What is Vivid Dreams all about?
The band started as an outlet for my songs, but right now our main focus is getting Donald Trump elected President of the United States of America. Once that happens, a smoke-filled, post-apocalyptic wasteland won’t be too far behind… Then my real goal of ridding the airwaves of Justin Bieber will be complete (mainly because there will no longer be any functioning Clear Channel radio stations left to play his music, thanks to the nuclear fallout radiation).
What have you accomplished so far in 2016?
This year we’ve released our first two singles, “Alpha & Omega” and “FBI Undercover”, and then headed down to Austin play a few shows at SXSW. Since then, I’ve put the finishing touches on an upcoming music video for “Wax Lips,” which involved having a sexual encounter with a mannequin. That was interesting. Looking forward to the second date.
You recently announced that your music made its way to South America, how do you feel about that?
It was pretty cool to see the Brazilian music site Canal Electro Rock pick up our single “Alpha & Omega”, and ultimately featuring it on it’s monthly playlist alongside Honduras and some dope Burger Records artists. However, still not completely sure if it was the band Honduras on there or the actual country. Hopefully the former.
How big of an impact do you want your music to have on people?
I’d like for people to enjoy it, but not in the disposable way that most ‘creative’ endeavors favor these days. There has to be depth, even if it’s sneaky. Vivid Dreams songs are built to last, like a Ford F-150…or at the very least, built to survive many listens.
Some might be deceptively simple at first glance, but they’re designed to peel away to reveal things upon repeated plays; this applies both to the lyrics and the sonic compositional structure. I despise Hot Musical Trends, so that’s definitely part of it. Honestly, I really wouldn’t want to waste time on songs that lack creative character, or that ape a current particular radio hit, or that don’t express something I’ve experienced personally in some form or another. There’s humor and pain — often at the same time — in the lyrics.
Music is the only way I know how to cope with life. It’s not a pissing contest for me; I have no desire to be Prom King.
What is the best and worst thing about being in the music industry?
The best thing is being able to transport people into a different perspective and/or mindscape, even if it’s just for the three minutes of a song, or the 40 minutes of a live set. There’s nothing remotely close to the power music has to affect that feeling upon the audience; not even feature film. Not even drugs. Drugs do help, though.
The worst thing about the music industry I’ve experienced thus far… probably would be having to spend large amounts of time driving through the shit parts of America. Arkansas’ truck stops do have kickass novelty t-shirts, though.
What does the rest of 2016 hold for Vivid Dreams?
We’ll be releasing our first EP, Terror in the Rays, very, very soon. Progress is already underway recording it’s follow-up, which right now has the working title Defanged for the Future. On Memorial Day (May 30th), we play Mercury Lounge in NYC with David Ellis Group, The New Apollos, Rats Mouth, and Triathlon, which I’m pretty excited about; aiming for us to play that show naked, but still working on convincing the rest of the band on that particular point.
Post and interview by Corey Kleinsasser
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