Central Track Contributor
Nothing Has Nothing To Say About Its Van.
Behind every great band is a great van. And when these former church vans, daycare buses and plumber's work vehicles have racked up enough miles on the road, they eventually start being thought of by the band as another member of the team. Hey, we get it: It's hard to spend so many hours with bandmates (both human and machine) without a few things getting broken, a few good fights taking place and lots of great memories being made. We hope that, by exploring these stories, we might get to know some bands from both North Texas and beyond on a more personal level. Check out this feature's archives here.
The Pennsylvania-based quartet Nothing isn't easy to classify.
The band's just-released debut LP, Guilty of Everything, blends the best qualities of shoegaze tones, emo lyrics and a hardcore aesthetic — elements that are all founded in each of the band members' roots. But, then again, the band's signed to Relapse Records, a record label with a reputation for heavy metal.
So, yeah, pinning down the band's place is tough, even if its genre-defying sound is exactly what makes Nothing so interesting. Well, that and Nothing frontman Dominic Palermo, a veteran in the music scene with something a sordid past.
On Nothing's recorded efforts, Palermo teeters on the brink of chaos, but does so with a gentle emotional sincerity — even if most of his words are drowned out through most of his band's songs. In live settings, though, Palermo abandons his perceived reserved nature, falling back on his hardcore instincts.
It's a sight to be seen, for sure. And with the band is currently rounding out the last leg of its nationwide tour, Dallas audiences were treated to that display at Club Dada on Saturday night.
Before that show, we caught up with Palermo and the rest of his band for a bit. We didn't talk about the band's past, though, or even its future.
Nope.
We just asked them about their touring van.
Band Name: Nothing How long have you had the van now? 

Where did your van come from? How did you acquire it? Who's Ziggy? What makes your van special? What are its best and worst features? Who usually does the driving? Any scary moments in the van? 

Do you have any good breakdown stories? What are your best memories from being in the van? Brandon, Why are you shitting yourself so much? 

What are the best modifications you've made to the van, decorative or otherwise? Anything else we you’d like to tell us about your van?
Van Name: “No name. Yeah, we just bought it. It's just car.”

Year/Make/Model: “2012 Ford E350 15-passenger van.”
Mileage: 53,000 miles.
Palermo: “We got it six or seven months ago with 22,000. So we put like 35,000 on it in, like, five months.”
Palermo: “We bought it from Ziggy.”
Palermo: “He's Haitian. I've known for a long time.”
Brandon Setta (Guitar): “It smells terrible.”
Palermo: “The air conditioner works.”
Palermo: “Everyone drives. Half of us aren't allowed to drive, but we do it anyway.”
Palermo: “Every time I shut my eyes and try to sleep and a bump happens, I think that the van is gonna roll over and burn up and we're all gonna die in it.”
Kyle Kimball (Drums): “It's never broken down.”
Setta: “Not yet.”
Palermo: “No.”
Palermo: “Brandon shitting himself every few seconds. That's the only thing I can remember!”
Setta: “Um, my bad?”
Palermo: “We put a Calvin sticker on the van.”
Palermo and Kimball: “It's tight.”
