Standing out as a musician in Athens can be a hard thing to do with so much talent and competition embedded in the city. However, there is one band that has made a name for itself and caught the attention of many people all over the country. The Whigs are a trio with a sort of indie, alternative rock sound founded by singer-guitarist Parker Gispert and drummer Julian Dorio while they both attended the University of Georgia. The original third member, bassist Hank Sullivant, has since left the band, but his large shoes are currently being filled by the talented Tim Deaux. In this interview, Julian talks some about their origins, success and most memorable moments. Although The Whigs no longer live in Athens, they still make an effort to come back to the place where they got started and still call home.
Kellen Yarbrough: Why did you guys name yourselves The Whigs?
Julian Dorio: You know, when we started the band years ago, at first it just worked out writing songs and we didn’t even have a band name. It eventually came to the point where we were going to book our first show and I actually called the guy in Athens who had a small club and, you know, told him we had a band and all this stuff and went through all the motions and he said “okay cool. Well let’s do Thursday night. This date, this time. Okay, what’s the band name?” And as dumb as it sounds, I didn’t have an answer. Like, it hadn’t even occurred to us to come up with a band name. I don’t know what we were thinking, or not thinking, so I told him that we’d just have to call him back and then I told them that we really needed to figure something out. Then yeah, we turned around and tried to think of something and The Wigs came up, someone suggested it, it was just like “W-I-G-S” and then, maybe it was Parker who suggested it, why don’t we throw an H on it and just try something like that. You know, I think we just wanted a name that didn’t really sound like any one type of music. It didn’t really sound like a metal band, pop band or a country band, you know, it had its own little thing to it. We started playing shows under that name and we kind of figured that if we wanted to change it, we could, but then everyone sort of, latched on to it and that was it (laughs).
KY: That’s awesome. So, what song are you most proud of?
JD: Huh, that’s tough. I mean, we just finished a new record and we just got home a couple weeks ago from recording and you know, I think naturally we’re proud of everything that we have made, but you’re always trying to better yourself, better the song writing and all that, so at the moment, I feel like there’s a song on our new record, which won’t come out until April, and that’s something that I’m most proud of at the moment. I hope that we’ve outdone our other albums, which I know may not be a great answer for you because the songs, you know, they’re not released (laughs) and so you don’t even know what I’m talking about. But yeah, I think my point is that I hope that we’re always proud of what we’ve done recently, you know. You kind of should be making your best work right now.
KY: How has the move to Nashville affected the band?
JD: I think it’s unifying, really. I mean, we all moved up here at the same time, so we made a decision to move together. We love Athens, it’s a great town, and we owe Athens quite a bit and we’re proud to say we’re from there and we still say we’re from there. But I guess it just came to the time where we wanted to try something new and you can’t help but come to a new place like this and be surrounded by people and amazing musicians and there’s a good rock scene here, even though the town is maybe more historically known for country music. There are a lot of great rock bands in Nashville, so I think some of that stuff does rub off on us, just like the Athens scene because some our favorite bands and bands we look up to, are from there. It’s been kind of cool, the move here, and to just kind of learn about different people, different bands. So, you know, I think that it’s not obvious in the sense that you wouldn’t put on a new Whigs record and hear some countrified thing, you know, I don’t think that we are really trying to change what we do, but I guess if you’re being creative, making music, or really any art, you have to be stimulated. Living here, I think is very stimulating. Being in a new place, we didn’t really know where we were, at first, so I think it just kind of keeps creative juices going, if that makes sense.
KY: What’s the most memorable show you guys have played? Well, for you, anyway.
JD: Most memorable show, let’s see. Some of the most memorable shows haven’t just been the biggest and the best, you know, some of them were really random nights. Part of me is thinking about some of the late night TV stuff but I don’t know if that’s really what you mean. You know, they are shows, but there, you only play one song, so I’m trying to just think of a normal show. I mean, I think some of the most memorable shows, honestly, are our first shows in Athens and maybe that sounds like a convenient answer because we’re playing in Athens soon and you live in Athens, but you know, I think those years and those shows, those crowds, especially when were younger. Our first show ever was DT’s Down Under…..That was kind of like, for a lot of people, the first show. It was so small that if you had 20 friends, it would already be crowded in there. It felt great to feel like we had a big audience. It was our first show with Parker and I and Hank, and we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know what to expect from ourselves. I mean, we practiced these songs that we thought were worth playing a show of, obviously, but we didn’t know if anyone was coming, and it ended up just being a really fun, special night. We had people on stage, well, there was no stage, we had people, friends, I love them to death, but I don’t think they knew, I don’t know, it just seemed like a party to them (laughs). Which is great, but they would like get up where we were and start singing into the microphone and we’re just like “What are—what is going on? What are you doing?” One guy, a friend of ours, sat on one of the guitar amps the entire show and just sort of used it as a chair. Another guy would start dancing around in between Hank and Parker, which was not exactly convenient for them and he stomping all over the stage and stomping on their pedals, so he’s shutting their guitars off and on and all this stuff. It was just one of the most bizarre things, but it was great fun and everyone had such a great time. Maybe the weirdest part of it was, the part that we never considered, is that you can get paid doing this. We just wanted to play and write songs that it never occurred to us that someone is going to hand you money at the end of the day. I mean, it was only pocket change, but the show ended and we were completely satisfied and then the owner of the club handed me, I think it was, I can’t remember. Well, we divided it up and got $21 each, so that meant it was $63 and we were pumped (laughs). So yeah, that’s probably my most memorable show.
KY: A couple of years ago, I saw you guys, actually on your birthday and the whole crowd sang to you.
JD: (Laughs) Oh yeah.
KY: Does that sort of thing still feel surreal or are you kind of starting to get used to it a little bit?
JD: You know, that was real nice of Tim and his girlfriend, and actually his girlfriend’s mom, who I know, but not really well, it was very nice of them to kind of surprise me with a cake and all that. I remember walking on stage because that was during the encore and we decided to go back out on stage, I walked out and Parker walked out and Tim was nowhere to be found and I remember almost being annoyed like “What is he doing? How can he space out at this moment? We need to be on stage.” I didn’t realize that he was off stage lighting the candles and getting the cake, which was very nice. I mean, yeah, I’m not any more used to that now than I was then. That was a total surprise and it was really cool to have a whole room singing along. It was cool. That really is a great memory. When you asked about the most memorable show, honest to god, that one popped in my head, but I didn’t really want to tell you that my most memorable show was a bunch of people singing me happy birthday (laughs).
KY: What advice would you give to college musicians in Athens?
JD: Oh gosh, advice. I don’t know if my advice should be “don’t listen to me” or something else (laughs). Naturally, you want to tell someone how to follow someone else, but it’s such a weird world and weird career path, that comparing, sometimes, it can help, but it can also not necessarily apply to your band. I guess I would say, I mean, it’s pretty generic, but work hard, then work harder, and then work harder than that. You have to have thick skin, you have to be open to the idea that some songs aren’t going to be good enough and if you love it, you’ll hopefully continue to make new songs that are even better. There’s no substitute for experience and doing it again. In general, you can’t really go A to Z. You have to go A to B to C to D, but again, that’s me, that’s us. I don’t want to tell someone else that they can’t do it their own way. The main thing is that at the end of the day, you can look at your stuff and be proud. You’re the one who has to look in the mirror every day, so what do you want to look at?
