EMQ’s With Tumbleweed Dealer
EMQ’s With Tumbleweed Dealer
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Canadian Instrumental Post-Stoner Rock band, Tumbleweed Dealer. Huge thanks to their guitarist/ Bassist, Seb, For taking part.
What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
I’m Seb, I play guitars and bass, and I started the band as a one-man side project over 10 years ago. Over time it grew to be my sole musical output so I threw my love of all kinds of music into it. I recruited JB when I failed to home record the first album, he came in and saved the day and he has been my go-to guy for producing, mixing, and overall quality control since. We added Angelo, our drummer, into the line up early in the writing process of this new album.
How did you come up with your band name?
My original inspiration was to mix the spaghetti western type of melodies I heard in bands like Earth and Horseback with Stoner Rock and Psychedelic Rock, and keep the whole thing instrumental with Post-Rock type structures. So Tumbleweed Dealer seemed to convey that duality properly. Had I known the logistical problems it would cause down the road with social media, I would’ve picked something less inclined to have Meta think we are actually selling illegal substances!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We’re from Quebec. The other guys live in Montreal while I live right off the island on what we call the south shore. This town has always had a thriving scene for every genre. All the way back to the 70’s, Quebec had its own regional variant of Progressive Rock that is still revered to this day.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
“Dark Green” is our 4th album. It came out February 7th on Bandcamp and hit Spotify on the 28th. It’s the culmination of 8 years of writing and recording.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Whenever I’m writing a song and get stuck, I ask myself “What Would Camel Do?” Their first five albums are, in my opinion, the best music ever made. We wanted to take that 70’s Prog feel and put it in a modern context, adding influences from Japanese Math Rock like Toe, and from various Jazz and Funk musicians we look up to like Thundercat and Yussef Dayes.
What first got you into music?
I remember following the musical trends when I was a kid. I was into MC Hammer when he was big, Vanilla Ice (I even got my hair cut just like him!) then NKOTB (My favourite was Jordan), you know I just kept following whatever was cool. Of course, when Metallica blew up with The Black Album I jumped on the bandwagon. But this time, I dug a bit deeper and discovered other bands like Megadeth and Iron Maiden, and then I was hooked and really started appreciating music for the guitar playing rather than just for the hook. Rust In Peace was really the album that made me appreciate a good riff. I went deeper and deeper down that rabbit hole and never came back out to jump on another trend since.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Honestly my one collab on my bucket list I got to do on this latest album. We had Ceschi Ramos, one of my favourite artists ever, come in for our first vocal track ever. It was a surreal experience to meet and work with someone whose music has been so important to me over the last decade or so.
If I were to collaborate with another artist, I’d like to go in a different direction. I could see us doing something really cool and unique with someone like Nicole Dollanganger.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Roadburn. It’s just THE festival for a band like us. We could share the stage with a bunch of legendary bands and expose a large new audience to our music.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
You guys are getting gifts from fans?? No fair, I have yet to receive anything!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Listen to new music. Search out new artists, discover a subgenre you didn’t know about before, just never stop looking for new music to fall in love with. Never become that guy with 10 CDs in his car saying everything nowadays sucks and listening to the same albums that he did in High School.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Sean Malone. He is one of my favourite bassists ever, and he did not get to record enough music before he left us. His passing saddened me, I love his work with Cynic but also with his Gordian Knot project, Cortlandt, Aghora, he had a unique approach to writing bass and I wish I could hear more of it.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I enjoy when everything comes together and you realize your vision. When you take that sound in your head and actually manage to recreate it in the real world. But at the same time, I hate the drive to create. It racks my brain until it’s right.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
The bias in social media. The fact that having 4000 followers doesn’t mean 4000 people will see your post. Always having to work that algorithm. I always work in a “If it’s good enough people will find it” way and just the idea of promoting my music to me is counterintuitive. I am constantly looking for new artists, if it’s good, I will find it! But I know not everyone loves sifting through a thousand artists a week.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“13.0.0.0.0” by TTNG. It is a Math Rock masterpiece. I love how all 3 members of the band have a very distinct style and bring in something unique to their instrument. Seeing them live was probably my favourite concert ever not to involve Rush.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Honestly, at this point, downloads. I wanted as much music as possible at my disposal at all times. Physical media are just not convenient. I understand the need to collect something you can hold, but to me, it’s about the music, not the format.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
We got to play Psychofest in California about a decade ago. It was the band’s 3rd show. Not everything went as planned, but it was still an exciting experience. We have only played about 10 shows in total, and that was all with the previous lineup.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Pro Wrestler. Seriously. I wanted to do both, but the musician and touring lifestyle took over and I was always way too out of shape to pursue that dream. It’s not something I could even dream of starting now at 44 years old, but if music had not been an option, that would’ve definitely been where I would have invested my time and energy.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
Jeff Anderson and Kevin Smith, because Clerks is my absolute favourite movie ever. I’d add Kamasi Washington, because he is a modern musical genius, an anime fan, and just seems like an overall super chill guy. Then round it out with AJ Styles so I can pick his brain about the time he spent wrestling in Japan and old school Ring Of Honor, and Chris Pontius for comedy relief!
What’s next for the band?
We are slowly working on album number 5. We want to put a bigger lineup together and make music that we can bring to the stage this time around.
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
http://tumbleweeddealer420.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/tumbleweeddealer
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll, or a Tea Cake?
Even though we speak the same language and I understand all those words individually, I have no idea what you are asking me, so I will answer in a polite Canadian way and just smile and nod, Eh!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Make sure you check out the new album, hit us up on social media, and if you want to discuss music of any genre, hit me up with a message. I am always looking for people to trade recommendations with!
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
