Tyson Prince of Dreams From Gin

    Dreams From Gin

                                                                                                          Rochester, NY

                                                           Tyson Prince: Guitar/vocals                Christian Mott: Bass                    Nick Manka: Drums

                                                  

According to your website, Dreams From Gin was “born in a gas station turned studio”. Can you explain this a little more?

It’s a snippet of band origins. When Dreams from Gin started we originally rented an old 80’s style abandoned gas station to practice in.  It was cheaper than a studio.  It was a really creative place and we hosted some really excellent shows or after show parties there. 

How did the name come about?

Coming up with a band name is a curse.  I wanted something that you could easily distinguish as a band name and find online but that wasn't lame.  We came up with about a dozen running names.  When we saw Dreams from Gin written on the gas station wall in Crayon we figured it was meant to be.  In retrospect I think about 50% of our shows bill our name in comically incorrect ways.   


Who are your main influences?

They vary pretty widely.  Here is a random sampling of the more well known: God is an Astronaut, Pixies, Tom Waits and Interpol.  Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Dancey Brit Rock and this Australian band called Shoe. 



Tell me about your songwriting process. Where do you find inspiration?

Musically - I feel ways about things and make it sound that way.

Lyrically – I draw a lot of inspiration from feelings and memories felt out of context.  For me I think a song is a pretty stupid place to try to convey meaning and understanding. Humans are Non Sequitur and think music is the best place to play with that.  That’s not to say I don’t share personal experiences in my music but I tend to paint them with a different brush than how one would normally communicate. 


You guys got to perform with Chris Trapper from The Push Stars and on a different occasion with Local H. What was that like and how did that come about? 

Both were great shows, we’ll keep it at that. As a local band we don’t have a lot of clout but we got the shows through sheer cunning and knavery.


If you could tour with any band or musician, who would it be and why?

The greedy marketing guru within me says choose someone huge like Radiohead of The Red Hot Chili Peppers for obvious exposure reasons.  Obsessions with money aside probably Little Man Tate or the Arctic Monkeys because it seems like those guys know how to party and I’d probably get to see Europe.   


Your music was also featured in the game “Beat Hazard Ultra” for Playstation 3 and PC. Tell us about that. 

            Beat Hazard is a space shooter game that plays along with the music.  Steve Hunt, CEO of Ice Beam Games and creator of Beat Hazard Ultra was looking for different types of songs to ship with the game.  Our song, Typewriter, was just a good fit because of all the fast and furious starts and stops so it really exemplified what the game could do.  It’s on Steam, Xbox Live and PS store so all you kids out there should buy it and make Steve rich.



Being from Rochester, NY, what are your thoughts on The Bug Jar almost closing? What would that have done to the music community in Rochester?

            The Bug Jar is the single greatest bar/music venue in Rochester.  We’ve played the Bug Jar more than a dozen times.  I think that a closing would have a devastating effect on the shows here because there really isn’t a venue of it’s size and caliber.  Just big enough for indie touring acts but not too big that local band won’t be able to fill the place.  It’s really a perfect venue.  I know when there was news floating out there about their supposed closure a lot of important people in the Rochester music scene, such as Tim Avery, organized some feel good demonstrations to show how important it was.



In addition to having two studio albums, you have a new release called “Rabbits Run In Prides”. What is that all about?

We recorded a few songs using our own equipment and I didn’t really feel it warranted a full release.  I decided we’d put the songs on a compilation album to have a proper showcase of the last three years of our recorded material.  


How do you feel about having a 3 piece band? Do you think this is a limiting factor or does it help spark creativity?

I like the three piece because it forces you to work within a medium and be creative about what you put in the song or leave out. Occasionally, though, I’ve wished we had a cute female Synth player.



What is your favorite part about being in the band?

Mostly the Rocking out part.  Also the meeting new people part.  Like you Cliff, you witty rapscallion you.

In your opinion, what is (to quote the infamous Tenacious D), “the greatest song in the world”?

Interpol - Evil. Mostly because it's new to me. Also because it has great use of imagery and I'm a sucker for the soft verse loud chorus dynamic. Plus the bass, drums and vocal rhythm during the verse is the bee's knees.

What are the future plans for the band?

The Short: Make music and throw away money. 

The Long: I always get these ideas of different ways we can craft art while exposing ourselves.  We’re working on some new recordings and I really would like an animation music video.  I think the work that Felix Colgrave (aka Masteraardvark) does would well with our music.  I also want to get a projector for live shows.  And maybe some belly dancers.

Coke or pepsi?

Neither.