I had the good fortune of seeing All the Living and the Dead when my buddy Nick Cervini and I stood in for the Rescue Pets Rhythm section a few weeks back. Their set was amazing, marked by smart lyrics and tight harmonies. The fact that, like me, several members of the band are teachers caught my attention, as did the fact that they had all been in various bands that I’ve followed over the years, including the Bret Tobias Set and Missing Palmer West.

The name of your band, All the Living and the Dead, appears in the last line of the last story in James Joyce’s Dubliners. Is there a Joyce fan in the band? Beyond the name of your band, is Joyce an influence on your music?

Yes, we went back and forth on dozens of names for sure. Some of my song titles are discarded band name ideas. We landed on All the Living and the Dead, which is in fact an allusion to the last sentence in Joyce’s short story “The Dead.” I’m definitely a fan of Joyce and reference writers or literary works in my lyrics. I would not say Joyce is an influence on our music or the band really. 

Beyond Joyce, there’s what I might describe as a certain bookishness to your songs—in fact, your most recent single is called “Strange Books.” The song touches on the topic of book banning and obliquely references Moms for Liberty. Where do you think the impulse to ban certain books comes from?

Fear and ignorance. Traditionally, book bans were often aimed at marginalized groups, like women of color, Toni Morrison for example. Lately, the shift has been toward censoring voices and work from writers in the LGBTQ community, like Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer. All of this was inspiration for the song. 

And, contrariwise, why are books—as opposed to, for example, internet memes or blog posts—so important? What sets books apart from other media, and why is that something you value?

Well I’m an English teacher by day, so I suppose that plays a role in my affinity for books. Efforts to ban books are often directed at schools and libraries – places where people gather to learn. There’s nothing quite like that personal experience of reading a book – one that maybe is about people and experiences that are quite foreign from your own that fosters empathy and understanding. We certainly could use more of that in the world, not less. And then the collective experience of talking about the book with others, the shared experience of making meaning.   

Taking it a step further, why do strange books, in particular, matter?

“Strange Books,” as a title is a very specific reference to a line in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, when Giles Corey asks the Reverend John Hale, “What signifies the reading of strange books?” He goes on to say that his wife reads strange books and that he can’t say his prayers while she’s reading them. She’s eventually hanged for witchcraft. People want to censor voices that are “strange” in their mind, not “normal,” whatever normal is. Strange books matter because people should be able to read whatever they want, especially kids who might already feel marginalized or out of step. And those with the privilege of not feeling that way could benefit from learning about the experiences of others. 

Do you feel like that applies to other “strange” forms of expression as well? Like music?

Absolutely. There’s grave danger, I believe, in censoring all forms of expression. With advancement in AI technology, we’re now seeing people censor themselves by having AI create their writing, art, etc. Creative expression, whether it’s art, music, books, is one of the most important things that humans do. We should embrace and celebrate creativity – not censor it. 

I’m also curious about the cover art for that single. Is that a dodo?

Scott does all of our artwork for the singles, albums, posters. It’s actually a Great Auk. Beginning with the first singles we drew from a series of photos taken by Scott of the dioramas at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia a few years back. They have this surrealistic look to them from the juxtaposition of the full-scale taxidermy and small-scale, meticulously-crafted environments they’re forced into. Almost like early studio movie sets. And the inventory of both surviving and extinct subjects felt aligned with our name, for obvious reasons. The Strange Books artwork went through many iterations with some not using the dioramas, but we eventually decided to stay the course and chose a bird to loosely reference a line in the song. 

The band consists of members or former members of other bands like The Bret Tobias set and Missing Palmer West. How did you come together in All the Living and the Dead?

So we all have been close friends for many years and have played together or operated in similar music circles in the Philly area. Scott and Bret Tobias go way back, playing in bands together in the 90s, most notably co-fronting The Bigger Lovers in the late 90s and early aughts. Scott and Krista and I were brought together in our good friend Ben Smith’s band, Missing Palmer West. Tim played in bands with Ben as well over the years. Besides Doug, we are all West Chester Borough residents and neighbors, so Tim, Krista, Scott, and I have spent a lot of time together. I think it was during some outside fire pit hangs during the pandemic when we solidified the idea to start working on songs together. Tim’s other band, Mason Porter, were gracious enough to offer us a spot in their annual Midnight Mountain Music Show in 2022, a music festival in The Poconos. So we sort of circled that date on the calendar, and we began working on songs. Soon realizing we needed a drummer, Scott invited his friend Doug to be a part of the project. He was a perfect fit. We started playing shows, and Bret came out to see us and listened to our early recordings, and invited Krista to be a part of his project, The Bret Tobias Set. 

Most of the band members are teachers. How does that inform both your approach to making music and the dynamics within the band?

Yes, three of us are teachers. I already mentioned that I teach English. Krista and Tim are both music teachers. Scott and Doug are artists, creative directors. I guess having patience, listening to others, collaborating, but also making sure your vision or idea is heard, are qualities that teachers need, but Doug and Scott certainly have those as well. I have been in bands where one member is the driving force, songwriter. With this band, we’re doing a pretty good job I think of collaborating on songwriting. Even though we have so many voices and different songwriters on our self-titled debut LP, people have told us that it sounds cohesive.   

When I saw you perform at the Gem in December, you joked that some people have assumed All the Living and the Dead is a Grateful Dead cover band. Has that actually happened?

I think people have made all kinds of assumptions about our band – from thinking we’re a Grateful Dead tribute band to thinking we’re death metal. With a name like All the Living and the Dead, it’s not surprising, I guess. 

What’s on the horizon for you?

We have a bunch of songs we’re working on and plan on recording, so an EP or maybe another LP is likely in the works for 2025. Also, we’re still actively playing gigs, so people should follow our socials, and check our website for information on all of that.