Name: Dead Pioneers
Members: Gregg Deal (lead vocals), Joshua Rivera (guitar), :Abe Brennan (guitar), Lee Tesche (bass), Shane Zweygardt (drums)
Interviewee: Gregg Deal

Nationality: American
Current release: Dead Pioneers' self-titled debut album is out on physical formats August 16th 2024 via Hassle. 
Recommendations: The book, There, There by Tommy Orange.
I have a lot of favorite artists, but up there is Julie Buffalohead. She’s fantastic.
 
If you enjoyed this Dead Pioneers interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit their official homepage. They are also on Instagram.
 


Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

As someone who started out as a visual artist, recognizing my own talents and capabilities, I have come to believe that this is what I have to work with and what I have to offer. I do it because I feel compelled to do it, and often joke that I’m “never not working” because of the amount of time I spend conceptualizing and working out new ideas.

This concept as it relates to music is no different. I am in a constant state of listening, conceiving and writing. It is my every day, and it is something that wholeheartedly sustains me.

Other factors of inspiration play a big roll in my work. Politics clearly makes an appearance in all of my work, especially as an Indigenous person within the walls of the United States of America, our existence is a political one, quite literally. Films, visual art, other music all play a part in my create process. Sometimes an inspiration quote here or there, but mostly trying to take in the world around me.

But they all play a part, and always have.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

To get started, I do need a place to start. Always a place to start. It doesn’t have to be concrete, but enough of something to move the conversation forward.

Visualization is 100% in play for me always. Within visual arts, I don’t keep a sketch book because of that visualization. I go over things in my head so much that when I put brush canvas, or pencil to paper, or any medium, I am ready to execute.

My write style for songs, in particular, work that same way. I spend time on it, working out lines in my head. It is not uncommon for me to sit down and write a song in a few minutes and be ready to go because of how much time I spend in my own mind with these things.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Honestly, I do not have much preparation. I suppose the preparation is in my head, and getting in to the right headspace.

That kind of preparation might be taking a moment to my self, playing a video game with my kids for a few, reading something, watching something, doom scrolling or even listening to something to set the mood.

I’m a cheap date.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Honestly take time to center myself is it. The prep stuff gets me in a good place. When I’m ready to create, I’m creating. There is times when I don’t have to even do that because something hits and I have to get to it.

I dont’ have much in way of artist blocks, and am constantly writing down ideas and thoughts. It’s all happening at once and if I’m not prompted to something, I will take some time to see the mood.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I have to have an idea. I start with a line I wrote, a quote I heard that inspires some lyrics, and work through it.

Generally the entire band works together to make the music and work through riffs. I often come to these sessions with music written, but will rewrite and cater my writings to the music created. I will sometimes come in with ideas, but for the most part trust the process and myself to it.

But yes, I must have an idea. Luckily I’m not short of ideas.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Lyrics exist as a theme to the song being created. Once I work out the arrangement of lyrics to music, I’ll reveal where we are at with the music.

Since about 2014 I have kept a notebook of writings, spoken word and lines. That has come over into this space, utilizing these writings, but also prompting me to keep writing and making things happen. The lyrics are interesting because they could live on their own, but I often will regrow them into the proposed music. This process is one of my favorites.

Ican often visualize what might exist in a song, and I’ll take writings and work them around that visualization and music. Like I said, there is so much that just lives in my head.  

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Wow. I don’t know if I’m a good lyricist. I certainly do my best. It’s not uncommon for me to find one or two lines that just hit hard, and work around those things so they can stick out and make their point. For this first record, it was very much about using what I have, fine tuning it, and getting it to work properly.

It’s an interesting process because so much of my process is also depending on the rest of the guys and music they make. They’re such good musicians and I trust them so completely in this way. Likewise they support my lyrical choices, which I see as a massive amount of trust as well which I appreciate so much.

My own ambitions are to become a better song writer and lyricist, and to find consistency in what I’m building in my own writing, but to also see if I can go beyond that. The challenge I face is pushing myself hard enough to get something new and exciting, but not so hard that I lose the vision of where I began.

It’s like walking a tight rope sometimes, but I’m getting used to it.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

No, not at all.

I have a natural tendency to certain things, and while I start with a specific vision or idea, I find the flexibility needed to allow things to come through is paramount. I may keep a general idea of the song, but it might go somewhere I wasn’t expecting. I keep that, and try not to fight it at all. So I suppose to some degree there is some leading happening.

This space is an exciting space, though. While I may need to be sure I’m in the right headspace, I also need to be ready for anything and I will sometimes find something I wasn’t expecting. It’s fantastic.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

This happens sometimes. I lean into it. I accept things as they happen.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I suppose there could be something to say as an Indigenous person that we believe our creative people to be medicine people.

I wouldn’t classify myself to be some kind of spiritual anything, but would be remiss if I didn’t admit the place I enter in to when I’m creating as being exciting, warm, inviting, open and sometimes even other worldly. It’s an important space. One of the most important spaces in my life.

I rely on inspiration and promptings in all I do, in hopes that I am good enough to have something come through that perhaps I contribute with my own talents and abilities, but recognize that inspiration or promptings from other places may also be at play.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

This is an interesting question. I don’t pine over much of anything, if I’m honest. I will make something, and then when it’s done I leave it. If I make something that isn’t working, and I’ve put time into it, but it’s just not coming together, I will abandon it. Recycle what I can from it, lyrically, or even musically, but if something isn’t coming together, I don’t trifle with it much at all.

Refinement comes in when we record, and if it’s not ready for that, I won’t touch it. We won’t do it. That’s really it. It either works or it doesn’t and I have no problem walking away.

That said, I am also very mindful of where things come from. If it’s not coming from a place that is true, honest and being made because I want to make it, I will abandon it. I don’t want to make something in hopes that it will be consumed or otherwise received well. I am interesting in making art, not commerce.

Obviously I want things to move along, sell or be seen or heard, but I believe if I don’t bring my honest self to the table, it won’t make it, and I conduct myself believing my honest self will make it worth something. Hopefully that allows it to go forward out of my hands and into the world.

Even recording a solo song is usually a collaborative process. Tell me about the importance of trust between the participants, personal relationships between musicians and engineers and the freedom to perform and try things – rather than gear, technique or “chops” - for creating a great song.

This is how it works for Dead Pioneers:

We all trust each other and give room for everyone. This trust is paramount. We communicate and know where we are coming from and how we are arriving at things, so there is no big secret going on. There is enough ego to trust our abilities, but not so much ego that everyone doesn’t have equal say. We are in this together, and we move around each other with respect and trust.

I wish I could articulate it better than that, but here is how it’s worked up to this point so far: We get into a room and will start work immediately, without hesitation. It’s not uncommon or us to walk into a room together, work for 8 or 10 hours, and walk out with 5-8 songs ready to go. We are proficient for practical reasons, but also because we are exciting, trust each other and are keen to make something worthwhile.

It’s the greatest honor to work with these guys, and I sincerely appreciate the trust they give me which I likewise give them. It’s beautiful.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?  

I think trust enters this conversation again. There have been a few people I know that were interested in producing us, and working with us outright. I wasn’t totally sure how it would work out, and we moved forward with working with The Blasting Room for everything. Our engineer worked with us, and had solid ideas and opinions that we trusted and helped us make a good record. That trust was important.

Abe and Shane especially has good relationships with this studio and it’s people, and it made it easy for me to trust and let go. I think there is a good balance, and the guy who mixed everything, Chris Beeble, was not unlike the band itself in being easy to work with, and communicates well. I mean, we’re paying to be there, and they want us to sound as good as we want to, so that partnership works.

Most of the composition or arrangement is minute, to be honest. We come in with an idea, and then it becomes about tightening things up, or making minor adjustments. Those outside ears are important. So, it matters.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Oh man, yeah. Totally. I can relate to this, but was somewhat prepared with my visual art careers. It used to be common for me to get what I called “post exhibition blues”, so I was somewhat prepared.

But that emptiness? Hell yes, that’s real. I had moments of wondering if I would ever do more again, being so uncertain. It took a few months to build up, but when it did, it became clear we were onto something and I was so grateful for it.

I see this experience like a lot of things. Stand up, dust yourself off, and get back to it. Always.