An Interview With Driver Side Impact [11/2007]

As the band was en route to the first show of the Victory Tour, I got to talk with Driver Side Impact’s bassist, Teddy, about the trials and tribulations of the road, hygiene, and the ridiculous amount of theft the band has contended with this year, as well as carrying on after their keyboardist quit.

The band is currently on tour with Bayside, A Day To Remember, The Sleeping, and June.

pixie: So, when I was last in touch with you guys, I talked to Mikey when the album came out. Since then, Austin has left the band… have there been any other significant changes for you guys?

Teddy: After Austin left, for a while we were considering getting a keyboard player, but ultimately, we decided not to. We’re playing all our songs without keyboards now, and we’re writing the next album without them. So that was definitely a case of re-creating things for the band.

pixie: So you guys are heading out on the Victory Tour - what are you expecting?

Teddy: We’re on our way right now - we’re driving through Pennsylvania right now. We’re really excited, even though it’s a bit dull right now. It’s a bit grey and gloomy, but the leaves are changing colors.

pixie: At least it’s not really hot…

Teddy: Yeah, that’s one thing we can be thankful about.

pixie: So how do you guys travel?

Teddy: We have a 16-passenger van. There’s only five of us now, so it’s a lot more spacious. That was one thing… when Austin left, we kind of also told our merch guy we couldn’t take him anymore, so we went from having seven people to only having five. And we have so much space now, we have no idea what to do with it.

pixie: So you don’t ever have to fight over benches or anything?

Teddy: Oh my god, I can’t tell you how we used to fight over that, or how many people got so pissed about that.

pixie: What’s the most brutal thing that ever happened?

Teddy: Well, I don’t know. Not to name names, but someone in our band freaked out at our merch guy. And he had a case of beer, so he grabbed it and threw it… slammed it on the ground, breaking them everywhere. All because they were fighting about a bench.

pixie: Okay, that’s pretty crazy. So what do you consider tour essentials, when you’re heading out on a tour like this?

Teddy: iPods. “Futurama” DVDs. The movie Totally Awesome. It’s probably the greatest movie ever made. And that’s pretty much it. As long as I get Totally Awesome, I can go pretty much anywhere. I’m good.

pixie: Who’s the best character on “Futurama”?

Teddy: Professor Zoidberg. Totally. Without a doubt.

pixie: See? Everybody has a favorite and doesn’t even have to think.

Teddy: Well, he’s the best, in my personal opinion. Other people will say different, though.

[Editor’s note: I have to go with Nibbler.]

pixie: So you mentioned your iPod… what are you listening to right now?

Teddy: We just got satellite radio, so we’ve been using that. We’ve been listening to the Rolling Stones on there. We’ve been listening to The Junior Varsity on our iPods - their new CD is really awesome. Saves The Day. There are a few things that we all really like, and we usually end up listening to that. There’s like ten bands that we all like because we all have really different individual tastes.

pixie: Sounds like any relationship.

Teddy: [laughing] You have to find the common ground.

pixie: So what is the worst habit that anybody can have on tour?

Teddy: Oooh. That’s a tough one.

pixie: Or even you! You don’t have to talk about anyone else!

Teddy: No, I’d have to say the worst habit is anti-hygeine. Some people prefer not to bathe, not to reference certain people. Or, in the opposite of that, people who take way too long in the morning to wash their face and make everybody late. [Someone in the van yells something, and Teddy says, “yeah yeah, you know it!”]

pixie: Who was that commenting?

Teddy: That would be Jack.

pixie: He’s a face-washer, huh?

Teddy: He’s got a nice face, though, so I guess it pays off.

pixie: This is great… you haven’t even played a show, and I’m getting you guys going.

Teddy: Seriously. But the first show is tonight in Baltimore, so we’re psyched.

pixie: You guys are really accessible to your fans and make yourselves available. Have you met any real crazies yet?

Teddy: No, we haven’t. They’ve been really awesome. We stayed with some girl in California, and she was like a normal girl, but we realized an hour later she was super into us because she had a huge poster of us in her room. That was a little weird because nobody really gushes over us, but it was really flattering. But then all of our stuff got stolen in her driveway, so I think she felt really bad that one of her favorite bands got totally screwed over at her house, even though it wasn’t at all her fault.

pixie: Bands getting their stuff stolen has been an epidemic this year.

Teddy: I think people who are prone to robbing people know a band has a big van and a trailer.

pixie: Why don’t you guys have a Lo-Jack or something?

Teddy: We don’t have any money really. But we should get the Viper, or the club or something.

pixie: The Viper, with the snake that comes out in the commercial? Or maybe ninjas? Have any of you thought about becoming ninjas?

Teddy: [laughing] No, but maybe a guard dog? We could just put him by the trailer, a really mean looking Rottweiler.

pixie: You have to protect it somehow, I guess. How do you recover from losing everything like that?

Teddy: Well, you get really pissed. There’s nothing you can do about it right away. You just have to try and figure it all out, what you can borrow, how you can get money to buy new stuff… it’s really hard.

pixie: And you got robbed twice this year, right?

Teddy: Yeah, it happened twice in May this year. Two times in the same week. We got robbed in Chicago while we were upstairs in the Victory offices, actually. In the parking lot.

pixie: Okay, that’s targeted.

Teddy: Another band got robbed there, too. People know that bands go there and they wait to steal their stuff.

pixie: You’d think they’d have a big dog with their bulldog logo…

Teddy: Or the Viper or the club, a big parking lot club….

pixie: Or ninjas…. Victory ninjas…. So, after this tour, what’s next?

Teddy: We have a lot of stuff in the works for the next year, so I think we’ll be taking off until January and then hit the road the first week of January. I don’t know what we have locked down, but we’re planning to be on the road a lot.

pixie: That’s not a very long break at all - what is it, two weeks?

Teddy: No, not in the least. But it will seem that way after being out for so long.

pixie: How do you hold down your personal lives at home, being on the road so much?

Teddy: You don’t, really. Some people are better at it than others, but the vast majority of the time, you try not to have one. Which kind of sucks, but that’s the way it is when you have to be that dedicated.

pixie: Okay, so let’s say I handed you a million dollars right now and told you to come up with your dream merchandise - anything you want, Driver Side Impact branded. What do you make?

Teddy: I would make Driver Side Impact custom shoes. Tons of them. And have them made at a sweatshop in Malaysia. No, I’m kidding. I think shoes are pretty tight, though. But ooh! Our own custom sidekick? Or maybe a custom… pimped out Ford van? And we’ll make five of them and drive them to every show and show them off in the parking lot.

pixie: The Driver Side Impact…. car?

Teddy: No pun intended!

pixie: Something tells me that isn’t a big seller on name alone….

Teddy: Yeah… okay. Actually, we’re thinking about getting temporary tattoos made right now. That’s our big idea, but that won’t cost a million dollars.

pixie: So, do you have any message for the fans?

Teddy: Come check us out! We want to meet every single person who likes our band, and we want to hang out with them, and we want to be their friends. Even though there are going to be lots of kids on this tour, we want to act like it’s a show with ten kids, and meet and know everybody.

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