Dollar Short Hadley Castille

June 25, 2006
Daily World Best of the Best
W
hen a
city
experiences a population boom, it’s
only natural that
the local entertainment scene
grows as well.
St. Landry Parish
has seen an
influx of clubs
that have become
staging areas for
new (and legendary) bands.
Our readers once
again picked the
best the area has
to offer.
Nightlife
Dollar Short
★ Best Local Band ★
Dollar Short
www.dollarshort.com
Myspace.com/DollarShort
D
ollar Short came from meager beginnings. It
began when Ben Dye and Eric Gautreaux met
in college.
“I met Eric and we liked to play together ... then we
met Brian and formed Dollar Short,” Dye said.
Dye and Gautreaux decided to name the band Dollar
Short because it seemed that they were always, well, a
dollar short.
The band has grown to include Brian Esneault and
Myles Weeks. Today they perform at fraternity events,
private parties and nightclubs.
Their next gig will either be at Franks or Eddie’s.
Dye said, “We haven’t talked to Ryan [Veillion] yet,
but we may do the grand reopening of Eddie’s at the
end of July.”
37
Hadley
Castille
★ Best Cajun Band ★
The Acadian St. Landry Parish - September 2005
MUSIC
Page 39
GOOD
Dollar $hort
by Tim Landry
Eric Gautreaux
our Louisiana boys go the
self-serving route and play
music they enjoy. Fortunately,
audiences appear to eat it up as
well. Dollar Short, a band that
frequents the Baton Rouge and
Opelousas areas, plays mostly
covers but also has entered the
realm of original music. Guitarist
Ben Dye says his band has
enough original songs to make
a CD, but that each track would
sound so drastically different, it
almost wouldn't make sense.
Three members of the band,
Eric Gautreaux (drums, lead
vocals), Ben Dye, Brian
Esneault (guitar, vocals) sounded off on what makes them the
F
Brian Esneault
band to catch this weekend. The
newest member, bassist Myles
Weeks, was unavailable for
interview.
Would you consider yourself a "party band?" How
would you define the role of
your band?
Dye: We all come from such
a different background of music.
We pick out stuff that (in the
band) everyone would enjoy
playing and everyone (in the
crowd) would enjoy listening to.
We really try to avoid the typical
cover band covers. We've
always tried to stray away from
the slow stuff. It's great to listen
to in the car, but not at our show.
We just played a lot of stuff with
a lot of energy, and people started dancing all the time, and
that's how we became more of a
party band.
Gautreaux: If party band
means having a good time and
pushing the limits on stage, then
yes.
Esneault: We definitely love
to have fun with the crowd at
shows! And yes, we do play a lot
of fraternity and sorority parties.
However, wedding receptions
and formal parties are few and
far between by choice. We usually have a very broad age
range at our public shows. As
long as it rocks, we'll play it. If
not, we'll make it rock.
Describe the sound of
your original music. Is it an
eclectic mix of your collective
favorite music genres?
Dye: Looking at the stuff we
play, we play a broad variety.
We almost don't want to get
grouped into a specific genre.
To be stuck in one day for the
rest of your life is just ludicrous.
Esneault:
Majority
is
upbeat. There is definitely a
strong pop vibe to the end product. Mainly in the vocal
melodies, but you can definitely
hear ties to funk, classic rock,
blues and a few others. To tell
you the truth, our sound has
been evolving by the week lately.
Who are your personal
influences?
Gautreaux: My dad got me
interested in playing music, so I
guess he's my greatest influence. My two favorite artists are
Neil Young and Modest Mouse.
Esneault: Guitar influences
are Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ryan
Newell, Elliott Smith. Song writing influences are Kevin Griffin
(Better Than Ezra), Ken Block
and Ben Folds.
What's it like when working on original music? How
does the band write an original song?
Esneault: Ahh, the dreaded
question. If we tell you, can you
share your answers from other
bands? Honestly, we've found
that in the beginning stages of
trying to write a song, it's difficult
to get four people on the same
page. Everyone has a different
idea and a lot of time is usually
wasted. However, there are
some rare occasions where a
jam turns into something more
structured.
What's
the
crowd's
response to your presence on
stage generally like? What's it
like to you to be a performer?
Gautreaux: We usually
have a great time on stage, and
the crowd feeds off of that ener-
Ben Dye
gy. This is what I do to make a
living, so I feel fortunate doing
something that I have a true
passion for.
Do you have a large following at any specific venues? Do you have any
favorite venues?
Esneault: We usually have
a pretty good turnout at Triple
Crown in Opelousas. All the
guys will tell you that. We've
also played for St. Frederick's
High School prom in Monroe for
the last three years in a row. It's
always a fun gig.
Gautreaux: I really enjoy
playing festivals. There's just
Continued on page 40
Myles Weeks
Page 40 The Acadian St. Landry Parish - September 2005
From page 39
something about playing outside.
A Dollar Short show is
coming up. What do you say
to someone who's never seen
you play to encourage them
to attend the show?
Gautreaux: You're gonna
get four guys on stage sweating
and playing their hearts out for
their and your entertainment.
Dye: You're gonna dance;
you're gonna move; you're
gonna enjoy yourself. And if
we're playing something you
can't move to, you're going to
enjoy it.
Esneault: I'd say, "Man, you
gotta come with me to check out
this band! Last time I saw them,
half the stuff they played, I forgot I loved! And dude, they just
played it even better than the
original. If you want original
music, they play that too. They
don't wear costumes or put on
makeup. They just play good,
solid, feel-good music.
For more information on Dollar
$hort, visit their Web site at:
www.dollarshort.com
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