What was the beginning point for your music career? How did it all start?
You know, it’s really hard to say exactly where and how we got started on this path. Burnell and John started playing music together in high school, but each had started dabbling in music prior to this. I guess if you had to pick a certain time and place as the beginning of the concept of DYNORIDE, it probably would have to be a Smashing Pumpkins concert at The Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa in 2008. Burnell and John, who had not seen each other for years at this point, happened to reunite in the lobby at the event and shortly after the two started getting together to jam about once a week. We had intended for it to be an acoustic project, with no real intentions of doing anything beyond getting together and having fun making music. At some point, we decided to record some demos of the quirky songs we had worked up and in the process we realized drums were needed. Long time friend and drummer, Kyle Rohweder, came in and helped us flesh out these song ideas with drums and it was during this time the sound and concept for the band began to solidify.
Were there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
There isn’t anything convenient about creating or performing music and when you start to think of things in a business sense it gets even more muddy. We’ve gone through a lot of lineup changes. We had an entire album recording get lost. We’ve had injuries. We do and always will struggle with making time for music. In the big picture, though, all of this has been just a minor convenience. We’ve had a pretty good run.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
Every live performance is fulfilling and is something we look forward to. While we are known for our high energy rock shows, and that is our bread and butter, performing Christmas songs for seniors as our alter ego band, The Nice List, ranks very high on the list of precious memories. There is nothing better than performing for a group of people who are genuinely excited and happy to see you.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Quirky high-energy rock.
What is your creative process like?
Usually the songs start as riff ideas and if the riff hangs around long enough we eventually start to add lyrics. The writing is generally collaborative, but sometimes one of the members will come in with a fully thought out idea.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Most of the places where live music take place are not accessible or friendly to youth and along the same lines are also not great places to connect with potential fans. Playing typical venues, like noisy, crowded bars and clubs, where people are there for reasons other than being entertained, can suck your soul.
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
Don’t base your happiness or measure your success on any sort of external validation. Enjoy the creative process, performing, and spending time with your friends. Be mindful of your time and goals, but always have fun, regardless of what happens.
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
We’ve made tons of memories at this point, but two stand out: In 2021 we were asked to play Christmas songs for nursing home residents. We did the show acoustically and as we were getting ready to start packing up after the last song the activity director asked us if we could play Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Never in a million years would we have imagined playing this song for nursing home residents. While we were still in shock, the activity director came back with pom poms for the residents, just like the music video for the song. We rocked it!
The second story… we were the last band to play a gig in the restaurant below the Redstone Room and we had a hard curfew time. The bands that played for us went long. When it came time for us to play we had probably 15 minutes to get everything pulled together and play. So we did. We played the first song wearing our signature painter suits. It was the middle of winter so the suits, which are normally extremely warm, felt nice; however, this particular time, we had a nice surprise. Underneath these suits we were wearing swimming trunks and we had brought beach towels and beach balls. Between songs we revealed the swimming attire and launch balls into the crowd. We ended up playing 3 or 4 songs with as much excitement and energy as we could before the curfew came, but it was one of the most memorable nights.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
Probably stay at home dads.
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
We are now deep in planning mode, working out what we want to accomplish over the next couple of years. The last couple of years have been some of our best as a band and have encouraged us to put some more time and effort into what has been a fun hobby for us up until now. Our hope is to develop a bigger Christmas production that we can bring to theaters and larger venues, write some new material, and design some new merch. We have made it our mission to make our shows as fun, entertaining, and uplifting as possible and have started looking at all of the little details that go into creating the best possible live shows. Wish us luck!
