Dry Rot Interview: SXSW 2010

A band with the heaviest punk sound and the grimiest raw guitar licks accompanied by brazen vocals that fluctuate from yelling to a barely decipherable sound in which you have no idea what is being said but cant help but to shake your head and pump your fist: That is the truest and most fitting description of the band Dry Rot. They are based out of Ventura, California but are soon to be making their way to Texas to play SXSW. This band is a must see if you are into body slamming and tearing stuff up! Spinner recently had a very entertaining conversation with lead singer Drew Wardlaw.


Describe your band's sound.

We're a punk band, and when we play we try to pretend like we invented fast music.

How did your band form?

Jordan and I were living in a house with two other people in Santa Barbara and we started a band with the other two. We started playing in the house--we just wanted to be a fast hardcore band. Then the other two quit after our last tour, then we got two more members.

What are your musical influences?

Jordan, the guitar player, he writes all the music and he listens to a bunch of weird '60s music and oldies stuff. I don't know what it is. He listens to like Jimi Hendrix and stuff. I just listen to crap mostly, no highbrow music for me.

How did you guys come up with the name Dry Rot?

We were just trying to think of names and I was reading an encyclopedia for something for school and I came across the name Dry Rot. It doesn't really mean anything. All it is, is when you don't stain a deck often enough it gets dry rot from the moisture [in the] rotten wood. It happens when you don't take care of your house.

What are few things you must have with you while on the road?

I would say plenty of soda.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Seriously, no more than an hour and a half ago I was just having this conversation with someone. Very strange. I'll say what I said to him: that band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, I think the band is really stupid and they're probably really mean people. They seem very pretentious and not really as smart as they think they are. I started listening to them when I take naps on the bus going up to work every morning. It helps me fall asleep and ends up being very pleasant to listen to.

Beatles or the Stones?

Neither! That's old dude music. However the rest of the band says Beatles.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced at a show?

We were playing a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota and there was this really big Native American man that started spitting on me and punching me when were playing, so I started spitting on him back. He turned out to be a really well respected English professor at a University in Minnesota.

Describe your band's writing process.

We've never written any music more than a month before recording it. Usually we will set up a date to record and wait a month or three weeks before to write music. Most of the time we improvise lyrics or I sometimes write them down in between takes of songs.

What's your biggest vice?

Soda and fast food, but I don't consider those to be a vice.

Do you guys prefer to play festivals or regular venues?

We've never played a festival before so I'll say festival.


Andrea Mitchell is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.