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December 2009, The Well
Rust Belt Lights
Derek catches up with RBL on their way through Richmond.
Rust Belt Lights is a new melodic punk band from Buffalo, NY forming in the demise of greats like Daggermouth, Dead Hearts, and Get Back Up. Now united and hell bent on ever stopping, Rust Belt Lights is constantly in pursuit of their next tour, and is currently recording a full-lenth debut to followup 2009's E.P./7inch on State of Mind Records, "Long Gone." I sat down with Tom Mayer who plays guitar for RBL, and Zach Dietsch who performs on vocals at a recent show in Richmond.
M33: How has the tour gone so far? Is this your longest tour to date? What cities were the most fun to play?
T: Tour has been pretty fun if nothing else. The shows have been really hit or miss, but we are a new band so it is pretty much what you would expect for your first or second tour. This is our longest tour to date, but only by a day or two. The summer tour was basically just as long.
Z: In Tallahassee we played this thing called Parade of Homes. Basically there were 7 different houses, each house had one band play, and a group of 80 or so kids rode their bikes from house to house, watching each band. That was the coolest thing ever.
N: Hickory, NC!!! We rolled up to this random house not expecting anything. By the halfway point of our set I was completely blown away at how supportive the kids were. We all literally couldn't move because the crowd completely took over. It was kind of like we were Have Heart for a split second! Haha.
M33: Last time you played in Richmond who played in a basement. This time around it was a standard small venue. What type of shows do you all prefer and why?
T: I love the fact that everyone has to be packed in tight in a basement. It can make a small show a lot more fun, but I also love the sound you can get out of the right small venue with the right setup. There are pros and cons to both. The first Richmond show we did in the basement was probably the better of the two and most of our best shows this tour have happened in living rooms and basements, but in time I hope that the shows in the small venues will be just as good. It all depends on the vibe of the day.
Z: It's always exciting to play with bands you like, too. Go Rydell was that band for me this tour.
M33: In your own words, how exactly would you describe your genre, and what Rust Belt Lights is?
T: I would say that we mostly have a melodic punk rock sound. You can say that we are influenced by a lot of different styles from pop punk to hardcore, but the last thing I want to do is say that we are a "pop-punk/hardcore band" I think that just seems to refer to a trend of pop punk music in drop D tuning with tough guy break downs. I don't think that is what we sound like and we are not here to capitalize on a trend.
Z: I always just tell people we're a punk band. I think it's the best way to avoid using too many adjectives to describe our own music.
M33: What is your personal favorite part about being in a band?
Z: Meeting cool people, seeing the country, Dakota Point, In-n-Out Burger!
T: Playing Shows! Going Everywhere!
M33: You all are a young band, but feature members of some recognizable bands in our scene. What was it like to start over again in this band after gaining success in former acts? Does booking come any easier because of your musical past?
T: The first weekend we went out was a huge wakeup call and really made me take a step back and say "Whoa, do I really want to do this all over again" There is no special treatment and anything that any of us have done, doesn't really matter. It is no fun to fill the gas tank out of your own pocket, but we believe in our music and we are going to do everything we can to bring it to as many people as we possibly can. Booking seems harder than ever right now and a lot of promoters just don't seem to care about promoting their shows. I can't tell you how many times we have pulled up to a show with our name spelled wrong or looked at a bunch of flyers on the front window with one for our show nowhere to be found. We have played one show on each tour to 0 paying people, something I have never done in my entire life even in my pre teen bands. Hopefully things will start to get easier now that we have self booked ourselves throughout the entire US, but I was able to pull very few favors because of previous bands.
M33: You've been touring your E.P. / 7inch "Long Gone" for a few months now. What can we expect next, release-wise from you guys?
T: After this tour we are going home to record a full length. We will have it out as soon as we possibly can. We are very excited to get home to finish things up.
N: It's a pretty typical response to the question but our newer songs are a lot more thought out and catchier. It's going to be huge progression for us seeing as though we didn't really know how our E.P. was going to go over, luckily for us most people seem to like it. I personally don't see anyone being disappointed. It's our premier full length so we're setting our own bar.
M33: Clearly bands at your level are not making thousands of dollars on the road, but what personally makes it worth it to deal with the realities and hardships of DIY tours?
N: We all know money isn't even in the equation for any band starting off like we are. We have been lucky enough to, for the most part, make enough to go from show to show. The people I have met and the friendships that have I have formed with people who otherwise I would have never gotten to meet is what makes it worth it to me. I still regularly speak with a lot of friends in different states/countries who I met throughout my touring career. I wouldn't trade that for the world.
M33: I noticed that you all are driving a camper van with a trailer attached, a sizeable yet rad tour vehicle for sure. Where did you get it, and how awesome is it to tour in that beauty?
T: Lindy is a 1988 23ft. RV that we picked up from an old geezer in May w/ 50,000 miles. When it came time to get a van we did some searching and we passed an RV place near my house and decided to pull in and check out a small old one. We almost bought it, but it got sold to someone else, but by that time it was too late. We NEEDED to find another RV so we went RV shopping instead of van shopping. It has tons of sweet shit like places to sleep, fridge, freezer, bathroom, microwave, and it is only 5ft. longer than a 15 passenger van. We save tons of money on food and insurance, and lose a little on gas. Overall, get one. You'll love it!
M33: Do you have any preshow rituals or standard tour/band roles that we might find interesting? Who's doing all the 'work' in this band, anyways?
T: I have done most of the show booking with Nick. Cody has done most of the money spending, but we have all thrown a fair share of cash into this thing. We all do a lot of writing and I think it is always a team effort that works the best. We're all doing the work!
N: No preshow rituals to speak of. We just get out of the RV and try to play our best each night.
M33: If you had a 'tour rider', what would be on it?
T: Make Up, Black Nail Polish, and a Hair Straightener. Obviously. Maybe some food, drinks, and clean clothes too.
M33: What do you all do when you are not on the road? Has it been easy to get off work for tours, or are you all more of the "work for two months then quit for tour" kind of guys?
N: I've been harassed this tour because earlier on I claimed to someone that I was the only one that had a "real" job. I don't want to discredit any of the members by saying that because it isn't true. We all have rent to pay, jobs to attend, girlfriends and lot of other things going on in our lives that make it ultra hard to do this full time. When I am home I work as a Heating and Air Conditioning Service Technician which is the most demanding (physically and mentally) job I have ever had. I lucked out pretty hard with this job. My company is very understanding to my situation and let me just take off pretty much whenever I want. They are super supportive of my life decisions and I couldn't be more thankful for that. I know I could be making a lot more money and tending to a lot of other things that would be beneficial to me personally but I don't want to be 40 and have regrets so I have the "fuck it!" attitude. It'll probably end up biting me in the ass but as for right now I don't care. Work hard on what you want to.
T: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
M33: Your hometown of Buffalo has always slipped by my travel routes for whatever reason over the years. How do you all like living in Buffalo, and what is the local scene like?
T: I love Buffalo for reasons most might not ever understand if they aren't from the area and from traveling so much it's easy to learn what you love about where you live, but I can't speak for the other dudes. Mainly I love the food and the Sabres. Other perks include some of the cheapest rent in the country. It is not always easy for people looking for jobs out of college and many people have had to leave, but I love it because it's home and I like all 4 seasons. It is culturally diverse, and has an overall good scene in the arts, much like Richmond I would say. The punk and hardcore scene specifically is hurting a little right now and a lot of bands are breaking up, but it kind of feels that way everywhere. We need more good bands to restart the cycle!
Z: Point blank, you can't get acceptable chicken wings anywhere else but home.
M33: What have been some of your favorite bands that you have played with over the span of this band?
T: Such Gold, The Wonder Years, We Are The Union, Strike Anywhere, Fireworks, At Half Mast, The Casting Out.
Z: Let's not forget This Black Box and of course the late Get Back Up......jeez. Also Jay Kent.
M33: With your energy to tour and ability to write and perform catchy melodic punk songs, you all should be soon catching the eye of promoters for opening spots on bigger tours. Do you all have any such offer on the table as of yet? What are your tour plans for 2010?
T: That sounds great, but not too many opportunities are knocking on the door quite yet. We hope to get our full length finished as soon as we can so we have more to work with. Regardless of what may come our way we will work as hard as we can to get on the road for much of 2010.
Thanks again guys, and hope to catch up with you all again in the near future!