It takes less than ten seconds of the first song from Dust Hat’s latest record to realize that one of New Haven’s favorite four-piece rock ‘n’ roll bands has made a great summer album, the kind that makes you want to get up and get down, even if you can’t do that with the band in person just yet. Come Back, the band’s first full length record, is set to be released one week from today across all digital platforms and soon after on vinyl, and they are eager to make you shake, vibrate, and smile.
“We’re far out and bizarre,” said Dan Soto, vocalist and bassist for the band, who along with vocalist and guitarist Brendan Toller, guitarist Jeff Slocum, and drummer Rob Ruby sat down via Zoom to chat (and laugh) about the making of the record, the maintaining of friendships while in a band, and the maze one maneuvers while trying to create rock ‘n’ roll in modern times.
The record began to come together in the fall of 2019, though Toller noted that the songs had been around much longer than that.
“Rob reminded us that some of these songs are three years old,” he said. “They’ve been around for a while, but we always kick around new ideas, see what sticks, and collectively work it out” — especially during their live shows, playing in New Haven “almost every month” until the Covid-19 shutdowns.
The band contacted Chris Ruggiero. who produced Dust Hat’s last EP at the now defunct Gold Coast. According to Toller, Ruggiero and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis convinced Peter Katis of Tarquin Studios — Grammy award-winning producer of The National, who has also worked with Kurt Vile and Arcade Fire, among others — to give the band weekend access.
“He gave us the graces to record there,” Toller said, with Ruggiero once again producing.
“It was pretty surreal,” said Ruby. “Our first time trying to do a full album and on our first try we got that. You gotta appreciate it.”
The band rehearsed for two to three months. Toller said band members were “super nervous” when it was time to track, but then ended up recording basic tracks for 11 songs in one day. “It was a surprise,” he said.
“It was an accomplishment,” added Soto.
In total it took three weekends to complete the recording, which was then mastered by Todd Tobias, who has also worked with Guided By Voices as well as The Right Offs and Mercy Choir.
Toller noted that the actual release of the album would have been earlier than July, “but we always get hung up on the artwork.”
“It’s Covid’s fault,” added Soto.
Toller explained further. “When you’re submitting vinyl, you have to have all the artwork and the masters set. We submitted it in February. We were going to play the tri-state area, try to do weekend things, all very opportune,” he said. Ruby added that the band had not yet played outside of Connecticut.
“It was then on track to come in early July, but then we thought, ‘do we want to save it?’ Especially given not just Covid, but the protests and focus that art has right now,” said Toller. “Art still has a place. Art is anti-capitalistic and anti- all this stuff we’re showing up to protest.”
“It comes from the right place,” said Soto. The band decided to go ahead with a July 3 release.
Ethan Weinstein Photo
Dust Hat
The four friends wanted any music they released to be just right, but they were also determined to have a good time creating it, and have that good time conveyed to their fans. The record “has a real rock ‘n’ roll feel, so we wanted to release it in the spring or summer,” said Toller — while Soto interjected: “Don’t say that. Let’s let other people decide what it sounds like,” eliciting laughter from the other three.
“We recorded everything to half-inch tape. It’s a big part of our sound,” Toller added, and then spoke about the band’s writing process. “I remember when we started to do original material, I was coming in with a lot and then I went on strike because I didn’t want it to be just me. That’s not a way to recognize and spotlight the talent collectively.”
“Each one of us brought at least one song to the album and the rest fine-tuned them,” said Ruby.
Soto expanded further. “This band, no matter who brings the song, we each have ideas we feel comfortable expressing. We always give it a fair shake. It’s not always that way in other bands. We collaborate and trust each other enough to make it better. I give us the double thumbs up. We’re the best band on earth.”
“We were mixing the album, and Dave Schneider walked in and said, ‘How come you guys aren’t fighting? What’s wrong with you?’” Toller said with a smile.
“Our tension is well curated,” said Soto. The rest of the band laughed again.
The band elaborated on their collaboration effort when talking about the song “Phantom Vibrations.”
“Rob came in with an instrumental written,” said Soto. “Brendan had lyrics. Then there was this middle section that no one could agree on what to do with. We played it live at the Space Ballroom and it was like, ‘Where is the other missing part of this?’ Then we were in the studio with so much time and me and Jeff made these Ravi Shankar moves, and that ended up being the secret of it all. We came up with our own version of a raga. It was the missing piece of ‘Phantom Vibrations.’ Brendan wasn’t too excited about it.”
Toller and the rest laughed in response.
“We took a rocking garage‑y thing and added psychedelic flourishes to it,” said Slocum.
“Chris told us to worship the song,” said Ruby.
And then there is the song “Kerlone,” which includes a smile-inducing manically improvised monologue by Soto.
“Rob and Jeff wrote [the music] and I improvised the lyrics over it,” said Soto “and we chose the ones we liked.”
“We did several takes and let him go on and on,” Ruby added.
“It was kind of unfinished and we wondered, ‘Should it stay instrumental?’” said Slocum. “It was Chris’s idea to have Dan do the monologue, He did make Chris laugh. He even fell on the floor. I have it on tape.”
“The title ‘Kerlone’ came from me mispronouncing ‘cologne,’” added Soto. “I was going for a character, my own personal take.”
“My dream is to put out all the takes,” said Ruby. “The topics are diverse.”
“Let’s talk about ‘I’ve said my piece,’’” added Soto. The rest of the band erupted in laughter, and Ruby elaborated.
“Every band when making their album has to talk about things, and there were things we didn’t agree on,” said Ruby. “For me I didn’t want to argue, so I would say ‘I’ve said my piece.’”
“It was an argument killer. I felt like it was a cheap move,” said Soto, again eliciting laughter from the rest. “We started to say it back to Rob, or at least I did.”
“It became a way to make things less tense. I think it’s pretty funny,” said Ruby.
“I don’t see the joke,” said Soto. More laughter ensued.
The album is full of originals, immediately catchy and fresh with a stern nod to the rock ‘n’ roll of old. There is even a cover of a classic that longtime fans of the band will recognize from their live shows. “Shot Down,” by the Sonics, “is the only song we recorded everything live to tape,” said Soto. “Chris mixed it in mono to add some authenticity and punch, the early rock ‘n’ roll style. We always play it live and I never get tired of it. People request it.”
“I get excited about it,” added Ruby.
“We love playing it so much and wanted to get it down,” said Soto.
“It’s a fan favorite,” said Toller.
“And it took a long time to get right,” said Slocum.
“I remember how in the zone you were,” said Ruby to Soto. “Your energy was so right and you just did it. It’s the truest, most true live Dust Hat captured sound.”
“These guys came to me and said, ‘Do you know this song?’ and I didn’t know it,” said Soto. “It’s the first song I ever sang with the band.”
As the band releases its album, its members have also returned to practicing together. They have held a couple of rehearsals and songwriting sessions in the past couple of weeks, something they sorely missed.
“We have fun in the practice space,” said Soto.
“That’s the main thing no matter what,” added Ruby. “I need it. I don’t do anything else. It’s such an outlet, such a release. With Dust Hat, nothing is out of bounds. We always give it one try, and everybody gets the benefit of the doubt.”
“We’ll try anything once,” added Soto.
Come Back album art
Something else the band tried for the first time, in lieu of being able to perform live, is a video for the song “Own My Soul,” an animated montage of photos of the band as well as many of their friends and fans, set to a sizzling slice of rock ‘n’ roll.
“Aesthetics are important and the way you present yourself is worth getting right,” said Soto. “I had taken all of these instant photos [on a Fuji Instax Neo Classic]. I haven’t posted a lot, so I said, ‘Why don’t we put them all together?’ We realized we had so many photos from shows all around and people supporting us.” It took Toller around five or six days to animate them for the video.
“It’s moving to me to see them all together,” said Soto. “I miss those days. I’ve been pretty stoic through Covid, but seeing all of those pics of Cafe Nine and everyone makes me want to get back to it.”
Dust Hat’s album Come Back will be out July 3. The album can be preordered through Bandcamp.
