By Jana Angeles
Being the only original member left from The Dillinger Escape Plan, lead guitarist, Ben Weinman is a wise man. Considering the longevity of the band’s career, Weinman’s insights on the music industry and its business side are topics he’s not afraid to speak about. There’s become a huge shift on how people digest information, making the world ‘digital’. “I think certainly it’s the Internet. It’s a great resource that’s also a homogenised culture because obviously everybody sees everything the same way at the same time. So, nowadays bands have a reference immediately,” Weinman explains as he talks about the Internet and the consumption of music online.
Through a digital platform, many musicians have a DIY attitude, providing them the opportunity to reach out to their target audience online. With Facebook and Twitter platforms existing, music no longer has a conventional way of being distributed. Musicians now have a choice to either sign with a label or promote their music independently. With scepticism still surrounding streaming music services such as Spotify, Pandora and now, iTunes Radio, Weinman states that there’s less control over how music is being promoted. “Music is available to everybody and an artist can easily get themselves out there [via Internet],” he continues. “The problem is that there’s no quality control. If someone is paying an artist, at least there’s some opportunity to be exposed on a larger scale.”
It’s hard to put The Dillinger Escape Plan in a certain music category. The beauty of this band is that their music thrives on its unpredictability; their instrumentation is complex yet invigorating. Since their last visit at Soundwave Festival, fans can expect the same energetic vibes in their upcoming shows next month. “I think our music is pretty unpredictable and even so, our music is more melodic than it used to be because we wanted it to be unpredictable even to our fans,” he continues. “On stage, we have no idea what the crowd is gonna do – it surely is kind of a free expression.”
With his passion for music, Weinman also assisted as a producer when it came to the recording process for the band. As an experienced musician, he was inspired to start his own record label, Party Smasher Inc, and this gave him the opportunity to work with musicians who shared his vision for making music; one that had no limits to creativity when it came to making their craft.
“I realise that I just wanna be part of building a community. There’s no reason that should stop from happening. I mean, I want to try a pedestrian outlet where my friends can network together,” He explains. “It’s really not about the style of music because we have no interest in sounding a certain way. I invest in people – that’s what I do. I invest my time, my emotion and my energy to people that I feel are doing it for the right reasons.”
The Dillinger Escape Australian Tour Dates
Friday, 28th August – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets: Oztix
Saturday, 29th August – Max Watts, Sydney (18+)
Tickets: Oztix / Maxwatts / Eventopia
Sunday, 30th August – Max Watts, Brisbane (18+)
Tickets: Oztix / Maxwatts / Eventopia
