truth of the matter is Davey would call me and say “hey, I need a show in Jersey who should I call?” so I’d give him a number to a local guy who put on shows, then I’d call him [Davey] and say “hey I need a place to stay” and he would put me up! We all came from the same place even thought we were all playing very different music and that’s the bottom line Metal Fanatix: Have you guys come up with a name for the DVD yet? Ben Weinman: ‘We’re Not Trying to Impress You’... that was actually some of the first lyrics that ever came out of us! It was the second song on our first demo, and those were the main lyrics to the song! Metal Fanatix: Mate, it’s been a little over twelve months since the last Dillinger album was released... looking back on the recording process for ‘Ire Works’ now, is there anything you would have changed? Ben Weinman: There are always little things that you would like to do but honestly this is the first recording that I’m really completely happy with! You’re always after recording sitting there thinking about how you could have done everything different or everything you could do better but I think that this is one of the most satisfying things I have ever done! We were so happy with the way it came out… it came out very close to the vision that we had for it! Metal Fanatix: Ben there’s no doubt you’re an amazing guitarist, as a player what do you try to achieve in the studio, do you walk in knowing exactly what you want to lay down or is it more spontaneous? Ben Weinman: I think it’s very important to have a combination of the two! Obviously structure and there is some very complex things going on in Dillinger songs, it is very important to us that even if our music sounds like it’s random that it’s not! Everything has a purpose but within that, there is room for happy mistakes that create character and personality! One thing I do is know that I want everything to be intentional, focused, aggressive and in your face! Dillinger is all about attack and dynamics, I go in there knowing I want to play everything well and everything tight, make sure everything is on, at the same time there are moments where there’s just times to be noisy and time to let the emotions be the primary driving force!
Ben Weinman: Unfortunately there’s absolutely no working titles; Greg [Puciato] might have some floating around but we’re still in the process of me working on the songs by myself and getting together a lot of little demos, which I haven’t even presented to the guys yet! As for the direction... so far it’s really chaotic, it’s really messed up and weird! Let’s put it this way... I’ve gotten many migraines making this stuff [laughs] I’ve turned all the lights off and put my head into the pillow a few times [laughs]. Metal Fanatix: [Laughs] Mate, I want to talk to you a little more about touring and life on the road... Can you remember the hardest time you ever had as an opening act? Ben Weinman: God there’s been so many! We had so many difficult times, pretty much anytime we opened for a larger band it was difficult! Most of the kids at those shows don’t want what we have to offer! One time when we were very young and hadn’t had a full touring experience, we went out on tour with Mr. Bungle for two months in the States. I remember those guys having a thousand people on stage, a full percussionist, keyboards, saxophones, Mike Patton had about fourteen microphones set up, it was incredible. When we went on stage it amounted to about five inches of stage for us to stand on [laughs] and two channels of the P.A. system. Here we were, trying to play this annoying, crazy aggressive music with the vocal and a snare drum; which would make it even more annoying… Metal Fanatix: [Laughs] Ben Weinman: A lot of the kids didn’t really enjoy what we had to deliver to them but now... a lot of our biggest fans are kids that saw us on that tour and didn’t really get it at first, but later gave us a second shot! Another time that comes to mind is when we were opening for System of a Down in Europe, some nights we were playing to twelve thousand people and it looked like a mall full of fifteen year old fat girls with pink hair! I swear to god, and that was pretty much what the shows were like! They weren’t all exactly into our brand of music but I remember one of the shows someone threw a full chicken sandwich at Greg and he caught it and just started eating it! He was so excited that somebody had thrown food, he had stopped singing. I was playing and looked over at him, thinking why isn’t he singing and he was sitting there eating this sandwich [laughs]. Metal Fanatix: [Laughs] Ben you have hit the road with many amazing artists over the years, who has given you the best advice out on the road and what was it? Ben Weinman: You know what... I haven’t gotten a whole lot of great advice but I have observed some cool things that have taught me a lot. Honestly, particularly that Mr. Bungle tour! Almost ten years ago, that was really educational for us! They were doing a big production, they were very professional, they sounded amazing every single night and they recreated everything from the records. They were driving around in a van and being very conservative, so on a business front I learnt how to run the band, be professional, not be excessive with things, put on a good show, and treat it as a real business! Metal Fanatix: Mate, we have hit the part of the interview, where our readers get to find out a little more about the real you! What have your parents thought about the music you’ve played? Ben Weinman: They pretty much have a similar reaction to many other parents. “I like the music, but why all the screaming”? Metal Fanatix: [Laughs]
Metal Fanatix: What was the very first concert you attended and how much of an impact did that have on you musically? Ben Weinman: The first concert I ever attended was Journey and I remember being in an arena full of people, singing every single word. The band were playing hit after hit and the power and emotion of the crowd was an energy I couldn’t understand. I was very, very young and it blew me away! I knew right away that I wanted to play music and be in front of people. The second one was Depeche Mode with a similar thing, I’ve been a huge Depeche Mode fan forever and to see a production of that scale, it was amazing! Metal Fanatix: Growing up I believe you received a degree in psychology? Did you ever consider taking that path rather than music or was it more a conscious decision to have something like that to fall back on just in case things never worked out? Ben Weinman: It was never really something that I thought I needed to fall back on; it was something I was seriously considering going into, the music thing just happened to start taking up more and more of time until it became a full-time thing! I never intended on being a musician for a living, it was always a hobby and probably if I did intend to make a living being a musician I wouldn’t have made a band like Dillinger! Metal Fanatix: What is the one song you wish you had written? Ben Weinman: Damn man! There’s so many, there’s certain metal songs that you just can’t deny I don’t care if you like any kind of music, no matter what you think of a band or whatever but there have always been some songs that are just great to me like ‘Wasted Years’ by Iron Maiden! I’ve always loved that song, every time I hear it I just get a smile, there are so many Pantera songs; you can say these guys are all meat heads but when you hear those songs you go “goddamn, that songs so awesome, so brutal”! Metal Fanatix: Dillinger kicked off back in 1996-97 and built up a great fan base early on... when did you realize that you had a serious chance of making it? Ben Weinman: Still to this day we don’t feel like we’re going to make it! We don’t consider ourselves the same as these bands who are doing it for a job! Even though we do, do it for a job, it’s weird. We never make artistic decisions or anything like that based on the business side of it for the most part. There was a time when I was in high school growing up and I was in bands, I was always the guy who would get a job in an office so that I could use a copy machine to make flyers. I was just the guy that was constantly trying to do the management side of things, then it turned into me trying to organize plane tickets overseas and visa, then me organizing busses and it turned into a much more complex thing that was very gradual. I guess there was a point when I was in school I started a job in a corporation and I was dating a girl very seriously for many years and the band just kept getting offers for tours to Japan and here and there, finally I realized that I had to make a decision and I quit my job, I was going to graduate school at the time, I broke up with my girlfriend and I haven’t stopped ever since! Metal Fanatix: Who have you been surprised to learn is a fan of you work? Ben Weinman: There’s been so many people that I have heard are fans that I just couldn’t believe cause they’re not in the genre or just because they have been somebody that I’ve looked up too! Early on we had heard that King Crimson were into Dillinger and that was a huge honor, we’ve had people like Alicia Silverstone and Pink at Dillinger shows and you would never think of those people to be at our shows. I’ve heard that Pearl Jam is fans of Dillinger, and I would never think that Pearl Jam would be into Dillinger. A couple of the guys from Soundgarden came to one of our shows and were hanging backstage with some really nice things to say! These are legends to me, people I grew up listening to, it’s amazing! Metal Fanatix: Ben how about rumors... every band certainly get their fair share... what’s the craziest rumor you’ve ever heard about yourself and or the band? Ben Weinman: Most of them are all true, they’re not really rumors they’re just fact [laughs]. I’m trying to think of something... Oh, I guess the one rumor I have heard that I know isn’t true is that we right our music by rolling dice! That’s definitely not true.
Ben Weinman: [Laughs] I can only pick one? Metal Fanatix: Oh you can pick as many as you like! [Laughs]. Ben Weinman: You know the band Three Doors Down? There is just something about that band that’s just so stale to me man! It’s been done so many times. They named there band after the fact that if you go to a city, head into a bar and hear a band that’s just like them, then walk three doors down to the next bar and hear another band just like them, then walk another three doors down and you’re hearing the same fuckin' thing! Metal Fanatix: Dude thanx again for your time tonight, I look forward to seeing you at the Sydney Soundwave festival! Do you have any last words for our readers? Ben Weinman: Yeah man, we’re looking forward to coming back! I’m not lying, Australia is one of our favorite places to tour and be so we’re just really grateful that people care enough to have us! To keep up with all the latest news on Dillinger check out the following websites: http://www.ireworks.net/ - Official Dillinger Escape Plan Site http://www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan - Dillinger Escape Plan MySpace Site http://www.myspace.com/insideout666ints - Inside Out 666 © Cameron Edney February, March 2009 Not to be re-printed in any form without written permission. |
