Features

Very short interview with Erik from Dillinger Four but it does give me the chance to once again let you know that if you haven’t already done so, you really need to go and pick up their latest album "Civil War" because it’s very good!

PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself?
Erik: I am Erik and besides owning a small bar/venue and booking shows and playing in D4 i also cook a lot and I have a nice dog who is a shitzu cocker spaniel mix, so she is a shitty-cock.

PRT: Who else is in the band and why would my mother like them?
Erik: Our drummer is Lane, he has a daughter and a good job. every mother loves him. Paddy and Billy also tend to charm the moms.

PRT: Your new album is called "Civil War". Why should people choose it over that other long-awaited album "Chinese Democracy"?
Erik: I hope people arent struggling to make that choice. I think it choice would be clear. Buy the axel rose record it's probably funnier.

PRT: It took you guys a while to get it done… did life get in the way of recording it?
Erik: Yeah a little. We weren't in any big rush obviously. We just got around to it when the time became available.

PRT: What's up next for Dillinger Four and what are some of the things you'd still like to achieve? I read something about an EP next year?
Erik: That's correct we are planning another ep for late 2009. Plus hopefully a good amount of touring. We'd like to hit europe and the UK a little as well as some places in the US we havent been in a long time. We also haven't been to Japan in several years so we are hoping to get over there again.

PRT: Are your side-projects still active as well or are they going on the backburner now that D4 is completely back?
Erik: Paddy is still playing with The Arrivals as much as possible. They are an awesome band www.myspace.com/thearrivalsrock

PRT: I know you were still occasionally playing shows but between the not so relentless touring and the six years in between albums, did it ever feel like starting over?
Erik: It might seem odd but it never really did to us. There has never been a period of more than maybe 2 months when we werent practicing or playing shows at home, so we never really felt like we were taking time off.

PRT: I read somewhere that you have this rule in the band where you decide to do something (a tour, a split, a comp,,…) based on whether or not you yourself would go to that show or pick up that compilation. Sounds easy and straightforward enough but isn't it hard to not get sucked up into doing something because well, you might need that person or band's support in the future?
Erik: It's not fool proof. Sometimes you don't realize something is gonna suck untill you are there. But we do use that rule as much as possible.

PRT: In the movie High Fidelity, the guys that work in the record store are constantly making these top 5 lists of songs for a specific occasion. If you would have to make such a list, which occasion would it be for and which songs would make your top 5?
Erik: If you look closely, there is a dillinger four poster on the front door of the record store in that movie. Weird huh?