In episode 47 of Hooked on Creek, Korre Johnson talks with Dylan Kader. In addition to being a huge fan of Max Creek, Dylan sings and plays mandolin in Creamery Station.
In this episode, Dylan talks about his appreciation for Max Creek, his experiences playing with members of Max Creek and the deep connection between Creamery Station and Max Creek. Dylan also talks about what it’s like performing in Creamery Station and his excitement for Creamery Station’s new album.
Related links:
- Creamery Station’s website: creamerystation.com
- Will The Circle Be Unbroken performed live by Max Creek on December 31, 2017
- Railroad Blues performed live by Creamery Station on December 31, 2017
- Crazy Night and Story To Tell performed live by Creamery Station on March 3, 2023
Transcript of episode 47
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 47.
Thank you for joining me on episode 47 of Hooked on Creek. This is a very special episode because it features an interview with Dylan Kader. In addition to being a huge fan of Max Creek, Dylan Kader sings and plays mandolin in Creamery Station, a rootsy and eclectic jam band based in New England that has appeared alongside acts such as The Marshall Tucker Band, Twiddle, Ekoostik Hookah, Melvin Seals and of course, Max Creek.
In this episode, Dylan talks about Max Creek as a key musical inspiration for him, he describes the deep connection between Creamery Station and Max Creek and he talks about his experiences performing with members of Max Creek. Dylan also talks about what it’s like singing, playing mandolin and writing music in Creamery Station, his excitement for Creamery Station’s new album and what it’s like performing with his father. I think you are really going to enjoy my conversation with Dylan, so I am excited to share it with you.
In the episode show notes, you will find links to learn more about Creamery Station and if you head over to hookedoncreek.com you can read a full transcript of my conversation with Dylan. Alright, now let’s get started.
Korre: Dylan Kader, welcome to Hooked On Creek.
Dylan: Hey Korre. Thanks so much for having me. Quite a pleasure.
Korre: Dylan, you are in this incredible band called Creamery Station, and I’ve been really enjoying the music mostly from live recordings on archive.org and YouTube. But I’m curious, how would you describe Creamery Station and the music you play?
Dylan: That’s a good question. We say soulful, bluesy, roots jam music. That’s quite the mouthful right there, but we have a lot of different influences in our band. We’re actually a seven piece, which gets big sometimes. It’s so cool. Everybody adds a different texture, they add musically — but also their background is all different. So it’s really cool how it became a pull together from so many different people and styles, and we really tried to form it over the years into something unique itself.
I’d say a lot of our influences are like the Dead, Max Creek, Allman Brothers, the Band, Little Feat and New Riders and stuff like that — but those are my influences. And then we take a little bit from everybody else and we bring in some like roots jam music, I would say.
Korre: And, you sing, you play mandolin. Are you also a songwriter for the band, too?
Dylan: Yeah, I do all those. I write a lot of the songs on guitar, but then when we translate them over, everybody gets a different piece. There are so many great guitar players out there, including ours. And, I fit well in the mandolin, I’d say. We each grab our own little piece. But yeah, I play mandolin and I sing in the band. And I do a lot of the writing to start the songs, but we always like to say that it’s never a Creamery Station song until everybody gets a little piece of it.
That’s one of the things that’s the hardest and the most special thing about being a seven-piece band — where we try a bunch of different things. We could spend months on one song and everybody just adds a little bit of their own flavor to it. Say we throw 10 things at the wall and if two of them stick, that’s more than you had if you didn’t try. So we try a lot of different things and we try to really just pull the whole song together as a band, more so than it just being one person’s creation.
Korre: What is that like to be a performing musician on stage performing to a crowd?
Dylan: Well, it’s funny. For me, I was always a music fan. And actually, my father’s the guitar player in the band. So I was always around music a lot, but I never thought it was for me. I just thought it was something that I wasn’t capable of doing. But after I kept with it and I really stuck with it, I thought it would be fun just to learn guitar and be able to play around campfires for friends and stuff, but it turned into something I just love so much and it really grew.
To be on stage, I feel like coming from somebody that was on the other side of it so much in the crowd and really just enjoying the music and appreciating it, it’s pretty full circle I would call it — that you get to go up there and see it from the other side and understand that back and forth, which really makes a show live. You could play in your own basement or garage or studio or whatever, but when you have that crowd reciprocating energy back and forth, it’s a really a powerful thing. And there’s really nothing like it. I got to say, probably my biggest smile in my life is when you’re playing on stage with people you love for people you love.
Korre: You mentioned that your father is in the band. What’s that like? How did this whole relationship to music and playing with your father start?
Dylan: Like I said, I really didn’t think I could do music. He was so talented when I was growing up. I was always around it. But I picked up the guitar, I learned a few chords, but it just never really stuck really hard. But, I started getting into martial arts and philosophy and stuff when I got a little older and I kind of realized that nothing is easy just because you want it to be. You know, you do something and maybe it takes you a thousand times to do something, over and over repetitively to really be able to pull it in. I realized that maybe it wasn’t that I couldn’t do music, maybe I didn’t apply myself well enough. So I kept playing over the years and I started picking it up.
My father taught me a bunch of things and I had a bunch of other great teachers. He saw the growth and we started playing more together and it really grew into something. He was in another band locally in Connecticut. We kind of started playing more and more on off nights until it became something that him and the harmonica player in his other band decided that this is what they really wanted to do. It seemed to be going in the right direction. It was growing. We really all love the music we’re playing and we kind of sucked them in from the other band. And from there, we started our whole build into what we are today.
But it’s one of those things where having my father on guitar on stage, it’s special. Because you become a family in a band already, but when you have somebody in your actual direct family in there, it’s definitely a really easy way to start that up. And you just kind of grow the camaraderie from there and it seems to just build into one special family as we go.
Korre: I understand that you are a fan of Max Creek. Take me back to your initial introduction to the music of Max Creek. When and where did that occur?
Dylan: I think it was ’08 at Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, Connecticut, maybe ’09. I was big into Phish and the Dead at the time. By that time, I probably saw Phish like a hundred times. And, I heard somebody playing Cities from the main stage and I started running. I had no idea who it was, but they were killing it. It sounded phenomenal, so I had to get over there — and I found the band Max Creek. And as I met them and got to know them more — and I talked to Scott and because he plays in the band with Mike Gordon from Phish — it makes sense they’ll throw in into Cities every now and then. So it’s kind of funny how something so random that I heard a song that made me go running and I caught this band that ends up becoming one of my favorite bands of all time and I’ve probably seen probably more than many other bands.
I’d say I’ve probably seen Creek about a hundred times myself. And I don’t have any inkling to stop now because it’s really special. They have something really special going. I’d say that they’re one of those bands that they have a family and the community’s really special there. But on top of that, even the same song, when you hear it every single night is different. And it’s just such an incredible journey that they can bring you on musically. I just never get tired of what they’re doing.
Korre: Has Creamery Station and Max Creek as bands crossed paths or have members of each band played with each other before?
Dylan: Yeah, Max Creek has been like a brother band to us — an older brother that really helped get our feet under us. And they’ve been the kindest people to us. Just meeting them in person, they’re so nice, too. But on top of that, they’ve really supported our band on the upbringing where they allowed us to open for them a ton of times, and we’ve shared the stage with them a bunch, like at different venues as well as at obviously Camp Creek — their festival, which is a great time. And we’ve been lucky enough to get a few of us sit in with them, a few of them sit in with us. And it really feels special that they welcomed us in with such open arms.
And really, I attribute a lot of our success and growth to them. So not only as influences, but directly supporting us as great people as they are. And it really means a lot to me to be able to once again see it from both sides of the fence. You know, I’m out there just loving every single note they’re playing and then to be able to go backstage and just see the smiles on their faces and the kindness in their eyes. It really is a cool thing. They are family.
I think the first time they sat in with us was New Year’s Eve one year at Toad’s Place. We had Bill and Jay sit in. We did a few songs, we brought our drummer up front to sing while they played. And we had Scott come in later. I got to say it was pretty special. Our harmonica player and Scott were going back and forth and Scott gave him the look. They wanted to trade licks. It was pretty cool — just being right there. It seemed like one of those things where I had to keep remembering I was playing because I was watching something so cool and full underneath us.
But that was great. As funny as it is, later that night, they had our harmonica player up for a song. He was up there and the next thing you know, we’re doing Will The Circle Be Unbroken for the end of the night. And they had us come up and sing and we probably had a little too much to drink that night. It was a fun New Year’s Eve night. We were up there and we didn’t have a, a microphone or anything. We were just singing up there, having a little fun with everybody. But they probably forgot that our harmonica player has a microphone. So next thing you know, we’re all holding this microphone, all singing Will The Circle Be Unbroken on stage — our arms all over Scott and whatnot. It was a pretty fun one. I think they probably turned that microphone off pretty quick though when we were singing.
But, they’re just such great guys, really though. They’re just always so much fun to play with and hang out with. Really, it means a lot to be on this with you right now because they are one of my biggest inspirations going back. Just to see them still doing so well and just jamming so hard is just so amazing to me.
Korre: Tell me about the fans that support Creamery Station. Is there may be an overlap between fans of Max Creek and fans of Creamery Station? Are they similar, different, or how would you describe it?
Dylan: Yeah, we definitely have a lot of the same fans. Obviously, there’s big overlap. We have a lot of our own people, too. But what I see in the Creek family is something that I admire. I really love seeing that same energy in our own crowds. It really just comes down to the happiness that people are trying to bring and trying to enjoy themselves. It really is a cool thing to see that while you’re playing and while you’re out there both ways. I’d say we have a great family there.
Korre: I’m curious, what are some of your favorite Max Creek songs?
Dylan: That’s a good one. For me, I’ve always loved Windows. Just for me that really hits. But lately I’ve been just listening to so many different versions of Something Is Forming. I can just go down a list. Heartbeat is another one that I just can’t get off my record, right there. Well, I was going to say I like a lot of Scott songs there, but then again, I would just sort of say, Big Boat or You Write The Book are just special ones for me. And You’re The Only One For Me — when we all get to sing that at Camp Creek, it’s just such a special thing, right there. So that’s hard.
I got to say, for me it’s the connection to each different version that’s so special. And they tell a different story every time. They have so many great songs, but the fact that they can almost rewrite them depending on the energy of the night is probably the most special part to me.
Korre: You mentioned earlier that you have seen Phish a lot. How would you describe the influence of Phish as a band in general to music in New England?
Dylan: I’d say Phish definitely has one of the biggest influences on the New England scene. More so than Americana, roots music like we do, you definitely see a lot more of the Phish jam types of bands up here. Definitely a huge influence. But even going back from there as you see Max Creek inspiring Phish, which is such a special thing in itself. The biggest things I would notice for me and their jams is at least a few years ago when I was on tour, we were all talking about how Phish was practicing their transitions. So they know how to transition to the next thing, but everything else is spontaneous jam-wise in between.
But Creek is one of those few bands that I’ve seen that can literally go in there with no plan at all with where the jam’s going to go. And seemingly every time it’s a success. It’s just such an incredible thing to watch. And trying to be able to do that myself as a musician, you’re almost more impressed by it when you see how fluently they do it. I got to say it’s definitely a special thing to be able to recognize and to be able to appreciate.
Korre: When you were growing up, did you think that you would be a musician performing as an adult? How unique is this for you in your life now to be out there performing and touring with a band?
Dylan: Yeah. I got to say I never thought I’d be doing this. I had a few different things I did through my life, but I always loved music and I was always seeing myself touring, following bands. But when it came together, it just seemed to really click and just be such a natural growth in my life and progression. I really can’t look back and think anything else would’ve been a better option for me.
For me, my biggest philosophy is Daoism and it’s about understanding the flow of the world and adhering to it so that you don’t have to put so much energy on yourself. Like the idea of you’re trying to get across a river with a current flowing, instead of fighting the current, you go with the current to get across the river and it’s a lot easier. So the idea of that is pretty ingrained in me and it seemed like one of those things where fighting something that I loved so much, like music, just almost seemed silly at a point. So to be able to take it and internalize it and make it a way that not only I can enjoy music but actually make a living off of it, is a really powerful thing. It feels incredible to be able to do that and internalize it in such a way.
Korre: I understand Creamery Station has a new album that’s almost released, is that right? Can you tell me about it?
Dylan: Yes, sir. June 23rd, we’re going to have a new album coming out everywhere online and we’re really excited for it. Our last one was in 2020. We put it out and it hit a bunch of charts on Relix charts — it hit number one and stayed up there for like a really wild amount of time. For seven months, it was in the top charts. We were pretty excited about that. We jumped right back into the studio again after.
But it was one of those things where even though we started, we really wanted to take our time and make sure we developed all of the new songs properly. So even though we got in there right away after, we’ve taken now like two and a half years to really perfectly develop what we wanted the songs to sound like, and I think it’s great what we came up with. So I’m really excited to get that new album out there. I think people will really like what we’re doing there.
Korre: Does your band stick to the Northeast? Do you guys tour outside of the Northeast? Where can fans catch your band?
Dylan: Lately we’ve actually been not playing enough in the Northeast. We’ve been traveling pretty much everywhere else. We started 2021, we did a full cross-country tour. We started in the Northeast, headed right across the California and did Utah, Colorado — the whole Southeast, and then we went back up. And then since then, we’ve done a few runs out to the Ohio area, as well as Colorado, Arkansas. We just got back from a few different tours. We were down in the Virgin Islands in April and then we did a May tour through the Southeast and up to the Midwest a little bit. But, we’re up here now doing a bunch of festivals and we’re real excited to keep playing in all the different areas and hopefully keep building those fan bases. So if anywhere out there, if you like our music, make sure you reach out to us and tell us where you want to see us play.
Korre: Dylan, if fans want to learn more about you or Creamery Station, where should they go online?
Dylan: Check us out on any of the streaming services, Spotify and whatnot, facebook.com/creamerystation — Instagram the same, as well as creamerystation.com. We’ll be out there, so check us out. See our tour dates and we really hope to see you out there soon.
Korre: Dylan Kader, it was so much fun talking with you today. Thank you for joining me on Hooked On Creek.
Dylan: Thanks so much, Korre. Hooked on Creek, you guys rock. We appreciate you having me on it.
It was a lot of fun talking with Dylan, learning about Creamery Station and hearing about his love of Max Creek. So now to round things off, let’s listen to a couple Creamery Station songs featuring Dylan Kader on vocals. There is a fantastic recording on archive.org of Creamery Station performing live at Arch Street Tavern earlier this year, so I am going to play a couple tunes from that show.
This is Creamery Station performing Crazy Night live at Arch Street Tavern in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 3, 2023.
And now, this is Creamery Station performing Story To Tell live at Arch Street Tavern.
That concludes episode 47 of Hooked on Creek. Huge thanks to Dylan Kader for joining me on the podcast. If you’re curious, during the introduction to this episode, I played a portion of Will The Circle Be Unbroken performed live by Max Creek with members of Creamery Station, including Don DeStefano on harmonica, during their New Year’s Eve show at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut, back on December 31, 2017. Later in the episode, I also played a portion of Railroad Blues performed live by Creamery Station with special guest Scott Murawski from that same night at Toad’s Place.
You can find links to stream or download all the music featured in this episode in the show notes or on the Hooked on Creek website at hookedoncreek.com. And while you’re on the website, go ahead and click the contact link and let me know what you think of this podcast. I would love to hear from you. Thanks for tuning in!