He’s also aware that it takes a lot of loyalty and patience to be a fan of this band. “It is tough. And not only is it tough, but we’re a band that our next release probably isn’t going to sound exactly the same as this one. So if it was super hard for you to get into our last album, we’re not going to put out the same album again so it’s going to be just as hard to get into our new one. So I really am thankful they are willing to put in the work. That they do have the faith to know, or believe, that they are going to get more out of this if they put in the time.” Not that he’s got any false ideals of what sort of group they are, adding, “no-one cares of us anywhere (in the world), so it’s easy.” They’re about as big in the States as they are in Japan or in Australia as they are in Europe, a decent, comfortable size.
Oddly enough then that they were asked to appear on the Conan O’Brien show. “Yeah,” Greg laughs. “He’s about eight feet tall. It doesn’t help that I’m four feet tall. He’s literally double my height. First thing you notice when you meet him is that he’s way older looking than you think he’s going to be, they’ve got tones of make-up on that dude. But it is true, he’s really tall and the red hair.”
“That was a crazy experience,” he continues, “being on any type of national TV exposure is something I never thought in a million years this band would ever be able to do. It’s a testament to how cool that guy is, he let us on his show. I mean Mastodon was on Conan O’Brien and Lamb Of God. So he seems somewhat hip. We did the most we could without never being allowed on TV again. A lot of people were like, ‘why didn’t you play ‘Sugar Coated Sour’?’ They would not allow us to do that. They told us what song to play and it wouldn’t make sense to play ‘The Mullet Burden’ on TV or something like that. We would never have been allowed back.”
It didn’t stop him from climbing on top of Conan O’Brien’s desk, running into the audience and generally fucking shit up. Acting like they do when they play live pretty much. “We’re going into that guy’s house basically and you have to be somewhat respectful, (but) they were cool about everything, every single thing we did they were cool with. I think if someone came in my house and stood on my fucking dining room table I would be pissed off. But he pulled out a glow stick and went with it so it was a good time.”
Speaking of playing live, just how have the shows being going so far? “Great man, best shows I think we’ve every played,” Greg enthuses. “We’ve got a new line-up and I’ve been in this band for almost seven years now and I feel that the shows we’re playing now are probably the most consistent ever. We haven’t had a bad show since this line-up. I don’t think that we are going to have a bad show. I don’t think that necessarily every show is going to be ‘that was the best show ever,’ but if you consider things on 1 being the worst, 10 being the best, we’re playing pretty consistent 8’s or 9’s. So the odds of a 10 are way higher. Personally speaking we got along a lot better than we ever have. So when it comes to being on tour for stupid periods of time, like we already know we’re here for seven weeks, it makes it much easier when everyone’s getting along and there’s not like, there’s no personal problems. That and the confidence that you know you’re going to go onstage and have an awesome show.”
The line-up changes have of course been well documented, being a major talking point in all the interviews Dillinger gave just after Ire Works came out. Longstanding bassist Liam Wilson is of course still in place but drummer Chris Penne, who had been in the group since its first incarnation alongside Ben Weinman, left to join Coheed & Cambria. He was replaced by Stolen Babies sticksman Gil Sharone, while Jeff Tuttle, formerly of Capture The Flag and Heads Will Roll, stepped into the position of second guitarist, vacated by Brian Benoit who had to leave due to a nerve condition in his hand. Someplace out there someone has to be placing bets as to which band member is going to be knocked out of commission next.
The Chris Penne situation is something that may keep coming up in conversation but by this stage it’s hardly news. “Honestly we’re a month and a half away from Chris not being in this band for a year, so for me it’s old, but for everyone else they’re talking about it because the album just recently came out. But Chris hasn’t been in the band since almost last March. It’s old news to me man. I’m happy that he’s happy and like I said, we have never, ever been better as a band and we’ve never been happier as people. And that’s not because he’s an asshole or anything but sometimes things have to change and grow.”
One thing’s for certain though and that’s how happy Greg is with the current situation within The Dillinger Escape Plan. “Gil is in the band, Jeff is in the band,” he says, emphasising that these two guys are not just hired hands. “Obviously their roles are different to mine and Ben’s and Liam’s. Basically when the shit hit the fan with Chris, the three of us became a core and Jeff and Gil are members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, I’d never refer to them as not being in the band. Their roles are just different than ours right now. And when the time comes to write a new record their roles will probably step up, you know. But at this point in time obviously it’s not exactly the same. My role’s not the same as Liam’s role. His role’s not the same as Ben’s role. Everyone has their own thing right now, but it’s all important. We wouldn’t be able to play. We wouldn’t be on tour right now if it wasn’t for everyone that’s here.”
And there they are like some big, weird, noisy family. One that’s long overdue a trip to see the doctor.