Interview with Die Tired

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

• I started playing music at age 8. I played violin in the school orchestra and I attribute a lot of my ear training and general understanding of music theory and songwriting to those early developmental days. In grade 7 my Uncle Frank bought me my first electric guitar and amp. Needless to say, I never looked back. It was this cool black squire with a sweet little combo amp that was perfect for getting started. I started riffing and was hooked from there. Me and my neighborhood friends at the time started a band and played my first gig at the 8th-grade talent show. Since then I have been in some type of band or music project. I’m not sure where I would be without music. It’s been such an integral and important part of my being.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

• I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I also like hitting the gym, traveling, and being outside. I’m influenced constantly by all of these things. Music is a vessel to express; it’s helped me cope with a wide variety of emotions and life experiences ranging from love to anger and pain. A lot of the things I experience and consume daily are all part of the fabric of who I am. When I go to write, this is my mechanism to deal with the journey and emote my experiences and perceptions. Even though I’m generally an outgoing guy socially, I tend to not talk a lot about what I’m thinking or feeling. My music allows me to speak.

How long has your band been around?

• Jim (bassist) and I have been playing together for many years now. We’ve been in different projects and bands. Sean (guitarist) came on about a year and a half ago and Brandon (drums) a little over a year now.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

• We are based out of Reading, Pennsylvania. There’s so much culture here it’s hard not to be influenced. We have such a diverse area demographically as well as socio-economically. There is always something going on from food and music festivals, to local gigs and art shows. It’s easy to be inspired by the vibe of the city as well as all the other great local artists. The hometown is incredibly supportive and offers a ton of opportunities for bands and artists to work. Seeing all the great music around the area also pushes me as a musician and competitor to keep pushing and striving to be my best. We are also not far from Philly and New York so you get a good amount of influence from these cities as well. Our area of the country also reflects the four seasons exceptionally well, which impacts moods and thematic ideas.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

• Our name was originally derived from the old Marine’s adage: “You can run, but you’ll just die tired.” Although one might assume that our music has ominous undertones and potentially dark themes, we look at it is a punk rock way of saying, “Carpe diem!”

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• This has to be last January at Willow Creek Brewery in Reading, PA. It was 7 degrees and we played and outdoor show under a tent outside. There were heaters, but I’d be lying if I said they actually did the job. Incredibly, we had a huge turnout and the tent was absolutely packed. We killed it and everyone had a blast. People still talk about it! We also just recently played live on regional news station WFMZ Channel 69. That was a pretty incredible experience to play live on TV for everyone watching and streaming at home.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

• The Bitter End in New York. This venue is so cool and historic. The fans are right up on you when you play and the vibe is always electric. Locally, we really dig the Nitro Bar in West Reading, PA. Now that I think about it, it has a similar feel to The Bitter End with the brickwork on the walls and overall vibe.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

• I call this “It’s a good day to Die Tired” Music Festival (in no particular order…)

  • Alice in Chains

  • Manchester Orchestra

  • Silverchair

  • Deftones

  • Teenage Wrist

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

• Stay open and resilient. Keep working on your craft and find people that share the same passion for your music.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

• Stop everything and go play that show at the Viper Room.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

• I would say our song, “Play.” This track is important for so many reasons. It was one of the real first songs we wrote together that made us think, “Maybe we really have something here.” I remember the song came together so quickly at practice that we knew it was special. This single also helped us get noticed by our label, SODEH Records. We wouldn’t be in the position we are in now without it.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

• Like I mentioned earlier, Play is a really important song for us. It’s also super fun to perform live. It’s been requested more and more at our live shows. We also have an unreleased track called “Slow Down,” which we’ve been playing out live the past few gigs. This has quickly become a fan favorite and it’s an absolute blast to play live. This track will be an upcoming release and we are super excited to share it out.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

• This varies song to song. Sometimes it’s guitar or bass riff at a practice. Sometimes one of us comes with a fully realized idea for the others to write parts to. Inspiration comes from various places to reflections on everyday life to fictitious stories and concepts.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

• I write about a variety of topics from love, loss, anger, to having fun. I’ve always felt music is a perfect medium to communicate the complicated nature of human existence. Selfishly, I will often use music and lyrics as a way to cope with so many difficult emotions and topics I experience and as a way to not bottle up everything. Sometimes, however, I’ll just write about some imaginary scenario or situation and have fun with it. For example, one of our current releases, “Whatcha Gonna Do?” is about a botched bank robbery.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

• Fortunately, we’ve been fairly free of anything like this. Let’s hope it continues this way!

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

• We plan to keep creating and writing. We have several more song releases in the works, which will likely coincide with other forms of media such as a music video, art pieces, and merch. We also see a “Live in Concert” film being done, perhaps mid to late 2023. We are also working closely with our label and expect a larger run of shows and other content coming along as well.

• On December 10th, 2022 we return to one of our favorite local venues, Nitro Bar. We’re throwing a big party to celebrate our new partnership with SODEH Records. Limited edition merch and a bunch of new songs to be played live for the first time. We can’t wait!

Responses by Matt DeAngelis – guitar and vocals