Mark Engles - Dredg (07/02/2012)
The 59th Sound spoke with prog rockers Dredg, soon to make their Australian tour debut for Soundwave 2012.
Hi I’m Olivia, thanks for talking with The 59th Sound today!
No problem!
So where abouts is the band at the moment? What have you been doing recently?
Right now we’re at home just kinda taking care of our personal lives. We just finished a tour so now we’re just taking a break until Australia, which is at the end of the month. So we’ve basically been doing our own thing; we all have a couple of other things can we do whether that’s jobs or education or something else.
Now I'm you’ve been asked this countless times before: How did you choose the band name?
Wow, that’s an old question! We were very, very young and for a few years we had a different name and didn't like it and wanted to change it. It was before some live show so we did it in a hasty fashion. We had been making list [of band names] and it suck. Now we hate it! But you can't really change it was your momentum is going
And your own name – is it a pseudonym or is it a coincidence that it’s comprised of two well-known philosophers from the 19th Century (Marx and Engels)?
No, it’s a coincidence! That is my given name – Mark Engles. I believe Frederick Engels spelt his name differently. It is pretty funny but no, Mark Daniel Engles is my real name!
Very interesting. Now in 2009 the band departed from Interscope Records after a decade-long run. What was the reason behind the exit?
I think it was kind of obvious that it used to be a rock label. Our friends were all in there: Queens Of The Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails – you name it. It was a very rock-centric label for many, many years and then it just changed direction.
Your earlier albums were all conceptual – what drew the band towards this type of album?
Dark Side Of The Moon [by Pink Floyd] to be honest. Falling in love with that at a young age and then getting ready to dig into the idea of making a record a bit more than just twelve songs. We weren’t trying to be super deep or profound, it was just more fun for us to make something and then dig into the idea behind it and map it out and all that. It was a fun project for us and it felt right.
You said you used Dark Side Of The Moon as inspiration. What other bands or albums do you think were essential in crafting your sound?
That’s always a tough question. I’d have to open up my CD book and flip through it ‘cause there’s just so many. Black Heart Procession was one of them, DJ Shadows, Archive, Elbow – that was more in the early 2000s. Before that, there were the bands in our area like Deftones. We definitely came from a more rock-driven, loud rock-type band and then became fascinated with different things to add.
Who in the band is in charge of the writing and creating process? For instance, the themes, lyrics, melody etc.
There are different facets that we’re all responsible for. When it comes to the music it’s pretty hands on between all of us. Of course different ones of us have different strengths. Gavin [Hayes, vocals] does write all the lyrics, Drew and I will help either with direction or the concepts - especially in the earlier records. Drew and I would help a lot with what the overall idea would be. But Gavin is the lyricist and musically we’re all going to bring something different. Dino’s a piano player as well as a drummer and in comes my guitar or just something that I can bring to the table. Then Drew has his own style [as well].
It’s great, it’s very democratic. It’s probably the reason why we’ve lasted as long as we have, because we can all bring something and there’s really no weak link.
Do you ever have conflicts between ideas? How do you overcome these?
We lock ourselves in a room with a bottle of whiskey and fist-fight.
Very rockstar!
Na, I’m joking. There’s always going to be arguments. I think, depending on what the argument is, you try to work it out reasonably y’know? We’ve been friends for twenty years: we know each other so well. It’s like being married to three people at once! We always find a way to [overcome] it, whether it’s by taking a break, letting yourself calm down, and come back later or talking it out til it’s an old nub of an idea.
We have other people around, too. Having a producer or other people around as mediators can always help too. We like getting other people there that you trust because when things are difficult and no one can agree it’s always good to have that number there that you respect – it’s always a good thing.
Sure. Now, your band draws inspiration from a number of areas, some are somewhat unusual (such as artist Salvador Dali). Do you deliberately look for inspiration in such places or is it more of an accidental thing?
I don’t think it’s deliberate. We all just happen to enjoy a lot of different things. We all have a lot of things that we love, usually whatever you do for a living or as a hobby. We all have a lot of different tastes. I think – like I said earlier on in the conversation – it’s not just about having four rock songs on a record. We add things that we like outside of music whether it’s film or art or concepts that interest us.
Your most recent album is called, “Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy”. I love the name!
[laughs] Thanks!
It was leaked about a month before its scheduled release last year. The band and yourself have been in this industry for almost twenty years. Piracy has also been in the spotlight a lot lately due to SOPA and the backlash that caused. What are your thoughts on music piracy?
To me, it’s no different to taping mixed tapes or VHS tapes when we wee kids. I don’t have a problem with sharing of the music. I just don’t like it when our album gets leaked and it’s some shit version, sound quality wise. That bugs me more than anything. Maybe not with this record but two records before that, you spend so much time on trying to get the sound right and if the version that’s released sounds like crap it’s a bit of a bummer.
But I think we all just have to accept that we live in a world now where people aren’t buying vinyl or CDs like they used to. It’s not an industry that’s going to be run by that end of the market. It’s going to be coming from somewhere else. Music is music and let’s just be happy that people are wanting to find your music. The fact that you can find the most obscure band from any corner of the world at your fingertips is pretty great.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with you. Being an American band, you guys are obviously pretty well-known over there. What’s your fan-base like around the world and in Australia? Is there one country where you are particularly popular?
You never know, really. In America we’re actually not that well-known. I mean, we do all right. We’ve been consistent here and there. I think we do better in some other countries; Germany’s always been great to us and other nations in Europe. We just got just got back from Turkey, which was pretty phenomenal. That was really great, we felt so welcome there. Overall, since Facebook has come around it’s been really interesting to see where people are from around the world. It’s interesting to think of why some countries enjoy your music more than others.
Though we do feel like, no matter what country we’re in, our fans – if they are truly our fans – all seem like the same type of people, which is always fun for us. No matter what language they speak, no matter what languages they come from, they all have a similar demeanor. They’re always really nice. But we’ll see how it is in Australia; we’ve never been there so we’ll see what it’s like. We’re excited though.
You were talking about the language barrier – how do you overcome talking to people or an audience that don’t speak English?
To be honest, it doesn’t happen very often because everyone seems to speak such great English. Every now and again there will be someone who can’t speak it but if they don’t, their friend can speak it. None of us speak that many languages – we can get around with a couple but we haven’t really had that many problems. English is pretty prevalent everywhere.
As you said, the band is coming to Australia for the upcoming Soundwave Festival. Who are you most excited to see?
Meshuggah, definitely Meshuggah. I’ve never seen them and they’re one of those mind-blowing bands that come around every once in a while. There’re a couple of other bands I want to see. I saw Bad Religion when I was 14 years old in San Francisco so it’ll be good to see them again. They’re a great band.
It’s a festival, it’s always fun to see what free time you have and grab a beer and go to check out the whole thing.
As I’ve said earlier, you’ve been in music for the better part of your life – what’s your motivation to keep on going in such a competitive industry?
That’s a great question! You start at a young age and you achieve these baby-step goals. Then those goals become bigger and I think as you move down the road – I’m using too many cliché’s. Sorry! But the goals just get bigger and bigger and I think you keep yourself going because these goals become these small steps to something bigger. Even if that means we’re never the biggest band in the world, if we keep on doing this and we keep on making records we’re proud of and inspire people I think we’re going to keep on going for a little bit [longer].
Also, other music will always inspire you – old or new. Finding new music helps but also revisiting the old stuff that you’ve forgot can inspire you so deeply.
Was there ever a moment in your career where you thought that maybe the band wasn’t going to work out?
All the time, I mean I’m going to school right now. We all have our separate jobs, to be honest. We don’t make nearly enough money to do only this right now. Education, other jobs.. I think on every tour or album cycle there’s going to be that little point where you feel like it might be done. But like a lot of things, there will be ups and downs and right now even a small thing like taking a trip to Australia – I mean it’s big for us in terms of excitement – it’s one tour, that’s what I’m getting at. I think we have at least one more record in us and that keeps you going and then you go from there. Six years ago we made “Catch Without Arms” and we started writing for the “Pariah” album; I think we just take it one album at a time. There’re things in every album cycle that makes you really excited and really proud and privileged. Then there’re things that make you feel like it’s probably the end and you get really depressed and you just want to go home! It’s always going to be a bit of both.
And now to rap it up, could you tell me one of the worst and one of the best moments in your music career?
The worst is a little bit easier.. We had our equipment stolen in Dallas, Texas. It’s hard to say, because it was tough in the moment but then you just think to yourself, “What is material value?” We’ve been lucky to not have any horrible accidents or anything. That WAS pretty bad. Just the anger of someone stealing almost the entire trailer of gear.
The best. I think there are a lot of great moments we feel very fortunate to have. Playing in Europe is always one of them. Just being able to travel the world and play music is, to me, the best thing about the band.
Definitely. Thanks for talking to The 59th Sound today Mark.
Thanks for the support and come say hello at any of the Soundwave shows!
Dredg will be special guests with The Devin Townsend Project and Meshuggah for two crushing sidewaves. MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY SYDNEY, THE FACTORY (Licensed All Ages)
www.ticketek.com.au
WEDNESDAY 29 FEBRUARY MELBOURNE, THE FORUM (18+)
www.ticketmaster.com.au
Tickets on sale now.
Olivia Fusca
Hi I’m Olivia, thanks for talking with The 59th Sound today!
No problem!
So where abouts is the band at the moment? What have you been doing recently?
Right now we’re at home just kinda taking care of our personal lives. We just finished a tour so now we’re just taking a break until Australia, which is at the end of the month. So we’ve basically been doing our own thing; we all have a couple of other things can we do whether that’s jobs or education or something else.
Now I'm you’ve been asked this countless times before: How did you choose the band name?
Wow, that’s an old question! We were very, very young and for a few years we had a different name and didn't like it and wanted to change it. It was before some live show so we did it in a hasty fashion. We had been making list [of band names] and it suck. Now we hate it! But you can't really change it was your momentum is going
And your own name – is it a pseudonym or is it a coincidence that it’s comprised of two well-known philosophers from the 19th Century (Marx and Engels)?
No, it’s a coincidence! That is my given name – Mark Engles. I believe Frederick Engels spelt his name differently. It is pretty funny but no, Mark Daniel Engles is my real name!
Very interesting. Now in 2009 the band departed from Interscope Records after a decade-long run. What was the reason behind the exit?
I think it was kind of obvious that it used to be a rock label. Our friends were all in there: Queens Of The Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails – you name it. It was a very rock-centric label for many, many years and then it just changed direction.
Your earlier albums were all conceptual – what drew the band towards this type of album?
Dark Side Of The Moon [by Pink Floyd] to be honest. Falling in love with that at a young age and then getting ready to dig into the idea of making a record a bit more than just twelve songs. We weren’t trying to be super deep or profound, it was just more fun for us to make something and then dig into the idea behind it and map it out and all that. It was a fun project for us and it felt right.
You said you used Dark Side Of The Moon as inspiration. What other bands or albums do you think were essential in crafting your sound?
That’s always a tough question. I’d have to open up my CD book and flip through it ‘cause there’s just so many. Black Heart Procession was one of them, DJ Shadows, Archive, Elbow – that was more in the early 2000s. Before that, there were the bands in our area like Deftones. We definitely came from a more rock-driven, loud rock-type band and then became fascinated with different things to add.
Who in the band is in charge of the writing and creating process? For instance, the themes, lyrics, melody etc.
There are different facets that we’re all responsible for. When it comes to the music it’s pretty hands on between all of us. Of course different ones of us have different strengths. Gavin [Hayes, vocals] does write all the lyrics, Drew and I will help either with direction or the concepts - especially in the earlier records. Drew and I would help a lot with what the overall idea would be. But Gavin is the lyricist and musically we’re all going to bring something different. Dino’s a piano player as well as a drummer and in comes my guitar or just something that I can bring to the table. Then Drew has his own style [as well].
It’s great, it’s very democratic. It’s probably the reason why we’ve lasted as long as we have, because we can all bring something and there’s really no weak link.
Do you ever have conflicts between ideas? How do you overcome these?
We lock ourselves in a room with a bottle of whiskey and fist-fight.
Very rockstar!
Na, I’m joking. There’s always going to be arguments. I think, depending on what the argument is, you try to work it out reasonably y’know? We’ve been friends for twenty years: we know each other so well. It’s like being married to three people at once! We always find a way to [overcome] it, whether it’s by taking a break, letting yourself calm down, and come back later or talking it out til it’s an old nub of an idea.
We have other people around, too. Having a producer or other people around as mediators can always help too. We like getting other people there that you trust because when things are difficult and no one can agree it’s always good to have that number there that you respect – it’s always a good thing.
Sure. Now, your band draws inspiration from a number of areas, some are somewhat unusual (such as artist Salvador Dali). Do you deliberately look for inspiration in such places or is it more of an accidental thing?
I don’t think it’s deliberate. We all just happen to enjoy a lot of different things. We all have a lot of things that we love, usually whatever you do for a living or as a hobby. We all have a lot of different tastes. I think – like I said earlier on in the conversation – it’s not just about having four rock songs on a record. We add things that we like outside of music whether it’s film or art or concepts that interest us.
Your most recent album is called, “Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy”. I love the name!
[laughs] Thanks!
It was leaked about a month before its scheduled release last year. The band and yourself have been in this industry for almost twenty years. Piracy has also been in the spotlight a lot lately due to SOPA and the backlash that caused. What are your thoughts on music piracy?
To me, it’s no different to taping mixed tapes or VHS tapes when we wee kids. I don’t have a problem with sharing of the music. I just don’t like it when our album gets leaked and it’s some shit version, sound quality wise. That bugs me more than anything. Maybe not with this record but two records before that, you spend so much time on trying to get the sound right and if the version that’s released sounds like crap it’s a bit of a bummer.
But I think we all just have to accept that we live in a world now where people aren’t buying vinyl or CDs like they used to. It’s not an industry that’s going to be run by that end of the market. It’s going to be coming from somewhere else. Music is music and let’s just be happy that people are wanting to find your music. The fact that you can find the most obscure band from any corner of the world at your fingertips is pretty great.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with you. Being an American band, you guys are obviously pretty well-known over there. What’s your fan-base like around the world and in Australia? Is there one country where you are particularly popular?
You never know, really. In America we’re actually not that well-known. I mean, we do all right. We’ve been consistent here and there. I think we do better in some other countries; Germany’s always been great to us and other nations in Europe. We just got just got back from Turkey, which was pretty phenomenal. That was really great, we felt so welcome there. Overall, since Facebook has come around it’s been really interesting to see where people are from around the world. It’s interesting to think of why some countries enjoy your music more than others.
Though we do feel like, no matter what country we’re in, our fans – if they are truly our fans – all seem like the same type of people, which is always fun for us. No matter what language they speak, no matter what languages they come from, they all have a similar demeanor. They’re always really nice. But we’ll see how it is in Australia; we’ve never been there so we’ll see what it’s like. We’re excited though.
You were talking about the language barrier – how do you overcome talking to people or an audience that don’t speak English?
To be honest, it doesn’t happen very often because everyone seems to speak such great English. Every now and again there will be someone who can’t speak it but if they don’t, their friend can speak it. None of us speak that many languages – we can get around with a couple but we haven’t really had that many problems. English is pretty prevalent everywhere.
As you said, the band is coming to Australia for the upcoming Soundwave Festival. Who are you most excited to see?
Meshuggah, definitely Meshuggah. I’ve never seen them and they’re one of those mind-blowing bands that come around every once in a while. There’re a couple of other bands I want to see. I saw Bad Religion when I was 14 years old in San Francisco so it’ll be good to see them again. They’re a great band.
It’s a festival, it’s always fun to see what free time you have and grab a beer and go to check out the whole thing.
As I’ve said earlier, you’ve been in music for the better part of your life – what’s your motivation to keep on going in such a competitive industry?
That’s a great question! You start at a young age and you achieve these baby-step goals. Then those goals become bigger and I think as you move down the road – I’m using too many cliché’s. Sorry! But the goals just get bigger and bigger and I think you keep yourself going because these goals become these small steps to something bigger. Even if that means we’re never the biggest band in the world, if we keep on doing this and we keep on making records we’re proud of and inspire people I think we’re going to keep on going for a little bit [longer].
Also, other music will always inspire you – old or new. Finding new music helps but also revisiting the old stuff that you’ve forgot can inspire you so deeply.
Was there ever a moment in your career where you thought that maybe the band wasn’t going to work out?
All the time, I mean I’m going to school right now. We all have our separate jobs, to be honest. We don’t make nearly enough money to do only this right now. Education, other jobs.. I think on every tour or album cycle there’s going to be that little point where you feel like it might be done. But like a lot of things, there will be ups and downs and right now even a small thing like taking a trip to Australia – I mean it’s big for us in terms of excitement – it’s one tour, that’s what I’m getting at. I think we have at least one more record in us and that keeps you going and then you go from there. Six years ago we made “Catch Without Arms” and we started writing for the “Pariah” album; I think we just take it one album at a time. There’re things in every album cycle that makes you really excited and really proud and privileged. Then there’re things that make you feel like it’s probably the end and you get really depressed and you just want to go home! It’s always going to be a bit of both.
And now to rap it up, could you tell me one of the worst and one of the best moments in your music career?
The worst is a little bit easier.. We had our equipment stolen in Dallas, Texas. It’s hard to say, because it was tough in the moment but then you just think to yourself, “What is material value?” We’ve been lucky to not have any horrible accidents or anything. That WAS pretty bad. Just the anger of someone stealing almost the entire trailer of gear.
The best. I think there are a lot of great moments we feel very fortunate to have. Playing in Europe is always one of them. Just being able to travel the world and play music is, to me, the best thing about the band.
Definitely. Thanks for talking to The 59th Sound today Mark.
Thanks for the support and come say hello at any of the Soundwave shows!
Dredg will be special guests with The Devin Townsend Project and Meshuggah for two crushing sidewaves. MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY SYDNEY, THE FACTORY (Licensed All Ages)
www.ticketek.com.au
WEDNESDAY 29 FEBRUARY MELBOURNE, THE FORUM (18+)
www.ticketmaster.com.au
Tickets on sale now.
Olivia Fusca