“I just always felt like I needed to stay close to where I came from, in order to maintain the ethic of the reasons why I’m doing this to begin with – not get cluttered by outside influences,” Weinman explains.
Indeed, living outside of a city enables Weinman to have a basement studio, which gives him plenty of freedom to craft and refine the band’s experimental precision. Although none of the other members live close by, he’s more than content with keeping a low profile.
“All the guys in the band live in different cities. Our singer lives in Los Angeles. I don’t want to even be around all that. I don’t want to know what the hottest band is doing right now and what they look like. I want to just keep going and doing what I’m doing and just live a normal life.”
Of course, The Dillinger Escape Plan are a globe-trotting rock & roll band so Weinman is by no means a complete hermit. The band will make another visit to Australia next month for the Soundwave festival and Weinman clarifies that he does appreciate the perks of being a touring musician.
“We tour a lot so I’m always in amazing places all over the world. I’m in places like Australia or London – I’m in Los Angeles a couple of times a year. When I’m at these places there’s always somewhere to go, some party, some person in some big band hanging out. It’s great and I love the fact that I’ve had a lifestyle where I’m able to be around some of these amazing people, but at the same time that stuff doesn’t last, that’s not what’s important. I try to keep what’s important around me and maintain that level head.”
The band’s fourth LP Option Paralysis (2009) thematically addressed how the overwhelming presence of digital stimuli in modern life dampens the purity of individual experiences. Living in a wholesome small town might suggest that Weinman lives a life of arcane pleasures. Yet, that’s not quite the case.
“The fact that I’m not going out every night to parties or shows means that I really have to force myself to get out and experience the world sometimes,” he says. “I’m so closed in to my house, working on music, working on things around my computer and my phone, so I have to really discipline myself even more sometimes. I have dogs simply for the reason [that] I have to take them for walks. It makes me leave my computer, whatever I’m working on; it actually gets me up and gets me out into the world.”
Given the meticulous technical nature of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s music, you can understand why Weinman might seek some digital distractions. Meanwhile, he does believe there’s been a general improvement in the utilisation of media resources recently.
“I think people are starting to use technology a little more efficiently. The things that matter and the things that are useful are starting to rise to the top, so it’s not just a sea of information. People are starting to go to the sources that they really trust and just getting info from there. It’s still a mess but it seems like there’s a little more focus on quality instead of quantity. I would hope, anyway.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
