Dave Dresden Interview

June 25, 2008

Dave D resden played at Eden After Hours to a sold out crowd last week. I’m not sure what the club capacity is but it was grinding room only. Dresden and the successful weekly events are held at Club Le Blanc in San Antonio, Texas. On the weekends Le Blanc transforms into Eden After Hours and the events are brought to you in part byParty Grooves Events and Platinum Rise Entertainment. The night opened up with Joey Munson, DJ DK, and Dave Molina. Dresden came on about 1:30a and played through the early morning. His set was a little over 4 hours and quite exceptional and since I prefer vocal tunes I extremely enjoyed the final 2 hours of the morning.

As most of you may know, Dave Dresden was one part of the duo Gabriel&Dresden. They have recently parted ways to concentrate on their solo careers. The news came on the heels of their most recent award for Best American DJ at the 2008 IDMA ceremony at WMC in Miami.

[Ronnie Escobedo] Your list of accomplishments are quite extensive and for 7 years you have simply been known as Gabriel and Dresden. What challenges are you facing since the split and how has the transition been?

[Dave Dresden] Well let’s see the most challenging thing is accepting that you’re one person on the stage instead of two. Your perceived value when you’re a duo is that you’re just that, a duo. You’re two people and there’s a lot more involved than when you’re just a single person on stage. It just feels like less that you’re giving the fans even though you’re really giving them the same thing, it’s just from one person’s view. Also working alone and or with other people means that you have to find a different creative way. The one you got used to while working in a duo doesn’t necessarily apply to your own productions or while working with other people. So it’s like the comfort zone that I had working with Josh is out the door.

[RE] Some of your most recent collaborations have included Chris Cox and Trent Cantrelle. Who are you currently working with or plan to in the near future?

[Dave Dresden] One of the things that I really pride myself in is my ability to recognize talent. I really have the profile that I still work with a host of named producers and creative super collaborators. I really kind of want to layoff that idea right now cause I want to maybe nurture some new talent and also people whom I believe are excellent artists that haven’t really broken through, or just people who I think I vibe with well. That’s not a guarantee when working with a super star cause then there are two huge egos in the room. When you work with somebody who’s lesser known you can get more accomplished. I have chosen to work with people that I really know well since the split. Trent Cantrelle is one of them and Chris Cox is the other and I have also worked with John Debo as well. These are people that I have known for a number of years.

[RE] When you’re discovering artists what is it that you look for?

[Dave Dresden] Attention to detail is the most important thing. What do they do that is different or better than the average thing you get, especially since most music comes via email now. Also how well their sound will apply to what I’m doing or what I want to accomplish as an artist.

I will be setting up my own label. I may bring back Organized Nature because that was sort of my baby. I am a pretty big A&R source and recognize a lot of talent. I did a lot of the work as remixes on Gabriel and Dresden songs and also finding original songs from artists to put out. I feel like I could of exercised that a lot more, it’s just I was overwhelmed with the work Josh and I had to do. We were constantly, constantly working. When you’re working on music you can’t do anything else.

[RE] You mentioned starting your own label. Is this happening soon?

[Dave Dresden] I’m waiting for all the legal things to pass regarding G&D’s split. It’s like a divorce you’re separating what’s mine, what’s yours, whats ours, and who’s gonna get what. I’m waiting for this to clear and see if I want to bring Organized Nature back or start a label from scratch. One of the key points to keeping Organized Nature is that it already has an identity.

[RE] Could you please describe your solo production style?

[Dave Dresden] Songs with meaning and or tracks that take you there.

[RE] At the moment what is your favorite piece of gear?

[Dave Dresden] The Moog Voyager. It was put out in 2005 and I think it was the last piece that Bob Moog made before he past away. It’s a sexy, sexy, sexy keyboard. A lot of producers I respect use it. I think it has single handedly become Deadmau5’s weapon of choice. The circuit’s in it produce such amazing sounds, all the oscillators and things you can change about the sound - it’s second to none. Then there’s the Dave Prophet 08! I’m salivating and saving my money for that. I’ve seen Morgan Page use it and I’m really impressed with it.

[RE] This summer seems to be pretty busy for you and you seem to be in a different city every week. Is production on hold while you tour?

[Dave Dresden] No, I actually find my biggest source of inspiration is right after the gig. I like going back to the hotel room and getting a few ideas down. It’s like capturing the moment. I’ve always looked at music production as an audio diary of my life and I always like to save those moments. I find something very sacred about the gig and after the gig as a means for creativity.

[RE] Since you travel and play often is there any particular venue or place you prefer when playing?

[Dave Dresden] It all really depends on the promoter. The promoter brings in the crowd and if the promoter has a good reputation then he’ll bring in a good crowd. I really don’t want to name names. There are certain cities that do well. One of my favorite places to play is New York. Even though the crowd maybe construed to be jaded because it’s New York there are so many people that get it there. The percentage of people that are feeling the music is just so much higher. The other place that I really like to play is Rise in Boston. Josh and I actually used to pack the place. We were a big name with 300 super fans in a room playing till 7 in the morning, [it] was really a great vibe.

[RE] How does it feel to be Dave Dresden?

[Dave Dresden] I still feel like the guy that I always was. I sometimes forget who I am. When I go to a club DJ’s will recognize who I am and ask for an autograph or pictures taken and I’m like, oh yeah I’m that guy. People get nervous or apprehensive about me because of what I have accomplished. It’s a weird feeling. On the flip side of that it gives me a lot of confidence to accomplish things because of what I have already accomplished. It’s kind of a neat feeling being me. The only bad thing about being me is that it’s really hard to maintain a relationship because of my schedule and dedication to my work. Also when you do have a girlfriend it’s difficult for them to handle the amount of girls that are around you at the end of a gig. It can be detrimental.

[RE] When you’re not rocking the discotheque or jamming in the studio what type of music or artists are you enjoying? What’s on your ipod?

[Dave Dresden] Wow! Lot’s of things. Lately I’ve been listening to the Kings of Leon, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, um and uhh..I can’t even think of..oh yeah the Fleet Foxes.

[RE] Outside of music what do you enjoy doing for fun?

[Dave Dresden] (Laughing) Driving around and listening to music. I get so many ideas from driving around. When I drive around and listen to music I get tons of song ideas, like I can take this from that and make this. Everything that I do pretty much some how goes back to my music career. I like to listen to stand up comedy and then I make songs that sample stand up comedy routines.

[RE] Who’s your favorite comedian?

[Dave Dresden] Doug Stanhope and well Bill Hicks. He was a Texan. (He mentions Bill Hicks being a Texan because his recent show and interview were in Texas)

[RE] Anything you would like to say or want your fans to know?

[Dave Dresden] No I think I’ve pretty much told everything.

Sources and people mentioned in the article or during the interview.
Dave Dresden @ www.myspace.com/davedresden
beatportal @ www.beatportal.com/
Cilly C @ www.myspace.com/cillyc
Party Grooves Events @ myspace.com/partygroovesevents
Platinum Rise Entertainment @ www.myspace.com/platinumrise
Eden After Hours @ www.myspace.com/edenafterhourssa
Joey Munson @ pending
DJ DK @ www.myspace.com/officialdjdk
Dave Molina @ pending
Gabriel and Dresden @ www.gabrielanddresden.com/
Josh Gabriel @ www.myspace.com/joshgabrielmusic
Chris Cox @ www.myspace.com/djchriscox
Trent Cantrelle @ www.myspace.com/trentcantrelle
John Debo @ www.myspace.com/johndebo617
DeadMau5 @ www.myspace.com/deadmau5
Morgan Page @ www.morgan-page.com/ and www.myspace.com/morganpage
Kings of Leon @ www.kingsofleon.com/ and www.myspace.com/kingsofleon
MGMT @ www.whoismgmt.com/ and www.myspace.com/mgmt
Vampire Weekend @ www.vampireweekend.com/ and www.myspace.com/vampireweekend
Fleet Foxes @ www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes