The Drought is Bringing the Heat to Kilby Court

Gone Fishin’ brought to you by K-UTE radio is happy to host The Drought as a part of our strictly-local lineup. I was lucky enough to speak with the band’s guitarist, Griffin, about the band’s history, the local scene, and the future of The Drought. 

Michaela: We’d love to get to know the band! Can you tell us how the members met and a little bit about your journey up to this point?

Griffin: Yeah for sure! I’m Griffin. I'm the guitar player and primary songwriter for The Drought. Our singer’s name is Emmie. She and I actually met when we were kids. We both went to the same elementary school and we didn't talk for a bunch of years. I saw her sing at a coffee house and I was like “I gotta get you in the band.” because her voice is so good. The drummer’s name is Jackson, he's been in the band with me for three years now. We’ve seen a lot of people come and go, so this is our final iteration. Maddex, our bassist, I think we found him in September or August of last year. I just found him through an ad at Guitar Center. We’re a close group, we practice a lot.

Michaela: Is there a story behind the name of the Band? Was that a collaborative effort too? Was it just one person that decided on it?

Griffin: The other guy that founded the band with me, he’s not in the band anymore, but he and I were thinking of band names for probably like a year, and all the good ones  were already taken. But, I think it just came to me one day and I was like “Ok. We’re gonna use that.” and it's not taken on Spotify. But yeah, I think the name has really helped define our music and define our message as a band.

Michaela: I noticed that going in and listening to your catalog…The natural imagery you have in a lot of the songs… And I also think it’s kind of relevant to where we live in the desert…Which I think is perfect…Gone Fishin’ is coming up and it’s taking place at Kilby Court. I noticed that one of your most recent releases is a live album recorded at Kilby Court. What does the venue mean to you as a local artist? Any fond memories of shows there or of the venue in general?

Griffin: Yeah, the venue means a lot to me. When I started the band with my old bandmate, our collective goal was to play Kilby Court. We spent almost a year trying to get there and finally we managed to book a show. We’ve played 2-3 times since. I get really really nervous before shows, so I tend to isolate myself, but I'll try to watch the other bands because they are always good. Kilby Court is so iconic and the sound is so good there. The sound people are so good. But yeah, that’s what it means to me. It’s like our stepping stone to say, “Now we are a legitimized band” kinda.

Michaela: Yeah, the atmosphere is singular, and it's awesome that you're able to play there over and over again. Speaking of the local scene, you've played with a lot of other local bands in different lineups at different venues. What does the support and community of these local bands mean to you? 

Griffin: Yeah, totally.  I think the band that we’re the closest with is The Lip. I actually used to play bass for them when I came to Utah. They’re great. We open for them, they open for us. We all acknowledge the struggle and that collaboration needs to happen if you want to make a name for yourself. The coolest thing about the local scene that I’m attracted to is the competition involved because there’s so many talented musicians here, and good bands, and good composers. Every time you see a show, you pick up something new and say “Ok, I'm gonna add this to one aspect of my song.”

I think that competition is not cutthroat but it is serious. And what I love about it is when I get on stage, I know that not only people are gonna be listening to the music, but they're gonna be watching how each and every one of us plays. How we all perform onstage, what we do between songs, how long it takes to do this, this, and that. And I love that part of it.

Michaela: It sounds like it's competitive but almost inspiring, too. 

Griffin: Absolutely. That's a great way to put it.

Michaela:  Earlier in our conversation, you mentioned your lead singer. Listening to some of your songs, it sounds like both of you have contributed vocals to some of your releases. Do you guys trade off writing duties as well?

Griffin: Yeah, the songs that I sing on are actually really old and they were with the old group. But we're gonna be releasing a single on August 1 that Emmie sings on, And you'll hear Emmie on the live recording on Spotify. But yeah, she’s been writing a lot of the lyrics for our new songs. So a lot of the writing responsibility falls on her now on our newer stuff.

Michaela: It's a pleasure to hear the different voices and it’s awesome that you give each other a chance to flex those muscles. Do you have a favorite song to play live?

Griffin: Yeah, I've got a few but I think my top favorite is called “Crossroads.” It’s a longer one, it's probably six minutes. I just think it's amazing, Emmie and I composed the instrumental part together too, so it's one of our few songs that has two guitars on it.

Michaela: I'm excited to get to hear it live at Gone Fishin; and you spoke a bit about your upcoming release “Portrait”. I'm super excited for it, I've heard the little snippet on your Instagram. Do you have any other upcoming shows or releases or shows you are looking forward to? I know you mentioned you're writing right now.

Griffin: We're releasing another song called “Holding On”, hopefully a week or two after “Portrait” drops. Our main focus right now is getting in the studio. It's tough to find reliable engineers and affordable studio time, but we're working with the bassist for The Lip, his name is Anthony and he helped us produce “Portrait.” 

Michaela: When it comes to the writing process, when you get everyone in the room, what does that look like?

Griffin: I think it's a pretty tight ship, usually. I'll come in with a chord progression or something and I'll bring it to the band. We workshop it for 20 minutes or so to give everyone a little part that they can work on. Honestly, a lot of our collaboration is done outside of the practice space. We do voice memos of everything we play and we practice all week so we can have it ready for the next time we’re together. I think that has been a pretty productive process just because hammering out a really good part in 20 minutes just isn't possible. 

Yeah, usually I'll bring a chord progression to the group and Emmie will say, “Ok, let's try these structural changes. Let's see what it would sound like if we changed the strumming pattern.” this, that and the next. Usually I'll have 2-3 parts of the song where I say “These things are not changeable and are not up for debate” But I like to make sure everyone has a stake in the song and everyone has a part that they are happy with and really excited to play because it makes them play the whole song better.

Michaela: When you guys started playing, or even as you continue to play, were there any initial inspirational artists that you bonded over or that you see show up in your music now?

Griffin: Yeah, definitely. Jackson and I, since we’ve been doing this the longest together, we both really respect The Police and Elliott Smith.

Michaela: I'm a big Elliott Smith fan. I love to hear that. 

Griffin: You should talk to Jackson about Elliott Smith. He’s obsessed. But when me and Frank, the old guitarist that started the group, we both started because we love The Beatles so much. But, Emmie has brought a really great singer-songwriter style to the band. I know she likes Phoebe Bridgers, she likes Lucas Neilson. She’s also classically trained so she likes a lot of classical music and jazz. And Maddex the bassist, he’s an absolute jazz fanatic. He can play like any jazz line on the bass. So he pretty much just listens to avant-garde music. So yeah, I think all that kind of melds the band and makes an appearance in our songs. 

Michaela: That’s wonderful, I think that’s something that will set you guys apart, and I’m excited to hear more from you.

To hear The Drought for yourself, be sure to make it to Gone Fishin’ on August 30th, 2024 at Kilby Court. You can get your tickets here now!