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Web exclusive: Interview with Pete Wilhoit, Bloomington-born drummer for Fiction Plane

 

Fiction Plane
Bluebird Nightclub, 216 N. Walnut St., Bloomington
Sunday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m., $10, 21+

NUVO: Can you tell me about that initial audition for Fiction Plane? What led up to it?

Pete Wilhoit: What led up to it was, I grew up in Bloomington, taking lessons from Kenny Aronoff. Then one of his students, Shawn Pelton, who is the “Saturday Night Live” drummer for the last 15 years, taught me in high school. So I had a lot of really good teachers and guys that were kind of high up in the industry.

So Shawn moved to New York and got the gig with “Saturday Night Live,” started working with a lot of different producers, and one of them was David Kahne, and David Kahne did Fiction Plane’s first album, “Everything Will Never Be OK.” So at the end of that recording … they had used a studio drummer for that, because they didn’t have a drummer in the band, and were planning on touring in the U.S. So, the idea was, they were planning on getting a drummer slash member of the band, so they started putting out the word. And David Kahne started calling all the drummers that he knew, and he called Shawn, and Shawn knew that I wanted to move to New York, because I had been in a band called the Cutters for 10 or 11 years in Bloomington, and it was great, but that was starting to kind of come to an end.

I loved being in a band and having artistic input into something, instead of just being a hired gun. So Shawn called me and said there’s this band looking for a drummer and I think you’d like the music. So I listened to it online and really really liked it and called their management and said I’d love to set up an audition. So we set it up in New York and I drove 13 hours and spent the night at a friend’s house, actually my first teacher that I ever had, who’s actually from New York, and he was also an IU guy who went through the jazz program there.

So the first time I met them, they were nice guys, but auditions are always strange. For me, the way I approached was I just wanted to play the music the way it was on the album and just try to nail it. But also, I had extra things, and throw in a few fills. I think the interaction between us, and if we hit it off as people, was just as important as if we hit it off as musicians.

The first song, everybody’s eyes kind of lit up when we started playing up. Seton and Dan looked at me and started getting into it more and more and more. So we went through all four songs that I had been sent for the audition and then they threw a new one; they said, here, we’ve got this riff, what would you do with this? So we played that, and it was fun, and we stopped and everybody started chatting, just talking about my availability and what I’m looking for. And they said, well, why don’t you come and learn the rest of the album? We’ve got a gig here Tuesday at CBGB, which was like three days later. It all happened pretty fast but, when you feel like it’s right, it’s right. And I think we all knew pretty quick that it felt like it could work. It was cool.

NUVO: Knowing each other so well now, why do you think you meshed so well immediately?

Wilhoit: I think we all come from similar musical background and we were looking for a drummer that could really lead the band, in a sense. Not a timid player; they wanted to somebody that really laid it down and was a solid figure from the percussion/rhythm section standpoint. I don’t know; I think we all have the same sense of humor too. We all made the similar jokes and had similar outlook on the music industry and different political views of presidencies and stuff like that. We touched on all sorts of stuff and it wasn’t like I was in the band instantly … I’m definitely the kind of guy that, what you see is what you get, and I definitely don’t hold back. I’ve played so long, I enjoy it so much, you can see it right away, I think. And I guess that was obvious to them too, and they really liked that.

NUVO: So going back into your youth, when’d you realize that you really liked playing drums and that you were any good at it?

Wilhoit: I think the time that I realized I enjoyed it, I was in fourth grade and me and one of my best friends decided to start a band, and it was just the two of us. And we both played drums and piano a little bit, just barely, but he actually had a drum set, and I didn’t have a drum set. I was always intrigued with the drums, so I started learning beats from the drums and he started playing piano, and then we’d switch off.

NUVO: What kind of stuff were you playing?

Wilhoit: It was very Beatles sounding. You know, major-minor triads, all eighth notes on the beat, with simple vocal melodies over the top in our high child-like voices; it was quite funny. The thing that really sparked was when we started playing them in school during recess if it was raining. People would come into the band room and start playing instruments, and we started playing our songs, and people started to learn the songs, and they would sing along. And that was the moment that I was like, “Wow, this is such a powerful thing to be able to perform and entertain people.” And that was the first time that it clicked in my head that I think this is something I could do, or at least that I have an aptitude or a talent for it.

I would say, the years went on and I was playing in school band, and Bill always had a thing on the side going on. I think it was when I met Rob Calder and Tommy Barry, we started a band, at the time called The Nixon Tapes, and that was the first time that we really started taking things seriously and thinking about from a music business standpoint where we started doing our own recording and wanted to get a record deal and go on the road and tour. That’s when I started really practicing the drums as something.

NUVO: So this was in high school?

Wilhoit: Yeah it’s in high school. I was 16, 17 maybe. And yeah, started getting serious about the drums, practicing three or four hours a day, and doing the necessary discipline to learn the craft. And cut my teeth in that band and we became the Cutters. It was a great experience because we were all friends. And we actually took out a loan ourselves and made an album in Memphis, Tenn., and pitched it to labels and actually got signed. It was quite a success for four guys from Bloomington, which isn’t necessarily the mecca of a giant city music scene. It was four determined guys who really liked what we did, and were determined to make it. We did two albums and a couple EPs.

NUVO: What did you guys sound like?

Wilhoit: It was pop-rock with kind of a Genesis progressive feel to it. Me and Bill, when we had our own band, we called ourselves Sound Gallery; it was just keyboards and Bill would do a lot of programming, so that was a very Genesis-type feel. And then, when we got together with Tommy and Rob, it definitely took more of a pop sensibility; Tommy wrote all the lyrics. It sort of sounded like maybe a little U2, a little bit of REM, a little bit of Stone Temple Pilots. It had all sorts of those things in them. It was really a college rock band but we were writing our own music.

NUVO: Were you playing with any bands that are still around? Maybe throw off some names of bands you’re still playing gigs with.

Wilhoit: I actually played a gig with Michael McDonald just as a hired drummer, from the Doobie Brothers. I also played with a bunch of singer-songwriters around the Bloomington area: Krista Detor, Janice Jaffe was a jazz singer that I played with a lot. I had a jazz trio that I really loved called Third Man. It’s hard to branch out too much from the Indianapolis area: Chicago’s the closest biggest town, but I never really broke into that scene, but I did do a lot of recording from the Bloomington scene.

NUVO: What did you get musically and socially out of playing with so many different groups in so many different styles?

Wilhoit: One of the most important things Shawn ever told me is a gig is a gig is a motherfucking gig, which means, practice your ass off, don’t take any gig for granted because they all have something to offer, musically and monetarily. I played everything from Broadway stuff, I even did a couple country gigs. At IU, I had to do symphony, concert band, all that stuff, so there’s a wide range of things that you’re exposed to, and you realize very quickly that each one has something to offer musically. I did a small playhouse thing in Brown County. It was very simple stuff, but you had to do it at very low volume, and it had to be almost perfect every time. The repetition was the hardest thing. You’re having to do these small mezzo-piano pieces at 220 and it has to be absolutely perfect every time. You have to watch the conductor and there’s that relationship there. But you learn a lot about being a percussionist and a musician from doing these things, and you also learn about how to interact with people, and how that relationship is just as important when you’re trying to get a gig, keep a gig.

Shawn and Kenny taught me all that, and I learned a lot from hearing Kenny talk about situations that he was in in the industry, as far as bands and producers, and how he had to adapt to make the situation work, if it was a dicey one and difficult. So that inspired me, to hear those stories.

So I was hungry and my appetite to achieve was definitely there because of Kenny and Shawn and all these other gigs that he was doing. I’d hear Kenny’s schedule and it was mind-blowing; he was playing a gig every day, and he was all around the world. So I took that to heart, and did every gig I could do in Bloomington, and it really made me a well-rounded musician, and made me approach the Fiction Plane stuff as such too: Every song has a place for the drums and whether it’s laying out and playing one high-hat part or playing a Vinnie Colaiuta solo. You have to find out what works for the music, and so all those gigs helped.

NUVO: Do you do as much session work these days?

Wilhoit: I did a lot of session work when I was in Bloomington and in the Cutters. I did, probably, 25 or 30 albums for different singer-songwriters and bands. But moving to New York, I’ve done not as much because being in Fiction Plane, I’m out on the road so much that I’m hardly ever in New York. That’s the one downside: When you move to New York, there’s the expectation of getting into that network of musicians that can provide amazing gigs, and they’re amazing players, but also there’s the draw of going out on tour, because that’s a way to see the world and play music; it’s great but it also takes you out of the network so you’re not playing in New York anymore, you’re just living out of your hotel.

I also play with G. E. Smith from “Saturday Night Live.” Ari Hest, a singer-songwriter from New York; I play with him, and I’ve played on one of his albums. And overseas, I’ve played with a girl called Kate Aumonier — she’s on Sanctuary Records — and Veronica Antico, she’s a French artist. And getting to go on tour with Sting and all of his musicians, and subsequently The Police, actually, which was quite funny, to be playing a Police song on stage with the Police.

NUVO: What was that like? Did you get nervous?

Wilhoit: You know, growing up, doing so many gigs in so many different environments, whether it’s a recital or an acoustic performance at a bookstore or playing in front of 70,000 people, it all has to do with whether you’re comfortable on your instrument. Repetition makes it all easier, of course. And yeah, there are nerves at all those things. Sometimes it’s just as hard to play in front of five people at a bookstore because every little thing you do is noticed. Sometimes that’s harder than playing in front of 70,000 people because you’re so removed from those people that it’s larger than you. You don’t feel like you’re under a microscope. You feel like you’re surfing a giant wave with four other people. So it’s a different feel but I get excited. The most nervous I’ve ever been in my life has got to be doing my senior recital at IU. I had taken off a year because I had tendonitis in my wrist, and then I was just coming back and just trying to finish it. And having to do tympani and marimba and all these other things that I wasn’t super-proficient at, and having to cram it all in just so I could finish my degree, that was the most nervous I’d ever been.

NUVO: What was that like to have to take a year off?

Wilhoit: Well, I’m a pretty positive guy, and even though it was mentally quite stressful, I tried to turn a negative into a positive. I couldn’t play with my right hand, so I took that year to concentrate on my left hand. So I even played a few gigs just left-handed, even played some jazz concerts. At IU, you have to be in an ensemble, so we had jazz concerts every Monday night in different ensembles, so I did a couple with just my left hand. So it gave me a chance to try to turn my left hand proficiency into a plus. It was hard. In some ways it made me appreciate having your health even more. So I readdressed how I play and relaxed more at the drums. It wasn’t something I’d like to do again but I’m glad I went through it and came through OK.

NUVO: Is that a conditioning issue? Are you attentive, at this point, to wrist health, as Stephen Colbert would say?

Wilhoit: There are an amazing amount of injuries as a musician. It’s a repetitive thing, and your muscles and tendons are reacting hundreds of times when you’re doing these things, depending on the temperature outside or inside, and how much you’ve warmed up and how your posture is. There are a lot of variables that go into it. For me, it was a combination of mental stress from trying to finish school, and also physical tension: not playing loosely, not stretching, not trying to warm up. So what I do now, is I take time to try to stretch and warm up as long as I can before I play. Once in a while, if it gets bad, I will ice after a show. It’s been pretty good. Once I made a conscious effort to relax my body, it’s been good. Stretching, warming up, even icing sometimes, have made it so it’s not really a problem, which is huge.

When I went through that whole thing, I went to a neurologist, because I was having trouble with my pinky and my ring finger on my right hand, and he said, well you’ve got nerve damage and you’ve got repetitive motion injury and you really should just give up. Which was really not something that you want to hear as a musician: You should consider another career. So I got a second and third opinion, and everybody had a different opinion on how it could be cured or how you can deal with it. I even did acupuncture to try and cure it. Eventually, giving it the proper amount of time and perspective on why I was hurting and what I should do differently, I figured out a way to relax more and play without tension, and that seemed to do the trick.

NUVO: Do you do much teaching? Obviously you’ve got a pretty busy touring schedule …

Wilhoit: I used to teach quite a bit, and I really enjoyed it, once I learned how to teach. Being in Bloomington, it’s got two high schools and really great music programs, so there’s a lot of drummers in Bloomington. Word got out that I wanted to start teaching, so I started getting students. For me, it was a really interesting experience. My dad was a teacher for something like 35 years at Indiana University, and I remember going to class and seeing him teach, and he turned into this different person, super-animated, super-excited and he really had this infectious enthusiasm.

NUVO: Were your parents musicians?

Wilhoit: My dad actually played a pretty good harmonica and saxophone, although I never actually heard him play saxophone. But my grandfather was a musician, and I think that’s where I got it from, probably my grandfather. When I thought I actually had to learn how to teach, I had to learn how to verbalize what I was doing to kids, and make my mindset — I’m learning for the first time, how would I describe how to hold the sticks; how would I describe how to strike the drum, and how that should feel and how that should look. So it was good for me to examine it from a skeletal structure and work my way up to where I am now. It was fun; I actually learned a lot from my students. They’d bring in music that I’d never heard, and say I really like this drummer or that drummer, and how do I do this. And so I started examining other drummers that I’d never heard, and I’d have them transcribe certain drum parts. So it was great. I got a lot out of it, and I’d love to do it again. Like I said, being on the road for three years in a row, or however long it’s been, it’s difficult to teach, but it’s definitely something I plan to do in the future.

NUVO: Do you plan on settling down in the near future, or sticking with a touring life for now?

Wilhoit: Well, me and my wife are expecting our first kid in September, so we’re going to be taking some time off, which I’m looking forward to, because it’s been a lot of touring. And I absolutely love touring; this last year and a half on the road has been the most amazing experience of my life as far as touring. It really has been great. Being able to go all over the world and playing some amazing cities and amazing venues, and being able to see just amazing sites. It’s a great way to see the world; it’s been a vacation with benefits. I’m glad I experienced it, but I’m certainly looking forward to taking some downtime at home and doing some normal things, and getting back to my life and having a kid is going to probably be the greatest thing in the world, and it’s definitely going to change things, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s something me and my wife have wanted for a long time, so were happy that it came around.

I don’t know — as far as New York — I love New York City, and as far as the network of musicians there and the level of play there is amazing, and you can go out every night and get surprised at how great the musicianship is. So I’m happy staying there and I know my wife is happy staying there for the time being — she’s a Cornell medical student, so she’s going to be finishing medical school there. And we’ll see. There’s definitely touring in the future for this band. We’re going to be going into the studio and recording a new album, probably next year. The unfortunate reality of the music industry is that, if you want to make money, and if you want to be successful, you really have to tour; there’s no other way around it for rock bands like ourselves. You can get lucky on the radio, but it’s like winning on the lottery.

NUVO: I guess you guys dealt with a major label — well, you weren’t around for that first record …

Wilhoit: I was around for the major label turmoil.

NUVO: Yeah, what did you learn from that, and are you happy to be on Beiler Brothers, which I guess is a little bit smaller but still has some reach?

Wilhoit: You know, that’s funny, because I already had some perspective of being on a label and what that entails when I joined the band, so I knew the pitfalls …

NUVO: Because the Cutters were on …

Wilhoit: We were on CMC, which was a BMG subsidiary. It was a strange label — they were basically rehashing older ’80s hair bands, and then trying to have new artists that were trying to propel them towards the future, but they just didn’t really know how to break bands. Maybe they did, but we didn’t break on that label, and they kind of are defunct now.

But when I joined the band, we were on MCA, and everybody had expectations of how it was going to do, and think everyone was pretty cautiously optimistic, and then, unfortunately, right before we were going to do the video for the single, everything went shit. The label pulled, everybody that was backing the band got fired, and then it kind of sent things into a bit of a tailspin. The double-edged sword of this band is that, having Joe’s lineage — being the son of Sting — opened certain doors and probably made it harder for us to succeed in some ways. We got moved to Geffen Records to keep us under the Universal umbrella, and frankly, I think we got moved and kept under the label only because of our lineage, and because Joe’s the son of Sting. I think that’s why were on the label was because they thought, oh, they’ve got so many connections, and were not going to work that hard, and as long as we keep them on the roster, everything will be great. Unfortunately, what happened to us is we got shuffled around without anyone really championing the band at the label, and really wanting to take the reins and give us direction and put out an album even.

We all learned a lot from that four years of being shuffled around, and we learned what we didn’t want. And what we didn’t want was to be on a major label that didn’t care. We just wanted to release an album and we wanted to have a label that liked the music. And that’s what Beiler Brothers represented. And it was great. At the time they were pretty much the only ones who said, “Go in the studio, record the album and give us a single, and we’ll release it and pay for it.” It was great; it was what we wanted to hear. They loved the music and they believed in the band, so it was a breath of fresh air.

NUVO: Joe downplayed that he was Sting’s son when the first album was released, but eventually Fiction Plane headed out on tours with Sting and The Police. What kind of trade-off was there between wanting the music to stand on its own — with constant comparison to Sting — and the advantages an opening slot on a major tour offers?

Wilhoit: It’s a tough one. Joe is so talented that, first of all, he couldn’t fight the fact that he was a talented musician when he discovered music from a musician’s standpoint. He did realize that he had a super aptitude for it — he’s a great singer, a great player, a great songwriter, and it just comes naturally. So, in some senses, it was there all along, and he thought, well, I have an aptitude for this, and I enjoy it, and that it’s an escape for me. His lyrics can be very real, and I think it’s a way to give that expression that’s deep down inside that he can’t give to anybody else — he gives it to everybody through music. He decided to be in a band, and a musician, and that first step was a very tough one for him, because now you’re really going to be compared to your dad. And he thought, if I’m going to do this, I really want it to be in a band, and I don’t want this to be Sting’s son’s band — I want it to be a band, and I want it to be taken seriously because of what it is. So he tried really hard to do things with strong integrity, and try and make it fit without talking about the giant pink elephant in the room, I guess.

The problem is, you can change your name, you can go under a different assumed name, you can push that whole side of you away, but eventually, it’s just too big of a shadow to ignore. It actually was becoming, I think, unhealthy to try and not talk about it and ignore it. That gives everybody even more ammunition because they know you don’t want to talk about something, and they want to talk about it, it’s going to get a reaction when they bring it up.

Eventually, a few things happened: With all this label trouble, the lack of somebody championing the band, we needed help; we needed opportunities to go play and get in front of audiences. And Sting offered that. It’s just hard to turn that down. When Joe first got offered it, Joe asked me and Seton and Dan, and I said, well, it’s up to you. It’s kind of a step in the opposite direction that you’ve been wanting to take, and I know you feel like you’ll be selling a certain part of your soul to the devil. What do you want to do. And he said, well, it’s a chance to play, and I think that’s important. So he’s kind of been walking through this whole ring of fire, and you know what, I think he’s a healthier guy because of it. I think it’s kind of inevitable; if you’re going to do the same industry as your dad, you’re going to have to take the good with the band, and the good is definitely good. There’s a lot of opportunities.

Sting has been super-supportive. He’s given us a giant platform to perform our music and has never told us what to play, what we can and cannot play, how to sound, how to look … We get to do what we do. We’ve grown up a lot in the past six years. We’ve become a stronger unit musically and personally, we’ve been through a lot together. I think it’s a necessary recipe for success for Joe Sumner to go through what he’s gone through, and he’s going to come out the other side shining, I think.

NUVO: Do you get mentioned in the gossip magazines much, being on the periphery?

Wilhoit: Oh, no.

NUVO: I don’t even read them, but Joe mentioned them offhand when I talked to him.

Wilhoit: You know, we don’t really, either. And once in a while, somebody will send us something or mention it. It is what it is. It’s been Joe’s entire life, so it’s strange for him, and it angers him because he’s never had a choice. Unless he wasn’t going to be a musician. Even his brothers and sisters that aren’t musicians; they get mentioned in them, because of association. It’s not his fault, and I think he’s starting to realize. And even though it’s not his fault, you still get dragged through the mud. Subsequently, I’m sure that we have been mentioned in a negative light as selling out or whatever. But, you know what, I don’t even pay attention. We certainly haven’t been given the golden pass to success.

NUVO: You do have a small record label for selling out. I don’t mean that in a bad way …

Wilhoit: We all work hard, and we’ve paid our dues, and we’re just trying to succeed musically. So we take it as it comes: the good and the bad.

NUVO: Joe called your new material a little more groovy or funky. Is that how you would describe it?

Wilhoit: I think we’re trying to embrace the more groovy reggae-rock type side that we all probably fought a little bit, because of the association with The Police. When we became a trio, and we went through the last phase of the Universal record label bullshit stuff, we kind of made an unconscious/conscious decision to just play whatever it is that we play, we like what we like, and if we sound like The Police, we sound like The Police; if we sound like Sting, we sound like Sting; if we sound like Rage Against the Machine, we sound like Rage Against the Machine. We’re definitely pushing towards … I guess “Two Sisters” was kind of a rock, funky, reggae type thing, and that really sparked all of our interest as a band as something we stand behind.

I’d say were groove-oriented rock — that’s what we’ve been leaning towards — and Seton’s been stepping out more, because he’s the only guitarist now in the band, and he’s been doing more guitar solos, really pushing a Tom Morello sound. We sound like the Chili Peppers/Rage Against the Machine/U2/a bunch of stuff. I think one of our biggest attributes is the live show, and we’re trying to bring a lot of energy and crowd participation into that. Joe has gotten so proficient at that because of the last year and a half of touring because of that year and a half playing for big crowds and trying to win people over. It’s all coming together, really. Both sides, not just the music, but the live show as well.

NUVO: Have you been back in Bloomington much?

Wilhoit: Yeah, my parents still live there, and I get back as much as I can to visit them. And whenever we’re touring in the Midwest and we’re close, we always make it a habit to go out of our way and go spend a night in Bloomington, cause for the guys, it holds a special place for them too. A place they get off the road and relax and be in a house instead of a hotel; meet my friends and see where they grew up. So it’s nice. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that I’ll move back there and live.

NUVO: Have you played the Bluebird before?

Wilhoit: We have played the Bluebird in 2003, and we’re playing there on Aug. 10, which is a Sunday. So it’ll be a good five years since we’ve played there. So it’ll be interesting.

NUVO: What’s it like being in a cross-cultural band? It sounds like you share a lot in common.

Wilhoit: It’s a lot of fun, and it’s great to go to London, and meet their friends and family and see how they grew up, see their lifestyle, et cetera. The only hard part is living out of your suitcase and missing your wife and not being home. That’s it. That’s the hardest part. The rest of it is getting to see the world, and it’s very exhilarating and exciting and it makes you a well-rounded person and gives you proper perspective on your life. I got a better idea of who I was and where I came from when I left and got to see the rest of the world and then you come back and realize what’s great about the United States and what’s bad about the United States.

NUVO: That’s about all I’ve got. What have I missed that would be interesting?

Wilhoit: I don’t know. I can tell you that life is funny and that growing up and being a huge Stewart Copeland fan, and subsequently The Police, and I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever see them play again, let alone play on stage with them. So that was definitely one of those moments in life when you thought, this is one of those weird dreams that has happened in real life.

NUVO: What’d you think of Stewart when you met him?

Wilhoit: Well, the first time I met him, he was kind of quiet and a little stand-offish and I thought, well, this guy’s a dick. But the more I got to know him when we actually started touring, he’s very charismatic, he’s very intelligent and very funny, and he’s got endless energy. He’s kind of like Kenny Aronoff; they’re both very young at heart, with young energy, and they’ve got this super passion to make it all work. And they’ve got a real drive and commitment to what they’re doing, and that I totally respect. And they sound great. Frankly, if Stewart hadn’t had more grey hair, you wouldn’t know what year it was, because he’s still playing great. It sounds like it could be 1985 again, or ’84, at the top of their game. It’s incredible.

NUVO: Was he one of the main drummers you emulated when you were growing up?

Wilhoit: Yeah, definitely. And you can hear it in my playing. I steal a lot of his licks, and he always laughed about that. He’s like, you guys always take my licks, and then you take it to another level. God, you young fuckers. He’s always like that; it’s really funny. As far as my biggest influence, it’s definitely Kenny Aronoff. He inspired me beyond the drums; he inspired me to want to be in this industry and succeed in this industry. And then other drummers that I just was blown away by were Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Vinnie Colaiuta, John Bonham, Neil Peart; all these guys, just the gamut of drummers. I was 100 percent immersed in drumming, and every drummer that I hadn’t heard of, I wanted to know. It’s been a ride for drummers in my life, that’s for sure.

NUVO: Are you at the point where you’re still working on new techniques and taking in new influences?

Wilhoit: Funny enough, Youtube has opened my eyes to a lot of stuff, and I started getting into drum corps, just watching these guys do amazing shit on the snare drum, I’ve just been blown away. Technique-wise, sitting in my New York apartment, it’s kind of hard to play a full drum kit — I have a V-drum kit, but it’s not the same as a real kit. So I’ve been working a lot on just my hands on the snare drum, and seeing what these guys can do, and it’s inspired me, to be honest with you. So I’ve actually been talking to Chad Sexton from 311, the drummer, about all that stuff, and he used to be in corps, so he’s been showing me a few things. I just got some of these Scott Johnson/Vic Firth Corpsmaster sticks that have rubber tips, so you can pretty much play on any hard surface, and it bounces back. So lately I’ve been getting into these super-chops, rudimental corps stuff. And it’s fun, it’s exciting. I don’t know where it’ll lead next, but that’s what I’ve been doing on the road.

NUVO: Can you bring any of that sort of virtuosity to a rock setting?

Wilhoit: You definitely can. I think that’s one of the major pluses of being in Fiction Plane. The overall idea for the name is it’s a place where you can go and create anything that you want, and more than ever, the band has tapped into that feeling where you have sections of songs where it’s as free as it can be. And I have carte blanche to do whatever it is I want to do; as long as we both end up on the other side, we can take the journey anywhere we want to take it. So I’ve incorporated all that stuff into my playing. And it’s quite fun, it’s the perfect setting for a drummer to be able to be in a trio that there’s space that needs to be filled up sometime and needs to be not filled up other times. It gives you a lot of leeway as a drummer and as a musician to have a big voice; you can say a lot. And so I’ve been doing a lot of rudimental stuff. And it’s just good warmup stuff too. I treat it as warmup right now, but thinking of it as a rudimental block in your playing, it’s definitely something I can use in the drums.