Sugar On the Dashboard ~ Discovery is Dead

Interviewing Sugar on the Dashboard is a funfest. The guys are talented, self-taught musicians, with a fabulous sense of humor. Three of the four band members joined me at the Amused Now Featured Artist interview: Brayden Gomer, who sings and plays guitar; Austin McEwen, who plays bass; and Ryan Calatayud, who plays drums. Guitar player Britt Spurka was unable to make the Hangout.

Sugar On the Dashboard recently released the EP Discovery is Dead. My favorite of the four songs is Somebody Else. I asked if Green Day influenced the band’s sound, because I really hear the influence in the song Innocence In a Sense. Brayden admitted, “Green Day is one of the bands that we definitely enjoy listening to.”

All the band members have diverse music tastes. Brayden likes 90s bands: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains and Queens of the Stone Age. Ryan listens to “a little bit of everything. Some of my drum beats come from rap songs that I try to make something different with a rock song.” Then, Brayden jokes, “Austin likes Creed and Nickelback.” Actually, Austin and Ryan have similar music tastes, “We listen to all types of music.”

Ryan started playing drums at age 12. “I formed a band with my best friend, and we got ourselves our first really big show.” At that show, Ryan met Brayden. “His band killed at that show.” Later, Ryan asked Brayden to join another band, and they have been playing together ever since.

Brayden started writing poetry before becoming a songwriter. He got a guitar when he was 10 years old. “I didn’t play it for the longest time, because I was so terrified of learning how to play. Finally, I started trying to learn chords and trying to write songs. Now, I’ve written a good number of songs, and (smiling) I’m in a band.” Brayden writes all Sugar On the Dashboard’s songs.

Austin has never been in a band before, and he never played bass until he met Brayden. Ryan and Austin have been good friends for a while. “I’ve been a football player for a majority of my life. I was a jock up until 7-8 months ago.” When Ryan and Brayden formed Sugar On the Dashboard, they were looking for someone to play bass. Ryan suggested Austin, but Brayden put the idea on hold. Eventually, Brayden gave Austin a chance, and the rest is history.

Sugar On the Dashboard uses social media to connect with fans. As Brayden describes it, “Social media is a really cool tool. It’s something that you’ve really gotta get a groove going. You go on Twitter ‘follow sprees’ and then 50 people message you back with questions. You talk to random people that you never met before; you talk to people all over the world. When they listen to your music and tell you that they like it, that’s the coolest thing ever!”

Ryan advises other artists, “Don’t get bogged down on what anyone else is telling you. You’re not an outsider if you’re not going with the wave. Just do what you want to do. If one person likes it or one million people like it, do what makes you happy. Don’t let someone tell you that you can’t do something, because that’s not popular.”

Brayden adds, “Be persistent, very persistent.” Austin jokes, “That’s very true. You’d be amazed by how many people told Brayden that he’s horrible, but he still does it! Really, Brayden has been very, very persistent and it shows. He’s been very successful with prior bands and with this one.” Austin encourages all aspiring musicians, “If you want to play an instrument and write songs, you can do that. A lot of kids are getting discouraged, but Brayden’s been the guy that says, ‘Get out there and write your own songs.’ He’s very good at what he does.”

On June 26, Sugar On the Dashboard opened for a band called The Nearly Deads at His Rock Music in Cumming, Georgia. In July, the band plays at Full Sail University on July 15, The Blast House on July 29 and Centennial Olympic Park on July 31. They play the Summer Shade Festival in August.

Go guys!

For a fun time, watch the complete video interview on the Amused Now YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/0XTHnekIfG0

The Amused Now Featured Artist Series

Sugar On the Dashboard
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Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now    
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