Interview: Dogbreth

Originally published 02/10/2014.

An Interview with Tristan from Dogbreth
By: Rebecca Sicile-Kira

“This band is unstoppable!” declares Dogbreth’s facebook page.  I couldn’t have said it better myself.  With their new full length Sentimental Health out and a mini-tour booked with Waxahatchee this spring, it seems as if big things are in the works for this Phoenix based band.  Not having taken their album off repeat since receiving it, I was thrilled when Tristan graciously accepted my e-mail request for a short interview.  Head on over to their bandcamp, grab your best pair of headphones, stream “Appetite for Distraction” (my personal favorite track), and check out what Tristan had to say about dogs, other musical projects he’s involved in, and what he’s been listening to lately.

Why don’t we start with some introductions? Who are you, where are you from, and what do you do?

This is Tristan, I’m from Phoenix and I play guitar and sing and write a lot of the songs for Dogbreth.

I read somewhere that the band name Dogbreth was, indeed, inspired from a dog. Do you have a favorite type of dog?

The “Realist/Dreamer”.

You recently released your second full length Sentimental Health on Plan-It-X Records. What was that process like? 

We kind of took our time recording it, which we hadn’t really been able to do before. And we didn’t know it would be released on Plan-It-X until it was almost finished. I think that was probably a good thing, I might have felt some added nerves during the process if I had known.  I’m happy it happened the way it did. Having a record on PIX is a dream and I’m glad that it’s a record that we’re really proud of.

I saw that you were just booked to play some shows with Waxahatchee in April! How did that come about? 

It was pretty casual, they hit us up and asked if we’d want to play some shows with them. We met last year when we played a show together in Phoenix. They’re super nice.

What are you most looking forward to about those shows?

We’ll be playing some cities we haven’t played before, which is always exciting.   And I’m really looking forward to seeing Waxahatchee play every night!

Do you have a favorite song you’ve been enjoying playing live lately? 

Yeah probably our newest song is my favorite to play right now. It’s so new it doesn’t have a title yet. It’s the first song I’ve written for Dogbreth that’s not in a 4/4 time signature, so that makes it pretty fun. I also really love the guitar solo that Tyler plays at the end. As far as songs from the new album, I always have a great time performing “More Cool”.

What are your plans for after the tour with Waxahatchee? More touring? Working on a new release?

Yeah we’ll do some touring in June and July, which is going to include playing Plan-It-X Fest! As far as recording, we’ll hopefully be getting back into that within the next few months.

I know you are all pretty active in the Arizona music scene – what are some other musical projects ya’ll are a part of?

Yeah each of us play in at least one other band. Most of us play in a lot of bands. Trying to list them all is hard, so hopefully I don’t forget any…

Diners, Drainbow, Blanche Beach, Hiccups, Hug Of War, Nü Metal Boyfriend, Liam & the Ladies and Thrill of it All.

Davis, California has a pretty decent DIY scene with house shows happening constantly. I know Phoenix has a similar scene. How has that kind of community influenced your music and overall creative process?

I’m really lucky, people in Arizona have been really supportive of me ever since I started playing shows in 2004. Because of that I’ve never really been afraid to try new things. There’s an all-ages venue in Phoenix called The Trunk Space that’s been especially cool to me over the years.  And there are always a lot of rad house shows too. It’s a fun place to be weird.

Lastly, what are some songs or albums you’ve been listening to lately?

Swirlies – What To Do About Them
Cocteau Twins – Four Calendar Café
Quarterbacks – Sportscenter
Bruce Springsteen – The River