This week’s Artist of the Week is Seattle 8-piece, The Complex Dialect. Check out their Q&A below:
1. Can you introduce yourselves and what you do in the band?
My name is Earnie Ashwood and I’m the band leader and one of the guitarists of The Complex Dialect.
2. How would you describe your music to people who have never heard it before?
I would call it socially aware, multi-genre, complex music.
3. What are you looking forward to most in 2018?
I feel like the beginning of 2018 is going to be incredible. We’re having our vinyl release show on January 27th at the legendary Showbox here in Seattle, playing with some incredible acts like Whitney Mongé, The Highly Hollerables, and another special guest to be announced soon. When it comes to the rest of 2018, I’m really looking forward towards our music and message being shared in more mediums like film and art. We have plans present our work in multiple forms.
4. Who are your musical influences?
Personally, my influences are all over the musical spectrum. Jimi Hendrix will always be my number one guy, but being a child of the 90’s R&B will always have a special part of my heart. I grew up on groups like Blackstreet, Boyz II Men, Prince, TLC, Tony Braxton and so much more. As I grew older I really started to get into modern rock with bands like System of a Down, which then lead me down a path towards hardcore and post-hardcore music. I fell in love with bands like Thrice, Thursday, Glassjaw, and The Mars Volta/At the Drive-In. I pretty much chase after any music that makes you feel something.
5. What about nonmusical influences?
Film. Movies are my lifeblood. My latest obsession (much like the rest of the worlds) is cinematic universes, such as what Marvel Studios has going on. I would also say that everyday life provides an abundance of influences in my music.
6. If you could collaborate with any musician, who would it be and why?
Kendrick Lamar. I feel like he’s one of the most socially conscious artists in our generation and is constantly elevating his work. I want to work with someone that I feel like I’ll learn from and I feel like I could walk away from that experience with a college degree.
7. What do you hope fans get from your music?
Acknowledgement, relief, and connection with each other. As a teenager whenever I went to a band’s show I felt connected with the fellow fans, often strangers. There’s a strange sense of connection you get when you can wrap your arm around a stranger and scream lyrics that mean the world to you together. It was (and still is) therapeutic for me. If I can provide that feeling for others…I’ll feel like I’m doing my part.
8. Tell us a little bit about your debut album, “Change.”
“Change” is an album that explores both the problem ansolution-orienteded mindsets when it comes to facing the current internal and external struggles presented in this current window of time. Half of the album is spent acknowledging said struggles while the other half focuses on ways to move forward in an honest attempt.
9. What is your songwriting process like?
A lot of it revolves around jamming and creating on the spot, while at the same time providing space for members to bring specific song ideas that we feel match the overall vibe the band is going for. We also spend a lot of time conversing about what the songs actually represent and what the intentions behind each message are.
10. What is a song you wish you wrote and why?
Hm. I can’t really say that I wish I wrote any other song than the ones we’ve written. I can say that I’m beyond happy Jimi Hendrix wrote every song he did, as it provides so much of my happy space and puts me in a mindset to create. But theres no way I could have written any of them.
1. Coffee or Tea?
Tea
2. Current obsession song?
DNA by Kendrick Lamar
3. Favorite TV Show
Lost
Former Deputy Editor at Beyond The Stage Magazine
Delaney DeAngelis was Beyond the Stage’s Deputy Editor and was with the publication beginning 2014. She graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in public relations and now works as a marketing coordinator for a financial media company. When she’s not working or writing for Beyond the Stage, you can find her exploring Detroit, cooking, and rewatching New Girl. Her favorite bands include The Maine, Panic! at the Disco and LANY.
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