Chad Bowar: With all the things this band has gone through in the past couple years, were you sure there would even be a new album?
Ben Weinman: Yes, there was definitely doubt on whether the album would happen. There was a point where every day there was a question of whether we were going to continue. But once we started we weren’t going to compromise in any way. So I knew that if it did come out it would be something we would be really proud of.
Ire Works has been posted on MySpace for streaming for a few weeks. Is that to try to prevent some of the illegal downloading while still giving people a chance to sample it?
Not really. The second you put it on MySpace it’s going to leak. People can take stuff off of MySpace and spread it around. We just want people to hear it and make their own decision and not take other people’s word for it. We want them to check it out, and if they like it go get it.
You’ve had a couple of lineup changes since the last album. What led to Chris’ departure and how did you find Gil as his replacement?
It was kind of a weird situation. There were a lot of difficulties and a lot of drama leading up to this record. One of them was our drummer joining another band right in the middle of going in and making a record. We’re still not sure exactly what his reasons were, but we do know that we were left with a situation where we had to figure out what we were going to do pretty quickly. Drumming in our music is pretty technical, and they were pretty hard shoes to fill. I just started programming drums as a backup. That was an interesting process. It took about a month of no sleep with me and a friend staying up trying to create the drums for this record that sound real and human, which is the biggest obstacle. In the meantime, a friend of ours recommended Gil. We took his word for it and gave Gil the programmed drums. Three days before we started recording the record is the first time we met him. We started jamming. As soon as we got in a room together we all knew this was going to work.
You also brought aboard Jeff Tuttle as a second guitarist. He wasn’t on the album, right?
No, he wasn’t on the album. He’s been on the sidelines for a while waiting to play in the band and working on the songs. He’s more anxious than anyone to get out there and play these songs.
How are Brian’s nerve injuries coming along? Is there any chance he’ll be able to play guitar again?
Nobody really knows. Doctors are saying different things. It has improved slightly over the past couple of years, but it’s been a number of years that he’s had the problem.
You also brought back original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis to do guest vocals on “Fix Your Face.” How did that come about?
He’s one of my best friends, and he’s friends with our singer Greg (Puciato) as well. Dillinger really is a giant extended family. It’s always been us against the world. Anyone who has been part of this band is still part of this band, for the most part. We were so excited to be getting to the record with all the circumstances, and I was hanging out with Dimitri and asked him if he wanted to sing on this thing. He said absolutely. There wasn’t a whole lot of planning. It was cool because Dimitri has a wife and kids and has much more of a typical life than we do. To see him get up there and scream his balls off was pretty amazing.
Did all the struggles of the past couple of years contribute to the angry tone of Ire Works?
It definitely did. There was so much frustration and so many things going on. I couldn’t even begin to start telling you the list of problems that happened. It’s almost like there’s a force out there that’s trying to keep us from happening. It was everything from our drummer leaving to the day I was starting to track guitars I threw up 40 times and had to go to the hospital. It was just weird things constantly happening. It made it very difficult. That frustration is part of what fuels the music in the band. For better or for worse, it at least made this record honest. In the past we never liked to accentuate anger or violence or anything like that, even though we are a very aggressive band. That just seemed so cliché. We don’t walk around screaming all the time. There is much more the music than that. But this time it was very clear that frustration and emotion was a huge part in getting this record done and coming out the way it did. So we said why not, let’s go with it.
You worked with producer Steve Evett again. What is it about his style that keeps you working with him after so many years?
He was doing stuff locally when we started working with him, then he moved to California and started working with a lot of bands like The Cure, Sepultura and a diverse range of artists. He grew with the band. He knows us inside and out. He knows what we are going for and thinks like us. He’s actually one of my best friends. Especially with all the changes in the band, keeping certain constants is important to keep the vibe of the band going and keep the motivation the same.
