Interview with
Gavin Hayes
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Gavin Hayes from Dredg
Review by Kevin P. Nelson
Photos by Liana Minassian
Any journey is filled with loopholes and dead ends, magical realizations and a constant will to strive forward. If the journey serves itself to be fruitful, the bud from years of experience, cultivation and refinement will echo from the source. Dredg is a band that has withstood the pressures of time, made music across the world — and is far too modest for the quality of music they have.
The music from their most recent effort, The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion — released on their own label, Ohlone Recordings — reflects that journey on many levels. The band and their music acts as a mirror for listeners to stare back at as they embark on their own journeys. Much of their music embodies universal human conditions. Gavin Hayes, lead singer, guitarist and slide guitarist, explained what many of the songs touched upon: "It's about human progress, about having beliefs, obtaining knowledge, and bettering humans," Hayes said.
The fact that the average listener can relate so intimately to each mood setting, melody, or thought-provoking lyric says something about the band itself.
It's a relief that four men can still come together in a room with the intention of producing not only a sound distinct from the whining pop rock that is rotting rock-n-roll’s soul, but that they have the courage to evolve from their own habits.
"We’re an honest band. We’re not actors," Hayes said. "We’re passionate about our music, but if we’re having a bad night we’re not going to sit up there and f**kin’ jump off the monitors and put on a big glam show for people. That’s the way we approach our music, we want it to be honest and not constructed for a certain scene."
It's a relief that four men can still come together in a room with the intention of producing not only a sound distinct from the whining pop rock that is rotting rock-n-roll’s soul, but that they have the courage to evolve from their own habits. For The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion, the band took its time in finding the right touches to each track.
"We're aware that taking that long of a time may be detrimental to your career—because people do it quickly now. But, we felt this record was very important," Hayes said.
With all the success they’ve had, Gavin Hayes stills has an energy in his eyes that tells me Dredg hasn’t reached its peak yet. While Hayes speaks of his band having, "a minimal impact just because the size of band we are," I’d have respectfully to disagree to his modesty. The band may be small, but their music always reveals something different about my place on this earth after each listen. This is a quality not many bands can exhibit.
The night I spoke to Gavin, the venue that they were playing in was packed. Members of the audience had their eyes closed tight and sang along to each song. Drawing crowds such as this, Dredg should spread again like a wild fire in a drought. Gavin Hayes tells me, "If we can get people to think a little differently or get inspired to create their own music—then we succeeded on some level."
Dredg concert review coming soon!
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