A lot can change in 18 months — especially if you’re Dance Gavin Dance. Since my last interview with the band in September 2009, the group has seen a number of lineup adjustments (most notably the return of original vocalist Jonny Craig and screamer Jon Mess), released a new album Downtown Battle Mountain II, and more recently, has been under heavy criticism for Craig’s now-infamous MacBook scam (in which the singer convinced fans to wire transfer hundreds of dollars in exchange for a laptop that was never delivered).
In this exclusive Ryan’s Rock Show interview, I sit down with main songwriter Will Swan to talk about the creation of Downtown Battle Mountain II, and for the first time on camera, to discuss the Jonny Craig MacBook scam.
Beginning where we left off in ’09: what happened to vocalist Kurt Travis?