Weedeater Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 8th 2010 8:19AM by Shane Farver
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When Weedeater takes the stage at this year's SXSW music festival, lead singer and bassist "Dixie" Dave Collins might have a slight limp. Drunken accidents involving shotguns will do that to you. Of course, when you produce southern-fried, stripped down stoner/sludge metal from North Carolina, maybe mishaps with booze and firearms just come with the territory. Spinner recently spoke with Dixie Dave about drunken debauchery, cheese and his band.

Describe your sound in your own words.

How about cave metal? Because it's very simple Neanderthal rock or metal. The whole point to it, I guess, is just for it to be loud and bludgeoning, and that's about it. It's not too hard to do, really. It's pretty simple, straightforward. It may be a little bit harder to write than it is to play.

How did your band form?

I played with with these other guys around the Cape Fear area, when I was younger, around 17, 18 years old. And back then there was one big storage unit where eight bands would come and practice at. A couple of units down from us, there was another band that practiced there and Shep [guitarist Dave Shepherd] and Keko [drummer Keith Kirkum] were both in that band. Sometimes, we would get drunk and jam together with people with different bands and that's how Weedeater was actually formed, which was probably in 1995, 1994, something like that.

What are your musical influences?

That's pretty wide across the board. Everything from stuff like the Accused and Black Flag and Reagan Youth and all across to...old delta blues and everything in between. Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Melvins, to Lynyrd Skynyrd, even some old outlaw country. It's a pretty wide swath of stuff, I guess.

How did you come up with your band name?

My dog at the time, may she rest in peace, ate my weed. I had my weed laid out on the table. My dog ate it. I called her a Weedeater and we were looking for a name at the time and Shep and Keko thought it was a pretty good name.

I understand recording your fourth album was put on hold due to an accident. What happened to your big toe?

It was my buddy's birthday and we were here at the house and we were getting ready to go out and have some drinks. I had a couple of bourbon drinks and I was getting ready to spray down my shotgun and I was a victim of an unloaded gun, and unloaded gunshot wound. That's what everybody says when they shoot themselves is that it wasn't supposed to be loaded. That's pretty much what happened. I never keep my shotgun loaded. On New Years Eve, I guess I put one shell in it to shoot it into the air and I passed out, never shot it. Days later, I was walking across my living room with it pointed down at my toe, just pulled the trigger, blew my toe off. Put a nice little hole in my floor that I'm looking at right now, too.

What is your biggest vice?

My biggest vice, I would probably say bourbon.

How much bourbon do you drink?

Too much. Way too much last night. I don't like to mix it with anything so it goes straight to the head. So I'll just drink it straight on the rocks.

Was that picture of you vomiting over your bass due to bourbon?

No. That's probably due to...about 20 or so shows into the tour, my throat starts to get a little bit raspy. I guess it already is. So I tape a bottle of Nyquil or Robitussin to my amp and put a straw in it. That's why our guitar player calls me the humming bird. While I'm playing, I take sips of Nyquil to coat my throat, and that's where the vomiting comes from.

If you were to construct a SXSW survival kit, what would it consist of?

It would consist of weed, bourbon, cough syrup, and cheese, and mix in a little bit of cocaine.

What's one of the craziest things you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Oh my God. I've seen all kinds of shit. I've been hit by a public works truck in San Francisco and knocked out of my shoes. I had my leg ran over by a car in France. I don't know, all kinds of shit. Probably getting hit by moving vehicles. [Both incidents involved Dave being inebriated]

With the delay of your album [Jason the Dragon] when can we expect it out at this point?

I've been told they intend to release it in the fall, September or October. We're supposed to get back with [Steve] Albini in April, late April. So we'll get back in the studio for four or five days and get it done.

Shane Farver is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.