Big D and the Kids Table has been crafting ska punk music for nearly two decades and showed no signs of slowing down when Vans Warped Tour stopped at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J. on Sunday.
Lead singer David McWane and saxophonist Ryan O'Connor took the time to talk to MStars about their two new records, the Warped Tour environment, musical styles and more.
MStars: I want to start with the two albums you just put out, Stomp and Stroll.
McWane: Not many people have asked us about that, so thank you.
I found it very unique for two reasons. One is that you went the Kickstarter route, the other was that you did two albums simultaneously but separately. So first, how did you decide to go with Kickstarter and what was the response to that?
McWane: It had to obviously be the fall of the music industry where basically record labels don't get the units sold any more so they're giving all the artists like 1/15th of the record budget that they usually get. We got a recording budget offered to us that was, pretty much even the poorest guy has that in their checking account.
So we just said, "Let's just ask the fans, listeners what they would do." And it was a really funny thing where at the beginning we were like, "Maybe we can record the drums in the basement of (bassist) Steve (Foote)'s house." And then as the Kickstarter went on, we were like, "We can go to The Blasting Room in Colorado!" The Blasting Room is everybody's dream place to go.
So we did the drums there and then we came back and, yeah, we got about 40 grand, 38 or something. We spent it all on the recording, which kinda f'ed us when we had to manufacture the records, but we wanted to eat all our Halloween candy right away and it was great.
O'Connor: We had been thinking about how cool it would be to do two records, especially since the Fluent In Stroll days and stuff. We saw this as an opportunity. We were kind of thinking maybe we don't want to be on somebody else's label and they probably wouldn't want to do two records. And all that came out. So we kind of had our fingers crossed with the Kickstarter and it worked out. The fans lets us do what we wanted to do and I think it came out pretty good.
McWane: For a band that's 17 years old, you write different stuff. So as we write different records, sometimes there are certain kinds of fans that like to grow with you and then there's other fans that feel you betrayed them. So we decided to make it as easy as possible for them, like [speaking slowly] "This one's called Stomp and this one's called Stroll. If you buy the wrong one, it's your fault."
That was going to be my next question, why you decided to do two at the same time. Was it just to cater to the different fans?
McWane: Yeah, it's what we like. We like the ska punk stuff and we also like the Stroll stuff. When you're writing songs, you can't help but write different styles of songs. You know what I mean? It's like I just don't eat bananas.
Ryan O'Connor (l.) and David McWane of "Big D and the Kids Table."
I read a quote from you...
McWane: Uh-oh...
[Laughs] ...where you said that you consider these albums to be some of your best work.
McWane: I think so.
And like you said, you're many, many years into this. So what was it specifically about these records that made you think that?
McWane: Alex (Stern) was wonderful. We have a new guitar player, Alex. He was awesome.
O'Connor: Yeah, I think it was just like we decided going into it to do two. If you kind of brainstorm each record, "What are we gonna do?" And this time, we had two. So it was kind of like a free-for-all. There definitely wasn't as much pressure as far as "the album is gonna be this vibe and there's not as many songs that are gonna be on it." This time, people had the feeling of, "Oh, I can bring in anything..."
McWane: Yeah.
O'Connor: "...and we'll play it as a band and we'll mess around with it and we'll see what happens. And if everybody likes it, there'll probably be a place for it." So there were a lot of songs, all different styles, a few different things we haven't done before, back to the basics stuff. And it was great.
We were definitely worried. I know about (Guns N' Roses') Use Your Illusion I and II curse. They didn't need to do both. So we were definitely on point with that. You can't put out a double record and have half of it be filler.
McWane: You know how like Blur and the Gorillaz are the same kind of guys but have different band names? We do that but we keep the same band name.
[Laughs] And it seems to be working so far.
McWane: I hope so.
Dave, you've said that shows like this, like Warped Tour, are some of your favorites...
McWane: Yeah.
...because you feel like you have almost have to prove something to the crowd, like the crowd is part of the show.
McWane: Best interviewer on the tour!
[Laughs] Do you still feel that way to this day?
McWane: Absolutely. Well, when you play a show, when you headline a tour or a show, everyone in the audience pretty much likes your band, probably. So that's more like entertaining. But when you're opening up for a band like the Dropkick Murphys or something like this, you still get that 17-year-old "I have to prove myself" thing.
Even though it's not a competition, it's a competition. Not between the bands, but between "Do I look pretty? No? Oh..." So that's the exciting shit. You can play your song to a bunch of people that go, "I love this song," but to play your song to people who aren't sure about you, yeah, it's more fun.
And even as one of the more veteran bands on the tour, you guys still feel you have that energy.
McWane: Yeah, we're a ska band. [Laughs]
I spoke to Reel Big Fish before, and I mentioned how you see all these younger bands that are here. Is that an interesting experience for you? Do you feel like the grizzly vets with all the rookies running around?
McWane: No! [Laughs] Yes, actually.
O'Connor: The main stage bands have definitely shifted over the years. It's great. They're doing their thing. (Warped Tour creator) Kevin Lyman's really good on picking up on what the big thing is for the summer. He still gets his ticket draw and stuff like that.
But it's cool. It's totally fine. We're definitely comfortable in our own skin and stuff. We get a lot of the main stage younger guys that are like, "Oh, you guys are great! I've been listening to you since I was a young kid."
McWane: And they're massive and they're nervous to talk to you and you're like, "This is weird."
Yeah, some of the bands have said it could be almost intimidating seeing these bands, like, "Wow, I grew up listening to these guys and now I'm playing in the same tour alongside them."
McWane: Well, I think what's interesting too is that's what happened to us when Rancid and everybody was on the tour. We were scared to approach them. But what's funny is everyone's gonna go through it. Everyone's gonna go through, once they hit about 25, they're gonna start noticing that they don't like as many new bands. And then they have this lull in their understanding of what they do and don't like. And then they finally realize that all the new bands are borrowing from bands they liked when they were 15, 16, 17, 18.
I think between the ages of 25 and 28 is your, as a listener, your hard time of going, "Is music over for me?" and then you kind of go, "No, I just have to like it in a different way." Like Five Knives, they're a cross between Nine Inch Nails and a French band, Yelle. I love them! But they are inspired by bands I'm inspired by. It becomes a different palette to your ear. So some of the new bands, maybe they're not Pantera, but they're inspired by Pantera.
Anything new coming up for you? Are you touring now and focusing on new records later?
O'Connor: In the fall, we're going to do a U.S. tour headlining for the new records. I think our DVD is gonna come out.
McWane: In the fall!
O'Connor: Maybe a Halloween, for a Halloween show.
McWane: We've said that for over eight years, but it's true this time.
O'Connor: We just keep adding to it over the years so now it's four discs.
It's just gonna come in a big book-sized case.
McWane: It's so expensive now that we're like, "How do we do this?"
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