The Dives: The 13th Floor Interview

Its time for you to meet The Dives, an up-and-coming New York City-based rock & roll band that just happened to include Evan Stanley, son of Kiss frontman Paul Stanley.

The quartet has just released their debut EP, Everybody’s Talkin’ and are keen to turn fans on to their sound…a sound that is built on the likes of classic bands of the 60s and 70s such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and The Romantics.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Evan Stanley and fellow bandmember Sergio Ortega just as they wrapped up a UK tour that found them opening for Kiss at the O2 Stadium.

Click here to listen to the interview with The Dives:

 

Or, read a transcription of the interview here:

MD: How did things go over in the UK?

ES: It went over great. It’s really awesome to get up in front of twenty thousand people – it’s an absolutely amazing feeling – but you’ve got to remember: they’re there and they’re cheering, but they’re not there because they like you; you still have to win them over, and make sure you really deliver, and you work very, very hard beforehand to make sure that you deliver. It’s really good to see that pay off. Also, by the way, Sergio just sat down; so, you’ve got Sergio now as well.

MD: Hello, Sergio!

SO: Hello

MD: How’s it going?

SO: I’m doing well…

MD: When you were in the UK, you guys were opening for Kiss; is that right?

ES: … We opened some arena dates, and then we had a headline show on our own.

MD: It must be quite a difference doing your own show, and then doing these opening gigs. What is it like for you, comparing the two experiences?

ES: At the end of the day – whether it’s in front of ten people or ten thousand people – we put on the same show; we really take a lot of pride in that. If you see us at the O2 or Valley Electric – a little club in New York. There is a difference, for sure, between hearing a couple of hundred people singing along with me than having twenty thousand people do it; but it’s exhilarating both ways. It’s just a really great night, anytime we get to get up and turn up and turn songs that we love.

MD: For people who are unfamiliar with The Dives: how would you guys explain to folks what it is that you do?

ES: We’re a… ‘no tricks’ rock & roll band. You listen to our EP, and then you come and see us live: what you see is what you get. Everything you hear on that record is exactly what we do live. It’s just, straight up, four guys playing and singing songs that they love; and hopefully, songs that are going to get stuck in your head, because we put a lot of time into making sure that we really work to choose our songs wisely; just because a song’s written, doesn’t mean that it needs to get played. We really work hard on our quality control; so, we try and only play the absolute best – no B-sides.

MD: Your EP, Everybody’s Talkin’, came out a few weeks ago. What was the process like, of actually making the record? Did you have a producer working with you? Was it the four guys getting together and doing their thing?

ES: We worked closely…actually the guy who introduced Mikey and I, this guy Bob Helm produced the record. It’s a very involved thing, when we all got together and we did pre-production or tried plenty of things, and the great thing about the band is there’s really no ego involved; so, whether I make a suggestion or Jimmy makes a suggestion, or Mike or Sergio, everything is heard out… and whatever ends up sounding the best, is what gets played. It was the same way with Bob…. Nobody’s word is law; it’s always what sounds the best and what best serves the band so, we will absolutely try anything, and then we decide what works best; so, it was a very collaborative effort, and we’re very proud of how it turned out. The goal, always from the beginning, is to really capture exactly who we are live, and put it on record. We want people to be able to listen to that… and still have songs that let them know exactly what they’ll get in a live show.

MD: These days, playing in a straight rock & roll band is kind of an anomaly – that’s not what you hear on pop radio these days. Was it difficult to find four like minded individuals to get together and make this music?

ES: It was definitely a process, but as soon as we all came together to play for the first time, we knew that there was something there. We really all were, without trying, just on the same wave length. There’s never any question, and there never was any question, as to who we are or what we want to do; it was just “how are we going to do it”. It was never a question of ‘what’, just how do we get as good as we possibly can be. We all knew where we were going from the moment we met.

SO: Yeah… we all felt the same way…. I feel like this is something that doesn’t happen all the time: where you meet certain people, and then as soon as you start playing, you just feel like it’s a little different with what’s happening, and you’ve really got to hold onto it; so, it was a no-brainer.

MD: Being based in New York: how much of the tradition of New York rock & roll is influenced by what you guys do? People think of Lou Reed, people think of The Ramones, even Kiss, from New York City.

ES: We’ve never really thought of ourselves as, strictly, a New York band; we look into all kinds of stuff. Truthfully, we’re all Anglophiles – The Beatles and The Who, Led Zeppelin and Free – that’s the stuff that really does it for us…. I guess a main American band would be Tom Petty…rock & roll bands with great songs.  I wouldn’t say we really have that much to do with the whole CBGB thing; nothing against it, but we – at least for the most part – lived a little bit further back and ‘across the pond’…. I think that the way we really bring something fresh to what we’re doing, is to pull from everywhere. If you just listened to The Beatles, then we’d sound like a really second, third or fourth rate Beatles that’s not really us: we try and pull from a bit of everything. We don’t lock ourselves into one genre or one era or one country; we listen to it all, and… try and take the best from it all and add it up into something that’s uniquely us.

MD: I noticed, when I was listening to Take it All – the single – it had that jangly, Tom Petty vibe to it; and then I noticed you covered The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down live in your shows; so, I guess all of that stuff comes together in that, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SnlnJJ444c

ES: Yeah! I think you listen to the lead single on the EP, which is Make It Like The Movies… you hear maybe a bit of The Romantics, and a bit of Petty, and a bit of The Beatles; there’s a bit of it all. Ideally, when you listen to it, you pick up on a bit of this and a bit of that. I don’t want anyone to ever hear it and go, “Oh, they sound exactly like ‘so-and-so’,” Unless they’re saying, “Wow! This sounds exactly like The Dives.” What we strive for is to set ourselves apart and do the best versions of our songs.

MD: Maybe you can tell me a little bit more about Mike. He seems to be the other front person in the band, along with you, Evan. How do the two of you work together with your guitars and your vocals?

ES: It’s a really natural thing. The moment we started playing together, we knew we had to start a band…. The way we play off each other, I think, has a lot to do with how… the way all of us play off each other has a lot to do with the sound…. Mike and I are always trying to weave our parts around each other: very rarely are we ever playing the same thing, even if it’s just different versions of the same chord – you get that really big guitar sound – but more often than not, it’s almost a constant call and response between us – whether it’s vocally or guitar-wise – and I think that is telling of what we do. It really puts a unique twist on what we do. There’s always that exchange between the two of us going on, no matter what part of the song: there’s some sort of ‘give and take’; and, to me, that makes it very exciting.

MD: Because your sound is based in the classic rock thing: what kind of audiences come to see you guys when you’re doing your own shows? Is it an older crowd; is it kids? Who is out there?

ES: I think “classic rock” almost does it a disservice, because when you’re… influenced and informed by a lot of older bands that we love, that we have as much to do with a lot of great stuff coming out now, as we did back then. There are a lot of great bands still out there, who are playing really straight up rock & roll. I think that, sometimes, people see two guitars in the band and go, “Wow, classic rock!” Just because we use guitars as our media, doesn’t mean that we are locked into the ‘60s or ‘70s. We are trying to push ourselves in a direction that we haven’t been in before; and I think people are responding to that. We feel really cool with a wide range of audiences. One thing that I’m very happy about – selfishly – is it seems to be a lot of young girls – so, that’s pretty fun to play to – but, luckily, it seems to be twisting a pretty wide range of people.

MD: Do you think there’s still some place for rock & roll to progress to, at this point in the history of things?

ES: I don’t think there is, I know there is. Without a doubt, people love honest, straight-up rock & roll, because I think there’s something very honest and very visual about it. There’s no hiding when it’s just me, a microphone and a guitar: we have to go out there and really put it all on the line…. Yeah, I think there’s a place for it. I know there’s a place for it. There has always been a place for it. I think it’s crazy when people say, “Rock & roll’s dead!” No it’s not! Sometimes it gets tired, and maybe takes a rest for a second, but it’s never gone! It’s always there….everything’s cyclical.  “Look to England”, because, truthfully, it’s always predicted music trends… whether it’s The Vacuums or Blossoms or Catfish in a Bottle, the guitars aren’t coming back. Guitars are back! Guitars never really run away… they’re back in full force. Harry Styles’ new album is a guitar album, and on top of that, it’s a pop album – and the best one to come out in years, at that – so, people are always open to a guitar. I think people are naturally drawn towards guitar, because there’s something very sensual about it: it’s got a long neck and six strings, and you’ve got to touch it to make it sound right.

SO: Honestly, I think people are really craving honesty and truth; and you’ve got to be genuine up there. People crave it; and if what you’re doing is not honest, then they’ll either call you out on it or, even worse, not listen.

MD: Evan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least ask you something about growing up, with your father being one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. What was that like for you? At some point, you must have either decided, “Okay, this is the lifestyle that appeals to me,” or, “I want to rebel against it.”

ES: It’s funny: I never really had much to rebel against, because I loved it all. I loved music and I love… what I do. I was lucky, because my dad’s… a musician, and he absolutely loves what he does, but he was always very present, and he was always around in the kitchen; to me, he was just Dad. Kiss was something that he did as a job – and, by all means, he enjoyed his job, but it was a job. At the end of the day, he came home – it’s not like I’d walk down, and he’d be making you eggs in the ‘star child’ make-up – he was just Dad! To me, it’s all I’ve known; and really, I think it’s about as normal as an upbringing as I possibly could have had. By all means, I got to experience some really wonderful things and travelled, and certainly had some really cool opportunities that a lot of people wouldn’t have, but it wasn’t like I was starting from the age of eight. I got up, I went to school; my dad was always on me about getting good grades; so was my mom: they were good, normal parents. One thing I will say, that was nice: I was always in a creative environment: both my parents really fostered creativity and self expression; whether that was music or anything else. There was always an inclination towards art… and appreciation for art; whether it’s painting or cooking or playing music – and by no means am I a painter or good cook, but I can appreciate it – and I’m really grateful for that. They really taught me to achieve an art and self expression, and a lot of different things; so, that was great….

MD: What kind of music was around the house? Because I can’t imagine they were playing Kiss records all the time. There must have been something else going on.

ES: I grew up listening to a ton of different stuff; as we all did. All the guys in the band feel really lucky in that their parents listened to great music, and in mine: I was exposed to The Beatles at an early age. The Beatles’ One – that anthology that came out in ’99 – that was the first record I got and really attached myself to. I knew every single song on it – I mean every single word to every song – I knew which one of The Beatles sang it, which one wrote it; I absolutely binged on it! Every episode and rerun… and movie, and that was my introduction to music; and from there, I branched out. I’m lucky, because I’ve been exposed to a lot of stuff. Part of it was just digging on my own…. I’ve grown up in the digital age – all of us have – we’re able to research interviews: so, I fell in love with The Who, and then I’d go look up interviews with Pete Townsend and figured out bands and writers that he loved, and then I’d look them up. I would never have found the music if I didn’t hear Telephone Line – which is just a ridiculously great song – and then figured out who wrote it, and then I looked up Jeff Lynne, and then I looked up The Move, and I was like, “My God! The Move is just amazing, and Roy Wood is a genius;” but I would never have found that if it weren’t for the internet…. It’s really great to be able to jump into something like that, and within an hour, you have six bands, that you never would have heard of otherwise, all at your fingertips to explore. That was something I was really grateful for.

 

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