Sept. 21, 2026

Dance Gavin Dance on Festivals, Haunted Venues, and New Music at Louder Than Life

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode of Adventures of Pipeman on W4CY Radio, Pipeman sits down with Andrew and Matt from Dance Gavin Dance at the Louder Than Life (dubbed "Hotter Than Life") festival. They discuss the festival experience, changes within the band, haunted venues, balancing performance with extreme weather, and what's next for Dance Gavin Dance.Main Topics Covered

Festival Life and “Hotter Than Life”
The band's experience at Louder Than Life, including the heat, crowd size, and Danny Wimmer’s impact on the U.S. festival scene.
Haunted Venues and Unusual Touring Stories
Prison festivals, haunted Airbnbs, and supernatural anecdotes from the road.
Band Dynamics and Growth
Evolution of relationships and communication within Dance Gavin Dance, fueled by the addition of Andrew as lead vocalist.
Performing in Extreme Conditions
The physical and mental experience of performing in intense heat and while ill.
What’s Next for Dance Gavin Dance
Upcoming album, international touring plans, and a renewed sense of camaraderie in the band.

Key Discussions & StoriesThe Festival Experience

Pipeman notes the escalating size of American festivals, sharing a conversation with Wacken fest organizers about the impressive growth in the U.S. festival scene 01:23.
Matt shares the crowd at Louder Than Life may reach 240,000 people 01:17.
Andrew highlights Danny Wimmer’s role, calling him a “genius” for producing back-to-back mega festivals 01:57.

Haunted Venues

Pipeman describes the haunted Ohio State Reformatory, site of the Incarceration festival, and shares a chilling story of an artist who left a torture room with unexplained scratches 03:16.
Matt adds his own backstage horror story from Soundwave Festival in Australia, where dressing rooms were old prison cells with un-openable doors 02:46.
Andrew and Matt joke that their Louisville Airbnb must be haunted due to its spooky vibe and their late-night shenanigans 03:44.

The Challenge of Performing in the Heat

Pipeman and Andrew discuss the struggle—and adrenaline rush—of performing on stage in extreme heat 04:44.
Matt recalls playing at Aftershock Festival with a 102-degree fever under a blazing sun, describing the experience as “time travel” from the intensity 05:05.
Both Andrew and Matt echo how stepping on stage, they’re able to flip a switch and transcend discomfort through pure adrenaline 05:27.

Band Growth and Improved Relationships

Matt and Andrew reflect on how open communication and resolving resentments have improved their dynamic and performances 06:12.
Andrew speaks candidly about the importance of not just “going through the motions,” but genuinely enjoying their time and roles in the band 06:42.
Matt shares feedback from fans and crew that the band “looks like you’re genuinely having a good time,” signaling positive change 07:43.

Looking Forward: New Album and Tours

Andrew announces a new album is finished and coming next year—“my personal best work” 08:19.
Plans for an Australian tour in November and further touring in the upcoming year 08:30.

Notable Quotes

“Andrew: The guy’s a genius, he’s killing it.” 01:57
“Matt: If someone doesn't like something, we say it and we figure it out… instead of just holding on to these resentments.” 06:33
“Andrew: You don't want to be sitting there up on stage going, ‘what am I even doing here?’” 07:07
“Matt: You guys look like you're genuinely having a good time and like enjoying each other. We’ve just never seen that with this band before like it is now.” 07:45
“Andrew: I think it’s our best work, my personal best work of my whole career as a musician.” 08:25

Resources & Links Mentioned

Louder Than Life Festival:
Official site
Incarceration Festival (at Ohio State Reformatory):
Official site
Wacken Open Air:
Official site
Soundwave Festival (Australia):
(No longer active, but referenced for context)
Witch’s Tree in Louisville:
Google Maps Link

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WEBVTT

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Hey, you're listening to The Adventure of Spider-Man on W4CY Radio.

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This is Spider-Man here on The Adventure of Spider-Man W4CY Radio,

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and I'm here with.

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Matt and.

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Andrew from Dance, Scab and Dance.

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Dance, dance, dance.

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You know what's funny is I think many years ago

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I interviewed you guys at another DWP festival, and you

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did it just like that then, too.

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Sounds about right. Sounds about right.

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Right, right? So how does it feel to be hotter

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than life?

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It's hot. It's hot as fuck. It's really sweaty.

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How are you guys wearing long pants, man?

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Yes, yeah, it's real sweaty. But it's nice. It's great.

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The bands are great. We're grateful to be here. It's awesome.

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Yeah, I just don't show off my legs.

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Right.

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Those are reserved for only the special woman in my life, but.

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There you go.

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It is hot, I'd say, but it's awesome. It's crowded.

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I mean, this, I think, is the biggest Wimmer Festival

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of the year.

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Yeah, totally. Like, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger, right?

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Yeah, I read something like 240,000 people were expected this weekend.

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It's insane, right?

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That's a lot.

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Like, I do, the European festivals are huge, and we're, like,

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now becoming the big festivals. I talk to people at

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places like Wacken, and they're like, oh, your festivals are huge.

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And I'm like, really?

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Your festivals are huge.

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I know. It's insane.

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I was just at Wacken, and that's what they're saying.

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I'm like, we're at Wacken. This is like the biggest

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in the world. So when they're saying it. Danny Wimber's

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doing something right.

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I was just saying that earlier, because he's doing a

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festival here next weekend as well, like the country.

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Bourbon and Beyond. Insane. The guy's a genius. He's killing it.

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Exactly.

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And then we have Aftershock in a couple weeks in Sacramento.

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Have you played the one at Shawshank Prison, Incarceration?

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No, Incarceration's one that we haven't done yet.

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Oh, you need to be at that one, because that

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one's badass.

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My daughter, she'll always say to me, so, Dad, are

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you excited about this festival? I'm like, well, when I

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do it every weekend, I don't know if excited is

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the word. I love doing it, and it's amazing. Like,

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she just texted me, how's the festival going?

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I'm like, amazing.

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She goes, oh, because I saw how hot it is there.

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I'm like, I don't give a fuck. We got evacuated yesterday,

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and I got some air conditioning.

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But, Inc., is another story, man.

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I called her up, first time I did ink, I'm like,

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now I'm excited, I'm in the prison yard of Shawshank Prison.

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So sick.

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Right?

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Yeah, we played this festival in Australia, it was the

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Soundwave Music Festival, back in like 2010, and one of

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the venues was on the side of an old prison,

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and the green rooms, all the dressing rooms were in

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old prison cells.

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Excuse me.

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And they kept having to remind all the bands, like,

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don't shut the doors because we can't.

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Open them if you shut them.

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Oh, my God.

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Even just hanging out in there, there's a certain element

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of anxiety. Like, man, I could really just fuck my

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life up if I shut this door.

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Well, let me tell you, the Shawshank prison, the real prison,

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the Ohio State Reformatory, it's haunted because they did all

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kinds of shit and they had torture rooms. So Waylon

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Revis of Killer's Confession, he used to be a mushroom head,

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he told me that he recorded a video in the

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torture room, there was nobody in there, and he came

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out with scratches on his chest, bleeding.

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Jeez. That sounds like our Airbnb.

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I was just going to say, we're staying in this

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crazy Airbnb here in Louisville.

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It's got to be haunted.

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Oh, for sure.

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Last night, we had all the lights off, and we're

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just playing spooky music, and it's fucking weird.

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That's wild. Yeah.

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Did you know there's an actual witch's tree here in Louisville?

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You can Google on Google Maps. You just punch it in,

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and it gives you the GPS of how to get there.

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It's just in some neighborhood, and... It's in front of

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somebody's house, and people from all over come and do offerings. And, like,

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nobody's removed this tree. Maybe because they can't remove it.

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Are you trying to go after the set or what, Matt?

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Yeah, right?

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Yeah, either there or the casino.

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Maybe go to the casino first because maybe you'll have

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bad luck if you go.

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To that tree first.

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That's true. That's true.

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So....

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I always wonder, too, like you're hot right here. I

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always ask artists, how the hell do you perform in

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this heat? I mean, I ask it for the listeners

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because I know you like you go in a zone.

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You don't give yourself permission to feel like shit until

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you walk off stage.

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But what's it like? What does it feel like?

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Is it like an out by experience when it's super

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hot like this and you're up there putting your all out?

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I mean, like you said, it's definitely like I blast off.

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I go somewhere else. We played Aftershock. It was a

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few years ago, but our set was at like 4 p.m.

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And the sun was beaming right at our stage. And

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I already had 102 fever.

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I was sick.

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Oh, shit.

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And then I had to play. And it was like

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all of a sudden it was just done. And I

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was like, I don't even. I like time travel.

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Right. Right.

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Yeah, I think it's like a pure adrenaline rush. Even

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up to the minute before you get on stage, you

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could just feel completely terrible. The sun's beaming down on you,

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you're sweating, you're nauseous, you're like, how am I going

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to sing this set without throwing up? And then you

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get on stage and it's like a flip. Exactly switch flip.

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I say that all the time like even for me

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what I do It's like once it's Mike turns on

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there's a switch And it's like it doesn't matter how

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I feel what I'm thinking like I am so in

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the zone.

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It's kind of out of body like you said it's

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you kind of get you kind of astral project a

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little bit you get into that adrenaline mode, you.

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Know, totally so you guys have been around a long

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time and What do you think is different about you

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guys now compared to when you first started?

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Oh, God, there's so many things.

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Right?

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I think, you know, having Andrew as our vocalist for

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the last few years has made a big difference in

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just our relationships with each other.

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Like, we're all just friends. We're close. We don't leave

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anything on the table. No resentments.

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No... That's important.

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Skeletons in the closet.

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If someone doesn't like something, we say it and we

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figure it out. Instead of just holding on to all

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these resentments and then shit builds up over the years.

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Yeah, for sure. I've been with these guys almost 12 years.

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The band's been around for over 20. Even in my tenure,

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before I took over as lead vocalist when I was

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just on guitar and backing vocals, there came a point

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where we just felt like we were going through the motions.

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We were hiding a lot from each other. There were

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some resentments that were unresolved.

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Lack of communication.

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And you never want to feel like that, especially when

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you have the coolest job in the world.

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Right. Go out here and play rock music for people.

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I know.

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You don't want to be sitting there up on stage going, well,

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what am I even doing here?

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Exactly.

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Like a guy working the paper factory. You don't want

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to be that guy.

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No. And it's the worst business to be in if

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you feel like that because everything else is shit.

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Exactly.

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That's the good part. If you're not having fun on

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the good part, what are you doing?

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Ash by comparison.

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So, yeah.

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Totally agree.

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And so the last few years have been a dramatic

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improvement on that front.

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And also the audience can tell. Absolutely.

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To me, a live show is a transfer of emotion.

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So if you're feeling like shit and angry with each other,

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how is the audience having fun?

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Yeah, we've been getting that a lot, actually.

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A lot of people that have either worked for the

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band for years or seen us multiple times, they even say,

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you guys look like you're genuinely having a good time

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and enjoying each other. We've just never seen that with

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this band before like.

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It is now.

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See, that means you're really doing the right thing now, finally.

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Like, right?

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That's why it's kind of like, it's like finally you've

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gotten to a point of where you want to be.

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You know?

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And that's cool.

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So is there anything else you want to share with

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the listeners that we haven't discussed already that's coming up

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that you want them to.

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Look out for?

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Sure, yeah.

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We just finished recording a brand new album coming out

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next year.

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Very, very excited for that.

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I think it's our best work, my personal best work

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of my whole career as a musician, so I'm really

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excited for that. We're going to be touring Australia in November,

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and then we've got some tour plans for next year

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as well.

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I love it.

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Well, I'm glad you're here at Louder Than Life, that

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I've renamed hotter than life.

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That's a very apt name.

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Right? And thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man.

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Thank you. Thank you.

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Appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Adventures of

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Pipe Man on W4CY radio.

Dance Gavin Dance on Festivals, Haunted Venues, and New Music at Louder Than Life

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