Get to Know: Sugarwall
LA-Based Quartet Combines Vintage Soul & Old School Rock
Sugarwall is a four-piece band comprised of vocalist Ronnie Dee, guitarist Mitch Mills, bassist Rick Barrio Dill and drummer Joey Lowe. Sugarwall’s May 2009 release Find a Way is a collection of power pop tunes, laced with vintage soul and alternative rock motif.
Dill granted a phone interview to Suite101 on June 25, 2009, sharing an insight into the four-piece and what it's like to be a part of Sugarwall.
“There’s a tagline that we use,” Barrio Dill said. “If Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls went into a country bar and played Otis Redding, Sugarwall came out.”
Tampa Roots
Barrio Dill’s voice is smooth and relaxed. He’s witty and articulate. Sounding well traveled and full of artistic flare, the Tampa, Florida, native joined Sugarwall in Fall 2008.
“It’s not all that difficult to hit the ceiling in Tampa,” Barrio Dill said, talking about his move to Los Angeles. “Truthfully, I had been going back and forth so frequently that it was a logical move.
“I could breathe for the first time socially. It’s a different mindset. It completely changes your life. You have access to fashion, to the beach, to art, to Mexico.”
Los Angeles as a geographical standpoint, Barrio Dill said, doesn’t influence his music and art.
“I think the human condition is the genesis of the first move,” he said. “A lot of creativity is getting yourself in trouble and coming back to the light. LA definitely has move colors to paint with than anywhere else. “
Fifth Generation Performer
As Barrio Dill stepped in as bassist, the band also needed a new vocalist. At his suggestion, Barrio Dill brought in friend and fifth generation musician, Dee.
Dee’s father, Joey Dee, is known for his group Joey Dee www.joeydee.com/and the Starlighters. They are most known for the 1961 hit “Peppermint Twist.”
Barrio Dill’s near infatuation with his friend and bandmate’s talent is endearing and evident. Sugarwall’s sound is elevated by Dee’s chops.
“One of my greatest goals on the planet is to get know his incredible talent,” Barrio Dill gushed.
Songs that Standout
“It’s really hard to shoot holes in it from a genre perspective,” Barrio Dill said, of Find a Way’s tracks. He detailed some of the songs; his perspective biased, but thought provoking.
Better Days
Calling it “easy to relate to,” Barrio Dill said that the band mixed this song thousands of times and certain parts still made hairs on the back of his neck stand still.
Find a Way
A high-energy song, Barrio Dill described “shows the struggle in a really difficult business –a proclamation. We’re going to make good on this support.”
For Your Love
Written from the perspective of a wife who’s husband on his fifth tour of Iraq, Barrio Dill said the song is about going away –“I’ll wait. He’s doing something over and over again. And she’s saying I will still be here when you’re done.”
Goodbye
“This song is about a close family member that died,” Barrio Dill said. “You’d be hard pressed to find 40 people that can do what Ronnie can do and did on this project.”
Maybe in the Morning
“There’s no substitute for time,” Barrio Dill said. “Sometimes we want what you want so bad. You want for it to come to you.”
Tour Dates and Additional Information
Sugarwall’s Find a Way release can be purchased at iTunes. Its August tour includes stops at Los Angeles’ The Mint, San Jose’s The Voodoo Lounge; the tour meanders its way throughout the Pacific Northwest and ends in Ten Sleep, Wyoming.
For more information on Sugarwall, visit www. Sugarwallband.com.
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