We had the opportunity to interview Corpus Christi alt-rockers Dogwood People. This band is absolutely incredible. Having seen them play live, we can say they will blow you away live or on their EP. We first saw them play at the Battle of the Bands for a spot in ¡Otra Fest! at the House of Rock and they absolutely killed it! We can also say they are one hell of an interview and have some amazing stories to tell about their music and their journey to becoming a band, check it out below!
1. How did y'all come to pursue music? How did you all decide to form this band?
Daniel: Ryan and I have been jamming together since I was about 15, and me and Ryan have been in every band ever since, like together.
I guess individually for myself. I used to ride this bus with this guy, and he was wearing like a band shirt, and he lived right down the road from me. So, I went over to his house. His dad was shredding guitar. I just couldn't, couldn't let it go. So, my dad finally bought me one.
That’s where it started.
Aaron: I hear music, and it sounds cool, so I wanna play it, and I do. You gotta like it a whole bunch, you aren’t going to enjoy it. I just started playing because I wanted to know how to do it. I started about 13 years ago.
Ryan: I’m playing because I wanted to get chicks. Haha. No, my dad was rocking out, so I grew up rocking out. I started on drums, but then, I wanted to start guitar and songwriting, so here I am now.
Ron: I was bitten by the bug when I was sitting in my junior high school gymnasium.A band called Paul Revere and the Raiders came in, and they were good, and and I was totally I just mad about it. I changed my clothes. I was different. I sang for close to 30 years, but they needed a drummer, so I switched. We’re all multi-instrumentalists.
2. How do you go through the process of writing music?
Daniel: Ryan has always been in every band that wasn't the first band we were in. He is the primary song instigator or complete writer. In fact, most of the songs on the EP were on an acoustic.
However, this really starts with what started this band. I (Daniel) got in a wreck back in January from a job where I worked all over the country. He would pick me up. He was one of the very few friends ever come and see me. But, he actually picked me up in the wheelchair. So, we got to talking again, and he asked if I still jam, played bass, and everything. So yeah, I still do, and he wanted me to come and lay down tracks on what he wanted to be a solo. We didn't know that was where Dogwood People would get started.
Ron: Another thing that kind of happened to the form the band was I wasn't supposed to be in the band because I had started my own company, and I got away from music for about four years. Then, I got I got hurt. It was like a compression injuries, and it was mess. And so Ryan was like, “You ain't gonna stop music.” So, I picked up the sticks.
We stumbled across Aaron. Our joke. But originally, there wasn't even supposed to be a guitar player for this band.
Aaron: So, I was like, “You know, man, I'll do it.”
Daniel: So what brought us to the songs on the EP were the songs that Ryan had already, and honestly, Ryan went into a writing spree that was just like, uncontrollable. Then, he started teaching me while writing it on the wall (literally). You know? And now, we got some new songs coming out.
3. So what artists or bands have inspired you whether it be your musicianship or your writing style?
Old Blues stuff. I like a lot of Texas Blues. Classic Rock. Some Stoner Metal. Bands like Orange Goblin, Clutch, The Sword, Red Fang...that kinda stuff. Death Metal. The band Death is amazing. We’re all across the spectrum. Whenever you write, you need a lot of influences to assist you. The goal is we are all servants to that song. The goal is to make the song aesthetic. Yes. And then, fit everything where it needs to be to compliment everything else to the end of that song. But even to the band.
4. What kind of gear do you play on? Does it have a story behind it?
We play on cheap gear from a pawn shop. That's exactly true. A lot of the times we will go out together and find different instruments and work on them together and customize them to get the sound we want or need at the time, we've done this with a lot of amps.
I've (Ron) got my Hurricane Harvey drum set. Hurricane Harvey tore the roof off my recording studio and my drum set was in the rain. It's a Gretsch and I still use it, it's a pretty cool kit.
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows?
It's pretty loud. It's pretty rockin'. Great attitude. We just lay it all out. We have a lot of fun. We don’t really talk that much because in our opinion, we don’t go to a show to listen to people talk. We go to a show to listen to you play. So, we like to play two or three songs, and then, talk to the crowd.
6. What is one thing you want the public to know about your music? What you put into it or what you want them to get out of it?
We’re trying to relate to our audience and be right there in it with them, and it's okay to talk about stuff (that's bothering you).
7. How do we hear more?
We do have records coming, which is great. We've also got YouTube, Facebook, Band Camp, Twitter, and Reverb Nation.