This year at ACL Fest, I was given the opportunity to interview Dax Riggs, former singer of deadboy & the Elephantmen. Last year, deadboy created some rumblings at the festival and after listening to their album, "We Are Night Sky," I became enamored with their stripped down, raw, rock and roll sound. So when the opportunity came to talk to Dax, I jumped on it.
As I mentioned in my ACL Fest Day Two recap, a local radio DJ warned me that Dax wasn't very talkative, so I was a little worried from the get-go. But what the DJ warned me about seemed to be completely untrue, in my case. Dax was very open and articulate in talking with me about his music. And he seemed like a very positive and friendly guy, as well as pretty talkative. We sat under a tent on a table in the media area backstage. And once the tape started rolling, Dax talked a lot about performing at music festivals, what inspires him creatively, the bands he listened to when he was growing up, and his feelings about music journalists. Fortunately for me, I'm a cartoonist, not a music journalist. But I'm a huge music fan and I really appreciated the time Dax spent with me talking about what inspires him.
And for my final interview at this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival 2007, this is what Dax had to say:
Scott: Festivals have been pretty good to you. Do you like playing festivals or do you prefer playing other types of venues?
Dax: Honestly, I love doing both of them. Of course, there's the intimacy, almost like a practice room vibe in a bar. But then there's the gargantuan experience of playing in the heat, and the people. And if you can pull it off and make some magic happen, like real magic, then... I can't say that I like one better than the other. Probably, I'd rather play in a club but you can't fit this many people in a club. And what I like about it is rubbing elbows with other artists from all different genres, you know, and making friends and being inspired by things. You know what I mean? Like being turned on, just like the people in the crowd. That's why they're here, to see a lot of different things. And that's why I enjoy festivals.
Scott: Do you have an opportunity to see other bands? Is there someone you're looking forward to seeing today?
Dax: I'm not sure. We have another gig tonight opening for the Queens of the Stone Age at La Zona Rosa. So I'm not even sure whose playing because I have to leave after a few things. I really wanted to see Bjork but I couldn't make it yesterday. I was moving in. I just moved here yesterday. So I was moving shit into my house.
Scott: So you're an Austin resident now?
Dax: Mmm-hmm.
Scott: You have a really dark tone to your lyrics. What inspires you creatively? What gets your creative juices off? What gets that flowing in you?
Dax: I'm not really sure but it's some natural leaning towards the shadows that I don't truly understand. I do feel depression at times like anybody... I don't know. I think I'm just a gallows bird. Or possibly, I just have a morbid sense of humor.
Scott: Do you feel tragedy in your life is an influence?
Dax: I'm sure it does but I don't focus on it because I'm a positive person and a practicing magician. So, if I focused on it and looked at it under a magnifying glass, I'm sure all of the things that have happened and all of the heartaches have added up to my point of view and my writing style. But I don't live in a dark room.
Scott: Do you have a philosophy you live by?
Dax: I believe in truth. And I believe in magic. And I believe that what you what yourself to be you can be if you believe it. And whatever you want to happen can happen.
Scott: So, growing up, what kind of music did you listen to? What inspired you to be where you're at with your own music?
Dax: Iron Maiden. Duran Duran when I was a little kid. And it blossomed into all of the thrash bands. And then, early on I discovered John Lennon and David Bowie. "Rebel, Rebel" was always on the radio and I'd record it off the radio. All of that stuff kind formed together along with understanding bands like Obituary... I'm just voraciously interested in music. That's why I love these [festivals] because I can talk to people and say, "What do you listen to?" or "What is your favorite thing?" Because if I don't know about it, then I need to know about it. Sound and emotion is such a healing thing and it can make everything so much better.
Scott: The band I saw yesterday that really turned me on was LCD Soundsystem. Have you heard them?
Dax: I haven't heard them.
Scott: James Murphy records the albums pretty much by himself but he tours with a full band. Great band! I've read a lot about your previous band, especially what journalists have said about your previous band, trying to compare you to a lot of other bands that were around at the time. Do you think that's laziness on a journalist's part?
Dax: Yes.
Scott: Just because of the configuration of your band... that it would be easy to compare you to someone else?
Dax: I mean, not to call anyone out but I look at it like an ignorance of music. Like, "Oh, this guy has long hair and heavy music and blah, blah, blah." I can tell almost right off the bat if this is someone who should not be a music journalist or whether this is someone who knows what's going on. Do they understand that I'm into Sparks, and Obituary, Mickey Newberry, and Ohm? Do they understand this or are they talking about fucking Soundgarden and some shit? And no offense to that band, they did some great stuff. I just feel like some music journalists are ignorant. You know? And I don't even give a fuck. I never... I look at it only to laugh and say, "I can't believe that they said this." I don't need anybody to tell me anything. That's not how I work. And no true artist should. Although, I read it and sometimes I agree with certain things that they say. But that doesn't mean I'm going to change my course. My course has already been written. (He points to his palm.) If you read my palm, my fate has already been laid out for me.
Scott: You've had several monikers. You've performed under several band names. Now that you're out on your own, how does that work for you creatively now that it's just Dax Riggs and not a persona with a band? Does that affect you differently now?
Dax: I'm really cool with it now. At first, it was kind of strange. But I feel like it's something that someone in my position would not do so that was alluring to me. If you're like an Adam Green or a singer-songwriter, then you would do that. But if you're coming from like a heavy metal background, that's not something you would do. So to me, I think it is different. And I didn't feel that connected with that name (deadboy & the Elephantmen). I had been working with that name for six years. And I'm just a person that gets bored and wants to change and try new things and go forward. Also, I love to play totally solo, acoustic. Right now, even though it's called Dax Riggs, it's more of a band than I've ever had in my life. So that's the opposite of what you'd expect. It's called Dax Riggs and you think I'm sitting there with an acoustic guitar. But actually, it's a real band with everybody putting everything into it. But at the same time, it was alluring to me because I wanted to be able to switch back and forth from playing with a full band to just doing solo acoustic gigs. And everybody understanding that it's all the same thing. That was my idea originally with deadboy & the Elephantmen. Then through the media, it gets tied into "this is what it is" and "if it's not this and this person," then it's not that. And that's not true. Whatever I do are my songs interpreted in different ways, working with different people. That's the way it's been and that was my plan. And I still plan on doing that. Although, the people I'm working with now are definitely the greatest people I've ever worked with. We have a really brotherhood-type vibe that we really want to milk. We've only touched the surface of what we can do.
Scott: Do you mind comparing your experience with ACL Fest last year compared to this year? Do you feel like there's a different vibe?
Dax: This year I was sure we would be beheading the audience. Last year, I was scared because I felt like my songs were better than most peoples' songs. But I didn't know if it was going to come across that way because I'm not the greatest guitar player. And I was playing with a girl who basically taught herself how to play the drums and then we went and played some gigs. So, there was that kind of fear. Where as with this year, I knew that God had his fingers on our hearts. So there was no fear.
Scott: Thanks very much, Dax. Good luck to you.
Dax: I'd just like to say to anybody that's listening to this that magic is real and don't doubt that.