| Land of the Dead |
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by Kent Farago the Carillon Vancouver rockers party with Green, talk ‘staches Success has provided Theory of a Deadman with some pretty cool opportunities over the last couple of years, including the opportunity to get drunk with Tom Green. “We were at the Casby awards a couple of nights ago,” said Theory of a Deadman bassist Dean Back. “The night before [the award show] we were drinking with [Tom Green] in the hotel bar. We were staying in the same hotel so we decided to have some drinks. There were a lot of shots bought that night,” said Back. “There wasn’t anything too outrageous, though.” Drunken escapades with Tom Green and nothing semi-destructive happens? Blasphemy. When asked if he took part in some Organized Rhyme (Tom Green’s old rap-group) type free-styling, the rather modest Back could only respond with, “I am not a rapper. I cannot rap. I am a lame, lame white boy.” Being in a band with a top 10 radio hit can also result in band members having a lapse in judgment when it comes to fashion. One of these bad ideas is having a fu-manchu moustache. “I honestly don’t know where [lead singer Tyler Connolly’s moustache] came from,” said Back with a laugh. “I think it’s something that he did one day and got some compliments on, so he decided to keep it. “Tyler was fine with [the moustache] up until a little while ago where he was like, ‘ugh, this is horrible.’ You know, it’s one of those things that when he looks back on it he’ll wonder, ‘what was I thinking?’ I think his girlfriend might have told him it had to go, as well. He looked so angry and old with that moustache. When he shaved it off it took about 15 years off his age,” said Back. “He looks more approachable.” According to Back, approachability seems to be a key ingredient to Theory of a Deadman’s success. “I enjoy taking 10 to 15 minutes to gather myself [after a show] and then head back into the venue to shake hands and meet the people. It never gets too crazy,” said Back. “I’m just the bass player. Tyler doesn’t like to go into the crowd though; he gets hounded [by the fans] more than the rest of us,” said Back. The band gets plenty of attention from people drinking age and up, but they’re still trying to build a solid fan base with teenagers. However, their main target audience restricts them to playing only a handful of all-ages shows on tour. “It’s a hard thing for a band to do a full cross-Canada tour that is all-ages unless they can sell 5,000 tickets to a stadium or arena. Right now we’re just building a touring buzz, playing to 800 to 1,000 people in a bar or small room. We’re laying down the ground work,” said Back. “I feel bad for the kids who see that we’re coming through their town and can’t make it out. I remember being 17 or 18 and having some of my favourite bands coming to the bar and not being able to go. It was times like those where I resorted to trying to get some fake IDs,” said Back. Theory of a Deadman will be playing The Distrikt on Dec. 8. *Note: the Carillon does not endorse the use of fake IDs. |