2 [INTERVIEW] SRG Presents: An Interview with Dave Verellen of NRWS

Preface by Nik Christofferson
Interview by Nik and Matt Abramson

Photo courtesy: ©2009 Sam Marble

Dave Verellen, former vocalist of the local and beyond influential sonic destructors known as Botch, once again staked his claim in Seattle’s heavy music scene at a recent one-off performance with his current musical outlet, Narrows (NRWS). With the help of his commanding stage presence and brute force delivery, Narrows’ performance left everyone willingly bludgeoned and weary, including Matt and me. It was immediately clear that Dave had returned to very comfortable and familiar territory as vocalist and stage leader of another extremely heavy yet melodic genre transcending juggernaut, and by the end of the show seemed to kick start a new chapter in his legacy as one of the Northwest’s most revered and beloved frontmen.

Dave V was gracious enough to allow us to ask him a few burning questions, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring you a little peak into the seemingly humble yet ferocious performer responsible for the bestial roars on such decisive records as “We Are the Romans”, “American Nervosa”, and most recently Narrows’ 2009 release “New Distances”.

Here is our talk:

Nik: At what point did you decide that you wanted to get back into heavy music?

Dave: It was summer 2006 when Rob Moran had just moved to Seattle and he showed up at one of my backyard BBQ's. He just asked me to do music with him and I never thought twice about it. Roy had slowed down and I was excited about just playing with Rob. When he recruited Dav Tafoya, John Spalding and my brother Ben for the first incarnation of NRWS, I was really excited.

Matt: Who or what influenced your vocal style?

Well John Pettibone showed me that you could yell into a mic, and as for voices I really dig Justin Pearson circa Struggle, Tim Singer of Deadguy, and Charles Maggio from Rorshach...

There are others but those ones really stand out in my mind.

Matt: Ever have trouble with blowing your voice out? Do you have a certain warm up regiment?

Dave: Yeah, it’s weird on tour when we play night after night I am fine, but the first show is usually a little rough. As for a warm up I just drink lots of water and if it feels rough afterwards I’ll actually limit my talking and rest it.

Nik: As a front man you really grab a vicious hold of the crowd and by the reaction at the recent one-off Seattle Narrows gig the hometown fans seemed very excited to have you back at the helm. How did it feel to be back up front in that context again?

Dave: It felt really really really great. I don't feel like a showman or anything I just do what comes into my head and have fun. I know Seattle is a tough crowd and I’ve seen how great bands just get the 'silent arms folded/clap at the end of the song' treatment which kills me cause then we play and its mayhem and sweat and piles of bodies like it should be, like I remember it being, I wonder why. I remember getting that feeling in Baltimore on our recent tour and I just said, " this next song is about taking your hands out of your pockets you fucking fucks!" then we played, and then I felt like a jerk for calling everyone fucks and I apologized....but it kinda worked. Anyway being well received at home is a great feeling.

Nik: How did Narrows come about, who did the recruiting for the project?

Dave: It's pretty much Rob's baby; he's the common denominator amongst all of us. After we lost the Dav, Ben, and John, we snagged Ryan who brought Jodie. Sam and Rob were pals in San Diego so we gave it a whirl and the NRWS was born. We just operate strictly part time and whenever we could get together we tried to at least write and/or record something.

Matt: How difficult is it to come up with vocals in such odd meters? Is the writing process collaborative or are parts usually set prior to vocals being written?

Dave: With NRWS the guys wrote all the parts and arranged them, and then I’d get 4 track versions and write my parts to them. It's not difficult to me cause it’s typically how I hear the song going... there are times when I wanted to fit something in and it seemed like it would work but then in the studio it just wasn't happening so we would improvise.

Matt: How has your lyrical content evolved over the years? Is there a particular subject or focus for Narrows?

Dave: I don't hold myself to any sort of lyrical subject just because I’m not sure I could. As for evolution, I'd hope my lyrics are on par with stuff I’d done in the past, but being out of music for awhile definitely forced me to knock the rust off....

Photo courtesy: ©2009 Robin Laananen

Nik: You guys did a short tour with TAAS last December, and now it looks like Narrows have a tour planned for the spring in NYC and Europe. What are the band’s long term goals, and is this something that you personally see yourself doing for awhile? More records? More touring? World domination?

Dave: It's pretty doubtful that a part time band could achieve world domination... We just have been setting goals (thanks Civ) and trying to meet them one at a time. First was get together and play... then to record something... to play some shows....tour the US...now Europe... and I don't think Rob or I want to stop until we get to go to Japan and Australia which are places we've never been to and played before... We'll stop if it becomes a chore or our friendships are at risk, after all it’s all about having fun.

Nik: Who else is involved with the Spring Tour NYC and Europe tour? Any other Deathwish bands?

Dave: I'm hoping Acid Tiger will get on that show as well, as long as Ben can do it. We tried to talk Heiress into coming out for it, as it's kind of our split release show but we'll see. Europe is just us and local bands so it should be awesome.

Nik: What bands/records inspired you get into music in the first place?

Dave: Whew... that’s a tough one. For me it was bands like Helmet, GnR, and Metallica until I discovered Undertow and after 3 years of Sunday Matinees at the Velvet Elvis in Seattle, shows at the Old Redmond Firehouse and seeing all kinds of bands in basements I was hooked. Some records I listened to a lot were/are Slip, 13 Songs, Ritual, Life, Love, Regret, Meantime, Dear You, Drive this 7" Wooden Stake Through My Philadelphia Heart, Fixation on a Coworker, Protestant, Angel Wings..... There are lots...

Nik: Any bands are you currently digging from the Northwest that people should know about? Non-local?

Dave: Well after touring with Trap Them a bunch I think everyone should get their record, it’s great. Helms Alee, Heiress, Canon Canyon, Mico de Noche, Black Breath.....

Matt: What’s the best heckle you’ve ever got, and what was your best comeback to a crowd? They don’t have to be from the same show.

Dave: Well I love a good heckle; at Che Cafe with NRWS I was wearing some black boxer briefs from Banana Republic. I was bent over and some "uber punk guy" was like "nice underwear banana republic!!" and I blushed a little, then his buddy said, "HA SKID MARKS!!! " and the whole crowd laughed... my comeback was "why do you think they're black?" but the PA sucked and nobody heard me...not that it mattered I’m not too good at the comebacks I just take it.

Matt: Let’s say you lost a bet. Now you have to either live solely on Taco Bell bean burritos for a month (and no fire sauce) or wear only a pink g-string both on and off stage for a whole week while touring. Which one do you choose?

Dave: Well I could hurt myself and my immediate company by eating those awful burritos or I could hurt the entire world and wear a g-string.... I’m gonna go with the greater good here and eat those bean grenades.