RECORDS LiVE

Donna: Good evening, everybody. Oh, my goodness. Welcome to my humble abode. It is so nice to have you here with me. My name is Deviant Donna. Welcome to RECORDS LiVE, the live music talk show. Now, today I’m going to have some really cool people here with me hanging out, listening to some records in my living room and we’ll see how it…

*Doorbell Sound*

Donna: Oh, here’s one of them. Now, let’s welcome in Dane. Give him a hand, everybody. Hello, welcome in.

Dane: What’s good? I brought you some records.

Dane hands Donna some records.

Donna: Ohh, you shouldn’t have. Thank you so much. You know I have a present for you, too. There’s a mic for you right there.

Dane: Tight. Thanks.

Donna: You’re so welcome. I’m so stoked to listen to these records. Dane, how long have you been doing music?

Dane: Probably close to like 16/17 years, I think. Somewhere around there.

Donna: Wow, that’s a long time.

Dane: Yeah.

Donna: Would you say Mild High Club is one of the bands that started it for you?

Dane: One hundred percent yeah, big time.

Donna: Amazing. Let’s have a listen.

Song Plays: Mild High Club – Note to Self

Donna: I love this one.

Dane: It’s beautiful. I love it a lot.

Donna: What does it remind you of?

Dane: I feel like late-night summer vibes for sure. I don’t know, like driving music. I like to drive and listen to this.

Donna: You know, when I first heard the song, for whatever reason, I thought of The Beatles. Is that a band that influenced you at all as you were growing up?

Dane: Yeah, I think 100%, a lot of us indie kids have parents who are big Beatles fans, and yeah, I guess my mom was playing Beatles all the time growing up. So, I think it just kind of leaked in somewhere.

Donna: What band would you be the modern Beatles for you?

Dane: That’s really hard. I don’t know. I’d say at the beginning that was Tame Impala a little bit. Now, not so much. I don’t know. We get little bits of it in a lot of people and bands like this and stuff like that. So, I don’t know, it’s hard to pinpoint it to one artist.

Donna: So, what is it about this song in particular that tugged at your heartstrings to begin with? Besides the fact that it reminds you of summer, I’m sure there’s something deeper because I know you’re a close listener.

Dane: I don’t know. There’s something about really clean guitar melodies that kind of strike a chord and something about certain tones. And yeah, there’s something about the lead that plays on this song. I think what’s going on in the song is like an argument between a guy and a girl. I’ve had plenty of those, so yes, I don’t know. I guess it kind of resonates a little bit on the lyric end of things. A lot of it has to do with taking note to self of little things that you do. So, I don’t know. I like all that, but I’m really into just kind of the whole vibe with the whole song. I like the lead guitar mainly. That first riff kind of… that shit hits. So yeah.

Donna: We love it when it hits. I think that song and this next one speak on each other really well. Would you agree?

Dane: Yes, yeah, I’d say similar. Similarly, like psychedelic.

Song Plays: L’Éclair – Dallas

Dane: Yeah, I just generally love the groove of this song and yeah, it’s nice.

Donna: Besides the groove that’s in this song, what did you personally pluck out of it towards your own music when you first heard it?

Dane: They have a pretty sudden change-up in the song going into a little bit harder moment of the song. I like those change-ups between a melody that’s going really good, and you think it’s about to go into something that kind of hits out of nowhere. That kind of cuts down the tempo. This part. Yeah. So, I kind of like to do that a lot now, yeah.

Donna: You were telling me earlier that there’s a little character that’s tied to your band, Au Revoir Heart. Can you tell us a bit more about this little character?

Dane: Yeah. So, his name’s Cheeky. He’s like a little heart with, like, a nice ass. He’s got his ass showing all the time. He’s fucking caked up, and basically, he’s like a… It’s a long story. So, all my music follows a prewritten story, and I’m constantly working on it. He’s kind of like a virus put in the human brain.

Donna: A cheeky virus.

Dane: He’s the Cheeky chip. He’s like saving the world he lives on by…

Donna: With his cheeks?

Dane: …with his cheeks and he’s traveling through the human brain, so a lot of my albums have gone like “Cheeky’s Cerebrum,” which is like the whole outside part. And then “Cheeky’s Amygdala.” Then we have “Cheeky’s Plan,” which is him getting into the core of the brain and then breaking out. It’s a long story. He kills a four-headed dragon. It’s good shit. It’s something that I’ve been working on for a long time. It’s easier to find motivation writing songs that go along with the story than waiting to see if I feel emotional and write a song. It’s a lot easier to put it on Cheeky than it is to put it on myself, I guess.

Donna: Yeah, I love that. So, a lot of your music, would you say, is driven by something of a fantastical element?

Dane: Yeah, most definitely. There’s definitely some fantasy to all of it. I was home schooled, and I had to write a lot of prompts for some reason. That was just a thing I guess I did. I had to write a lot of fantasy prompts. So, I think it just kind of kept going forever and making up weird stories when I’m pretty stoned.

Donna: I think that’s actually really cool because I always talk about how as a music journalist, when you look at a collection of an artist’s work, it’s very difficult to look at a discography and not look at it as an anthology because people always assume that the next album has to be reminiscent of the first or whatever. But your work is not like that. Your work is literally an anthology.

Dane: Yeah, I mean, it kind of bounces around as far as the storyline goes, but yeah, it’s an anthology for the most part. There was a demo there in the beginning that I don’t know what that all was, but yeah, I feel like it’s just going to always be something that has to do with the Cheeky lore and the Cheeky story. Way easier to tie in my name because Au Revoir Heart is kind of like a sad boy name, and I don’t make too much sad boy music no more. It’s kind of more representing Cheeky now. It used to just be like “See you next time heart. I’m just a fucking sad guy, blah blah blah.” We’ve been doing it a while, so those are from age 18/19, those real emotional adult years.

Donna: Do you find that your audience resonates more with Cheeky’s lore now that you’ve been doing this for a while under his name, so to speak?

Dane: Somewhat. We got some people out there that kind of follow along. I haven’t really released a lot of the story and stuff that’s been written. I’m kind of waiting to get it into more of a physical text. I’d rather put out more music and then have a book that follows all the music that people can listen along with. And yeah, I don’t see it ending anytime since it’s going to take a while. But yeah, I think people do kind of resonate with it. It’s nice to get a little different perspective on the music instead of just listening. There’s a little bit more than that. A lot of people are into big visuals and stuff right now. Like even going just a layer further and putting a whole story behind not only one album but this all like balls in the same universe. Fucking Marvel Universe. But everyone’s doing universe shit, I guess? But yeah, same kind of thing, I guess.

Donna: That’s incredible. I love that you’re using music to cover so many different mediums. I think that’s something that not a lot of bands put effort into because the auditory aspect takes over the visual or the cerebral aspect rather. Yeah. So big props to that and honestly.

Donna: This band SLIFT… Oh my God, they fucked me up.

Song Plays: SLIFT – Lions, Tigers and Bears

Dane: Dude, so good.

Donna: Dude, this song is, first off, fucking forever. OK, but also very, very good.

Dane: Yeah, it’s a long song. We can do a fade-out.

Donna: I also noticed that in almost all of the songs that you picked, they’re running the guitar through a different pedal every single time, and this one in particular I think is super cool. So, are you in general, like a gear guy? Is that something that you put priority and emphasis on when you’re creating?

Dane: I would say in small aspects like fuzz pedals and stuff like that, I really dig. I’m into chorus pedals, too. So, I kind of like the cleaner stuff. I’m just a sucker for a Wah-wah pedal and I use it probably way more than I should, but I just personally like how it sounds, so sometimes it’s like, “Oh, this probably isn’t the best sound for a show.” But like, I don’t really give a fuck. It sounds good.

Donna: Hey, if it was good enough for Jimi, it’s good enough for you.

Dane: Yeah, I don’t know. I guess I’m somewhat of a gearhead. But I’m not like crazy into it like a lot of people are.

Donna: What do you obsess over like other people obsess over gear?

Dane: Just guitars in general, I have like 14 guitars. I don’t really obsess over anything like super crazy and I don’t like crazy expensive guitars. It’s more just like finding guitars that look cool. I like ones that kind of sound a little shitty. I don’t know what that is, but I play that shit on my TikTok and stuff. I guess it’s fucking vibes/aesthetics. But yeah, I don’t know. I guess, just mainly guitars. I dig guitars and guitars.

Donna: What is it about the more broken-down sound of the guitar? Or rather, I’m assuming that’s what you were pointing towards with like “shitty-sounding guitars.” Because every single guitar is, honestly, I’m going to go ahead and say it is a result of manufacturing in one way or another. If it’s a mass manufacturer, chances are they use cheap wood, thin wood depending on what the resonance is like, right? You can’t really use bad wood to make a guitar, right? Otherwise, it will crumble throughout the manufacturing process. So, what exactly is a bad guitar to you?

Dane: Honestly, I don’t think there is one. It just depends on who’s playing it. I’m not like super into wood and all that kind of stuff. I’ll just pick up a guitar and if I like the feel of it, I’m into it…

Donna: I’m gonna pick on the fact that you said that you used shitty sounding guitars. Do you feel that way since you just said that there’s no shitty-sounding guitars? Do you feel that way because other people have told you that?

Dane: No, it’s more that there’s certain people, you’ll just see them shredding on a guitar that’s pretty shit and it’s all worn out and the pickups don’t work and stuff, but it’s just how you play it and the feel of it all. There’s some people out there that are just virtuosos. They’re just, like, amazing at guitar, but they don’t really have a feel to their playing. And they have these, like, really sick 8-string crazy guitars, but there’s something about being able to make it work with something that’s not built to be shredded on, you know? It’s a homey feel, I guess.

Donna: You’re the guy that names his guitars, aren’t you?

Dane: Yeah, yeah. I haven’t named all 14, but the one I play at shows, her name’s Lovergirl.

Donna: Aw, where the heck did you pick up Lovergirl?

Dane: Just freakin’ Sam Ash. I was going in there for a year and playing different guitars like “I’m going to get one someday.” I was playing a bunch of Strats, and I was like, “These all kind of suck.” And then I was walking out and saw a Yamaha. It’s a Revstar. And I was just like, “It looks sick. I’m gonna play it.” There was just something about it. I liked it. And then I was like “How much to like, Credit this?” and had my mom come down and cosign and shit. And yeah, I’ve got that guitar. I’ve had it for years now, but yeah, she’s my baby.

Donna: Was that one of your first ones?

Dane: No, I’d say it’s just one of the main ones where I really went and waited until… I don’t want to sound like “I just fucking waited for it to come to me.” You know? But I was trying a bunch and didn’t feel it. I was picking out stupid shit about them that I didn’t like, too. Like, “The fucking little fret things are too high. I feel it on my finger too much.” It was like stupid shit. So, I don’t know. Once I found that guitar I thought “This is it.” And then funnily enough, I have a Stratocaster now that I play pretty frequently, too. But Lovergirl is like, “That’s my baby.”

Donna: I totally resonate with that. I play guitar, poorly, and I can’t play any other guitar but my own. And I was over at my friend’s house, and we were just kind of fucking around. I picked up one of his guitars, and I couldn’t play a single thing. And he said to me, “The equipment shouldn’t matter,” and I’m like, “No, you don’t get it.” And then I pulled out my guitar, and he’s like, “Ohh, I get it.” Because mine’s just constructed very differently, which I did not know previously, but alas there we have it.

Dane: You need a Marty Robbins or whatever his name is, the YouTube guy.

Donna: YouTube has been a godsend. What can I say?

Dane: It’s school now, yeah.

Donna: No, more. I guess it was kind of a nerd thing back in the day, right? Were you ever a YouTube person?

Dane: Yeah, I was. I made YouTube videos when I was like 10 or 11 that are out there. Yeah, they’re out there. Yeah.

Donna: Yeah, you did.

Dane: When Smosh was big, I was like, “I could do that.” I’m fucking glad I didn’t. Kinda.

Donna: It’ll be out there forever.

Song Plays: Terakaft – Alghalem

Donna: Well, you know what else is out there forever is Middle Eastern-influenced music, because holy shit…

Dane: That’s a sick segue.

Donna: This band is so cool.

Dane: Yes, Terakaft. Very sick. I don’t even know how to say the name of the song properly.

Donna: I don’t think you have to. I think it’s just vibes. I mean, unless anyone here speaks…I actually don’t know what language this is in. Do you?

Dane: Don’t know, not gonna try to guess in this current political climate…I’m just kidding.

Donna: Yeah, I think that in cultures where storytelling is very dependent on music and sound, especially Middle Eastern cultures being one of them, where storytelling is such a popular medium, generationally, I think that the words almost become secondary. You have to really be able to tap into whatever the music makes you feel. It’s not like we don’t do that anyways. We do. That’s how we interpret music. But what is it about this song in particular? How did you come to find this genre of music?

Dane: Honestly, I like a lot of music where I don’t know what the hell they’re saying. The vocals are more of a different instrument. I kind of dig that aspect of things. There was a big psychedelic rock uprising in the Middle East, and I just think it was cool as shit. There’s a lot of bands coming out of there that were doing a lot of Hendrix covers. I think I was watching a KEXP video, and these dudes were on there and there’s a humongous band, but they just shred on Stratocasters and they don’t use picks. They just have long fingernails. They’re amazing. I like the drone-ish likeness to it. You kind of get sucked in, and it’s just a good groove. I like music that’s psychedelic, but also you can dance really well to it, like, have a good time dancing with other people too, I guess. There’s a better beat to it.

Donna: Yeah, I’m really liking the damp claps in the background.

Dane: Yeah, it’s nice. That’s just how they play live. There’s dudes just sitting there clapping, and it’s beautiful. I think it’s really cool that psychedelic rock music made its way out there and that they were able to interpret it and make it into their own vibes, you know? And now these dudes play Coachella. I think that’s a beautiful come-up as a musician and someone who’s influenced by music that’s been out for a long time.

Donna: What other countries are there in your Spotify library that you draw upon for inspiration?

Dane: I listen to a lot of different stuff. I’d say a lot of like Middle Eastern psych rock. A lot of Vicente Fernández. I don’t know where that came from, but I’m into that. I like stoner mariachi, some random shit of that. And then I like old J-pop. Like the old kind where it’s more like Mac DeMarco-ey kind of vibes. J-pop was on some cool vibes in the 80s and 90s. So, I like all that.

Donna: Yeah. Your sound in general, in certain parts of song construction, I almost want to say it’s like you Make Love with the synth a little bit in your rhythms.

Dane: Yeah, yeah, I be fucking that synth sometimes. No, yeah, I don’t know. I like a little bit of the unexpected. And I’m a sucker for a solo. 75% of my songs have a solo somewhere in there. Whatever instrument it may be. Yeah. I dig the vibes of just throwing that shit in there randomly. Something about synths tie music together well, and psychedelic music, too. It kind of brings an atmosphere to everything.

Donna: And the kings of throwing shit together is…

Song Plays: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Cellophane

Dane: Yes, my favorite band in the whole world.

Donna: And a great note to end on. I never actually bothered to sit down and listen to them until you and I talked the other week. I feel like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard were always in the background for me, and I never bothered to actually sit down and properly listen to what they created.

Dane: And they’re amazing. A powerhouse, for sure.

Donna: After talking to you, I did a little bit of research on them, and it’s almost like they’re a little bit of a Grateful Dead vibe in terms of the type of fans that they have.

Dane: Yeah, most definitely. I think that’s what I like about it. They’re not super huge, but there’s still so many people who know about them. Then when you talk to someone who’s a fan, they know just as much as you do. There’s something beautiful about it. I’ve made a lot of friends around the world just because we like the same music. I know it’s crazy, but I’m driving to Texas next year to go see them, so I’m on those vibes. You just kind of go and follow them.

Donna: That’s a lot of dedication. How did you get to the point of being such a fan?

Dane: Shoot, I don’t know. We went and played some shows out in Lake Havasu. One of my friends came and played drums for us and he put them on, and I don’t know. We listened to them for a lot of the drive, and I was like, “Damn this shit is good.” Other people in the car were like, “Hey turn this shit off. It’s too much.” Which, like, I’ve converted them by now. They’re followers now, but I don’t know, something about them stuck. I was already kind of moving in this direction. I mean not anywhere near them, but as far as my taste went and what I was writing. Something about when I listened to them, I was like, “This is it. This is what I was kind of looking for.” It’s what I like in music. There’s just something about them that I take a lot of inspiration from. But at the same time, I’m a huge fan. I love these dudes. I’m not ashamed to take inspiration either because I think what they’ve done with music has been beautiful. So, I think just taking another part of it and branching off is a cool thing to do as well. Building off some stepping stones that they’ve put down for a new genre of psych rock.

Donna: I love that these guys draw so generously from the early 60s side of rock. I think that inspiration is very apparent, especially in this track. I feel like you can just hear remnants of like 13th Floor Elevators in there.

Dane: Yeah, most definitely. A lot of Wah-wahs. Droning drums that just play the same beat. We cover one of these songs, and my drummer and the bass player are bummed on it because they just play the same shit the whole time. But there’s just something about it that I can’t explain. It’s so necessary to the song. I love it.

Donna: Yeah, I think you have to be so in tune with your other band members. I think it’s so hard to cover a band like this because they’ve been playing together for so long, right? And it’s like they all kind of just intrinsically can feel each other, and if they’re jamming on stage, you’d never know just because they know each other’s playing style so well. I think that’s the hardest part about trying to cover a band like this, which it sounds like that’s what you’re explaining. Right?

Dane: Yeah, it’s somewhat of a challenge explaining because not everyone loves them like I do. We’ll just play the same shit forever because we love the sound of it, you know? So, it’s kind of hard to explain, but I think there’s an appreciation. Especially with the guys I have, they understand and they don’t say “Shut the fuck up, Dane.” They’re pretty understanding guys, so they get that I admire what they do and that I’m just trying to do a version of that. So, it’s nice. Yeah.

Donna: Yeah, I think that’s beautiful. I think that paying homage is the best that we can do instead of trying to copy things note for note, which a lot of bands attempt to do when they play live.

Dane: It’s too hard to do that. It’s more fun to just kind of let it go. I worry because some King Gizzard fans will know every fucking note. Like, “The drumbeat was off right there.” But it’s nice to repaint a picture, I guess. Yeah. That’s a nice way to put it.

Donna: Wow, that’s incredible. Thank you so much for sharing.

Dane: Of course, I’m super deep.

Donna: And I have to ask, besides these bands, are there any others that you feel deserve honorable mention in terms of what you’re working on for the future? Not the stuff that you’ve already released. But the things that you’re looking towards?

Dane: A lot of bands. Doing a lot of collaborations with local artists, so it’s nice that we’ve all come to points where we aren’t pumping out our own stuff. We kind of work together. Don Luxe is a dope band. I would say the Rezzies, Plantasia… they’re a really cool group out of Joshua Tree. They’re like that jam vibes. They can just play together for like three hours straight, and you wouldn’t know they’re just jamming, you know? Yeah, I love those boys to death. And those bands are where we’re all growing together, I would say.

Donna: And I love that as well because I always say that there is enough room for everybody. The music community is so vast, so wide, and I don’t think people ever get tired of hearing new things. I think to a certain extent, people long for it rather than hearing the same regurgitated stuff over and over. So, I love that you guys are creating space for yourselves and for each other to be able to express and collaborate instead of gatekeeping sounds which I always thought was silly.

Dane: It’s sounds, you know? Yeah, we listen to noise albums.

Donna: We’re laughing because I bought a noise album earlier.

Dane: I’ll listen to it.

Donna: You know what, you guys should all listen to it.

Dane: She bought a noise album. It’s just noise music. So, it’s what you got to listen to on your way home tonight.

Donna: It’s really good.

Dane: Yeah, we got some horns signs in the audience. Yeah, noise!

Donna: Well, Dane, thank you so much for joining us tonight. I super appreciate you just hanging out with us and sharing some of your main influences.

Dane: Yeah, of course. Happy to be here. Thank you for having me. It was super cool.

Donna: You guys, Dane from Au Revoir Heart, round of applause, everybody.

Dane: Thank you guys.