The late 90s and early 00s were an amazing period of growth for the emo scene, and pioneers Time Spent Driving were a band full of influence and promise in that time period. The band recently returned with the standout album, Estrangers (out now on Negative Progression Records). To celebrate the band’s first full-length since 2015, frontman John Cattivera has joined us for another in our Roll of the Dice interview series.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview and congrats on the release of Estrangers. This is your first full-length since 2015, what was going on at the time that helped rekindle and kickstart the process?
In general, getting things done nowadays has proven to require a significantly longer time compared to the past. After our reformation in 2012, it took approximately three years to release our previous album, “Passed and Presence.” Despite wanting to maintain that momentum, there were a lot of obstacles that slowed us down. Firstly, the arrival of a whole load of babies played a role – I welcomed my second son in 2014, our drummer had another child, and our guitar player became a father, not once but twice. This led to a hiatus in getting together to play, and a considerable break from shows, hindering the collaborative process of refining our songs.
Secondly, as the owner of a design agency experiencing substantial growth, I found myself dedicating a significant amount of time, energy, and stress to its management. While I continued to write intermittently, it became a more fragmented and sporadic process. Thirdly, we faced the departure of our bass player, necessitating the usual transition period to integrate a new member into the band.
Then came the major disruption: the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. We were halfway through recording the new album and finalizing the remaining songs when everything ground to a halt due to lockdowns. Additionally, we had to navigate the departure of our bass player (again—historically bass players to us have been the equivalent of drummers for Spinal Tap…), and bring a new member on board to complete the writing and recording process. Lastly, this all happened amidst busy schedules, coordinating recording sessions with our engineer in a scattered manner, and the multitude of tasks required to release the album – including mixing, mastering, design work, and signing with a new label. Well, that turned out to be quite a long-winded response, but hey, you asked!
What did you want to see happen with the record?
We’re just excited to get it out there after all the stops and starts, especially for the fans that have hung in there with us all along, but I think it goes without saying that we want to reach new listeners. Also excited to be putting out vinyl for it too—none of our previous full-lengths have had vinyl.
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
I mean where do I start? Our bass player at the time, Keith, falling off the back of the stage while playing in Flint, MI? Crashing our van on the way to breakfast in Arizona while arguing about whether we should go to Cracker Barrel or Waffle House? Randomly ending up playing at John Fogerty‘s house down in Beverly Hills at his daughter’s 16th birthday party? Touring overseas? Heckling each other until we are uncontrollably dying laughing? We’ve done nowhere near what a lot of bands have done but between the experiences I’ve had in this band, and others, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
I’ve got some friends in a few newer local bands called Born Jealous and Hot Lung—both worth checking out. Our bass player also plays in a metal band called Kavalkade.
Check out Helen Earth Band and Siberian for some little-known bands that have great records. Maritime is also a super underrated band.
As far as current stuff, check out the new Blonde Redhead record, Mannequin Pussy, Drug Church, and the latest Laura Jane Grace stuff.
I don’t know, there’s a of good stuff out there. I should do a playlist of some good stuff sometime soon.
What’s next for the members of Time Spent Driving?
We’re looking forward to continuing to support this album in whatever ways we can. Hoping to do some regional shows here and there once the vinyl is out, but if something more substantial comes up that’d be fun.
In addition, I wrote an entire new record worth of songs late last year/early this year that I’ve been really excited about. We’re already in the studio recording those, and the idea is to move a lot faster with things from here on out when it comes to putting out new music. I have a revived level of energy and inspiration over the last couple of years and I feel like I have a lot more output in me, and am improving on my craft.
Lastly, I’m starting a new side project that’ll be maybe in more of a heavier/faster/louder vein, leaning more to the punk side of things I guess. We still need to nail down a drummer, so we’ll see how that materializes, but there are already about 5 or so song ideas on the table, so things might come together relatively quickly. It’s all with dudes I haven’t played with before so that’s pretty refreshing.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
If anyone wants to reach out to me directly—do it, I get back to everyone’s PMs, like connecting with new people, and am happy to chat about anything. Toss our new album on and give it a shot. If you dig it, share it with your friends on social and all that good stuff. That kind of stuff really helps bands get their music out there, gain new followers, etc., so it’s appreciated.
Thanks!
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
