Maritime
Interview with Dan Didier
Words: Michael Spadoni
Photos: Mark Dawursk

Wash, Rinse, Repeat… The same repetitive actions go for the music industry’s buyers.  Nowadays, it seems as if we’re constantly looking for the “next big thing”.  Find, exploit, throw away…  Now this may sound harsh but fuck it, that’s the truth.  Now, who or what you spend your money on is your own business and I frankly I don’t give a shit.  However, there is an unmistakable genuine reward in staying in for the long haul and toughing things out, whatever that may entail. Here’s to sticking to the plan and doing what you love.  All hail, Maritime!

REAX:  For a lot of fans, the breakup of The Promise Ring was very abrupt and the arrival of Maritime was just as quick.  Can you walk us through the last days of The Promise Ring and catch us up to date to what is now Maritime?
Dan Didier:  It was in Bellingham, Washington at a Denny’s where Davey and I were eating dinner.  The end of the Promise Ring was near and we knew it.  We sat down and planned out the possibility of starting a new project, who we get, etc.  When we played our last show on that tour my mind was already set that there was going to be a new project.  It was a pretty easy transition; I had something else to focus on. I didn’t have time to sulk.

REAX:  What changes have you noticed in the American music scene since the start of The Promise Ring to where you are now?
DD:  It seems like American music, on our level… It’s a weird situation right now. You almost have to catch fire really quickly.  Bands seem to come up really fast and then fade really quickly.  There are a lot of flashes in the pan that seem to happen lately.  I think our attention span for trying to find good music is shorter because the accessibility to music now is so great.  I don’t foresee another U2 coming any time soon.  Any of the bands that have built a career on their music are few and far between now.  I don’t think that any band that is coming up these days will have that kind of longevity. The American music scene switches on itself so frequently now.  Styles that become popular are more of a weekly thing instead of something strong that builds over time.  But, you still have to make music and do what you want to do.  You just have to have a backup plan.

REAX:  With the rise of blogging, do you see it affecting the way bands are made and then crushed in the same week?  Bands without the only a few blogs know about it label…
DD:  You know, that is totally true.  With the access people can get to new bands from the music blogs, opinions are just… out there.  It seems like everyone is just trying to break the next big band and nobody cares if you’re already established.  I think blogging is great… it can spin a lot of good things.  But… I remember when I was younger and I would be like, I just heard this band and it’s MY BAND.  But if anyone else likes it, then forget it.  There is a snobbery attached to that.  It happens so frequently now.  If someone breaks a band and they are successful the band will become popular. After that, they don’t want anything to do with them because everyone likes them.  A lot of people who run the blogs seem to have that feeling about bands.  I don’t think a band like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will have the kind of success with their second album as they did with their first.  I feel they were this band that everyone was trying to break because they were their band and now that everyone knows them,  I don’t think they are going to have the same kind of attention. But, there can be bands that just stay under the radar and be successful enough to keep going.  If they can find their fan base and keep them, those fans will always think of them as their band.

REAX:  With that being said, are you working on the next record?
DD:  By the time we go on tour with Lucero this December, we should have a good chunk of the new record written.  We already are playing two new songs live and they’re really getting a good response, so that’s encouraging.  The writing situation for this band for the first two records was awkward.  We had to make sacrifices to get the band working together.  The new songs are coming along so much better because we’re working on them all the time.  Dan is an amazing guitar player who brings such a different style and viewpoint in the way of creating songs.  It works so well with everyone else.  Justin and I approach rhythm in a similar way, so it’s great to work with him on these new songs too.  It will be interesting to see what happens when we really let loose and start recording.  I have no idea how the next record is going to sound, but it will definitely be a fun process at least for me.  We’re going to take a few steps forward in trying new things and see what works.  Everything feels really good right now, especially because of the struggle for us to get to this point.