Interviews: Tumbleweed Dealer

On this new occasion, we had the opportunity to interview the Math Rock/Progressive Rock/Stoner Rock/Stoner Metal band Tumbleweed Dealer from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, did you plan it or just come out like that?

Planned it would be giving me too much credit. The band started as a one-man side project with no aspirations beyond posting semi-improvised tracks to SoundCloud. Had I known it would become my sole musical venture I might have put more thought into it!

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

What genre do we play? We long ago gave up on trying to fit into any proper genre. We try to walk a fine line where we attempt to have a cohesive sound without following one specific musical archetype

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

I knew JB from him recording a previous band I was in; he was my go-to guy when I needed some help finishing off the sessions for my first album when it became woefully obvious I could not home record properly! Angelo was bought in once again by JB when he recorded his previous band.

4. Each band member's favourite band?

For me it’s definitely Camel, especially their first 5 records, although I’ve learned to appreciate their later output much more in recent years. JB has been spinning a lot of The Mars Volta lately and Angelo is a HUGE Baby Metal fan, he often attends their concerts in full band member cosplay!

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Art, music, life. The latest album was inspired by Alan Moore’s reimagining of Swamp Thing’s origin story. I stumbled off a strange couch after a night of heavy drinking to find it in a bookcase. Everyone else was still sleeping off the previous night and I read the whole thing that morning, while fighting the urge to vomit, and a light went off in my head and I knew I had to make an album centered around it.

6. Where was your last gig?

We do not play live anymore, but the band’s previous line up played a handful of gigs, the last one I think was in Quebec City with local blackened thrash legends Saccage!

7. Where would you like to act?

We do not play live for the moment, but if we did, I would love to share the stage with a variety of artists from Earth to Gogo Penguin. If Death Grips ever reunite, we will be opening for them!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

We were lucky enough to have Ceschi Ramos feature on the new album and cross that off my bucket list! I have wanted to work with him ever since I heard his “The One Man Band Broke Up” record over 10 years ago.

9. Whom not?

If the artist is open minded, I’m sure we could figure out how to make it work with anyone!

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Booze! Just kidding… Just focus on the next step. Focus on getting tuned, then plugged in and ready to go, then playing the first riff and keep going from there. After a few riffs you realise you’ve got it all under control and you loosen up.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

Earth and Horseback really made me fall in love with that spaghetti western melodic palette we use. Explosions In The Sky taught me to go for big build ups. Jaco Pastorius influenced me as a bassist and Stevie Ray Vaughan as a guitar player.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

We haven’t gotten any weird requests. I have had a few fans write to me asking for free download codes simply because they couldn’t afford to purchase a digital download and I obliged, gotta respect their hustle.

13. What do you think of your fans?

I appreciate anyone who devotes some of their previous time to listening to our music. We are up on Spotify competing with literal millions of artists throughout the last 100+ years of human history and spanning around the globe, that anyone would pick us out of all those choices always arms my heart.

14. What do you think of our site?

Anyone anywhere working to connect artists and listeners is doing good work!

15. Something to add?

Thanks for having us! Hit us up on social media!