Erik Hunter Czaja (second from left) and Dowsing
Dowsing is an emo band from Chicago, IL, featuring members of Kittyhawk and Pet Symmetry. Rice and Bread caught up with vocalist/guitarist Erik Hunter Czaja when they recently played in New York to discuss the one-year anniversary of the band’s current lineup, their upcoming album, extraordinarily large burritos and, of course, Fest.
So this is… the 94th show with your current lineup?
Yeah, our first show was April 13th, 2013 with Donovan Wolfington in Chicago. And I counted it, at the end of this tour before we go to record, our 100th show is also in Chicago, and it’s just incredible that it worked out that way, so we’re really excited about that.
So how do you think the band has evolved with the new lineup?
Well, we were talking about this earlier because we were trying to figure out artwork and a name for our album since we’re going to record it and it’s… I don’t know. It went from four people to five people back to four people, but for almost a year we didn’t have a solid lineup. Our friend John [Siorek] from Knuckle Puck played drums, and then he was obviously too busy. [Laughs] Which is great, I’m really stoked for him. Then we found Will [Lange] and it kinda all came together after that. We were kinda already writing the record with John, but we were like, “Well, now we have someone permanent, let’s start again!” So it took us another year to be where we were comfortable; we’ve played all these shows together, we’re tighter together. So this is gonna be like… our accomplishment, this is the next step for us, naturally. And we have another single coming out in June, a split on Count Your Lucky Stars, before the album. I’m really excited about that, too, because it will give people the first taste of what it sounds like now.
So how far along are you guys on the album? You’ve written it all?
Oh yeah, we go record in three days. We’re going to West Chester, PA to record with Mike Bardzik who did Everyone Everywhere’s record, Spraynard‘s new record and their Funtitled, and he did Sundials’ last record. So they’re all our friends and they were like, “Yeah, you should go record with this guy!” And we’re like, “Okay!” So yeah, we’re really pumped.
On tour, what are your favorite places to get food?
Oh, man, I love food. I might bore you. [Laughs] Well, three quarters of the band is vegan and the other vegans in the band are on a raw diet right now. So they’re eating like rabbits in the van, like they eat peppers and carrots, and I’m eating rice out of a can. [Laughs] And I’m making them jealous! But they’re doing great and I’m really proud of them. There’s this place in Pittsburgh called Spak Brothers, which is across the street from a venue called The Mr. Roboto Project. Spak’s is a pizza place that serves regular pizza, but also has vegan pizza and they have vegan hoagies and not vegan hoagies. But Will eats meat so we try to be accommodating and not punish him. Taco Bell is probably number one, honestly, because it’s easy to find and, you know, you can substitute anything.
So, any places in Chicago you frequent?
Yeah, there’s this place called Yummy Yummy, which is a Chinese place; another place with non-vegan and vegan versions of everything. There’s a place called Quesadilla, which is all vegan and vegetarian. They do burritos that, a lot of people say, “Oh, this burrito is as big as your head!” This place actually has burritos as big as your head; it’s disgusting. I can eat one in nine and a half minutes, there is a video of it online if anyone can find it; well, it’s probably easy to find. But, yeah, there are so many places. The Chicago Diner, Pick Me Up Cafe… it’s just great.
So, you’ve done Fest the past two years, are you thinking about returning this year?
Well, we weren’t asked yet. If we got asked we’d definitely consider it because we love it down there in Florida. The food is amazing, it’s all our friends, they do a great job, I love Fest. I really can’t say anything negative about it, I have so much fun. It’s the perfect weekend getaway with all the punks.
How do you feel about the massive, five-day version of Fest and Pre-Fest?
Oh man, it’s a little rough! Last year, Mike [Politowicz], who plays bass in the band, got so drunk that he fell asleep on the sidewalk outside of 8 Seconds. [Laughs] And Spraynard found him and brought him to me! But yeah, it’s just… so many friends and everyone getting too drunk. I tried to contain myself this year. In the future we’ll definitely hit them up and be like, “We’d love to play,” but this year if we don’t play it, we’ll do something alternatively. I mean, it’s great, but we’ve done it, and we’d definitely go back, but maybe we should do something different, just for a change. But yeah, we’d definitely consider it if they asked us! [Laughs]
Dowsing‘s I Don’t Even Care Anymore is available on Count Your Lucky Stars.
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