Theory of A Deadman

November 14th, 2006.  Here I was, at the Metropolis in downtown Montreal, about to finally see one of the concerts I was most looking forward to in 2006: Three Days Grace with Theory Of A Deadman, Mobile & Idle Sons.

I was given the opportunity to sit down for an interview with front man Tyler Connolly and bassist Dean Back from Theory Of A Deadman a few hours before the concert, in a small intimate room.

Confront: Hi guys, thank you very for receiving us today.  We never had the pleasure to see you guys in Montreal before, any particular reason why?

Tyler: I don’t know!  We haven’t played Canada much, but…*thinking* Montreal… *still thinking* I don’t know.  We either put double focus on Ontario and then headed west or out to the east coast or mostly in the States, so yeah it’s good to be back, it’s been quite a while since we’ve been here.

Dean: That’s… BULLSHIT!

Tyler: This interview is OVER!

Everybody was laughing as we left and walked all the way back outside and to the tour bus; which by the way was the cleanest tour bus I’ve seen in my life.  Once inside, I was offered a seat between Dean and Tyler on the really comfortable leather couch and we were now ready to continue our conversation.

Confront: Now, you’ve been back on tour since Nov. 8th with a great line-up of Canadian bands; Three Days Grace, Mobile & Idle Sons.  How’s the reaction from the public so far?

Dean: Awesome!

Tyler: Great!  I think it’s one of the best tours of the year!

Dean: Yeah we’ve done 3 shows, it was sold out as far as I know and the reaction of the crowd is great!

Confront: How did you end up playing on this tour?

Tyler: I think it was a drunken night out with the Three Days guys… *laughing* over a couple beers!

Confront: Does this line-up make you proud to be Canadian?

Tyler: Yeah, there are great groups in Canada you know, I think now that it’s really hard to tour and touch a lot of people, so it’s a good idea to get other great Canadian acts.

Dean: The line up that we have is all different kinds of music, like its all rock but there is a difference.  I think it’s a really good showcase of what Canada offers.

Confront: How would you compare the second album ‘Gasoline’ from the first one?

Tyler: It’s still a little more mature.  We spent a year and a half on the road touring the first album and I think playing every night we learned a lot and it really helped this grow and to show what we did on ‘Gasoline’.

Confront: ‘Gasoline’ was recorded in a higher key than the previous record, how did you face that new challenge?

Tyler: Well our producer [Howard Benson], thought maybe we could increase the key in a lot of our songs and that maybe it would come across better to people so… yeah at first it was hard to sing but you know, it’s not that difficult, it’s just to get used to singing it and to be in the studio doing a lot of rehearsal to find the balance, and it feels good!

Confront: Let me quote Tyler: “I always say it’s easy to write a song, hard to write a good song and pure luck to write a hit.” So can you tell me how to turn a song into a good song?

Tyler: I think that sometimes if you really work hard on something, you get good songs.  It’s just a lot of hard work, a lot of preparation.  Also, sitting there, jamming, kind of old-school working out.

Confront: Are there any of your singles that you never thought would make it?

Dean: I think we were pretty confident about this album, we’re really proud of the way it turned out.  I think there are a lot of great songs on this album and you know, I don’t want to say it doesn’t surprise me that we did well, but we have confidence in what we’re doing!

Confront: What’s your favorite song to perform live and what is it about that song or that moment that makes it memorable?

Tyler: My favorite song that I like the fans to sing along to!?! “Santa Monica”; which is one of our singles.  It’s cool to be able to play a song and to get the reaction of the crowd.  It’s fun to do rock too.  When you are on the road, you don’t really know what’s happening on the outside world until they play your songs on the radio and you get that reaction from the crowd that is singing everything back.

Confront: Looking back on what you’ve done in your career, is there anything that you regret?

Tyler: I don’t think so.  There is no regret, just a lot of learning right?  I think if you do something wrong, you just look at it as a good thing because you might not do it again!

Confront: And is there anything that you’re really proud of?

Tyler: No! *laughing*

Dean: I think we’ve done so much that we’re proud of our accomplishments!

Confront: When your drummer (Tim Hart) left the group, did it change the dynamic in the group while recording “Gasoline”?

Tyler: Yeah because when he left, he said he was going to get an iced tea *laughing* and we’re still waiting for him! *everybody laughs*.  Changed the dynamic… yeah I think it was hard, really hard, because Tim our first drummer was our best friend and it was really hard to let go, but I think we became a more close kind of band because we can focus more on the material.

Confront: Would you say it was more positive or negative?

Tyler: It was definitely more positive.  Yeah, [Brent Fitz] brings a lot to the band; he’s really a good drummer.

Confront: Does “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” apply to Theory Of A Deadman?

Who knew that this question would generate an automatic reaction?  Immediately Tyler threw his hands in the air as he and Dean answered in unison:

Tyler & Dean: OH YEAH!!!  *laughing*

Tyler: Except for sex & drugs!  There is a lot of caffeine, a lot of Advil from screaming all night.  No sex…

Dean: … but there is self love… there is a lot of self love!

Tyler: Yeah! Self sex!  With [drug store] drugs and Rock N’ Roll!

These guys are really fun to be around.  It’s always fun when you can interact with someone who doesn’t actually take everything you say too seriously and knows how to turn it into a joke.

Confront: What doesn’t kill you that makes you stronger? (referring to the song “Quiver”)

Tyler: The road!  Being on the road is a lot of fun but being away from your home and stuff… it’s been 3 years now we’re on the road and time flies.  To us it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, we don’t even feel like we aged at all!  You look back at family and friends and they’ve moved on, they do different things.

Dean: I agree.  Being on the road is though.  Yeah!

Confront: At CONFRONT Magazine one of our goals is to redefine mainstream.  In other words, mainstream doesn’t have to be bubblegum pop.  To be mainstream is simply the ability to reach a lot of people.  What bands do you think are working at redefining the definition of mainstream today?

Tyler: There is a Canadian band that, a couple years ago, I thought they were doing something that could do very well is Alexisonfire.

Dean: I think even a local band; Priestess from Montreal is a band that we like a lot.  I think what they’re doing is really catching on.

Confront: We have a section called Daily Urges in which readers can submit their favorite bands, well known or not it doesn’t matter, in an effort to make other people discover these incredible acts.  What are some of your Daily Urges?

Tyler: I don’t know, we’re listening to a lot of band people don’t know recently!  I don’t know if Dean…

Dean: We grew up in the grunge era.  We go back to Soundgarden, Pearl Jam.  I grew up loving Guns N’ Roses, The Threws, a Canadian band.  Those are the band I still listen to.

Tyler: and you didn’t mention Priestess!

Dean: Priestess!  Yeah!

Confront: First and last CD (album) purchased?

Tyler: First CD purchased?  Oh it was probably some rap record! *laughing*  Like Scooby D or something!  Last one was… most recently… I don’t know!  I can’t even remember!

Dean: My first one was AC/DC and again the last CD that I actually bought was probably a band from the states that is called “No Address” that is no longer a band, but really good!

Confront: First and last concert attended?

Tyler: First concert was Aerosmith and the last concert was Alice in Chains!

Dean: Mine was Ice T and last one was Buckcherry!

Tyler: Oh Yeah!  Sorry!  Buckcherry! *laughing*

Dean: But Alice In Chains was pretty awesome too!

Confront: That was it!  Thank you very much guys and have a blast tonight in Montreal!

Tyler: It’s going to be awesome!  It sounds really nice in there!

Confront: Metropolis is a nice venue; I’ll be there for sure tonight!

Dean: Right on!  Awesome!  Thanks Vanessa!

A lot of people have heard the name Theory of a Deadman, without really knowing much about the band.  However, being a fan, that wasn’t the case for me.  I was nervous at first, but these guys were really down to earth and made me feel completely at ease.  I’m glad that I had the chance to talk with them.  They have great dynamic both as individuals and as a group.

Their stage presence was great and Dean was even nice enough to say hi to the people he recognized in the crowd.  Even though Theory of a Deadman had never performed in an actual tour setting here in Montreal, the crowd proved that this band has an amazing fan base.

The concert & the line-up were great and the crowd responded amazingly!  Next time they come near you I only have one suggestion: Be there!