Straight out of Orlando, Fl, Tim Bruder is balancing his time between being a guitarist and vocalist for Abandon the Midwest, and being the bassist for Dial Drive.
He managed to find some time to chat with us on Altwire on his plans with the bands for 2018 which includes a tour along Florida and the East Coast. He ended 2017 and kicked off 2018 opening up for the Supervillains at West End Trading Company’s New Year’s Eve Bash at Sanford, FL.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: For those who haven’t yet heard of you, can you please tell us a little about yourself, your musical style and any other fun facts?
Tim Bruder: Well my name is Tim and I’ve been playing punk and ska music for the past 15 years or so. I’m from Southwest FL (Fort Myers, FL to be exact) and I used to be in the bands: After The Fact!, Bargain Bin Heroes and Phenomenon Meets Cookbook (all of which were ska/punk bands). Currently I play guitar and sing for Abandon The Midwest and play bass for Dial Drive here in Orlando. I once got to play a date on Warped Tour and love going to the movies.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What’s your writing process like?
Tim Bruder: In both bands currently, I don’t really write any of the lyrics or songs. I mainly come in and write my guitar or bass parts and add my thoughts on adding in certain dynamics here and there. Most of that is done on the fly and I try to feel where the song is or is going and try to write something complementary to that. In the end, I just want the song to be fluid and cohesive so I like to think about the big picture of each song and do whats best for the music.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: How did you decide which songs went into your EPs’ “Rides Again” with Abandon the Midwest and “Never Go Home” with Dial Drive? How did you decide which songs wouldn’t make it?
Tim Bruder: In Abandon The Midwest, I think Matt and Jason decided more so which old songs we would bring back (before I joined the band) and the rest of the songs were all of the new ones we had written that were 95-100% done and ready to go into the studio with. I wasn’t in Dial Drive when “Never Go Home” was recorded so I can’t say how the song choices were made.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: How are you able to balance your time between multiple bands and your home life?
Tim Bruder: I mainly just tell myself I need to do this and I just push through whatever I have to do to make this happen. I don’t have much of a home life right now so besides school (when I’m taking classes) and work this is everything to me. I think the hardest part about it is having enough time for both bands and having enough time to sleep and recharge for the next day. A lot of days, I get between 2-5 hrs of sleep because I run things to close together.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What have been your most unusual/strangest experiences while on tour or during a show?
Tim Bruder: I’m not sure. I’ve played so many shows over the years in different bands, it’s kinda hard to say. I think probably playing in front of 30,000-40,000 people back home in Fort Myers, FL for Zombicon was probably one of the craziest experiences. We just happened to be on one of the bigger stages at the right time and we had only had enough songs for a 35-40 min.
We didn’t have enough songs so we ended up having to play the first song of our set again as an encore. It was pretty funny to say the least. That was while I was in Bargain Bin Heroes. They are still a band and are about to release a new EP soon.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What do you miss the most when you’re on tour?
Tim Bruder: Back when I had a girlfriend, she was what I missed most when I would play out of town or go on tour. Anymore its probably going to be sleeping in my own bed now that she’s gone.
Dial Drive
Abandon The Midwest
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What personal hobbies do you enjoy when you’re home or off the stage?
Tim Bruder: I love going to the movies or just watching movies for hours and hours. I also really enjoy building things and taking things apart, fixing them and putting them back together. Sometimes, I’ll read or play video games too if I have the time.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What advice would you give up and coming artists?
Tim Bruder: Stay humble and help each other out. We are all in this together and there is no place for egos. Some of my best friends I have, I’ve met through music and it’s one of the best things about getting out there and playing. The people you meet will change you in ways you wouldn’t be able to imagine. We’ve also got a really incredible scene here locally and in Florida, so we need to do what we can to take care of it while we have one to take care of.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What is the greatest advice you’ve ever received that has helped you in your career?
Tim Bruder: If it makes you happy, keep doing it and don’t let anyone ever get you down for doing what you love. My mom and my sister have always been really supportive of me, my friends and our music and they always give me the best advice.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: What’s in store for the near future?
Tim Bruder: Well, right now Dial Drive is supporting Mustard Plug on a couple dates of their FL tour coming up in the end of February and then an east coast tour sometime in May. Abandon The Midwest is writing and working on a new EP and we might tour part of Canada this summer if we can all get the time to make it happen.
AltWire [Omayra Lopez]: Is there a message you would like to send to your fans and our readers?
Tim Bruder: We all have to live for our dreams and for each other. We can’t be afraid to take chances and try new things or be selfless now more than ever.
Connect with Dial Drive
Facebook:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/dial_drive
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Connect with Abandon the Midwest:
Bandcamp:
https://abandonthemidwest.bandcamp.com/
Facebook:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/abandonthemidwest
Spotify:
