BALISLE: So, you guys are on tour for the 30th anniversary of Dulcinea.
DINNING: That's correct.
BALISLE: How does that feel?
DINNING: It feels pretty amazing to still, you know, for this music to still be in people's lives 30 years after we were making it. It's wild that our audience continues to show up and they continue to love the music. And it seems to grow and take root in new places in their life and the songs sort of evolve over the years and mean different things to people. It's great now. People are starting to bring their kids and we're getting new people, we're getting a lot of our fans From back in the day, who are seeing us for the fortieth time. It's just a great cross section of people and it's got a real community vibe and we love doing these shows and shows you the power of music to bring people together.
BALISLE: So, when you guys were just a brand new band in southern California, did you guys ever picture yourself making it this far? Like, I know when you start a band and you're like, “Yeah! We're gonna rule the world and we're gonna be so famous...”
DINNING: I mean, I think we were blown away just to get played on the radio. So, after we crossed that off and and we were getting played on the radio, where it went from there, we had never dreamed of where it could go, or that or that it could last this long. You know, the music we made was, we were trying to do something timeless when we did. It wasn't a part of any movement or thing like that. And sonically, it doesn't sound dated today and the songs are good. I'm very happy with the work. At a certain point after doing it for 30 years, you look back and you go, “I'm thrilled that we have such a great catalog that I could still enjoy playing every night as much as I did 20 years ago.” Because we're all fully invested in these songs and they've made our lives a wonderful adventure.
BALISLE: When Dulcinea first came out in 1994, what were some of your best memories associated with that?
DINNING: Well, we had a wonderful experience making the record. We did it up in Marin, California at a studio out in the woods.
BALISLE: That sounds super dreamy.
DINNING: It was absolutely beautiful. It was on the the side of a mountain and it had big glass windows in the main room and you could see hawks flying by at eye level, and just trees everywhere. And we made the record mostly recording together in a in a room.
BALISLE: Like, live tracking?
DINNING: Yeah. Really Just doing a lot of live tracking and really going for a vibe. We were happy with the previous album, which was called Fear, which we had done in a studio in Reno. And you can see what the progression there because Reno was very... We did in the middle of winter and we pretty much stayed in the studio the whole time and just made the record and got out of there. But this place was so beautiful, we just wanted to savor the experience and enjoy it while we were there. They had these cabins on the property and each of us got our own cabin to stay in while we were there and you'd wake up in the morning and, you know, just the way it smelled - waking up in the forest and walking into breakfast. And just like, that's the way to start your creative day right there, you know.
And you go into the studio and someone's already cut a vocal that day and and you get to listen to it back. And just be like, “Wow,” you know. Because we do play all together, but then we separate off and work either in teams or individually and then bring the bring it back and put it all together. We work in all kinds of different ways. It was a pretty idyllic experience. And other bands did it too. When we went there, Pearl Jam had just left. They did their second album there. The one with "Daughter" on it and everything like that. So, it was a well-known place and I think everybody who worked there made great records there.
BALISLE: Well, it sounds like the perfect place to, like you said, be creative and put that process together in such a mindful way, you know.
DINNING: Yes. Yeah, very much so.
BALISLE: Who are you listening to these days?
DINNING: I'm always listening to new music. It's a big part of my life. When I'm home, we go to a lot of live shows. I would say right now, in my life, my favorite band is probably a band called the Beths from Auckland, New Zealand. Then as far as like a solo artist would go, I'm loving Madi Diaz. She is absolutely fantastic. She has a song called “Same Risk” and an album called “Weird Faith.” And we just saw her play at The Troubadour in Los Angeles and it was absolutely magical.
BALISLE: Dean, we are so excited to have you guys in Springfield here on July 30th at the Gillioz and I hope that you guys have as great a time as we do in the audience.
DINNING: I'm sure we will. It's going to be great.
