The Dives are opening got some rock band or other called KISS on their upcoming tour. Lead guitarist and singer Evan Stanley is the son of Paul from the headline act, following the bloodline into the music industry, much as The Raven Age’s George Harris and pretty much all the Cavaleras have done. How does the band stand apart from its familial ties? We’ll let them tell you themselves…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from the East coast, West coast, and whatever’s in the middle, but most importantly, we met in New York.
How did you meet?
We met because we all knew a guy and he thought we should meet. So we did and it worked. We clicked immediately when we played together and the fact that we loved hanging didn’t hurt. We’re also four guys with the same goals, which we’re thinking about 24/7. Nobody else would put up with that, so we fit together well.
How long have you been playing as a band?
We’ve been together as a band for about a year.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
The name came after a lot of mistakes and arguing back and forth. One night Serge was in a dive bar, (drinking to forget about us?), when inspiration hit and he called saying, “I’ve got the name…”
What are your influences?
Eyes Wide Shut and The Money Pit.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
If you ask us to describe our music, that’s a complex question. We can either go with the long answer or the short answer. Let’s go with the short answer. Catchy songs with loud guitars. Some people might think it’s unique that we don’t have backing tracks, gimmicks or backup dancers. We’re just making the music we wished we heard more of.
https://soundcloud.com/thedivesmusic/sets/everybodys-talkin
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Jimmy: Defer to Evan’s answer (as long as it’s not dumb)
Evan: Write about what you know, right? Sex, lack of sex, and nights in the East Village. Sometimes other stuff too.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
From what we hear, our live shows are very fun and exciting, but we’ve yet to make it out to one.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
We’d love to tell you the wildest thing we’ve done at a live show, but Sergio might get deported. We have an unspoken agreement with our audience that what happens at a Dives show… stays at a Dives show.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Evan: Gibson Les Pauls
Mike: Gibson SG custom and Les Pauls
Sergio: Frankenstein’d P-Bass Special with EMGs
Jimmy: Snare of choice is a 14×8” Hendrix Black Oak Archetype Snare Drum
What are your plans for the rest of 2017?
We’ve got a full schedule of shows/touring. Soon we’ll be getting to work on the follow-up EP. We have a few other things up our sleeves. Stay tuned on thedivesmusic.com for all things good in life.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
Hard to choose which of our heroes to support, but Wild Honey would open for us. Love those guys.
As well as supporting KISS on the 27th, 28th, 30th and 31st of this month, The Dives play their first UK headline show at The Water Rats in London on the 29th.
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