Dreamers
Catching up with Dreamers
by Emma Fox
Grunge indie-rock band Dreamers consists of singer/guitarist Nick Wold and bassist Nelson (née Marc Nelson) and are joined on their current tour by singer/guitarist Ari Tibi and drummer Jess Goodwin! After their debut self-titled EP release in 2014 and their debut album release of This Album Does Not Exist in 2016, Dreamers have grown to a level where they are now stretching the boundaries of grunge and psychedelic indie rock.
Dreamers has been on tour this fall sharing the stage with Young Rising Sons and Smallpools on their Cameras and Coastlines tour and are getting ready to release an upcoming EP. We were lucky enough to sit down and chat with them before their show in Philadelphia last weekend, to discuss their upcoming music, tour routine, inspirations and even video games!
In the past week or so you guys released your latest single “Internet Junkie.” Could you tell us a bit about your process in putting that together and what your vision or goal was?
Nick Wold: I was listening to a lot of Deftones when I wrote it. I was just like, “I want to be heavy and cool like them.” I was reading an article about how the young generation now is doing less drugs and alcohol than any generation before, and yet they also have the highest rates of depression and suicide and self-harm and stuff like that. It was just this weird thing. I mean I feel it too, that feeling of scrolling on your phone and being addicted to that instead of drugs and alcohol. The song is about that. That’s why I said in the lyric, “I’m never wasted, I'm only wasting away.” Totally sober but wasting away in this addiction to the internet.
Very cool! I’ve been streaming the song. It sounds awesome. You’ve been on this tour for a couple of weeks now. How’s it been being back on the road?
Nick Wold: It’s awesome. We had almost three years off of touring. We didn’t know if the world was going to end or if we were still going to be able to tour. If people weren’t going to do that ever again. But we did and we’re back. This is our second tour back. It’s amazing, particularly this tour because Smallpools and Young Rising Sons, the openers, are really rad people that we love. That’s critical on the road, good vibes. Also playing great cities, like New York, D.C., Boston, Philly.
You’ve been sharing new music from your upcoming EP on this tour, how has it been received?
Nick Wold: Really great.
Ari Tibi: I like it.
Nick Wold: Yeah, Ari loves them. (laughs)
Nelson: That’s all that matters here! (laughs)
Do each of you have a favorite song off of the upcoming EP?
Ari Tibi: “Internet Junkie” is my favorite.
Nick Wold: Mine too. There’s one, it hasn’t come out yet, but it’s going to come out soon. It’s called “Don’t Go Dark.” We did it with this band called Iron Tom who are just these keep-it-real guys that we love. I’m excited for that one.
Nelson: A preview is I get to play this thing (imitates music tapping on table). You heard it here first! (laughs)
What does a typical day on tour look like?
Jess Goodwin: Usually we wake up at the last moment before we have to load in, bring all the equipment in, set everything up, shower and get ready. We do this every day. I can’t even think right now.
Nick Wold: We lug heavy stuff.
Jess Goodwin: Lug heavy stuff, get everything set up, soundcheck. Then we’ve been playing on the earlier side so after soundcheck it’s usually grab a bite to eat, maybe do an interview, throw on makeup, stretch and get on stage!
Ari Tibi: She does yoga poses...
Nick Wold: Paint my nails...
Ari Tibi: (points to Nelson) He eats a Quest bar.
Nelson: I eat a Quest bar. (laughs) I usually wake up and I look in the bus mirror. I just think about my mortality and that time is moving faster and faster every day. Then I’m like: Hey, you’ve got work to do. Eat a Quest bar! And it’s good to go.
Nick Wold: When I have like five minutes, I look at Reddit/Space and I find out about something. Like I just learned about “The Great Nothing.” It’s one area they found in space that has nothing in it, and then they’re like, “that’s weird”. (laughs) It’s an area that should have 2000 galaxies but instead it has like three or something like that. Then, after our set we have like an hour to breathe hard. Then Smallpools is done and then we have to tear down everything.
Jess Goodwin: Then we play video games in the back lounge of the bus.
Nick Wold: If we’re lucky.
What are some of your favorite games to play?
Ari Tibi: Aladdin, the Michael Jackson one...
Nick Wold: We have a Sega Genesis with like 200 games.
Ari Tibi: Mortal Kombat. I actually beat him (refers to Nick) in Mortal Kombat which is like unheard of.
Nick Wold: You are really good at Mortal Kombat.
Ari Tibi: I would just like to put that on the record.
It’s on video now! (laughs)
Nick Wold: (laughs) I’ll admit it.
In your downtime, what other artists are you streaming?
Nick Wold: Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Deftones, Nirvana. They’re my favorite new bands. (laughs)
Nelson: I’m always trying to kind of keep track of what’s going on currently. I’ll listen to a lot of that, but I always go back to the same stuff. As far as new bands, I really like The 1975 and things in that space. There’s a guy that I’m obsessed with his music named Gus Dapperton. I really like that kind of thing. But I just always revert back to the same more classic stuff from the 90’s. That’s my comfortable space, but there’s a lot of new stuff that I really really love. Hey, I’m going to say something controversial. I like the new Taylor Swift song. I do!
Ari Tibi: Okay, I like the new album. I’m here for it.
Nelson: I haven’t listened to a lot of it, but I like the one song so I’m going to check out the album.
Ari Tibi: We do talk about her often (referring to Taylor Swift).
Do any of you have a dream collab?
Nick Wold: All of mine are dead. John Lennon, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, all the grunge rockers. They’re all dead. Except for Eddie Vedder.
Ari Tibi: Mine are dead too.
Nelson: I don’t know if it’s a collab, but I’d like to just be on stage with Iggy Pop.
That’d be a lot of fun.
Ari Tibi: Ooh, Fletcher!
Love Fletcher!
Ari Tibi: I love her too! She just came out with a new album. That is one that I’m like repeat, repeat, repeat. Every time we go to the gym: Fletcher. It’s really good.
How would you say you’ve grown since the debut album release of This Album Does Not Exist in 2016?
Nick Wold: It feels like a crazy life, a time warp. We’ve definitely grown a lot. We spent the first like five years touring non-stop. Our second album (the 2019 album Launch, Fly, Land) was just about that. With the pandemic, that was actually a really rad time creatively for me to just go back to square one and rethink it. Feel the angst of the world, the angst of myself more. Just wanting to write more – getting back to my roots a little, of like Seattle music. We’re trying to write grungy, darker, angry music.
Lastly, what’s next after the tour?
Nick Wold: We get off tour right after Thanksgiving, so we’re going to be driving three days from Nashville to LA during Thanksgiving. We’re probably going to go to Applebee’s or something. (laughs)
Ari Tibi: (laughs) That’s the first thing on the list!
Nelson: Or Waffle House!
Nick Wold: Then we’ll probably sleep for three days, writing in December. Then the holiday season is the one time the music industry just totally shuts down. So, December is time for sleep.
Nelson: Hibernate. I’ll hopefully go see my family.
Jess Goodwin: Family stuff!
Ari Tibi: I’m going to go hang out with my dog. (laughs)
What kind of dog do you have?
Ari Tibi: She’s a Pomeranian!
Make sure to go stream Dreamer’s newest single, “Internet Junkie,” and keep an eye out for their upcoming EP!
Copyright ©2022 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 21, 2022.
Photos by Emma Fox © 2022. All rights reserved.
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