Interview Time: Dave Tirio From The Plain White T's

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Joanna Murphy has a chat with the Plain White T's.

Heyy, whats going on! So, are you at Shepherd's Bush right now for tonights gig?
Yeahh, yeahh, we're here at The Empire tonight.

Okay cool! So i just wanted to ask you a few questions really. First off, Shepherd's Bush isn't the biggest venue here, so do you prefer playing the smaller venues?
Erm, we've been able to play alot during the last year or two, so we've played a few arenas and small clubs, and I think this one kind of falls in the middle of the two. It seems like a big theatre to me! You know a 2-3000 feet place like this, I think this might be one of the biggest rooms we've headlined ever - In America, or overhere - so It feels pretty big to us. I think when we we're playing the arenas with like Fall Out Boy, or Panic! At the Disco it was an interesting vibe because theres just so many people that it almost takes away the whole reality of it if you know what I mean! It almost makes it easier, I actually get more nervous playing the smaller crowds!

Because it's more intimate?
Yeah, you can see all the faces, and its kinda funny!

So when youre playing do you tend to focus on certain people, or faces? Or does that put you off then!?
Ermm, you know, some of the dudes in the band would say when they're playing they definately like to pick people out and single them out making alot of eye contact and they then use that to kind of keep them excited about the show, but me personally, I just like to look out over, because i get too uncomfortable When people are in front of me! I mean i dont get nervous anymore but i definately have a hard time looking at peoples faces when theyre in front of me!

I dont blame you, I would definately be nervous in front of all those people!
Yeah! its a little weird, a strange place to be!

Well, talking of places, what is you favourite place to be? Anywhere in the world!?
Ahhh, probably home in Chicago. Weve been to alot of really cool places, but, I think you always go back to your home, and Chicago is one of those places that i think people can get really attached to. I mean with family and friends, theres alot of routes and culture there, so I definately get grounded in Chicago very easily. Ill always forever consider that probably the greatest place on earth, my home, no matter where i am, and i think all of us would say the same. I mean, a few of us will probably end up in L.A but i still think Chicago is the best!

Ah right, Cartel are supporting you at the moment, so do you choose your own support bands, or is just kinda something that happens?
Yeah, well we get to choose as much as we can, and this time we got really lucky because both Cartel and Boys Like Girls were both availiable, and you know theyre both really cool bands, that weve liked for a while. Theyre both bands that are very much doing something and are up and coming. So yeah, we did pick this line up and it was one of the first... well its one of the only times when you can get your first choices, and its definately one of the best line ups weve ever had on a tour.

So whats your favourite song to perform from the album?
Ermm, you know, night in night out you realise theres a few songs you like more than the others. I think the one for me is probably 'Let me take you there.' Its one of my favourite songs from the record and its one a couple of us are really attatched to because it almost didnt make it onto the record. Erm 'Hate' is a really fun one to play, because its loud and rocking and what not, so those and a handful of others for sure. I mean, its a really nice change to be playing an hour long set for a change, playing 15 or so songs, as opoosed to like 8 on a shorter set.

And your favourite song by ANY artist?
Any artist? Wow... thats a big one.

Or anything you just like to jam to!
OO.. well I would have to say that some of my favourite bands are... well we all love the beatles and bands like that, but one of my personal favourites is Blur, and one of my fave records by them is a song called 'The Great Escape' So, if i had to choose my favourite record to hear, id probably say that one, or Pavement 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.' Those are the two records that i will probably consider my favourite forever.

Okay, well 'The Great Escape' is a pretty awesome song! So, are there any festivals that you in particular want to play, or as a band aspire to play?
You know, weve actually been really lucky with festivals during the last year or two, we got to play Reading and Leeds, which was really a big one for me when i was growing up. Thats definately one that i wanted to play. Erm were gonna get to do Soundwave in Australia soon, which i think will be awesome, and weve got some coming up in Japan as well, so were hitting some really cool ones. I mean, id love to play Lollapalooza in Chicago, becuase weve never done that one,and also I'd love to do Glastonbury, which i reckon would be pretty cool too!
 
So when you were in your early teens, how did your music taste alter to how it is now? Or is it pretty much the same?
Erm, you know its pretty much the same, because when I say bands like Blur of Pavement, they're kinda weird bands that people only really get into when theyre a bit older, during like college years, especially when you get really deep into them and buy all of their records. But, i actually got into those bands really early, i had a friend with an older brother who had really good taste, and he introduced us to these bands when we were say, in junior high, so that, mixed with the fact
both my parents had good records laying around - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and stuff like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty - and then mixed with when we were at high school, it was all the old bands like Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam and all that stuff, so all of that mixed together sums up my musical taste, and it probably has been for the last fifteen years or so.

Thats sounds pretty cool, so whats been your best moment for this current tour?
Oh god, you know im not sure thats theres been just one best moment, its gone so fast! Tonights the last show and i just feel like the past two weeks have gone! I guess the most shocking thing that weve all had to step back and think about these past few days is that were headlining this tour, and its sold out, and weve never done this before! Weve never gone anywhere before and played venues that sell out holding 3000 people... or playing multiple shows in London! I mean i guess its that one moment of realisation that this is our tour, and we actually  have had such a successful tour here. I mean weve never really had this success and its all new and fresh and exciting!
 
I bet its all still quite surreal still!
Yeah yeah, definately, its great.

OK, so how about funniest moment?
Funniest? hmm... well, in a rare occasion, that hardly ever happens, but probably the worst thing that can happen on stage is some dude falling over and just comepletely eating it. The other night our guitarist Tim and some of the other guys had a few to drink, and for some reason towards the end of the show, he went over to like play over by mike our bassist, and he like ran into him, and i just so happened to look back at the exact same time to see mike fall flat on his ass, in front of like 2000 people in a sold out packed show! On top of that he like fell during the last song on our set or something, so that was pretty embarrassing and hilarious. We all laughed it off, and i kinda just thought at least i didnt fall, so i could at least laugh at him! I mean thats a pretty rare occassion, but still pretty awesome.

Well its all good fun though really! SO erm.. if you could recastyourself as the main character of any film, who would you be and why?
jeesss, oh my god... i dont know! thats a really good question! hmm... im trying to think of my favourite movies and characters. Well... you know whats a really funny movie that we were watching recently is the graduate. SO erm, i think Dustin Hoffman in that would be a pretty hilarious life to go through, although kinda depressing, so i dont know if id want to cast myself to that. What would be cool though would be if i could be in the family of The Royal Tenenbaums, because i love that movie, and i think thats an awesome, quirky family.

Thats a fair point! I think Id probably be John McClean from die hard. He gets to run around being a hero!
Haha, youd be who!? JOhn McClean? hahaha, thats pretty intense! hes a pretty cool guy, thats pretty awesome.

SO, do any other members from the band do anything that get on your nerves? Or do you have any pet peeves, that kind of thing?
Oh sure, everyones got those about each other. It could be like, Tom, our singer, at times, can be a bit clueless and ask really dumb questions, which can drive you nuts. De'mar can be kind of a neat freak at times. Hes cleaned the tour bus alot, and thrown away stuff of peoples thats really meaningful, stuff they wanted hed throw it away blindly because he just wants to clean! Well, everyones got their quirks, and im sure we all drive each other nuts from time to time, but thats
natural when you spend literally every minute of everyday with someone! I mean the reason were still a band is that we all love each other enough to get by all those things and still be brothers at the end of the day.

Ok, well back to throwing things away! do you have anything that you should probably thorw away, but havent?
Ah i have tons of stuff. my bedroom back home is full of garbage, absolutely! Iwas at home recently, right before this tour started, and my girlfriend was there. Shed never seen my room before, cos shes from a different state, and she was looking through my room and was just like 'what are you doing with all this stuff?' she was picking things up and asking me what it was, and i had no answers for it! I had aboslutely no idea what half the stuff she was finding was! So im an absolute pack-rat, i have tons of stuff i should probably clean out, but havent.

Ah i think alot of people are like that though! So do you get many strange requests from fans?
Yeah, we do get alot of strange requests, I mean its kind of weird when someone wants you to like sign thier forehead or something, we kinda just say 'er that aint gonna wash off for a long time, you might want to rethink that!' but erm, i dunno, i mean sometimes you get people who really really want you to hang out with them after a show, or through online requests. For instance, our booking agent got a request recently that said 'can the plain white ts come to idaho on this day and ill pay them this much money' and so he was like 'sure whats the event?' and the guy would literally not tell him what he wanted us to do at all. it was like the shadiest, creepiest thing ever! so he was like ''well what if they could come to washington dc on this day?' and still wouldnt tell us what he wanted us to do! So erm, yeah you got to be careful out there, and its lucky we have people looking out for us, and watching our backs.

O...kk... that is kinda creepy!
Yeah, tell me about it!

So, moving on! DO you know when youll be back in england again?
Well were hoping to come back at the end of this year. I think were coming back in the spring for the Give it a name festival but erm, after that were hoping to come back at the end of the year for another tour, because if all goes to plan we will have a new record out by september, so we will definately have to come backin support of that.
 
Ah right, well im sure some people will be excited to hear that.
Well we will definately be really excited to come back, you know!

And.... last question. If you could pick one superpower, what would it be, and why?
I would have to say invisibility.

And what would you do if you were invisible?
Well think about all the ridiculous things you could do with that! like you know how everyone talks about each other, well think of all the times when the band is talking shit about me and i could just be there hearing it all! Then i could just pop out of nowhere and scare the crap out of them!

Ah, so youre quite mischevious then!?
Ahh you know, im not a huge prankster, but i always thought that if you were invisble, you only want to be about 10 times a day. I wouldnt want to be invisble the whole time, just selective, like if you got in trouble with something you could be like 'ppooff' and youre gone.

Well i think id like to stop time, that would be pretty cool.
Yeah, that would be a good one too!