Dickie Haydon

Lexington, Kentucky’s favorite son sat down with us to answer a few questions about his new solo EP and some of the other bands that he spends time in.

CC: Hello, how are you today?
DH: Feeling good. Just about to do some laundry and such before I head off to work.

CC: Tell us a bit about your new EP? You recorded and released it all yourself?
DH: Well, this is my debut release under my own name… it’s a 6-song EP called ‘Hunger Pangs.’ It is basically a culmination of songs I didn’t see fit for my other musical projects. They were all written within the past year and are probably the most personal collection of songs I’ve ever publicly released. I recorded it all on my own, along with some help from my good friend, Jackson Silvanik (played bass & drums on ‘Hunger Pangs’), in my apartment as well as my dad’s house.

CC: What made you decide to release a solo work?
DH: Again, when writing these songs I just felt as if they didn’t fit into the catalog of work for Petticoat (my main musical project). I had recorded demos and shown them to close friends without any intention of releasing them…however, I was persuaded to release them…maybe because my friends are inappropriately supportive? Haha. I also seem to get into new musical projects every year…I have the bad habit of putting too much on my plate at once, but I love surrounding myself with as many creative outlets as possible. It just seemed natural to pursue doing the whole ‘solo thing’ once people took so much interest in the songs.

CC: The song “Tabitha” is there really a girl out there with that name?
DH: Yes, there certainly is. She was my childhood dog who just passed away about a year ago. I had had her since I was 8 years old and she died (of heart failure) right before I turned 21. I wrote the song the night that she passed away.

CC: Also, you are in two other bands so do you manage everything?
DH: Yes, I play in a band called Petticoat, Petticoat as well as The Scourge Of The Sea. It can be a bit hectic trying to manage time between the three of them but I make it work to the best of my ability. All of the guys in Scourge, as well as Kristin and Jackson (Petticoat) are involved in various musical projects as well, so there are holes in time when they are off touring without me…this is when I focus on other projects! We’re all incredibly close friends so we understand when time is needed to be spent elsewhere.

CC: One of your other bands Petticoat, Petticoat can you give us an update on them?
DH: Yes, Petticoat is in the midst of writing and demoing new material for our second full length album, which we hope to have completed by late summer or early fall of ’08. We’re still supporting our first full length record, Every Mother’s Child (came out 7/11/06), by playing regionally when we can. A lot of the new Petticoat material is much more intimate and personal than our previous releases. It’s very much become a singer/songwriter type of band as opposed to the indie/pop outfit we had during the release of Every Mother’s Child.

CC: How is the scene in Lexington? Any other bands we should be on top of?
DH: The Lexington scene is wonderful. I love it here. There are so many songwriters and musicians representing so many different genres and coming up with such great art. What we have here is essentially one giant collective in a modestly-sized college town; something I would compare to Omaha or Athens. Some of the other movers and shakers you should check into are Clifton Keller and Neva Geoffrey. They are my two favorite Lexington singer/songwriters right now.

CC: What is Dickie’s next move?
DH: Well, I just finished up some sporadic tour dates within the past two months; I hit up the east coast up to NYC and back down, as well as some other regional shows. A two week tour during the first half of January will be taking me around the southeast. Tour dates are on my Myspace! I’m also in the midst of recording a new album with The Scourge Of The Sea, which will be our second full length. This is coming out (tentatively) this summer! You know, just keeping busy. Thanks for letting me do this interview!