"Music Master" Josh Dion Interview
www.ParisMonster.com
Interview by Roger Zee (08/07/21)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to pick up the drums and sing? What other instruments do you play?
Josh Dion: My father's a drummer, his brother too. I spent my early childhood in Mansfield, CT listening to records, studying music, and looking up to local cats in my scene. I remember always seeing a drum set and/or a B3 in the house.
In our town, so much music happened in a club called Shaboo. And luckily, like a sponge, I soaked up whatever I could from the leftover Blues/Rock/Shuffle scene. My dad taught me rudiments and used to record me at age four. I started performing in talent shows at six. I would play Keith Moon, Bonham, and Ringo stuff. I idolized Gene Krupa!
My influences started with Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, Cream, The Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. That led to Blues, which led to Dixieland and Big Band, which led to Bebop and other forms of Jazz. Church music led to Funk -- my reason for living! Everything's connected.
I went through a Pentecostal experience at age twelve that opened my life up to the spiritual realm. Not only did some wild stuff happen at this place, but also some amazing singers and musicians performed there. I remember some of the Black folks would sing songs by the Dixie Hummingbirds and similar bands. I remember thinking, "how the Hell do you sing like that?" That planted the seed in me to become a singer.
As a young adult, the music of Earth, Wind and Fire helped lead me from the church to the secular world. I love their message, "Love, baby!" That also began a life long obsession with Funk. Black music always owned my heart and soul.
I sing, play drums, percussion, some piano, and try to play guitar.
RZ: Tell me about some of the musicians and groups you've gigged and recorded with.
JD: I feel fortunate to have already gone around the block a few times. My first band, a pretty epic roots Rock ensemble, forever changed me and gave me the courage to become a singer. The band members, my college friends, included Dan Hindman, Brian Killeen, Sarah Versprille, and Pat Firth. We all grew together, toured, learned, and enjoyed being young and running wild. Wait. I’m still wild! I may never top some of the things that band did live.
My current band's a duo with the great Geoff Kraly. We call ourselves "paris_monster" -- a complete departure from what I've done before. It involves modular synths, keyboards, synth bass, and a more avant garde approach to harmony. People like watching me play synths and drums at the same time. It’s incredibly fun and you feel so much power when it actually works!
I’ve grown so much more comfortable with my groove. We experiment with sounds and production and found some really cool ways of blending bass instruments. And it rocks! Geoff's my lyric guru. I’ve learned tons from him about words and how to say what I mean. It’s a real beast, though. So much work! I suck.
Then there's another life-changing band for me -- Jim Campilongo and his trio with Chris Morrissey and myself. This group helped solidify my place as a "Jazz" player while also giving me freedom as a Rock player, rootsy and all. We also perform a lot of "Free" music. And through that, I became comfortable with playing music without tempo.
We were discovering motion in music that is completely open. Thinking of texture and dynamics and color. Hearing phrases and not needing to adhere to anything specific. Yet, it can play VERY specific. I started to really hear Ornette Coleman, late Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Keith Jarrett Quartet, to name a few. And kind of GET IT!
Jim has such a unique voice on a Telecaster. From him, I also learned a ton about Country music, Trucker music, and Roy Buchanan. That’s a whole other world! Through Jim I met Nels Cline, who I now get to play with on occasion. He’s an amazing musician who’s very open and free. He’s also in Wilco.
Other musicians who absolutely formed me:
Wayne Krantz: I always looked up to Krantz and his trio with Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre. Getting to play that music and that concept's a bucket list gig! He still calls me!
Esperanza Spalding: super cool getting a call to play with someone like her. She had a freedom to her music that really spoke to me. I learned it all by ear. All kinds of odd time signatures... I never thought about the numbers or counting. We only felt it! I never saw it on a page.
Chuck Loeb: one of my first gigs in NYC that led to the serious Jazz/Rock studio scene. Chuck introduced me to everyone. Such an amazing guitarist, writer, and producer. He gave me a ton of confidence, even when young and inexperienced. Super Funky, he burned on Bebop. He got taken from this world way too soon. Absolutely heart breaking. I think about him all the time. He treated me like family.
Bill Evans, the sax player: I toured with him for a while, mostly in Europe! It amazed me to see the world and play burning Fusion every night with a cat who played with Miles, Herbie, and people like that. He’s a riot! Watch out! He'll play tricks on you.
Jim Weider: killing guitarist who played in The Band! Obviously, I’m a huge fan of Levon Helm and The Band. Over the years I’ve gotten to meet and play with many folks involved in that scene. So incredible!
Ulu: my first touring band! Amazing instrumental Funk/Jazz. It helped shape my style and taught me so much. I’ll never forget it. I left college and literally never went back.
Other friends and musicians I’m super inspired by:
Jeff Golub: amazing guitarist! Also taken from us way too soon!! We did a project with Andy Hess and Henry Butler. Also Gil Parris and all my Westchester homies! Nate wood, Jesske Hume, Chris Morrissey, Grey Mcmurray, Jeff Taylor, Jason Lindner, Vinnie Sperrazza, Ben Scheuer. The creative NYC music scene! Also, Lucius, an amazing band I got to play with and influenced me very much. The list goes on. I have to stop.
RZ: What drums and keys do you currently play?
JD: I use a Yamaha drum kit with a 16x20 kick drum that I own for twenty years. It’s got a really odd, unique, open sound that I love. I made a snare drum in Japan in 2007 when on tour with Candy Dulfer and I still play it everyday!
I use Meinl cymbals. They give a really distinct, trashy sound. I love the 17" crash cymbals I use for hi hats. Evans drum heads. Almost always one ply coated heads. Vic Firth wood tip sticks 5A.
My synth's a Dave Smith mopho. I use a memory toy delay pedal. Lately I’ve messed with the Micro Mellotron too. I love synths. I even bought a keytar. I wish I could play like Delmar Brown.
Vocally, I dig an Re15. It’s midrangey and punchy.
RZ: Talk about what and how you practice.
JD: I’m horrible at actually sitting down to practice. I write a lot which leads to learning new things. I usually practice the synth and drums together. Sometimes I’ll use the sequencer on my mopho to give me a groove to play to. I work on tempos and feels. Sometimes stickings and metric modulation type stuff. I practice singing. Pitch. Tone. Sound. I work on my breathing and feeling my diaphragm.
I shed piano a lot. Chords. Voicings. I need to learn a lot of music. I’m currently going over music for John Scofield’s new band. And every tune he sends me's a harmonic lesson in itself!
RZ: Do you teach music privately?
JD: Sometimes, if someone's interested.
RZ: How has the Pandemic affected you? What's on the horizon?
JD: Well it stopped the business entirely. I did get to spend a ton of time with my daughter who’s turning two in September. So incredible! I practiced and wrote more than usual. I also listened to so many records. My family came through the pandemic very fortunate. I’m currently working on a solo album. Paris_monster's almost ready to start mixing our new album. I also got my act together and got a studio going on. I can now do remote tracking for drums, vocals, and synths. People hire me! It feels good to finally start on the road to learning all that stuff.
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
JD: Special gigs:
1) Playing for a week as the guest drummer on the Seth Myers show.
2) paris_monster playing a big festival in Odessa, Ukraine on the Black Sea while locusts attacked us.
3) Playing "Frankenstein" with Edgar Winter. He taught me the drum solo note for note and then we played it!
Unusual gigs:
1) Backing up Ethan Hawke while he sang and played guitar. GE Smith hooked it up. Ethan sounded great but it felt super unusual and unexpected for me.
2) Playing keyboards and singing on the song "Aja" while Keith Carlock and Peter Erskine played drums. Crazy!
3) I’ve played in car dealerships, Whole Foods, parking lots. I even played for the president of Poland. Russian diplomats. I went to Siberia a few times. Even Kazakstan. It depends on how you define special or unusual. That’s kind of how I roll...
4) Wow! I almost forgot the most unusual gig I ever did. I played at a brothel in Köln, Germany called Pascha. 24 hour open bar. Shared a dining area with the talent. Saw some wild things. All kinds of hidden fantasy rooms. Poles everywhere for dancing. Played on a stage with a cage. Smoked a ton of cigarettes and drank so much free Kolsh. I even kept the 30 minute free voucher that they gave me as a gift. I swear I didn’t partake! A pretty dark place, but somehow it fascinated me. I still keep a playlist of the songs I Shazamed when the girls would strip. It gives me a melancholy vibe because the music sounded so loving and happy.
RZ: How do you see the future of the music business?
JD: Who knows! I’m trying to get into the whole online thing. I need to start filming myself more on TicTok, etc. That’s a whole other ballgame. I want to make records, work on my writing, and find a way to see more of the world. I also love moving audiences. There’s no feeling like it!
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
JD: Until you come up with a clear vision, say yes to as much good stuff as you can. Record yourself. Record yourself. Record yourself! Learn from it. Be thankful. Respect each other. Listen before you play something. Think about music like conversations and everyday life. Learn from nature. It shows us what we need to know!
RZ: Do you live with any animals?
JD: Two cats, Oscar and Lucy.
YouTube - A Vision Complete - paris_monster
YouTube - Summertime Blues - Scott Metzger w/Dave Dreiwitz & Josh Dion Live in NYC
©2021 Roger Zee
