Meet: Matt Bigland from Dinosaur Pile-Up interview

We’ve been much taken recently with 11:11, the lead single and title track from Leeds rock trio Dinosaur Pile-Up’s third album. A mixture of rock and old school Seattle grunge, the band have built a big following through riff and melody heavy tunes, and well recieved albums Growing Pains (2010) and 2013’s Nature Nurture. We thought it was high time we caught up with singer and guitarist Matt Bigland, and found out a little more about the bands upcoming album and plans.

You’re not long back off tour with Brand New, how was that – do you get on well with those guys?

The tour with Brand New was killer, as they always are, and yeah we get on really well. They’re just a really nice bunch of guys, and the whole crew is kinda of like a big family. So once you’re in it, you’re part of it you know? We started touring with them last year after Brian was listening to us on the radio, and it’s kind of grown into us being touring bro’s. It’s really nice.

And into a third album – can you tell us a bit about that?

Yup – it’s third album time and we’re pumped on it. We recorded it in January of this year, and we can’t wait for it to be out there. We keep on slipping in more and more songs of it into the live sets because we’re just so excited about the songs.

And how was the writing process for the record – did you write on tour, or between tours?

A lot of the ideas new record were messed around with in sound checks and rehearsals and stuff whilst on tour. And then after we would get home for a couple of weeks or whatever I’d spend time just fleshing them out. We were getting heavier and heavier live and I think that really translated into the writing of the record.

You worked with Tom Dalgety on the record – how did that come about, and how was he to work with?

Yeah we did – he’s great. He actually co-produced our second album Nature Nurture so I already had a working relationship with Tom. We get on really well and have a lot of the same influences when it comes to rock and metal and everything. So when I was demoing the new stuff he was immediately on the phone asking to hear it. We were all really pumped to have him on board.

Was there any influencing factors in particular with this record? As in music or literature or film that was inspiring the words, or the music, or the vibe of the whole thing?

Not as such – I usually take most of my inspiration from real experiences. So the past year of solid touring kind of fuelled the writing.

It sounds like this record might be a bit darker, or maybe starker – is that fair, or not?

Yeah for sure. It’s definitely the heaviest record we’ve done – but it’s also our most accomplished from a general point of view. It’s also the first record we’ve made as a band, instead of me recording it all on my own. So that shaped how it sounded and how we put it down and everything. It was awesome. I think that’s how we’ve kind of been able to harness the sort of energy we have live and put it on to the album.

We really like the single and title track from the record – can you tell us a little bit about that?

11:11 was one of the first songs that we all felt had a place on the record. After that, all the other songs started to fall into place and it was easy to see what fit together on the album and what didn’t. It was the song Tom Dalgety heard first I think. I’d been holding back from sending anything to him for ages so my manager sent it to him without telling me and Tom rang me up freaking out about it. Then I was like ‘shit – better send you the rest of it’. It’s something we threw around in rehearsal and liked to play just because it was stupidly heavy.

And you’ll tour the record later in the year? You must love touring, right? What the essential packs in the suitcase before you head off?

Yeah we start touring round the world in August. We’ll be round Japan and India. Then I think we’ll hit the UK later like October or November. We LIVE for touring. We just like being on the move and playing shows. I think the most essential thing to remember in essential packing is not to pack too much. It’s taken us about 100 tours to realise you’re never gonna wear half the shit you bring – so just don’t bring it. Deodorant, Touthpaste, t-shirt, jeans – see you later.

And whats rocking the tour bus/practise room stereo right now?

We love it when bands we meet on the road or fans at shows give us demo CDs or mix tapes – it keeps it fresh for us and sometimes we come across killer bands we love. Right now we’re spinning a US band called Rozwell Kid. It’s like heavier original Weezer. It’s killer.

How do you think you’d cope in a Zombie apocalypse?

Probably pretty badly. Like everybody. Thinking about it gives me anxiety. I dunno – I’d probably try get a gun and a walkman with Rage Evil Empire on it and see how I get on.

Any other plans for the year?

Apart from kicking ass? Not really.