Ex-Cuesta Drive’s Dane Drewis Takes His Music Solo”¦
Well, Sort of”¦

With the disbanding of Cuesta Drive last year, lead guitarist and vocalist Dane Drewis refused to go quietly into obscurity. Drewis’ work ethic speaks for itself as he’s already completed his solo record, Rock & Soul, and scheduled a release party April 30, 2010 at Harlow’s. The album may bear his name, but it’s largely a product of a strong family bond woven by generations of musicians.

Honestly, the connection is there. While discussing the minor details of composing the drums on the record, Drewis said he listened to a lot of modern music, including sampling drum sounds from N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes. “We definitely studied modern production, even if they were not our style, to listen to the tones they were getting on guitars and drums,” he said. “The music itself still has the classic rock, bluesy, funk and soul edge to it.” He even listened to Lenny Kravitz, admitting he was not a fan of the musician, but an admirer of his production value. “We listened just to understand that if we could put my playing with that tone it would be awesome,” he said. “No one will ever know. It still sounds like our jazzy jam band sound.”

Let’s talk about your family’s involvement in the production of the album.
I guess I’ll start from the beginning. My parents were jazz musicians. They played in cover bands throughout ’70s and ’80s. That’s what they did full time, until they had their second kid, my sister Deena, then they had to get real jobs.

Both my sisters are very musically inclined. I tapped them on the shoulder for the album to come out and sing. Actually, my whole family came out to sing in the studio for the song “Friday Night,” which is the single we’re pushing. We did group vocals and individual vocals. My little sister Janel and I have written a couple songs and Deena is a really good writer. She works for a publishing company called Flatmancrooked. So she’ll shoot me lyrics all the time. We’ve done a couple gigs together, just fooling around. We definitely rehearse at home, but we’ve never got a full, official band going. But, it’s always been a possibility in the back of my mind.
 
Since you’ve got your family involved in the recording, do you think you’ll invite them on stage to sing with you at your release show or one of your local gigs?
Well, my little sister is opening for me at Harlow’s for my record release party. She’s 18 and she has no idea how good she is. I always joke that someday I’ll be opening for her. My dad plays bass for me now. But, we’ve talked about doing a couple songs together live. At the Cuesta Drive CD release show two years ago I had both my sisters and my mom come sing backup on a couple songs, but it was so loud. They’re not used to loud rock stuff. They had a hard time hearing themselves through the monitors.

Definitely a possibility. It would be really great to capture on video since we’re filming the whole show. I’ll leave it undecided to surprise people if we do it.
 
How has music being the family business strengthened the bond between your parents and your siblings?
It’s come to fruition more so lately than it has in the past. All through high school I was anti-jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. I was into hip-hop. My parents couldn’t stand it. I didn’t touch a guitar until I was 19. I got one in college.

My parents own a restaurant, Strings Pizzeria on Bradshaw, so we’re all working there, but music is our outlet. It’s a way to relax, let loose and de-stress. It’s the number one activity we all participate in, besides working at the restaurant. We do an open mic [at Strings] every Tuesday. When Janel is home, she comes and sings. My dad and I are always there, so it’s our new thing we do.
 
So it was never a family tradition to sit and have a drum circle after dinner?
No. When I moved home from college about four years ago, it changed. We’d be sitting around and after a couple glasses of wine that’s when it would start happening. My parents’ friends would make us play or something.
 
One of the write-ups on you said that because you were raised in a musical family it was inevitable that you’d be a musician. That notion struck me as strange, and I wanted to know if it felt that way.
It is kind of strange. It was a huge compliment, but so much of it is behind the scenes grinding and self-promotion that takes a strong personal drive. A lot of my friends are incredible musicians and I look up to them, but they don’t have the motivation beyond singing a couple songs around a campfire.
 
With the idea of inevitability toward music in mind, did you have a rebellious stretch where you didn’t want to go into the family business? Maybe during your hip-hop days?
I did. My parents joke that all Asian kids play piano, and my parents made me play when I was a kid. I played for two years, and I was pretty good. The day they said I didn’t have to take lessons anymore, I was 14 and I stopped that day.

I couldn’t stand all the stuff they listened to when I was growing up; all the Motown, lots of bossa nova and Latin jazz. I heard it millions of times, but went out of my way to block it out of my mind. Now that I’m older it’s coming back in waves I would never have imagined. They never really pushed it on me. When I asked for a guitar for Christmas, while I was in college, it took them both by surprise.

I heard Led Zeppelin for the first time when I was a senior in high school. That’s how into hip-hop I was. I used to be able to go through whole DMX and Tupac albums word for word. In hindsight, I listen to those records now and there’s a lot of musical stuff going on there. It was my way of rebelling, but it led me here. Couldn’t have been that bad.
 
Since your dad is a seasoned musician, has he given you any tips for the road of touring?
He tricked out my van, gave me his amps and some of his guitars. My mom is worried because he’s going out on the road with me.
 
She knows what the road is like, too.
She’s having a heart attack. She knows how much we drink and smoke. She’s like, “Keep an eye on your dad.” But, I’m thinking, “Keep an eye on my dad? He’s supposed to keep an eye on me.”
 
What’s the status of Cuesta Drive?
I think we’ll do a couple of reunion shows here and there. Thank God we’re still on great terms. It got to a state of the union last year about this time. We sat down in the back of Sweetwater and had a huge talk. We’d just finished that music video for “Rollin’.” We’d been a band for five or six years and we discussed what it exactly it was we were doing. I was pushing for buying a van, getting on the road, quitting your day jobs, be prepared. Originally that was the plan, but you know how guys are, they don’t talk about their feelings and shit.

We’re all gung ho as far as playing music, but our bass player Timmy got into grad school in Idaho on a long shot. We just kind of went our separate ways. I can always see us getting back together to play and jam, but right now I’m trying to make this my career. I have the drummer from Cuesta Drive still; he plays with me live. Timmy is coming home in May and is already talking about doing a couple shows. Why wouldn’t we? I’m sure we’ll always do a couple reunion shows—kind of like The Police [laughs], but on a small scale.

Dane Drewis will celebrate the release of Rock & Soul at Harlow’s April 30, 2010.

Cuesta Drive’s Dane Drewis Plays Favorites

Sacramento’s own rock/pop/funk outfit Cuesta Drive is gearing up for the release of their sophomore album, Distractions. The diverse 15-track record is surely something to be proud of and lead singer/guitarist Dane Drewis confessed it was tough to choose his favorite track. “I have to admit, we have had a really hard time picking our single,” Drewis recently shared with Submerge.

“So, we decided to let the fans decide,” he continued. “We want them to listen and e-mail, Myspace or text us with their favorite choice.”

So, Sacramento, here is your chance to put your two cents in and let your voice be heard. Cuesta Drive will officially release Distractions on Saturday Dec. 27 at Marilyn’s on K. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and the $15 cover charge includes a copy of the new record. After you cure your hangover the next morning from a fun-filled party night, listen to the CD in its entirety, choose your favorite track and let the band know! You might just hear your choice on local radio stations and think to yourself, “I chose that one!”

Despite his busy schedule getting ready for the release show, Submerge recently caught up with Drewis to talk about some of his favorite (and least favorite) things in life. Be sure to check out www.cuestadrive.com for more details about the band, tour dates and links to buy their music.

Favorite records of all time:
1. The Beatles: I’m not going to narrow it down to a single album, that’s not fair.
2. Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie (the 8th) Wonder of the World: His genius and talent drop my jaw on a daily basis. I still can’t believe someone can have so many incredible pieces of music.
3. Thriller – Michael Jackson: In today’s world we lose track of the art of “albums,” myself included, because of MP3s and song downloading etc., so you rarely sit down and listen to an entire album from front to back. Thriller is amazing; even today’s generation would think that it’s a “best of” compilation, but it’s not. That album was and still is that strong.

Favorite concerts you’ve attended:
1. Steely Dan: Holy jeez, some of the most ridiculous musicians I’ve ever heard/seen in my life. I think it’s cool as hell that the old guys still throw it down.
2. Tower of Power: My dad raised me on East Bay Grease, among other things. But seeing Tower play live, from a musician’s standpoint, it doesn’t get any better than that. They are what every band’s chops should strive to be.
3. Amos Lee: I just recently started getting into him. I do have to admit Mike [Camilleri, Cuesta Drive guitarist] introduced me to his music over a year ago, but I wasn’t quite ready yet for some reason. I went recently to see him at the Fillmore and he blew my mind. His songwriting and vocals are so strong; I don’t think I blinked, just stood there mesmerized for the entire show.

Least favorite concerts you’ve attended:
1. I don’t think I’ve never been to a concert that I severely disliked. If that happens, I usually find a way to distract myself. I’m pretty picky when it comes to choosing concerts, and even if it is not what I was hoping for, I always can focus on something else like the sound engineers, lighting, stage crew etc; that stuff always interests me.

Favorite shows you played in ’08:
1. Crawdad’s on the River on Memorial Day weekend: This is our second year in a row doing it, and the crowd is wild. The show is always great because everyone is feeling good and ready to party, all we have to do is plug in.
2. Our bass player was out of town for a couple weeks this summer, so we had a string of about five gigs with my dad on bass. He’s a guitar player by trade, so bass was relatively new to him, but he did an incredible job. Jamming on stage with my dad for those shows was something I will never forget.
3. Marylin’s on K, Thanksgiving weekend: This was our “pre-CD release show” and it turned out great. Tons of people came out to support and it was the first big show for our new drummer Jason Weed. We had been on a little hiatus while finishing up the new album, so it felt really good to get back on stage and turn up. I’m pretty sure the crowd enjoyed it as much as we did.

Favorites things to write songs about:
1. Love or lack thereof: Someone the other day told me we are like Romantic Funk Rock (haha), which made me finally realize that most of our songs are based on females. At first I thought that was a bad thing, and that we needed to start focusing on other topics. But you can only write about what you’re feeling at the moment, you have to capture the “now” inspiration, and for both Mike and I, that’s what comes out.
2. Miscommunication.
3. The trials and tribulations of getting through everyday life: That may sound cliché, but it’s the truth. Give the album a listen and you can decide for yourself.

Favorite things to do in and around Sac:
1. Playing shows is our favorite thing to do by far. I don’t think there is anything else we would rather be doing. I like to get out and play/jam every night if possible. I try to invade local open mics and sit in with people whenever they let me.
2. Drink profusely. Is that bad?
3. Barbecue in the summer: Nothing like sitting around on a lazy Sunday with friends, not having a care in the world. We definitely did a lot of that in San Luis Obispo, and if things go right, we’ll never stop.
4. I love to golf, but haven’t found enough time lately.

Favorite local watering hole:
1. The Dirty Bird, baby: I used to live about 50 yards from Club Raven. Big ups to Jimmy and Brad!
2. 2me is my new watering hole. Can never go wrong there.
3. Old Ironsides: I love going to open mic night with Lare Crawley and listening to him entertain the crowd. Good times.

Favorite movies:
1. Dumb and Dumber: Comedic genius. Anyone who is friends with us on Myspace knows I quote it regularly.
2. The new Batman: Awesome”¦.except when he talks.
3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall: I wish Aldous Snow was real.

Favorite TV shows:
1. Entourage: But I don’t have cable so I’ve watched season one on DVD about 20 times.
2. 30 Rock: Genius.
3. I know Mike wants me to say It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and he’s right, that shit is funny.
4. Flight of the Conchords: It’s business time.

Favorite gifts you’ve gotten for Christmas:
1. Uggs: Say what you will about a guy in Uggs. Just know this: It’s like foot sex.
2. My 1982 Gibson 335: My dad bought it the year I was born. It has yet to be showcased at a live show. I want to make sure I’m worthy of it before I bust it out. That guitar is an absolute masterpiece, sonically and aesthetically.
3. My Vintage pre-CBS Fender Vibrolux amp: My dad held on to it for a long time and gave it to me last Christmas. I’m afraid to play it, because it sounds so good and everything inside is original. I’m kind of afraid to wear out the original tubes you know? You can hear it all over Distractions, it’s pretty much on every song somewhere.