Since the early 2000's, Chicago based band Plain White T's have made their way from the basement, to local clubs to major tours... scoring major airplay, a huge hit and a Grammy nomination along the way. What's their secret? Well, it's not really a secret. It comes down to a group of extremely talented guys that are committed to old-fashioned work ethics.

The band is currently on tour supporting their new project "Big Bad World" and guitarist Dave Tirio recently took time out to talk to Epiphone's Don Mitchell about the band's beginnings, road life, the new project and more.

EPI: Tell me about the early stages of your musical life and how the music "bug" grabbed you.

DAVE: There was always a lot of great music around my house, and I was lucky enough to have parents with good taste. I would take my dad's old headphones from the 70's and listen to all their records: The Beatles, Stones, Who, Springsteen, Petty, etc. You know, the standards. Then in Junior High I joined the school band, playing trumpet, which led to me asking for a guitar for my 8th grade graduation. I got a cheap acoustic, met a bunch of guys with similar interests freshman year (including Tom of Plain White T's) and we started learning to play.

EPI: So you and Tom started playing together at a pretty young age then?

DAVE: Yes.

EPI: What was the next step for you guys?

DAVE: After we met freshman year, we started playing music in his basement. He started on drums with me on guitar and we mostly learned covers for the first few years with some of our other friends. By the end of senior year Tom had written some of his own songs and that's when we decided to form Plain White T's.

EPI: Were there any particular bands or guitarists during your high school days that influenced you?

DAVE: A major influence was Brian May of Queen. I also loved Ozzy Ozzbourne's Tribute To Randy Rhodes album.

EPI: You’ve come a long way since those basement jams in high school. What's it like living on the road, traveling by bus, sleeping in hotels, eating strange food, etc.

DAVE: Living on the road is exciting, difficult at times, and sometimes, a little boring. There's nothing better than traveling and seeing the world and having all sorts of cultural experiences --- and I'm big into trying strange food. But you have to give up your normal life to do this, which means certain things become unbelievably hard, like having relationships. And on some days you have a lot of down time... but that can be great for catching up on sleep! The positives obviously outweigh the negatives.

EPI: Your latest project "Big Bad World" was released last year. What exactly was your role and what was the experience of recording that project like?

DAVE: It was really interesting because we recorded in a completely different way for the T's. We largely abandoned a click track in favor of a more live sound, and we recorded our basic tracks all together as a group. We wanted to emulate the recording processes that were more prevalent back in the day. My role has always been to write guitar parts to compliment Tom's melodies, and we all hammer out the structures of the songs together.

EPI: Tell me about your Epiphones and what you like about them.

DAVE: I have Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Customs. My first ever electric guitar was an Epiphone Les Paul, so I've always had a soft spot for Epi and I've always preferred the sound of Les Pauls over other models. But the best part about my Epiphones is their durability. Spending so much time out on the road absolutely requires not only quality of sound, but toughness.

EPI: Since you play so much live, what is your practice regiment these days? Do you guys still feel the need to sit down and rehearse or practice?

DAVE: That's a great question. Practice has almost vanished for our band, which I guess I never would've expected as a result of our being busy, yet it makes perfect sense. We only really practice at the start of a tour, to put together our set… and then obviously also when we make a new record. We only work on new material seriously when we have time off, although writing happens year-round.

EPI: Thanks so much for chatting with us. In parting tell me... What advice would you give a guitar player starting out in his or her basement that has dreams of getting to the level you are at?

DAVE: That it's attainable with perseverance. The music industry doesn't give out many free passes these days, so a young musician's only option is to work, work, work. It took us eight years as a band to see any real success, and we started playing and practicing years before that. But every year, things got better for our band. We set goals and worked hard to meet them. And with each year that passed, we got hungrier. Now our foot is in the door and it's up to us to keep it there.

More Epiphone news items.