Dave Perry, mastermind behind musical project Fear of Water, joined TPM recently for a sit-down interview on his new singles, process and what we can expect in the future for Fear of Water.
Fear of Water is based out of Austin, Texas. In addition to Fear of Water, Perry also plays drums in the band Ra and is a drum technician for Nothing More.
Growing up around music
Perry spoke about his early life and the inspiration was that made him want to pick up an instrument.
“My mom, her whole side of the family is incredibly musical, multiple generations of playing, literally a family band,” Perry said. He said that his mother “wanted her sons to have the opportunity to explore music. If we showed inclination to it.”
He explored music at a young age starting with piano.
“When I was like 7, pretty early on I realized I like my physical connection with the instrument and I hate being told what to do,” he said. “I quit piano in terms of lessons and continued this relationship with these 88 keys. I knew enough to understand the relationship with the right and left hand, the chromatic nature of the instrument and my ear was good enough to hear what music I was listening to in grade school”.
He went on to teach himself all types of instruments from piano to guitar.
Collaborations
Perry has worked with multiple sound engineers and collaborated with other artists but its his vision that keeps the unique sound that his Fear of Water. He’s recorded records but now his focusing on singles with other artists. He went into detail, stating that a band could go in looking for a sound like other famous artists but he chooses a different route.
“A band can set out to sound as much as possible like some other popular band and this very much what I’m not doing,” Perry said. He focuses on the audio and sonic sound to get that sound for Fear of Water that will make you know that its him.
Dave detailed the collaboration process with others such as Marcos Leal from Ill Nino, Aaron Nordstrom from Gemini Syndrome and Elias Soriano from Nonpoint.
Since 2022, Dave has been releasing singles with various guests fronting the songs.
“It really started with the first batch of songs I did with Sahaj Ticotin, which led him to ask me to be the drummer for Ra and from there it just opened up so many doors,” he explained.
Ticotin, who has also produced Bad Wolves, Otherwise and even Motley Crue, would help Dave with making those collaborations a reality.
“I’m coming to you because of your talent, your established brand, and pull influence for the song,” he said about the idea behind his recent collaborations.
The song has to stand on its own because some may have not heard of Fear of Water. Now its getting easier for collaborations to happen after all the networking, making the top 10 on the SMR Top 50, being the drum tech for Nothing More and his association with Ra.
‘One Day’
His most recent single, “One Day” features Heidi Shepherd from Butcher Babies. Perry said that the meeting came from Ticotin who knew Shepherd and that she was on a list of possible performers for the song. She was interested and excited to do something outside her comfort zone. He spoke highly of Shepherd’s performance, calling it “incredibly intimate and vulnerable performance”.
Shepherd helped promote the song with her own social media, tagging the song and sharing it with everyone.
Do collaborators like Elias or Heidi do any writing on the songs?
He says his process for the potential collaboration is “here is the song, with me doing all the parts, here’s what I envision you doing but I want you to know what you’re comfortable with.”
He’s very open to collaborating with the artists and lets them take the reins. Fans of the artist who work with Fear of Water will like the music they create and it will stand on its own.
Future plans
With many bands touring and reuniting, we asked Dave if he sees the road in his future.
“It is possible. If I’m approached by a label or a management group who want to put money behind Fear of Water.”
So as it stands for now, there will be no touring plans for the foreseeable future but he will still be releasing more and more singles. Future collaborations that Fear of Water has in the pipeline are songs with Clint Lowery of Sevendust and Sahaj Ticotin of Ra. The future is bright for Fear of Water with more singles on the way.
He plans to keep recording and even delve into other genres such as country and pop.
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