Another week, another prolific percussionist who got his start in Grafton, Wisconsin. This time around, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dan Didier. The drummer (and current keyboard/synth player in Dramatic Lovers) is best known for his work in The Promise Ring. Before his tenure in the legendary emo outfit and the subsequent Maritime, Didier cut his teeth in unknown projects like Proud, Peace Loving Anarchists, and an especially short-lived band called Dog. At least he thinks it was called Dog.

Over the course of the conversation, Didier tells host Tyler Maas about his mother signing him up for drum lessons as a child in an effort to combat is anxiousness, learning the ins and outs of touring in his high school band Ceilishrine, hosting a college radio show with Eric Szmanda of CSI, and the experience in Europe recording what he knew would be the final Promise Ring album. Along the way, Didier talks about being in bands with people who’d go on to play in Braid and Arcade Fire, and Maas makes a bunch of dad jokes that Didier graciously laughs at.

My First Band is sponsored by Boulevard Brewing and is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you get podcasts. Music used in this show comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”), drawback (“Immortal Mass”) and Ceilishrine (“Projection System”).