Deputy Editor Hannah Gadd sits down with indie-pop trio, almost monday, before their headline show in Birmingham
I had a great time interviewing Californian indie pop trio, almost monday, ahead of their Birmingham show. Consisting of Dawson Daugherty (vocals), Cole Clisby (guitar) and Luke Fabry (bass), they’re definitely a band to keep your eye on. Coming off the release of their debut album DIVE, hitting number one on the alternative music chart and in the midst of a world tour, it’s an exciting time for almost monday. From their dressing room at Mama Roux’s in Digbeth we had a great chat about The DIVE tour, Tik Tok hits and festivals. Check out the interview below!
The last time you were in Birmingham you were supporting The Driver Era, how was that and how does it feel to be back for a headline show?
D: Somebody who was on that tour with us was just in our bus this morning coming to visit and she bought photos from the tour and it just reminded me how that was one of the funnest tours we’ve ever been on. We love those boys so much, Ross and Rocky, they really took us everywhere in the world with them. Those boys really changed our lives in a lot of ways. Amazing, first time playing in Europe and the UK. I just look back at that tour with great memories, so many great people on that tour. It’s cool to come back and see how many people stuck with us because that was the first tour we’ve ever played out here and so many fans are now at our tour, it’s cool!
“It’s cool to come back and see how many people stuck with us because that was the first tour we’ve ever played out here…
And this is The DIVE Tour, the album came out back in September and since then you’ve taken it to Asia, the U.S. and Europe, what has the response to these new tracks been like?
L: It’s been good! It’s cool to see people singing it, we had the deluxe come out a bit ago and seeing people even singing those songs is a pretty cool thing. It’s just fun to see a bit more of the world and have people come along.
What tracks in particular have gone down well on this tour?
L: ‘can’t slow down’, it’s been doing really well on radio. We love ending on ‘life goes by’ it’s a good kinda encapsulating piece of who we are.
D: I’d say ‘you look so good’ and ‘she likes sports’, they’re so good live. They’re easy to sing along to I think. It’s pretty elementary so it’s pretty fun.
Speaking of ‘can’t slow down’, it’s really having a moment right now, it went number one on the alternative music chart and it’s been doing the rounds on socials. What was the creative process behind the song like and did you expect it to take off in the way it has?
D: I think the more we do the band and write more songs, I’m just trying to get better at disattaching from the result if that makes sense. Sometimes you get your expectations up and think ‘This is the song!’ and it’s not. So I feel like, for me personally, my relationship with songs is just trying to make something you think sounds cool and you like and think other people will like then just let it do its thing. For ‘can’t slow down’, that was an example where I was just sat down and stuff just started happening. You just never know, it can be any song. Especially with Tik Tok now, songs from like twenty years ago just blow up!
For sure, my parents will be listening to songs and so often I’m saying, ‘Wait, that’s viral on Tik Tok right now!’
D: Yeah right! We’re covering a song right now that was kind of a resurfaced Tik Tok hit but it was a proper hit in 2002, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ song ‘Maps’, you probably know it from Tik Tok. It’s hilarious, you’ll see at the show tonight everyone doesn’t know the verse then it’s ‘Wait! They don’t love you like I love you’. It’s so devious but it’s so funny!
Your performances are full of so much energy, do you have to adopt a different persona or does it just come quite naturally when you’re on stage?
D: For me it kind of is a persona because I’m not doing that normally, you know, like jumping around and being… well maybe! It’s a bit of myself but sometimes I felt like I couldn’t wear my normal glasses on stage because I didn’t feel like I was on stage. There’s a bit of a persona there but it’s kind of hard not to when you’re trying to entertain people, you can’t just fully be yourself.
L: It’s a performance! I think it’s a bit of both. I try to find people that are having a really good time. There was a guy yesterday that was jamming so much harder than everyone else around him and it just made me smile. You kind of draw energy off people and enter into their happiness. Something I’ve been thinking recently is the more I focus on other people, the better, I feel better, I play better because it’s more giving.
D: I love that Luke, wow, that’s a really cool insight!
“You kind of draw energy off people and enter into their happiness.
It’s lovely! You guys take a polaroid at every show to have what you’ve described as a ‘snapshot in time’. What do you guys want to remember from this snapshot and what will you take from this tour?
C: It’s funny because we did this exact tour four months ago, literally almost exactly the same places and sometimes the things you remember are just the small moments. You remember the shows and the highlights but at some point it all blurs together. Some of the most memorable things from this tour, we’ve been shooting a music video at the same time and a director came out on the bus with us for a week and a half. We were exploring the cities everyday with him and just running into funny things and stuff like that. That always ends up being some of the most memorable parts. Obviously some of the best shows too.
The tour actually finishes on Saturday…
D: Woah that’s heavy!
L: Damn, what day is it?
It’s Tuesday today!
D: Woah I love how you say that [in a British accent] ‘Tuesday!’ Sorry to be a basic American and just gog over the UK accent, it’s just so good though! ‘Tuesday!’ (Laughs)
(Laughs) So after the tour you’re going to be playing some festivals, are you approaching those shows in a different way to your headline shows?
D: Oh woah, nice!
C: I think in terms of just our set, the set will be a different time. You’re also playing to an audience who doesn’t know you, there will be people that do know you but a lot of people that don’t so I think that changes things in terms of how we formulate our set. A lot of these festivals have these LED walls which we never get to use so it’d be really cool to have some visuals to go with the show.
D: I think with festivals too, they just have such an energy that you can’t get no matter what at a headline show, even if you’re like Olivia Rodrigo. There’s something about festivals where there’s just so much energy, they always feel just a little bit different.
L: It’s such a communal vibe too, all these people, all these different bands and artists coming together to just have a good time and listen to music. It’s a very unifying feeling.
D: Super unifying!
“There’s something about festivals where there’s just so much energy, they always feel just a little bit different.
What’s been your favourite thing about this tour and playing in the UK again?
D: I think for me, not to get existential, life feels so fleeting. It’s just going so quick, I feel like we just started the band. Sharing moments with people that you don’t know but they feel like family in a weird way because they know the songs and it’s something you made, it’s just really profound and it hits me every single night in a really existential way. Like, in no way did I ever think people in Birmingham would know almost monday and be affected by it enough to come see a show. There’s just so much gratitude that I get to spend my time doing this. We always talk about this, we all almost went to different colleges and went our separate ways but I’m so grateful we didn’t.
Also your sound is so embedded in a Californian surf vibe and to play it in Birmingham and it still goes down so well…
All: Yeah!
D: I like that! I thought that in London too, London has that kind of cool, raining vibe and then people sing to ‘sun keeps on shining’ (laughs) seeing these older guys in the back just into it, I like that stark contrast, it’s really funny!
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