An Interview with Colin Dieden of The Mowgli's - i99Radio, Philadelphia's Alternative Rock!

Bayside returned to Philly this past week for a two night stand celebrating their music both old and new. i99Radio was on the scene to capture night one of two. For the first night, Bayside brought songs from their early years, 2004 to 2008. For many of us, it takes us back instantly to the songs of our childhood, middle and high school years, and the audience spanning Gen X to Gen Alpha came ready to rock.

Long Island, NY’s The Sleeping started the night off and brought their unique blend of post-hardcore and raw energy to the stage that really got the audience going. People thrashed around and sang along, and even a toddler hopping up on his dad’s shoulders to get a better view of frontman Doug Robinson, who climbed up to the barrier, putting his microphone up to fans to sing along with them, and eventually even crowdsurfing above their heads at one point. The band has been experiencing a revival since their reunion in 2022 and their fantastic newest album, “I Feel Like I’m Becoming a Ghost”, dropping in 2023.

Bayside then took the stage, kicking off their set with the classic track, “Montauk”, from their second self-titled album. Frontman Anthony Ranieri commented how their idea for the “Errors Tour” came about when they wanted to play 44 songs in each city, instead of just 22. He talked about how the band has so many songs that fans love from all across their career, but not enough time to play them all, so they thought, “why not just play 2 nights in every city?”

The night of classic nostalgia continued on, with the band delivering high-energy versions of much loved tracks from their third album, 2007’s “The Walking Wounded”, like “Duality”, “I and I”, and the ballad “Landing Feet First” (of which started a massive audience singalong). The band also reached far back in their discography, playing tracks from their first years as a band, like “Masterpiece”, “Guardrail” and “Kellum”, off of the first album, 2004’s “Sirens and Condolences.” The audience was audibly excited by this, as these tracks are very rarely played live. The audience cheered loudly and unleashed a constant stream of crowd-surfers to the front of stage as they ripped through these classic tracks. The “newest” songs they played for night 1 were tracks from 2008’s classic album, “Shudder”, like “Boy”, “No One Understands” and “The Ghost of St. Valentine”. Again, many of these tracks haven’t been played since the Shudder Tour in 2008 so hearing these songs was certainly a treat for the audience.

Bayside’s show at Brooklyn Bowl was a testament to how the songs we grew up with are forever engrained in our DNA, the music grows with us and becomes a part of us as we grow older, but we never forget the songs that influenced us almost two decades ago. The 1,000 people in the audience who turned up to sing every word of these songs that are almost 20 years old now proves this to be true and Bayside to be a band close to so many people’s hearts.

Photos by Dave Avidan

I had the chance to ask The Mowgli’s frontman and guitarist Colin Dieden some questions about the band’s current tour, new music, and more. For the last 5 weeks the band has been on a nationwide tour, taking a step back to play more intimate shows. The band also released their 2nd new single, “Kansas City,” a few days ago which you can listen to here. Check out the interview below!

Shelby: In a recent interview with Paste Magazine you mentioned not being on a label anymore and having more freedom creatively. When it comes to releasing music, how is it different now for the band being independent?

Colin: We definitely have complete and total control now. In the past we dealt with a lot of “we understand that YOU think this should be the single, but we think it’s this other song.” Which is fine. It’s nice to work back and forth because sometimes you find that you (the artist) is too close to all the songs to make a really objective decision about which is best. But now we’re fully in control and make those decisions internally.

S: The band is releasing its 2nd new single (“Kansas City”) on March 23rd, can you elaborate on the meaning behind the song (aside from it being about where Colin is from)?

C: I went through a pretty transformative few months last year. Without getting into too much detail, I took some time off to really look at myself and realized I was treating myself pretty badly. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and really get a good look at everything. Kansas City is about that.

S: The band is releasing songs by single currently, what is the benefit in doing this vs. releasing an entire EP/LP at once?

C: Singles really are the future of music- and have been for some time now. EPs/LPs still exist of course, but I believe we’re going to find them to be more and more rare as time goes on.

S: Playlists seem to be what a lot of bands are focusing on now a days, and the band has previously mentioned they were important for new singles. Can you explain a bit about how that works/why it’s important for the band? Do only the big playlists matter or do individual playlists, such as from fans, also matter?

C: Both matter. The majority of listeners are out there right now looking for something new. A playlist provides them a consolidated and curated list of songs, making the infinite world of music a little smaller and more manageable while still allowing the listener the experience and feeling that they have discovered something.

S: Are there any current plans for a new EP or album?

C: We actually came up with an album name/concept that we think is pretty amazing but we’re a little too early in that process to talk about it.

S: When creating a new EP/LP how does the band go about creating it? Do you choose one concept then write the songs to go along with that, write the songs first, etc.?

C: I think the concept of the album really begins to take shape after the first few songs are written. It gives you an opportunity to really take a look at what you’re feeling. Figuring out how you feel is actually much more complicated that you might think.

S: The first new single, which is also the name of your current tour, “Real Good Life”, came out last month (February). How did the band decide to take what’s been going on in the world and turn it into a positive, happy song?

C: I wanted to encourage people to not feel guilty for being able to appreciate whatever happiness they find around them. The world is fucked. The president is fucked. But that doesn’t mean that for some reason you’re not allowed to be happy. I think it’s important so I’m going to say it again. Just because the world is fucked does not mean you are not allowed to be happy.

S: Speaking of what’s going on in the world, the band is known to be very outspoken about politics. Some bands choose to remain silent on the topic of politics, especially when it comes to controversies or choosing sides, what led you all to decide not to be silent regardless of what fans/other people may think?

C: If you’re not using your voice and platform for good, it should be taken away and given to someone who will. The world is too messy and broken for you to be indifferent.

S: Your current tour is the band’s first headlining tour in over a year, correct? What planning goes on prior to touring? (Ex: How are your decisions made such as the setlist, staging/displays, etc?)

C: We try to do things a little different every time so that people don’t feel like they’re getting the same show, while still keeping it familiar enough that coming to our show feels like coming up. This tour we ditched the backdrop and had andy make some really cool projections. People seem to like them. Either that or they’re high.

S: What’s next for the band after this tour?

C: I think we’ll start working on that record we talked about earlier.

S: The Mowgli’s have been together for many years, how would you say the band has grown and progressed?

C: Quality control. I think the songs we are putting out now are getting better and better and better. I see big things on the horizon for this band.

S: If a person could only listen to one of the band’s songs which would you want it to be and why?

C: “I’m Good” I guess. It is a clear message of what we stand for, yet probably better represents the future of this band, sonically, than San Francisco.

S: Colin has Culpriit and Andy/David have Split Party, how do you all manage juggling multiple bands/projects while also focusing on The Mowgli’s?

C: CAFFEINE.

S: I like to give readers new music suggestions from artists I interview, who are some bands you are currently listening to that people may not know of?

C: Jadu Heart, Mura Masa, Tove Styrke, Billie Eilish

Haven’t seen the band live yet? No problem! The Mowgli’s just finished up their Real Good Life eadlining tour, but they will be hitting a few festivals this summer! Look below to see the dates.

APR 08 Rhythm N’ Blooms Knoxville, TN
APR 27 The WhiskeyX Chicago, IL
JUN 03 Spring Fling Cleveland, OH

Find out more information on live shows here.

Stay up to date with The Mowgli’s:
Twitter: Twitter.com/Themowglis
Facebook: Facebook.com/Themowglis
Instagram: Instagram.com/Themowglis

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An Interview with Colin Dieden of The Mowgli’s