Location: Kino Šiška / Ljubljana
Interview date: 22.05.2010
Toby Driver is the temporary bassist for Secret Chiefs 3, filling in for Trevor Dunn on this year’s tour (he subbed for him last year too). His main project is Kayo Dot, the progressive post-metal outfit who also put out their fourth record this year. The bassist himself asked for the interview, with a really sweet approach over email. It was a huge coincidence that Toby was in Ljubljana with SC3, because word about Kayo Dot had been spreading online. At Kino Šiška, Buba made the meeting happen too, kindly steering Toby Driver over to my colleague Urban and me. The interview was totally relaxed, and the mastermind behind Kayo Dot is a really nice guy to talk to.
RockLine: How long have you been playing with Secret Chiefs 3?
Toby: I’m really just a stand-in until their original bassist, Trevor Dunn, comes back. Last year my band, Kayo Dot, played as the support act for SC3, and they suddenly needed a replacement, so they asked me if I’d fill in for Trevor. Of course it was a huge opportunity for me. SC3 have always been a phenomenal band to me, and we clicked right away. They needed a bassist for this year’s shows around Europe too, they got in touch, and my answer was obviously yes.
RockLine: How much longer will you be playing with them?
Toby: Like I said, I’m only filling in, that’s all. I’ll play until the end of this year’s tour. Of course it would be a dream if we kept working together.
RockLine: You don’t just play bass, you’re a big multi-instrumentalist.
Toby: Ah, I don’t want people to see me as a bassist, or as a guitarist or whatever else. It’s true that besides bass I also play guitar, clarinet, which was my first instrument, and some keyboards, but I want people to see me as a creator, a composer. I write a lot of music, and the music of Kayo Dot is entirely mine.
RockLine: But in SC3 you only play bass?
Toby: True, sadly, ha ha.
RockLine: You’ve played in a ton of bands, but Kayo Dot is probably your main project, and your favorite too?
Toby: Definitely. Kayo Dot represents me as a musician and as a person, and I put everything I’ve got into it. Like I said, all the music we play is written by my own hands.
RockLine: How would you introduce the new Kayo Dot album “Coyote” to our readers, maybe in a few adjectives?
Toby: Ugh, tough question. I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but I’ll give it a shot. Above all, the album is going to be one of a kind, unique. Something totally different from what we (Kayo Dot) have recorded so far, but still completely “Kayo Dot-ish”. It’ll be different yet again, and the guiding idea when I was writing the music for the album was the concept of classical music, where a single piece has endless variety, ups and downs, build-ups, as opposed to repetitive rock riffs.
RockLine: So, progressive music?
Toby: Ha ha, no, you’re thinking in terms of rock music again. Rock songs are kind of linear, and we’re aiming for straight lines, ha ha.
RockLine: You’ve also released your own album.
Toby: True, one came out under my name, Toby Driver. But only because the label wanted it that way. I don’t like having my own name in front of album titles, I’d rather give the bunch of musicians playing on a record some kind of band name. Anyway, the whole Kayo Dot lineup played on “my” album, it just came out under my name.
RockLine: Which musical genre do you identify with?
Toby: Progressive rock. Early King Crimson, Yes. But I’m talking about progressive rock in the true sense, not some Dream Theater, which to me is a kind of technical rock/metal.
RockLine: One more cliché question – which bassist has had, or still has, the biggest influence on you?
Toby: Ugh, really interesting question, and a very hard one too. I don’t think much about names when I look for influences. For example, I take a lot from Simon Gallup, the bassist of Cure from the nineties. Not because he was some huge technician, but because he had an incredible bass sound. That’s exactly what I look for too – a crazy bass tone, and maybe some finesse, rather than massive technical mastery.
RockLine: Anything else you want to add about tonight’s show? What can we expect?
Toby: The show will be played in two parts, the first oriental, the second post-Mr.Bungle. And in between, of course, plenty of surf rock. So something for everyone, or everything for the true SC3 fans.
RockLine: Thanks a lot, Toby.
Toby: Thank you guys! One more thing – if you’ve got time next week, you absolutely have to go see Extra Life, who are also playing at Kino Šiška. They’re from my neighborhood, a truly crazy band.
interview conducted, translated and edited by: Tine Kolenik
photos: Urban Bolta
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