Grover Dill have been an integral part of the CT scene since 1996, with founding member Ryan “Zippi” Zipp on drums, Eric Schrader on guitar and vocals and original bassist Andrew Roy, all hailing from Hamden CT. Pete Fertiguena joined a year or so later. Frank DeAngelo recently joined this January after our last bass player Jeff Bailey left the band. Newcomer Nicky Bellmore has been on guitar for the past 2 months, and has recorded new material with the band. When not he’s playing with Grover Dill he’s sitting behind the drums for CT’s Beeners Revenge and AKA Preston. Zippi and Eric were only 14 and 15 respectively when they formed Grover Dill, Eric is now 22, Zippi is 20, Pete is 22 and Frank is the baby at 18. They’re still a quite young band who have accomplished a lot in their time together!
Grover Dill took its name from the movie “A Christmas Story”, villain Scott Farcas’ sidekick is their namesake. They released many independent CDs such as: “Waging War Against Maturity”, “Ghetto Punx”, and “Feel Good Fantasy” before their first release with Asbestos Records, “Few and Far Between”, which has been the label’s biggest seller yet, moving over 2,00 copies! In 2002 they released “Featured Attraction” which they put out themselves. It has moved over 1,500 copies so far. They’ve just finished mixing their latest effort. It’s 7 brand new songs never recorded before and all of the band agree that it is by far the best recording they’ve ever done together.
The live show has been perhaps the best way of winning new fans for this band. I know myself I’ve seen them more times then I could probably guess! Venues like the now defunct Tune Inn were a regular stomping ground for the GD boys. They’ve moved on to much bigger shows now however. The two notable events being "Wango Tango" held at the legendary Rose Bowl, and the Santa Monica Promenade Festival. I’ll try not to go on forever here, I could, but here’s a list of people GD have played with! Blink 182, Green Day, No Doubt, Sum 41, New Found Glory, Alien Ant Farm, Good Charlotte, Jimmy Eat World, Saves The Day, Unwritten Law, Andrew WK, American Hi-Fi, Showoff, Mest, Weston, Stroke 9, The Blue Meanies, 2 Skinnee J's, Allister, Catch 22, Hot Rod Circuit, The Movielife, Dashboard Confessional, The Pilfers, RX Bandits, Quarashi, The Calling, Evanescence, Boy Hits Car, Saliva, The Starting Line, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Will Smith, Steven Tyler, Michelle Branch, O-Town, Jessica Simpson, Vanessa Carlton, Pink, Celine Dion, Marc Anthony, Craig David, Kelly Osbourne, India Arie, Nick & Aaron Carter, Mary J. Blige, and Six Pence None The Richer. Obviously the more “pop” artists are from the California dates. They’ve also been on tour with bands like Showoff and Allister. In the summer of 2001 they played shows in CT, New York, Penn, Ohio, Illinois, & Wisconsin with them. This band has gotten around the whole country without a doubt.
It hasn’t been all sunny skies for GD; they broke up for a period between February 1999 and April 2000. I remember catching one of their comeback shows at the Tune Inn with Weston, not having heard they were back together! It was quite a nice surprise! The band has managed to maintain successful partly based on the friendships within. Eric and Pete have known each other since they were little kids and Eric and Zippi have been friends since the 4th grade. Hanging out and having fun playing shows doesn’t hurt in keeping band spirits high. They’ve pretty much dedicated their lives to GD at this stage. Eric and Pete have part time jobs; Nicky works at a music store. Zippi goes to Fairfield University, and Frank goes to SCSU. Similar tastes in music have also prevailed, the band were influenced by acts such as like the Ramones, the Queers, Screeching Weasel, and Green Day when they began. Their taste has matured a little and they now listen to bands like Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day, AFI, the USED, Hatebreed and Oasis.
Grover Dill is perhaps the biggest band in the CT scene right now. They were influenced heavily by the CT scene that existed when they were younger.
In the eyes of the band, “When we first started going to shows, a big part of the CT Scene for us was bands like Spring Heeled Jack and Sgt Scagnetti. When we first started as a band, we always hoped to be able to have a following like they did, and play as many shows as them. We are proud to be a band from Connecticut, and we want to continue playing for kids in this state. We have such a great time when we play shows in our home state. And the kids who come out are some of the nicest people”.
They owe this to their punk rock DIY attitude. These boys have worked very hard and loved every minute of it. Much of their success can be attributed to Asbestos Records.
According to GD, “Asbestos Records offers the greatest opportunity for young bands. It’s a label that will work with you, and help get your music heard. When we first recorded ‘Few and Far Between’ we were a very poor band. They were totally willing to help us put it out. That record sold about 2000 copies locally. We were all very happy with how well it did. Now Asbestos is working with Orange Peel Records, which is a Florida based distributor. We encourage bands to send their demos to Asbestos.”
So they’ve accomplished a lot at a young age, where do they go from here? There’s a new record in the works, a DVD, lots of touring and as always, dedication. With a rejuvenated line up the boys from Grover Dill can do no wrong. As always, they will be providing for the fans that got them so far. GroverDill.com will be providing mp3s from the new material soon. Is there a chance of moving up the ranks to a bigger label? They say it’s a possibility, and they are more ready for it now then ever before. What do they have to say to their dedicated fan base?
“We appreciate all the support that we have received. Whenever we play out of state, we tell everyone how CT is such a great place to play and all the kids are really cool. To anyone who has every come up to one of us at a show or whatever and has told us they’ve seen our band or heard us on the radio we thank you so much for being honest to us. Please come see us again real soon. Our shows are always posted on our new sit www.groverdill.com”.
