Dumpster Bust Interviews: Ash Singer/Guitarist Tim Wheeler

Hailing from Northern Ireland, Ash is a rock band that has been bringing it for over a decade now. No longer plucky high school kids hitting it big time, they’re looking to gain the success in the United States that they have in the UK and other countries around the world. Meltdown, the band’s latest release, contains a blend of the rock, metal, and upbeat pop sensibilities that have marked all of their records.

I spoke with lead singer, guitarist, and song writer Tim Wheeler about his take on America, growing up fast in the music world, and knife-play in the desert with Moby and Dave Grohl. Tim and the other members of Ash are currently on tour in the U.S. and were in Portland, Oregon at the time of the interview.

To listen to my conversation with Tim Wheeler, click here to access Dumpster Bust Radio: Podcast #2.

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Eric Berlin: So you guys have been in the U.S. a lot these days, haven’t you?

Tim Wheeler: We’ve been here for about the last four weeks. It’s going really good. I’m having the best time.

EB: What’s your take on America and Americans?

TW: I’ve spent a lot of time here so I feel really at home. It’s a great place, the people are really cool. You can travel from like New York to San Diego and it’s just so different everywhere you go, really. You’ve got such great changes throughout the country.

EB: So let me ask you about your new release, Meltdown. It’s your first full release in a couple of years. Any reason for the layoff?

TW: Well, we were hoping to get it out last year. You know, it came out in the rest of the world last year, but our record company went bankrupt so we had to find a new label.

EB: Uh oh.

TW: Which is a drag. We always seem to lose any momentum we get. It’s kind of frustrating, you know? It’s not our fault.

EB: I read that you made Meltdown and tried to aim it toward American radio.

TW: Not so much that, but… putting it like that sounds really cynical. It wasn’t really like that. We were going back to all of our American influences and so that’s why we wanted to record in the States. We spent a lot of time here, so we figured why not record here as well? It’s kind of been an ambition of ours anyway.

Article Author: Eric Berlin

Eric Berlin is the publisher of Online Media Cultist. He's also prone to referring to himself in the third person in author bios in an attempt to make it look like someone Less Important wrote it for him.
Contact: dumpsterbust@gmail.com

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