Interview
Dustin Nadler
Hopesfall
Lineup:
Joshua Brigham - Guitar
Mike Tyson - Bass
Dustin Nadler - Guitar
Adam Baker - Drums
Jay Forrest - Vocals

The Totally Badical Tour

Underøath
HOPESFALL
The Chariot
These Arms Are Snakes
Fear Before The March Of Flames

HOB
4/19/05

Interviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

Transcriber: Sharita Lumpkin

Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)
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"When people ask, it’s kind of funny and maybe sometimes it comes off a little pretentious, but it’s just rock to us; just rock and roll.  If you like it too, then go for it; but as far as placing us in any category, no."

A Types may be the title of their latest effort and after my discussion with North Carolina's Hopesfall's guitarist, Dustin Nadler, we find out it is not in reference to the band but about a "fake race of people". According to Nadler, they may not be Type A personalities per se but this fun-time, yet hard working band is definitely on the list to watch as they shall be all over hell's half acre this year, in between Europe and then back here in the States during the summer for the Van's Warped Tour. You can also find the band on Headbangers Ball with their video "Icarus". Looks like their efforts definitely have not gone in vein. Join me in my conversation with Dustin as he talks about spending arduous hours in the studio with famed producer and whip cracker, Steven Haigler on A Types, why the band doesn't care for genre categorizations, what's in their CD player, on top of Dave Marion of Fear Before The March of Flames making a guest appearance.

Karma: Thanks for doing the interview!

 

Dustin: [Smiles] Oh, of course.

 

Karma: How’s the tour going so far?

 

Dustin: It’s going absolutely wonderful! Unfortunately, this is the last night we’re gonna be on it. But we’ve been on it the last three and a half weeks, so it’s been absolutely amazing, I’m just happy I was a part of it.

 

Dustin Nadler of Hopesfall with Karma E. (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Karma: That’s awesome. Anything wild and crazy happen thus far?

 

Dustin: Uh, no besides irresponsible nights with the alcohol. [Laughs] Which, I honestly can’t remember if anything too wild and crazy happened. Yeah, we’ve gotten a little bit out of hand I guess but still responsible enough as a rock tour can be. [Laughs]

 

Karma: There you go, very well put. I was reading that you are not fond of categorization…

 

Dustin: ...well, that’s pretty vague you mean like…

 

Karma: ...as far as like your genre?

 

Dustin: Yeah, absolutely. If you get down to calling this music, that’s what we’re all about.

 

Karma: Then how would one go about defining your music then?

 

Dustin: When people ask, it’s kind of funny and maybe sometimes it comes off a little pretentious, but it’s just rock to us; just rock and roll.  If you like it too, then go for it; but as far as placing us in any category, no. [Laughs] You can put us wherever you like actually. We're down for whatever people want to call us but we do what we like and just check it out, be eclectic.

 

Karma: Who does the Type A personality refer to? Does it refer to you, as in the band?

 

Dustin: Uh no, definitely not! It's kind of the spin off from what it means. It's kind of not meant to be in the literal sense of the word but it's like more or less talking about the perfect personality, the do-gooder that actually pulls it off. You know, it's funny for those people who really think they have Type A personalities. It's like the people who mean well and are motivated, are focused on the right things in life and have a strong set of morals. We appreciate that sort of thing, but when we talk about it, we don't talk about it as in humans. We talk about it as almost a fake race of humans.

 

It's kind of weird but no, as far as we are concerned as individuals... [smiles] okay, I'll speak for me, I can't get in trouble that way! I'll speak for me, I definitely have plenty of flaws. Now would I like to believe that I'm a good human being? Yes, absolutely, I am. But am I a Type A personality, do I live my life perfectly no! By no means!!

 

Karma: Hell, I don't think anyone does that!!

 

Dustin: [Laughs]

 

Karma: Going back a bit, of course tonight's the last night of the tour, what are your future plans past that?

 

Dustin: Well, the only reason that this is our last night of the tour is because we actually have some press to do in New York City in a couple days.  Then when we leave New York, and we're going home, in which home is Charlotte [smiles] for about five days.  We then on the 28th fly out to go to Europe to do Atticus tour so, we'll be in Europe for four weeks.

 

Karma: Sweet!

 

Dustin: Yeah, that will be fun! Then after Europe, we're home for about two weeks, and then we're on the whole entire Warped Tour.

 

Karma: Awesome. That's great.  How was it working with Steven Haigler [of Fuel and Pixies fame]?

 

Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Dustin: Oh, it was absolutely wonderful. Really, it was like the first collaboration that Hopesfall really had with an outside producer. Like a guy whose sole purpose was to be there, listen to music, take it in, and show a different side of it and a different aspect. It was really wonderful to see that. Like, it was tough at first 'cause we weren't 100 percent sure how to take his criticism and what he would and what it would mean. But at the end of the day, we're like this guys on it and he made us better players and made us better understand the music that we were doing and what we were trying to accomplish.

 

Karma: That's awesome, even though it is radically different from what you had done previously.

 

Dustin: Yes.

 

Karma: Would you say that was pretty much attributed to his influence?

 

Dustin: It definitely helped, I mean a big part of that, like when you're listening to A Types, that was him helping us put it together. 

 

Karma: As far as you working laboriously in the studio, would you attribute that approach to Steven as well or...

 

Dustin: ...well, a studio is a studio like that’s what you have to do. As far as with the laborious part, that comes with the territory. Like the studio equals that for the most part. It was definitely a risk but he made it to where it was a good [thing]. I mean, like, we really came together on this. We were strapped to get that record done because we wrote the whole entire thing in under two months, which was not a good idea. [Laughs] 

 

Actually to be quite honest with you, we only had eight songs for A Types written and we wrote it in like seven weeks, went into the studio and wrote two songs there in like one night, pretty much. He made us like come together with it and everything was on such a set agenda, like everyday there was no looking back, like this is what we’ve got to accomplish that day and move on. So it was tough and very stressful.

 

Karma: Would you do that again? As far as trying to fit all of that in such a short amount of...

 

Dustin: ...well, of course because you love doing it but do we want to? No, but we much rather be much more prepared and have the opportunity to spend more time on it, so everything was very much rushed with A Types.

 

Karma: Are you guys satisfied with the way A-Types turned out?

 

Dustin: Oh, of course. I mean that is what we did. It’s just like there’s things to us and maybe it’s just us being over critical cause it’s our own band. Yeah, I am very pleased with it, but in the end I am very proud of what came out.  

 

Karma: Well, what’s your favorite off the album and why?

 

Dustin: Hmm, very interesting! [Pauses] Okay, I think it comes down to either "The Ones" or "Manipulate the Eclipse". I guess, mainly part of the reason of "The Ones" is because that’s one of the songs we wrote. This is really funny I dunno if you have enough tape for this.

 

Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Karma: Oh, I have enough tape. [Laughs]

 

Dustin: Okay, I will tell you, this is how Hopesfall works, this is really, really, really funny. Those two songs that we wrote, we got the other eight songs recorded on drugs, right?

 

Karma: Oh, okay!

 

Dustin: And we were doing with them, and we told Steve we have a little bit of material, we kind of want you to hear it, like we’re not really sure what to do. It was like the fourth or fifth day in the studio, the eight songs were done and it’s like that night we’re wrapping up and Steve goes, "Hey about those other two songs, we’ve got to get those done! So you guys are need to go ahead and write those tonight in the studio because we’re gonna record them tomorrow!!" So we kind of like laughed. [Laughs] Then [we realized] he was serious, so we were like, "Oh he’s serious!"

 

Karma: Oh wow!

 

Dustin: We were like, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" and this is after a full day of recording, like a solid ten hours or however much we put into it. So did we go right to work? Hell no! [We all laugh hysterically] We sat down and started drinking beer like five minutes after eleven. We like this show called Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which is on Adult Swim and we’re like totally into it. So we wanted to wait till that came on before we started writing, because that's really funny. So we just kept drinking till the show comes on, sat down and watched the show. I think we started at about 3 o’clock in the morning, we wrote "The Ones" and "Breathe From Coma", both of those songs were written in one night. So "The Ones", partly because of that and it kind of came together and that’s the one we wrote first. It’s just like the night that we wrote that song we had a little bit of the chorus done and I had written it. I was like, “Guys, what do you think about this?”

 

The reason it felt so special is like I turn it on in my van and it’s like 3 o'clock in the morning and all of a sudden we were just kind of away from everything, like weren’t in the studio, we weren’t being rushed to record an album, it was nothing. It’s just like, I was with four other guys and we’re working with nothing else but our own selves and our own motivation, our own loves and desires, and we made this happen. What was coming together was like, so inspiring. To go back and speak of that night and that song just comes together with the four other people, its just us doing it. You know, it had to happen and I dunno it’s a real special thing to me anyway. Anyway, that's why that song sticks out.

 

Karma: That’s awesome.  Now see this is an interesting segue, I was reading a couple of interviews and it said that you guys are Christian, blah, blah, blah…You guys aren’t Christian?

 

Dustin: No, who said that?

 

Karma: In an interview I was reading.

 

Dustin: Was it like up to date during A Types?

 

Karma: I'm thinking not!

 

Dustin: Cause a long, long, time ago, it was but there are definitely some different members and it’s no more of it. I mean we’re just a band that’s likes music and that’s what were about; that’s what we want to be and be focused on is our music. Our beliefs, we’re open minded to everything so it’s like we’re not shunning anything but we’re absolutely fair to listen to anyone that has anything to say about it.  As far as us bearing witness, no dice.

 

Karma: So who is your favorite band in the scene right now?

 

Dustin: In the scene?

 

Karma: Mhmm.

 

Josh Brigham: [all of a sudden he blurts out] Every Time I Die!

 

Karma: I'm sorry, Hon. What's your name?

 

Josh: Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Josh! [Laughs]

 

Dustin: [Pauses] That’s really tough, I like a lot of bands right now. If you’d be more genre specific, that would help me.

 

Karma: How about your genre?

 

Mike Tyson: What genre are we in?

 

Dustin: That’s the question you asked me...

 

Karma: ...yeah, I know! We already had this conversation!

 

Dustin: What am I spinning...

 

Karma: Okay Dustin, what’s in your CD Player?

 

Josh: Mew and Misery Signals!

 

Dustin Nadler of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Dustin: [Smiles] Yeah, yeah, there's this band called Mew is pretty amazing, a band called Ocean Size. I've been listening to Keg lately, the Muse, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, and Always for sure. In the scene, I’m really a big fan of Engine Down, that’s a little bit of a different genre but still, definitely Every Time I Die, those guys are ALWAYS rockin'. Misery Signals, I can go on and on. I love, love music and I can definitely name a million bands I like.

 

Karma: Now, if you could collaborate with anyone, whom would you choose, producer wise?

 

Dustin: I don’t even know if I could give you a fair answer on that because of A Types, it’s the reason that made me look at producers and who does that and even what they did. Cause I was gonna say like I’m ignorant of that, just get it done.  Guys are like, oh yeah producers, yeah cool whatever; but when you work with one you get it. You’re like okay, oh now I know what’s going on over here. [Laughs] If I was able to work with anyone, like who I would have help us on our record, I would definitely have Billy Corgan help us. I’m sure he’s done punk producing stuff... [pauses] and Guns N' Roses just because I know they know how to party! [Laughs]

 

Karma: That’s great. So, what mark would you like to leave on your fans?

 

Dustin: Hopesfall tattoos on all of them. No…[Laughs] A very vague and sincere thank you for even checking it out and listening to it and for keeping this kind of thing going on. That’s about it; it’s because of them, but at the end of the day, they are the ones that keep us where we’re at, a big sincere thank you.

 

Karma: That’s awesome. Here’s a quick Speed Round of Questions for you.

 

Dustin: Okay.

 

Karma: Do you have a mantra?

 

Dustin: What’s that?

 

Karma: It’s like a phrase that you go by, like your creed.

 

Dustin: Oh. Nothing in life is free.

 

Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Karma: Have you ever read the dictionary like a book?

 

Dustin: No!

 

Karma: Okay, if not music then what?

 

Dustin: Women. [Laughs]

 

Karma: What the hell would your bandmates do if it weren't for Hopesfall?

 

Dustin: Mikey would move out into the woods and grow his hair really long and build a house out of trees and leaves (our bass player). [Laughs] Jay would sell everything he owned, save up his money, and drive around the U.S., to try to attend a baseball game in every major league stadium across the [country]. Josh, would deliver pizza and hang out. Adam, would invent time travel and me...I said women as a stupid joke! If not music then... I don’t even want to think about it. [Everyone laughs] Like, I really don't! That sucks, next question! [Smiles]

 

Karma: What has been your most defining Hopesfall moment?

 

Dustin: I would say the first tour that I did with them. I mean it wasn’t a single moment, but it was all the time and effort put in and like the whole going around and making it happen. I joined Hopesfall like two years ago but I lived in Kansas City before so it was like Josh and I were friends. We had played guitar together a few times and it’s like me moving and making the whole thing happen so the first tour was like the culmination and patience of all that. I was like, "Oh this is really happening! I’m going to go with it! This is really great!!" So I think that was the moment that was like, "Woah!"

 

Karma: [Smiles] Guilty pleasure song/CD/artist.

 Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

Dustin: Oh no, guilty pleasure! Kelly Clarkson and Vanessa Carlton.

 

Dave Marion: I don’t think so!

 

Dustin: You don’t think so? Dude! You know what, I’m gonna turn that around!

 

Josh: There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure!

 

Dustin: I was going to say that, there’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure, that’s what I wanted to say. Like, music is music and if you like it, then listen to it. Guilty pleasures are what make scenes and what make people not be open minded or eclectic. So 86 the guilty pleasures all together.

 

Karma: There you go. Things you cannot live without?

 

Dustin: Music, burritos, touring, ESPN, and my mom.

 

Karma: Ahhh! My best friend’s a _________?

 

Dustin: [Laughs] Transvestite. No. [Laughs] My best friend is my mom.

 

Karma: That's sweet!! First job?

 

Dustin: Working for my dad's construction company, honestly! I swear to God, and then Hardee's.

 

Karma: How many candles did you blow out on your last birthday and on which date?

 

Dustin: God, these questions! [Laughs] I think my 18th birthday is the last time I had a cake with candles. I’m about to turn 24 and my birthday is on May 1st, so that was a long time ago!

 

Karma: Well, Happy Birthday. [Smiles]

 

Dustin: Thank you! Thank you very much!!

 

Karma: If you could commission a band to cover a Hopesfall song, which song would you chose and who would cover it?

 

Dustin: Oh man! That’s really good!! I have to pick someone that’s not that great of a musician cause they could make fun of us. [Laughs] I would say the Smashing Pumpkins and it would be a song of their choice, only under the conditions that they would then play a whole show, so I could watch them play.

 

Karma: What is the first thing you think of when of when you awake in the morning?

 

Dustin: [Laughs] What city are we going to? [Laughs] But seriously that’s about it; when are we eating and what city are we going to. How vain, right?

 

Karma: Not at all! If you could take a bubble bath with anyone, who would be your perfect Bath Mate?

Dustin Nadler guitarist of Hopesfall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)Dustin: Oh, my question! [Laughs] This is a mood situational question, but I think when it comes down to it. [Pauses] Why do you do this to me? Can I have two?

Karma: Sure, you could have two. [Smiles]


Dustin: [Smiling widely] I’m gonna say Natalie Portman and Kirsten Dunst.

 

Dave: Ha! I could get into that!

 

Dustin: See, he and I are on the same page! You don't know this, but we're telekinetically connecting right now. And since we are connecting through our brainwaves... He is actually making up the questions as the answers are coming out of my mouth.

 

Dave: Exactly!

 

Dustin: Those two together, that would be amazing! That would be so badass! [Grins devilishly]

Karma: Now you choice of three CDs to make your Bubble Bath Soundtrack.

 

Dustin: Oh, Barry White to get things started, with some champagne.

 

Josh: Tatu!

 

Dustin: Okay, there would be a little bit of Tatu since those two girls have the whole thing that they were... So that would be good for foreplay before you get into the bathtub. We're all jumping around before we get the bath warmed up! Then we get in the bath and Barry White comes on and then we would definitely finish it up with...

 

Josh: Lather! [We all laugh]

 

Adam Baker: Brian Eno!

 

Dave: I’ll say Appetite For Destruction!

 

Dustin: Oh come on!

 

Dave: Like I said, Appetite For Destruction, man!

 

Dustin: Okay, I’ll go with that. [Laughs]

 

Karma: Ok and who would you ask these Speed Round Questions of? Someone that you'd like to get to know a little more about.

 

Dustin: Oh, ask these questions of?

 

Josh: Strippers?

 

Dustin: No, they don't answer these questions! They wouldn’t know what half these words were. [Laughs] I’m proud of myself for even knowing half of this shit. [Laughs] I would want to ask our tour sound guy, Chris Grady.

 

Karma: Any last comments? 

 

Dustin: No, thank you very much! [Smiles widely and raises cup]

 

Karma: Well thank you so much!

 

Dustin: Thanks again!

 

Karma: [Smiles]

 

 

I'd like to thank Chaniga at Warm Fuzzy PR for setting this up and to Dustin for an entertaining interview.

 

 

 

Click here for more mayhem with Adam Baker,

as he answers Speed Round Questions, per his request!

&

Here for photos from tonight's show

 

 

 

 

 

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