| Screeching Powers Dustin Diamond and Evan Stone talk about Salty The Pocket Knife The Leader Dave Schrank November 11, 2003 Recently, I had an opportunity to chat with Evan Stone and Dustin Diamond from the band Salty the Pocketknife. Originally, this interview was supposed to take place on a Monday, but apparently Mr. Diamond had something better to do, as the phone never rang and the interview never took place. Fortunately, it was rescheduled for the next day, but, for lack of a better word, I was salty. I was going to let Screech know exactly how I felt getting blown off by a quasi-celebrity. And I would have done just that, if he wasn't so damn personable and if I wasn't so damn nice. So the interview took place, and it was a really good interview, one that I'm proud to share with you all. The Leader: Tell me a little bit about Salty the Pocketknife. Dustin Diamond: Well, Salty the Pocketknife is basically a collaboration of myself and Evan Stone. We form the bass and drums... Evan Stone: Ah, Dustin, you're breaking up. DD: There's nothing I can do: it's this Wisconsin weather, and of course Sprint. But anyway, Evan and I form the core of the band, the basic rhythm. Of course, the color added on to that canvas is provided during this album by Scott Ireland on guitar and rosebud on vocals. I guess to sum it up, it's a collaboration of odd-time grooves with very catchy melodies; basically like Mr. Bungle meets Frank Zappa. L: And how have the crowds been reacting to Salty? DD: What do you think, Evan? ES: How have the what? L: How have the crowds reacted to Salty? ES: They're pretty quiet, actually. (Here Dustin starts laughing, because I guess Evan made a funny and I didn't get it.) DD: He's attempting humor, which is falling by the wayside here. No, the crowds have been basically hit or miss. Some people in the audience are like "What the hell is this crap?" and they really don't know what they're hearing. The majority of the audience is shocked by the kind of music they are hearing and become instant fans. ES: We have a pretty crazy pyrotechnic show, actually, [because] we ask the fans to throw fire at us during our show. (Again, we all laugh because Evan made another funny.) ES: At this point, we just put the record out and we want to get as many new fans as we can so we can get out there and tour Japan. L: Why Japan? ES: I think Japan and Europe appreciates this kind of music more than Americans do. I think Americans appreciate [it]. I don't even think they have a choice really. I think they're just force fed music. DD: I would say you get a lot of eclectic and experimental types of music. In Europe they seem to be a little less afraid of breaking the American formula, and the American formula is such that that's why Britney Spears is big now. You have all these people putting money behind these cookie-cutter acts. ES: It's always been the same formula, they're just pop artists. DD: But in America, I think the world would agree, [it] kind of sets the trend. That's why you have U2 and Sting, all these performers from different countries that come to America. ES: But there are American bands that actually don't make it in America. They have to go overseas, and then they come back. Which I don't know if that's going to happen to us, but I would like that. DD: They love us in Budapest. (Now we laugh, because it was Dustin's turn to make a funny.) L: So what's next after the tour of Japan? (More laughter, only I'm not laughing; so I guess it would be an inadvertent funny.) DD: I think you have to realize that you gotta take Evan lightly. Dude, he thinks you're totally serious about only Japan. Let's put it this way, anyone in the world who wants to hear this music, that's who we want to get it to. Any human being on Earth. Like I said, there's going to be the majority of people who are going to get it, and some people are going to see this album as better used as a coaster. ES: The bottom line is, music is music, and if people are open enough to hear it, they'll appreciate it for what it is. People gravitate towards what moves them, and I don't like to be pigeon holed. Are we a progressive rock band or a math rock band? DD: Math rock...like we're all sitting around going "Divide by six, add four." ES: It's just music, and if people would close their eyes and without any preconceived idea of what it is, they are about to hear and make [their] judgment based on that. So, that's the gist of it. And you know what, you would be wise to take Dustin's and Evan's advice, because Salty the Pocketknife is definitely worth checking out. The first listen might be a little brutal, and also the second, but if you can get past those first few blistering times, this band will grow on you. Kind of like a fungus. |
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