Based in Fort Collins, Colorado and made up of bassist Andrew Di Tirro and drummer Jesse Aguilar bass/drum duo Fear Of Withdrawal just released their debut demo titled “World War IV”.
I caught up with the band to talk about the music that resonated with them early on, how they started playing together and the making of the demo.
CMM:What was the first music that really made an impact on you as a kid and what artists or bands did you enjoy the most?
ANDREW: I was listening to a lot of 90s alternative and metal growing up! Early Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and Primus feel like the most impactful towards me playing bass, but I have fond memories of embarrassing my mom by asking her friends to put on Sabotage by Beastie Boys. Playing Rock Band 2 with my dad and little brother got me hooked on Interpol and Nirvana, but in the brief period where I was old enough to want to buy MP3s before streaming, I remember buying Pepper by Butthole Surfers and The Distance by Cake.
JESSE: I grew up listening to a lot of nu-metal and grunge in the 90’s/00’s. Bands like Korn, Soundgarden, and Primus really informed my inclination towards great drumming, which I didn’t realize until fairly recently. I’ve always gravitated towards more complex, energetic, jazzy-type drumming. And Justice For All by Metallica was also a huge album for me growing up.
CMM:How did the band get together and start crafting your sound?
A: Jesse and I became friends as radio DJs for 90.5 KCSU FM! We had a mutual appreciation for each other’s taste in music, and I started inviting Jesse out to see local shows in Fort Collins. I had been playing electric bass since high school, predominantly as a solo hobby. I was/am really fond of making my bass sound as loud and distorted as possible, inspired by bass drum duos like Lightning Bolt and emulating the grit of bands like Cherubs and Shellac. We decided pretty quickly that we wanted to start a project, and decided to cover Make Room by Helmet to see how well we performed together. That went well, so we started the much harder process of writing our own shit.
CMM:I’ve been enjoying the two song “World War IV” demo you all dropped recently. What was the writing and recording process for those tracks like? Any particular gear or instruments you used during the recording sessions that helped inspire you?
A: The tracks on World War IV were the first we wrote, and we probably spent all of 2024 fucking with them, and convincing ourselves we knew how to write a song.
J: A lot of the parts in our songs result from jamming together and saying “hey, that sounded good”. Sometimes I’ll start with a rhythmic idea, and Andrew will create a bass part for it, and vice/versa. We sometimes adjust our parts per the other’s recommendations, which is the nice part about being a two piece; easier to compromise.
A: I had to upgrade from a Rumble 25 to a Peavey TNT 115 200W because Jesse did not like to play quietly, and the band EQ settings I have on that 100lb thing are now pretty integral to my tone. Recording consisted of us hanging out with our great friend Zachary Visconti (of Safekeeper and Feverishh (We also both play in Feverishh now but that’s another thing entirely)). Played the songs a few times through and they stitched the best parts together. Then we all forgot about it for a few months, but we all came back to it and Zachary made them sound real nice. I’m playing a G&L SB-1 because it’s what I have, and I think the only pedal I’m using on these is the Smallsound/Bigsound Team Awesome Fuzz Machine because it sounds sick.
CMM:If the band could score any film director’s movie who would it be and what would the film be about?
J: Hmm that’s a tough question. I’m a big fan of David Lynch (RIP), but I’m not sure if our music would fit his films very well. The film would probably involve some industry-created wasteland type of scenario.
A: Cronenberg movie, preferably engaged in a metaphor about grief portrayed through ultraviolence. They should also let us do John Wick 5.
CMM:What do you have coming up next?
J: We’re recording a split with FoCo’s own Sludgebroker soon. They were early supporters of what we’re doing, so we’re stoked to release music with them. Always working on coordinating shows, but nothing we can announce for sure at this particular moment.
A: Sludgebroker was one of the first bands I saw in Fort Collins, half of our shows so far have been at their invitation, and we’re super excited to put out a split with them this summer. We will play shows soon whether you like it or not, and we will post on our instagram about them: @fear_of_withdrawal.
