A Dirty Dozen with DAVE PERRY from FEAR OF WATER – March 2024

According to a recent press release: “Fear of Water is a one-man-band created by Dave Perry out of Austin, Texas. Born clinically deaf, the consumption & creation of music has been a critical aspect of his recovery and a central focus of Dave’s life. The newest release by Fear of Water “One Day” is a heart-wrenching collaboration between Perry and vocal power house Heidi Shepherd of Butcher Babies. The mournful riffs and powerful cadence of “One Day” explores the profound bond formed between mother & son escaping an abusive household and then faces the inevitable loss that comes with time. The gripping vocal chemistry of Perry & Shepherd is sure to touch fans of alternative, rock and anyone who can connect with this story.” We get Dave to discuss new music, influences, and more.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

I am excited to have two VERY different singles in rotation right now: “Systemic” featuring Aaron Nordstrom of Gemini Syndrome & “One Day” featuring Heidi Shepherd of Butcher Babies. These two songs really run the emotional and dynamic gamut while still being distinctly Fear of Water. Let’s start with “Systemic” – without having met him yet or knowing he would be involved, I definitely had Aaron’s signature style in mind when writing this song. He’s such a unique vocalist with a cool sound that I knew would work perfectly for the song so I was very pumped when I learned he was confirmed to collaborate with me. I started writing this song the day that Roe v Wade was overturned; I am increasingly concerned about government overreach in our country, especially when it’s directly influenced by Christianity or any religion. All citizens of this country of all faiths (including no faith) should be absolutely & unequivocally protected from that behavior by our government. Aaron & I work shopped the lyrics to make sure that message was clear. There’s a lot of cool polyrhythm grooves throughout the song that I think drummers will appreciate. My goal was to make the song as syncopated & musically interesting as possible without losing the driving groove that the average listener can synch into on the first listen. “One Day” was almost an entirely opposite approach. 99% of the time I write a song, I start with the music and then write lyrics that flow from the emotion elicited by that music. This time I started with lyrics and the emotional concept that I felt compelled to express. The song explores the complexities & pain of the inevitable loss of our parents; something that I extensively struggle with. Finding the guitar lines, synth parts and vocal melodies to match the predetermined lyrics & emotional tone was a good challenge for me. Working with Heidi took the song to a whole new level. She is an *outstanding* aggressive metal vocalist but it was amazing to get her out of that comfort zone. Her emotion and vulnerability on this song perfectly matched what I set out to create. So incredibly grateful to have her involved.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Wow, that is tough to articulate succinctly. I was born clinically deaf and faced an incredibly tough & long road to recovery. Music was an integral part of that recovery process through my childhood. I experienced several key moments because of music that truly unlocked all of my cognitive abilities. I knew I was made to be a musician and could never live with myself if I ignored that reality.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

The musicians who have had the biggest and most prolonged impact on me as a musician are Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl & Clint Lowery. They have all shown me the different paths a multi-instrumentalist can take in their respective genres. They’ve all also overcome terrible tragedy, death of loved ones, legal battles, addiction and more. They’ve inspired me as artists & humans and continue to do so to this day. All three of those men are at the top of their game after all these years.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl & Clint Lowery for their multi-Instrumental abilities. Steve Vai for his mastery of guitar and genre bending approach to song writing. Thomas Newman is my favorite film composer; he does a phenomenal job of translating the visual representation of emotion into music.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I think creating an epic sonic landscape with Trent Reznor would be absolutely amazing. I would love to sit in a studio with him for an entire weekend and just explore every piece of hardware & software we could get our hands on.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I would summarize Fear of Water as unconventional melodic hard rock with progressive, orchestral & electronic elements. I can’t think of a band for the second part of the question but people constantly comment on my videos that I look like Seth Rogan & Shia Lebouf which gets pretty old.

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

It’s like being fluent in an ancient poetic language. The journey of learning that language is incredibly difficult but fulfilling. Finding other people who speak that language is an incredible part of life.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Great question! Dave handles most of the cooking duties, though he’s far from great. While Dave is in the kitchen, Dave is our resident bartender. While Dave & Dave are keeping the troops fed and happy, that’s when Dave breaks out the acoustic guitar and bongos. There’s great chemistry among us! Also Fear of Water is a one-man-band 🙂

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

I had the incredible joy of meeting Dave Grohl and talking to him for about 20 minutes at Sonic Temple in 2023. It was a total bucket list moment for me.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

I would love to still be in the music industry! My first answer would be producer; having the opportunity to help other musicians make their best work would be very cool. I think being in A&R would be great as well; there are so many talented & unique musicians out there waiting to be discovered.

11.  Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I wish I left Wisconsin (where I grew up) much earlier in life to find my community and get an earlier start in the music industry. The silver lining here is that my early life in the Midwest gave me time to build up life experience & business acumen which has prepared me to be successful later in life.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Probably The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. There  was so much hype and mystique around that album which Trent was recording in his converted funeral home studio in New Orleans. This double disc album was the next major release after the incredibly successful Downward Spiral which means Trent could have fallen into the trap of trying to recreate that album but he went a very different route. I believe that album is a sonic masterpiece and totally unique for its time, especially as the music industry was beginning to crumble in the age of Napster. That album means a great deal to me and I still revisit it fondly decades later.

FEAR OF WATER LINKS:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

Category: Interviews