Mike Dillon
Kansas City, MO
Bands: Mike Dillon Band, Nolatet
https://mikedillonband.bandcamp.com
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I have played music since I was 10 years old. I started taking drum lessons when I was in 5th grade, and had my first garage band in 6th grade. We played “American Band,” “Smoke on the Water” and “Black Dog.” I am sure we sucked, but I was hooked!! I played in the Houston youth symphony and percussion ensembles and jazz bands at North Texas State University before getting into the business of rock ‘n roll percussion.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
Rush, Zeppelin, Zappa, Miles, Monk, Milt Jackson, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, RHCP, Trouble Funk, Public Enemy, Weather Report, Coltrane, Elliot Smith, Bobby Hutcherson, Tito Puente, Butthole Surfers, Ween and Rickie Lee Jones.
Photo by Tom Dellinger
Effect pedals and percussion don’t usually go hand-in-hand – what drew you to using pedals initially? Have you been using them throughout your playing career? How have pedals helped to shape your sound, or influence the style that you’ve created?
While playing with Critters Buggin, everyone on the bandstand had samplers and pedals except for me. I had a severe case of pedal envy. Skerik was running his sax through a slew of pedals and had a monstrous sound. Matt Chamberlain had a sampler and he also had his drums going thru the Comptortion by Tech 21. My first thing I did was to get a Dean Markley contact mic and run it through a Comptortion pedal. I would place the mic on the metal bells and get strange distorted percussion sounds. Eventually with the vibraphone, I got the K&K pickup system and immediately ran the vibes thru the Comptortion and a tremolo pedal. At first I had a bunch of Line 6 pedals, because they were awesome and gave ya tons of sound choices. Only problem was after 6 green delay modelers, I got tired of replacing them all the time. Then I got a Moog Ring Modulator that I still have with me and tour with. That started my journey into analog pedals.
Paul Barker from Ministry saw all my Line 6’s back in 2004 and said, “we got to fix this situation.” He gave me a bunch of Malekko pedals (I need to put these back in my rig. They are awesome!) to try out, and from that point on I slowly just started the journey I am on now. Brian Keyho from MXR hooked me up with some killer pedals like the Super Bad Ass Fuzz, Phase 90 and the Uni Vibe that I have kept on my pedal board for 7 years now.
Another big reason I got the pick up system was because when I first started playing vibraphone with Les Claypool, I did one tour with just mics over the vibes. I think I broke 5 bars on that tour. Plus, I could never hear myself. Once I got the pedals, then I started experimenting with Amps. I have toured with Orange Stacks and the Fender Super Reverb.
What’s your current setup look like? Take us through your pedal rig (feel free to include drums, percussion, amps, instruments, etc. as well if you’d like):
My current rig is the K&K pickup System through the Pog 2, Ditto Looper, the MXR Phase 90, MXR Uni Vibe, MXR Super Bad Ass Variac Fuzz, Moog Mini Tremolo, Moog Mini Flanger, Moog Delay and Moog Ring Modulator. I have a Majestic Vibraphone that I play thru the pedals. I also have the Mallet Kat Express that I use to trigger my Moog Subsequent 25 and my Behringer Deep Mind synths. I have Gonbop Timbales, Congas, Bongos and a slew of percussion toys. I also roll with my Tabla. I run the vibes though a Roland JC-70 these days. The amp is small and tough. I give up the tube sound for an amp that survives the van bumps and New Orleans pot holes.
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
I love love the Roto Vibe Fuzz through the Moog Delay. I love love love the randomness that the LFO and feedback on the Delay gives to the vibes’ tone.
Photo by John Brant
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Drums / Kit: My Vibraphone
Percussion Gear: My Tabla
Pedals: My Moog Delay Pedal, The Uni Vibe and the MXR Super Bad Ass Fuzz
I’ve had the privilege to see you perform with many different bands across the country, from Garage-A-Trois in NOLA to Les Claypool in Boise and more. I used to work at the Boone Saloon in Boone, NC, and you came through several times, with Hairy Apes BMX and the Malachy Papers, I believe – do you remember the Saloon or Boone in general?
I love the Boone Saloon. So many fun gigs there.
What’s up next for you/your band(s)?
Somehow we have kept finding outdoor venues where people mask up and we play. Nolatet has been playing constantly though the course of the pandemic and Mike Dillon Band has done a couple of gigs. I have been doing a lot of solo shows with the above rig, and I have the Alturia Drum Brute Analog Drum Synth and The Roland Hand Sonic as my double drummers.
Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?
I have a trilogy of records coming out — “Shoot the Moon,” “Suitcase Man” and “1918” — on Royal Potato Family. The three records were recorded over the summer and fall of 2020 and I brought in a lot of my pals virtually to make some music I am really proud of.
Thanks so much to Mike for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out mikedillonband.bandcamp.com, and check to see when he’s headed to a town (or virtual venue) near you! Cheers!
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