Currently making themselves known on the Orange County, CA music scene, Dreams of Vertigo look set to expand their reach exponentially with the release of their new EP Reject University, Pt. 2: From Six 2 Midnight. Inspired and heavily influenced by the likes of Green Day and Blink 182 — they are a band with great taste — their future is most certainly looking bright. Guitarist and vocalist Doug chatted to PopWrapped about favourite songs, dream shows and future success.

PW: Please introduce yourselves.

Doug: Hi, I’m Doug, I sing and play guitar. My band-mates are Joe, who plays guitar and does vocals, Gonz, who plays bass and does vocals and Brandon is our drummer.

PW: How would you sum your music up in three words?

D: Diverse, fun, chaos.

PW: When did you first realize that you wanted to be performers? Was there a concert you attended or album you listened to that inspired you?

D: For me, I think it was just something it was born with. I played sports as a kid, and, then, I realized that I’m too short and uncoordinated to do sports. However, I feel like music was always in me. My cousins played instruments; one of them owned a studio, and he essentially taught me everything I needed to know about recording and producing. I think the first time I ever saw Green Day play live I was hooked. The way they just captivated the audience and made them a part of the show. That’s very much something we do. Bringing the audience on stage and letting them be a part of show. We did that at the first show and will continue to do that. 

PW: Which bands and artists influenced you growing up, and how have those influences changed over the years?

D: I think our influences are always changing, and maybe that’s why each record sounds unique. There are always bands like Green Day, mxpx and Blink that influence us.

PW: Is there a band or artist you might say you’re similar to, or do you make a conscious effort to just be yourselves?

D: We try to be ourselves. There are bands we have a lot of respect for, though, as far as how they carry themselves.

PW: Tell me about your latest track, “An (Un)Easy Goodbye”. Is there a story behind it?

D: Gonz, our bass player, wrote this really cool bass riff years ago. I think at the time, he was in a band, but they just didn’t fit the sound of the song very well. He showed us, and we all loved it instantly. About a year ago, there was a man on the freeway bridge by my parents’ house. He was ready to jump. It just hit me so hard. What did he go through to be there? I could see that he had already given up. It was really hard to see to be honest.

PW: The track is taken from your new collection Reject University, Pt. 2: From Six 2 Midnight, due out in October. What can you tell me about it?

D: RU Part Two is going to be really fun in the sense of seeing how people respond. It’s definitely different. It’s dark, it’s angry, it’s catchy, and we definitely tried a lot of different things on this record. I’m excited about it. 

PW: Do you have a favorite track on the collection, and, if so, which is it and why?

D: “Underneath the X” is my favorite track. I literally wrote the song the day before we were going to record. We needed one more song to record, so I wrote this song and sent it to the guys. Basically I said “I hope you like this”. They loved it. It was a very simple three chord song. It’s a song that Joe makes his vocal debut on. It was a very simple song but then turned into one of the hardest songs to play. Lyrically, I let it all go. It’s one of the honest songs I’ve written. It was really fun, too. Gonz and I collaborated on the lyrics.

PW: Who or what most inspires your song-writing?

D: Life. We don’t ever just write to write. We are normally writing because something inspires us to.

PW: In your opinion, which is the greatest song ever written and why?

D: Rebecca Black – “Friday.” *laughs* No … that’s a hard question. Probably something Queen wrote.

PW: What are your upcoming performance plans?

D: We have our record release show on October 15th at Di Piazzas in Long Beach, then a short tour shortly after.

PW: If you could share a stage with four other bands or artists who can be living or dead, who would you choose and where would you play?

D: I know the guys would kill me if I didn’t say Blink; they are definitely up there. Green Day would be on my list, too, simply because they could teach us so much. I’d love to play a show with Pink Floyd or Queen. The Who would be cool, too. Probably most of the “older” bands because not only did they put on great shows but they were so talented.

PW: What are your thoughts on social media? Would you agree that artists today need to be socially interactive with their fans?

D: Absolutely. We live in a time where you can literally talk to your favorite bands online while at work. That’s something we couldn’t do 20 years ago. Our fans are our rocks. They inspire us. Seeing them in the crowd singing along, air drumming, etc … it’s just so cool to know you affected them.

PW: Finally, where would you like to see yourself five years from now, and what would you like your musical legacy to be?

D: I just want people to look at us and know we are pushing ourselves, always working on new sounds and are completely honest with each other.

Check out the video for the bands’ latest track “An (Un)Easy Goodbye” below, and, for more information on Dreams of Vertigo, give their page a like on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.