Dion Roy interview with Music Guru: Michael Menachem
A few weeks back, I linked up two of my good friends: singer/songwriter Dion Roy and musical guru and fan, Michael Menachem, formerly of The Next Big Hit and a current “singles reviewer” for the industry great-Billboard Magazine. Trusting Michael’s ear to pick out the key questions for an emerging artist like Dion, I sat back and watched as the two discussed songwriting, the industry, and life’s silliness in general. Among the many revelations that afternoon was the fact that Dion and Michael actually lived across the hall from each other in the same apartment building on West 10th Street, years back, at the same time that I individually met them both–how weird!?
The interview went a little something like this:
MM: I am here with Dion Roy, an indie alternative, pop rock, electro musician who is based in New York City. We are excited to have you here today, how are you doing Dion?
DR: Pretty Good!
MM: Great. I guess I’d like to first start with your background because it’s quite interesting that you’re not originally from the States. You grew up in South Africa, but you actually weren’t born there. And then maybe we can transition into how you’ve changed your career path from really a business background – and you’ve always been an entrepreneur – to a more creative focus.
DR: Well yes, that’s true. I was born in Namibia. I was there for about 3 years and then my folks moved to South Africa to a small mining town called Welkom, population 4,000. I lived there until I was 8 years old or so. At the end of apartheid my folks took off and went to New Jersey; and I was there until I was about 20 years old or so. So I’m a Jersey boy at heart. Not a lot of hairspray, but I’m definitely a New Jersey boy. I’ve been in New York for the past few years, now. I was working in Corporate America for quite a while, and I’ve been playing bass my whole life. A few years ago, something just snapped and I decided I no longer wanted to be writing music for other artists or working for anybody else. I’d like to believe that I have an agile enough mind that I can to do it (music and business) for myself instead. It’s the American Dream you know…I am an immigrant, I guess. Living the dream...
MM: I’m very curious about the songwriting process because of your transition from being a bassist in several different bands and playing with various artists all over New York City and some other places on the East Coast college circuit, to now. As a singer/songwriter and indie artist it’s so important to have that songwriting talent. How have you been able to develop that and where do you get your inspiration? Where are the places that are most peaceful for you or maybe they’re completely disruptive that enable you to get that creative process going?
DR: Well, to start, I guess my songwriting style is basically born out of being a bass player for so long and writing melodies all the time, that I kind of eventually figured out that the reason I wanted to overplay as a bass player is because I had a bigger idea to write a song as opposed to just the bass lines. Transitioning to being a songwriter from a bass player was really a bizarre thing for me because I didn’t know how to play the guitar, I didn’t know how to sing. So over the past year I’ve really forced myself to become proficient at both of those instruments as well as production and, to a point, engineering. I play every single instrument in all of my songs. I have other people come in occasionally and lay down piano here and there – but ultimately it’s me doing everything from start to finish. I get a lot of inspiration from guys like Pete Yorn, Keane, Ryan Adams, and Damien Rice. A lot of guys who kind of did everything on their own.
MM: Well I think you covered your bases. Next I’d like to talk about your solo project coming out in Winter, 2009.
DR: Yeah, some of the tracks I finished and wrote about a year ago but I wasn’t happy about them until now. I really worked hard to perfect my craft so to speak. There’s a couple singles on iTunes available now. The full album will be out sometime in the New Year. Seven to nine tracks with a bunch of genres. I really like the singer/ songwriter thing but I also like the electronic kind of tracks… a combination of both and everything in between.
MM: It sounds like Dion Roy has an eclectic interest in music?
DR: Yeah, I grew up listening to Primus and Tool as a bass player. All that stuff has influenced everything I do now. It’s a bizarre mix but I guess I come from a different place than most people do when they’re writing singer/songwriter stuff so I think it makes for an interesting sound, something unique. Nobody’s going to disagree that you need something unique since everyone sounds the same. A lot of indie bands just sound the same, a lot of low-fi stuff, it’s all been done.
MM: You talked to me a little about the content of the music. I understand you’re a father and you have a young daughter and that’s definitely an inspiration for you. Talk about a couple different songs that might have to do with family or your past, or a hope of yours.
DR: Well honestly a lot of the songs I write are just a collection of experiences. Of course the people nearest me influence me quite a bit but I wouldn’t necessarily say that the songs reflect my exact experiences. I like to write stories that a lot of people can relate to. I like to write using different perspectives on the same situations, so again it’s another story that anyone can take any which way. Obviously, being a father and having a daughter definitely gives me a perspective that I guess a lot of people listening to the music don’t necessarily have yet. I don’t really know how it’s going to manifest itself just yet.
MM: Right. Melodically and rhythmically, and just the song structure overall, do you put the songs together based on rhythms first or is it melody, or is it lyrics at the time that come first? Do you play the piano and figure out some chords or a melody that way or on guitar?
DR: All of the above, it depends on the day. It’s probably why it takes me a little bit longer to finish a song. I’ll pick up a guitar and I’ll lay something down. Then I will throw it into my audio equipment to lay down a beat or a synth instrument and then completely change the initial idea of the song. Basically, I have to start over a lot of the time. Usually, it starts from a concept and where it goes from there it’s…you can go a million different ways. I have four or five versions of the same song with totally different feels. Getting stuff to translate Live when I have ten different instruments at my disposal is a challenge. So, even though I might start off a song right off a beat I have to kind of maintain the live sensibility so that people hear the same thing that they heard on the CD or at least somewhat close to it. Anyway, that’s off topic but, basically, yes sometimes I’ll sit down at the piano (I’m not a trained piano player, I play by ear) and I’ll write around four notes. I think simplicity is really good for me with piano and guitar because I can write a song based on feeling and emotion as opposed to theory. On bass, I definitely did study theory for years. If I were to sit down on a bass I would just get lost you know: maybe I should play minor third or a phrygian scale…and would never wind up finishing. When you pick up an instrument that you haven’t spent 20 years on everything is new and you can use emotion and feeling more so than technical theory. It’s the same reason why everyone from Berklee or Musicians’ Institute isn’t on the charts. They’re in orchestras etc, etc.
MM: Well, I’d like to change the topic a little bit. Indie artists these days are in some ways getting a lot more respect, a bit more airplay, and definitely have more outlets to get exposed to different audiences. A lot of that has to do with the Internet and I know you have a fanbase on MySpace and a presence on iLike which is part of Facebook. I just wanted to hear what some of the feedback has been like and what it’s like to have your music digitally available and how has that has helped you as a solo artist. Whether it’s getting feedback from other artists while touring etc. To go further, the bigger picture is: Are you hoping to get picked up by an independent label or perhaps a larger one?
DR: I was actually on a smaller label up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago and I just honestly winded up dumping them because of all the resources you mentioned that are available. Unless they’re really going to do something for you, they’re just not worth it. Would I be happy to go to a bigger label? Maybe. Like you said, you have so many outlets that are available now that are accessible and if you put some time, energy, and thought into connecting with your fans with iLike, MySpace, Facebook, etc, there’s definitely an audience to be had. I’ve had some success with that and it seems to be taking root a lot now since in the past couple of weeks I’ve actually released some stuff on Amazon and iTunes. The feedback I’ve gotten was better than I had hoped. I’m the most critical person of my music by far which most people around me will validate. But yeah, the response has been good, and so I’m looking forward.
MM: Well, when can we expect future tour dates and about when is the project coming out?
DR: I’m going to do my best to finish up by New Year’s so that we’re ready for a CD release sometime at the end of January. I’ve got a lot of work to do still. There are four songs done, four songs to go. How those are going to turn out I don’t know. So hopefully at the end of January we’ll have some dates scheduled. It’ll be a full band. I write for a full band. I’ve discovered I’m not so much a classic singer/songwriter as a I thought I was a few months ago.
******Lightning Round******
MM: I’m going to ask Dion some fun questions and I have no idea what to expect. He has no idea what’s coming his way. We’re just going to have some fun. Sit back, relax, and get ready for this ride!
When you’re getting ready are you all about the style look or the rolling out of bed look?
DR: Falling out of bed look, for sure. That’s me.
MM: And what about jeans?
DR: I hate goddamn skinny jeans!!!! I can’t stand it and I think I need to disassociate myself from the indie music revolution because I can’t do skinny jeans.
MM: Hot dogs or hamburgers?
DR: Both!
MM: The last song you downloaded on your iPod?
DR: Ben Folds, “Cologne.”
MM: Favorite holiday?
DR: Halloween
MM: Beer or alcohol?
DR: Beer
MM: PC or MAC?
DR: Biggest Mac fan boy in the universe!
MM: Warm weather or cold weather?
DR: Hold on my iPhone is ringing…Definitely warm weather!
MM: Favorite cartoon?
DR: Aqua teen hunger force
MM: Favorite novelty film?
DR: Shawn of the Dead
MM: Piercings or tattoos?
DR: Tattoos, I guess, if I had to pick one.
MM: I guess Dion Roy doesn’t have either…Ok so bottled, sparkling, or tap?
DR: I consider myself a New Yorker….so tap!
***
So – there you have it folks; a little insight into the world of Dion Roy. For more information on his upcoming shows or releases, you can check out DionRoy.com.
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