Phoning Home From The Edge : Best Fit speaks to Dinowalrus

Following the relatively well-received debut album %, Feigenbaum – sometime guitar player in Titus Andronicus – parted company with the rest of his band, recruited Andrew and Tucker and set about making Best Behavior, a fine album that pulls together all the Dinowalrus influences into a surprisingly coherent whole. I caught up with lead man Feigenbaum to talk about his new album, and how that British influence came to pass.

I decide that the best place to begin the interview is with that name; what the hell is Dinowalrus? “It was a name I had for a jokey one-man electronic stoner-metal project from college in 2005 that used looped breakbeats nicked from Black Sabbath drum solos,” explains Peter. “I just wanted a name that evoked heaviness, prehistory, and slowness. After trying to find a better band name back in 2007 without any success, we just put it back into play since early Dinowalrus had heavy psych-rock tendencies.” Given his musical influences, it may come as something of a surprise to learn of Peter’s stint as guitarist in New Jersey’s finest (sorry Bruce), Titus Andronicus. I want to know if the music he makes as Dinowalrus is what really makes him tick. “Totally! I was doing Dinowalrus before I got involved with Titus. They just liked what I was doing and poached me for a 6 month period.” Peter goes on to explain how the sound of the band seems to be constantly evolving: “Whatever I’m into musically, Dinowalrus is going to be a reflection of that; whether it was Boredoms, Liars and Comets on Fire in the early days or Primal Scream, Spacemen 3, Psychic TV and Stone Roses last year, or Chameleons, The Church and Echo and the Bunnymen today.”

And it’s the middle selection of band that reviews for Best Behavior seem to be picking up on, suggesting Dinowalrus love the “Madchester” and Factory Records sound, but to me it seems a bit more of a psychedelic experience than that simplistic comparison. When I ask Peter about the music on Best Behavior and where it comes from, I get quite a detailed answer. “I think we had the Madchester theme in our minds as a sort of lodestone to guide us,” he begins, “especially on the flagship songs like ‘Gift Shop’, ‘Riding Eazy’, and ‘Phone Home from the Edge’.” But it’s not a new thing, is it? “We were already playing around with Madchester-y elements on our first record,” agrees Peter, “though in a more experimental context – bongo sounds, farfisa organs, Peter Hook-style basslines, and wah guitars. So we thought it would make sense to put them all together on Best Behavior. Basically if you cross-pollinate ‘Cage Those Pythons’, ‘BEAD’, and ‘I Hate Numbers’ [from debut album %], you end up with ‘Gift Shop’.”

Feigenbaum explains, though, that the band that left most of an impression wasn’t from the Manchester scene. “I think the single most influential song on Best Behavior may have been ‘Big City’ by Spacemen 3. It’s just a brilliant combination of spacey/droney minimalism and italo-disco beats.” So do Dinowalrus, as a three-piece, take Spacemen 3’s approach as inspiration? “In some ways,” he agrees. “The fact that we are a 3-piece band and use a lot of layers and also that Liam switches back and forth between bass and synth, sometimes mid song, forces us to be clever with the arrangements, or turn the song into a game of hot potato where the bassline idea gets passed from bass to guitar to synth over the course of the song.” He goes on to explain the extent of Sonic Boom and J Spaceman’s influence on him: “Much like Spacemen 3, we rely a lot on static synth drones and textures to hold everything together while we play over them, which either come from the sampler or the brilliant ‘hold-button’ on the JUNO 60 synth. This might be what makes us sound more psychedelic than, say, Happy Mondays.” Is there anything outside of music that influences the Dinowalrus sound? Peter reveals that “I think our layered/iterative/modular approach, especially in the studio, is probably influenced by my work as an architectural designer and as an installation artist.”

Dinowalrus changed its members between % and Best Behavior so I wanted to know why this had happened; was it due to a change in direction and the old members not fitting in or going with it? “I think it was mostly an issue of motivation and commitment more than anything else,” reveals Feigenbaum. “The other guys had their own conceptual agendas and wanted to pursue them on their own terms. Ironically, I think Josh, our old drummer, was the inspiration for the change in direction. When the old guys and I wrote ‘Phone Home from the Edge’ together in 2009, it was an epiphany about where to take things, but even with that, it still didn’t work out.” With the new band in place, what can we expect from Best Behavior then, a mix of old and new? “I think this is a coherent and highly enjoyable body of work; plus it nicely represents both our present state of mind while also alluding to our past. The little ambient fluttery sections of ‘Phone Home’, ‘What Now’ and ‘27 Club’ bring the vibes of the old Dinowalrus into play without killing the up-beat pace of the album. We made this record for people to enjoy, rather than as a strange, confrontational trip like the last one.”

With such a change in styles between records, I ask if it’s fair to say Peter’s a restless individual when it comes to making music, and does he try to get as many ideas as possible onto the record? “Well, it has been more than two years since the last record, and a lot has changed as far as tastes and what’s going on around us… plus the last record was kind of a failure, so a lot HAD to change!” So what went wrong with % then, as it’s not really a stinker is it? “I think the problem with % was that we viewed it as our first and perhaps only record – how many bands last long enough to put out two records these days? So we had this anxiety about trying to cram everything we ever wanted to do as musicians on to it.” Peter explains that his approach has now changed: “With Best Behavior, we almost embraced the fact that we were narrowing down our focus and allowing the songs on the album to cross-reference each other rather than contradict each other.” However, it turns out he’s found another outlet for his creativity. “I also have a bunch of recording side-projects,” reveals Peter, “that allow me to divert overly eccentric ideas away from Dinowalrus and into these projects. I have this acid house club tracks production project called Blizzardo, very much inspired by the KLF and 808 State; and then on the flip side of the coin is Lovewrecker, an 80s arena metal project a la Judas Priest or Saxon, where I can rip shreddy solos all day long and annoy the hell out everyone!”

Going back to his time in Titus Andronicus, I ask about Patrick Stickles’ appearance on the record, does he keep in touch with the Titus mainman? “Yeah we are still pretty good friends! Now that they all live in Brooklyn instead of NJ, we get a pint or see each other at shows quite often. They are very down-to-earth and supportive of what’s going on around them. Dinowalrus was lucky enough to do 10 dates on the road with them last year, and he bought me a Happy Mondays ‘Step On’ cassette single from a thrift store as an added bonus! He still texts me out of the blue when he hears a baggy beat on the radio.” Does Peter see any of his own influence rubbing off on Titus? “I take credit for turning Patrick on to Chuck Klosterman’s concept of “advancement theory” . And my buddy Eric Harm the drummer occasionally contributes his drumming skills when Blizzardo does a live acid-house gig! I had the time of my life playing in Titus, so naturally I have a strong lasting affinity for them still.” I leave the question of whether Stickles is ahead of his time or not hanging in the air; let’s not deny his brilliance right now anyway.

Turning back to the music on Best Behavior, I ask about the video to ‘Phone Home from the Edge’, in which a version of Feigenbaum is played by Lloyd Kaufman, best known as being the co-creator of the Troma films. How did that come about? “I know his daughter from school and she and her sister wanted to make a video, so they got in touch!” Peter goes on to reveal that a number of his friends in New York have well-known families: “It’s kind of funny how many children of famous people I know from around NYC! Like Steve Buscemi’s son, John Cale’s daughter, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s son.” Were you a fan of Troma before working with Kaufman? “I wasn’t actually that familiar with Troma stuff before, but now that I’m familiar, I think it’s awesome. I’ve always loved B-movies by Roger Corman and Russ Meyer; and of course Repo Man; and Lloyd’s stuff fits into that lineage. He’s a real inspiration to me as far as someone who’s quite smart and well-educated, yet decided to pursue his quirky, creative vision to the fullest rather become a lawyer or something lame like that.” So what’s the video all about? “The video is basically a Rip Van Winkle-inspired narrative that takes place in the Kaufman home on the Upper East Side. Charlotte Kaufman meticulously pre-planned each shot. It was the most intensive, well-organized video shoot we’ve been a part of, lasting 15 hours and requiring a crew of 6! Usually we just go into someone’s backyard and light things on fire, film it then edit it together – but this one showed some next-level directorial prowess!”

I wrap things up with a question I’m wary about asking given the worries Feigenbaum has about the future of his band and his restless streak…but I do it anyway, and I’m not surprised by the answers. What’s next for Dinowalrus? “We just finished recording our follow up record a few weeks ago with Nadim [Issa, producer on Best Behavior] at the studio where we did the last record.” What should we expect from it? “It’s both synthier but also more rock than Best Behavior; more anthemic too. The Krautrock influence is greater; and there is a slow ballad ending. There was almost a 6 month delay in getting Best Behavior out caused by the fact that we had to look for a new label, so we wrote a bunch of new songs during that time to keep morale strong. Things have been pretty slow with shows and touring opportunities even now, so we are focusing on what’s ahead rather than getting too anxious about what does or doesn’t happen to Best Behavior.” Peter seems to be pretty relaxed about whatever comes next: “Hopefully it’ll be a sleeper favourite, but if not, emotionally, I’ll be able to move on to the next one pretty quickly and not look back.”

Best Behavior is available now through Heist or Hit Records.