Dead Tired survive in the gaps between other bands, studio work, tattoo appointments, private lives and whatever classified Magic card business is happening behind the scenes. They meet for dinner more often than they rehearse, which sounds like a terrible method until George Pettit explains why it has worked for four albums.
“Itโs not easy to get us all in the same room,” says the Dead Tired vocalist, also known for fronting Alexisonfire. “We all have a lot of life coming at us at all times. I think itโs friendship that keeps this band afloat.”
The Hamilton hardcore band return on August 14 with “Hornets of Fall”, a 12-track album released through New Damage. The newest single, “Dust Storm”, features Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid, while Liam Cormier, Dave O’Connor and Chris Cresswell appear elsewhere on the record.
These are not guests pulled in to make the credits look bigger. They are people Dead Tired have known for years, even if touring schedules and ordinary life mean they rarely end up in the same place.
“Franz kind of spearheaded the guest vocalists,” George says. “I was moved that everyone jumped at the opportunity to sing on the record. A lot of these guys are dear old friends that Iโve shared a lot of experiences with but rarely get to see these days.”
“Dust Storm” turns on a large breakdown, with Neufeld entering as a second voice in the commotion. Across “Hornets of Fall“, Dead Tired leave themselves room for quick hardcore charges, slower sections and riffs that are allowed to carry a song rather than simply connect one impact to the next.
“Now that I look back on the record, there is a lot of nature imagery,” George says. “Nature seems equally impossibly beautiful but also ominous and indifferent to life around it. Big break down and Andrew from Comeback Kidโฆwhat a racket.”
That indifference appears throughout George’s writing. It comes partly from Camus, partly from the prose of Cormac McCarthy and John Steinbeck, and partly from looking at the world through what he calls agnostic existentialism.
The record was made without a deadline pushing the band towards decisions they did not all support. Dead Tired have developed a system of writing separately, adding the occasional song whenever a space opens, then bringing everything together when life permits it.
The result is the band’s fourth album and, in George’s view, their best-sounding one. It also gives him something Alexisonfire can rarely offer now: a return to small rooms, strange halls and the close physical exchange of a hardcore show.
We spoke with George about keeping Dead Tired alive, the differences between his two bands, Hamilton’s overlooked post-punk, the friends heard across “Hornets of Fall”, and a recent Alexisonfire tour filled with heat, border crossings, airline trouble and an unexpected afternoon with an elderly Canadian traveller.
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Dead Tired have always sounded like friends first and a band second. How does that model hold together when everyone has so many other commitments?
Itโs not easy to get us all in the same room. We all have a lot of life coming at us at all times. I think itโs friendship that keeps this band afloat. Because we all have no shortage of other things pulling us away from Dead Tired.
But itโs that promise of good times in the jam space and hard laughs that keep one toe planted firmly in this world. I think we have all found a system of working separately on music too where we can fill the cracks with the odd song here and there.
What do you get creatively from Dead Tired that you cannot get from Alexisonfire, and what does Alexisonfire give you that Dead Tired cannot?
Both bands require a lot of the same skills. Dead Tired probably taps a little more aggression than Alexis in a live setting.
I really cut my teeth performing in small clubs and halls. Spaces that may not have been intended for live music etc. Itโs rare Alexis gets to go back into those sorts of rooms, so I really enjoy the opportunity to do it with Dead Tired. Itโs a different sensation. It scratches a different sort of itch.
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Andrew Neufeld, Liam Cormier, Dave O’Connor and Chris Cresswell all appear on “Hornets of Fall”. What does it mean to make a record where the guests are people you would probably have dinner with anyway?
Franz kind of spearheaded the guest vocalists. I was moved that everyone jumped at the opportunity to sing on the record.
A lot of these guys are dear old friends that Iโve shared a lot of experiences with but rarely get to see these days. So itโs pretty amazing that they were willing to take time out of their lives to contribute to our project. Maximum respect.
Who in Hamilton deserves more attention than they have received?
Honestly, I donโt think the TV Freaks really got their due. Maybe itโs their own fault.
The last two TV Freaks records are perfect pieces of post punk and they rip in a way that I wish more of the giants of the genre ripped. An excellent live band as well. In a perfect worldโฆ
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This is the fourth Dead Tired album. What is different about “Hornets of Fall”, and why is it your favourite so far?
I think itโs the best sounding record weโve made. Marco really has his studio dialled in.
Iโm not entirely sure what each record taught the band. With each record we try to push ourselves a little creatively beyond some of the more traditional hardcore tropes. I think thatโs what keeps me interested in modern hardcore, that there is room for a little evolution.
You described nature as both impossibly beautiful and ominous, with no concern for the life around it. Where did that perspective come from?
Probably from a variety of sources. Like reading Camus but also in the prose of McCarthy or Steinbeck.
But also just from observing the world through the scope of agnostic existentialism. Itโs a common theme in a lot of the stuff I write, I guess.
How did the last Alexisonfire European run feel from your side of the stage?
It was a bit of a weird tour in that it was kind of back and forth between club shows and outdoor festivals during a European heat wave. I think we really found our footing about a week in, and it produced a couple of our most memorable performances of recent years, specifically Wembley and Outbreak Festival.
Donโt get me wrong, all the shows were excellent but those two were all time. Lots of late-night laughs with the crew.
Ran into Walter Schreifels from hardcore in the Netherlands, thatโs a really lovely guy. Had a few really nice days off in Cologne and Warsaw. Had a few dizzying late night border crossings on minimal sleep. Got rat fucked by an airline and had to cancel a show in Prague.
Wade and I adopted a nice old Canadian woman outside a church in Germany. We saw some sites with her and reunited her with her tour group.
I opened my dressing room door directly into Jacob Bannon backstage at Outbreak and he couldnโt have been nicer about it. It was a rich experience.
“Hornets of Fall” arrives August 14 through New Damage.
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