AltSounds: So your debut album on Interscope is in the works and it's a double! Tell me about the record.
Bobby Alt: We did one CD of all traditional drums with special guests. The other side is actual songs we worked on with Howard Benson. Frank played some piano on the drum album. We recorded it at Dave Grohl's studio, which was cool. We went to East West studios to record the other half of the drum CD.
Do you like being a frontman?
I'm having a blast! I feel like a kid again. It's like learning something new. The last year and a half I've spent singing and songwriting and becoming more of a singer. It's really fun.
How did it come about?
Natural progression at the time, I'd say. I've been drumming for 20 years or so. I thought I would try something new. It came out of nowhere and it adds another side to SDC. We're also having a fun time producing.
I know you all started as street performers, but this has obviously grown into something huge! You even have your own line of products... first question on that- did you ever even dream that you would become so famous?
I think as a kid, yes. I dreamt of playing music and traveling around the world and spreading the love... playing shows with my friends. It is what I have always wanted.
Second question on that- what are drum shoes?
We like to have a comfortable shoe when we're drumming. We started working on this idea... I don't want to give too much away, but it's kind of like a wrestling shoe and a converse. And we're working on using just vegan products to make these shoes.
Your performances are very elaborate and there are a lot of moving parts. How much time do you spend rehearsing before you hit the road?
Because we have so many different productions going, we like to get in a studio for a few weeks and bang out the ideas, for lack of a better word. For a show like Bang! we're always coming up with new performances for the street side. We're working on Man or Machine right now. It's going to take about a year of rehearsals before it's ready to go live.
So, when are you guys going to set up shop in Vegas for a year-long residency, putting on some kind of Cirque du Soliel/Criss Angel drumming extravaganza?
Actually, we're getting really close to that. That's one of our immediate goals. We want to have the big shows in big cities. We want to get it all out there. The Vegas show is maybe 5 years away. Oh yeah, we wrote a Vegas show called
Frantic about 2 years ago. We put it together and it's ready to go, so it's definitely coming.
In your opinion, who is the greatest drummer of all time?
John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. Favorite all time. Greatest that ever lived.
What is your favorite sound?
Right now it's a dirty synth... as dirty as you can make it.
How do you make a synth sound dirty?
You gotta put your back into it.
I'm going to write that song. Hey Nick, you want to work on that after this?
'Dirty synth...you gotta put your back into it...unh.'
[
laughs] We're going to make that happen.
[
laughs]
Do it! What is your earliest musical memory?
When I was 6 or 7, my grandparents and mom took me to see Tammy Wynette. I remember being so small... I still have the hat that I got there. I remember seeing the tour buses and the excitement and everyone sitting out on this big lawn in New Jersey... that's what I first remember.
My buddy, Nick from S.T.U.N. is here. Hey Nick, what is your first musical memory? He said KISS in Madison Square Garden.
You're a known activist and have taken on many causes. If you had to pick ONE issue everyone should know about, what would it be and why?
You can live a happy, healthy life without eating animal products. I try very hard not to. That's something that has been on my mind lately. At the moment, I am not a vegan. A couple of pieces of cheese have slid in there somewhere. It's delicious, sure, but there are good alternatives to it. I am definitely interested in working with animals and the food industry.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Meeting the friends that have helped me and I have made my career with. I've been able to keep doing this with my friends since I was 13 years old. The most amazing show I ever saw was Jane's Addiction. The first Lollapalooza- I was there. It has nothing to do with my success, but that's a definite musical highlight for me.
Well, that's my time. Thanks so much for talking with me and good luck with the new album!
Thank you! Hope to see you at a show.
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