“We’ve still got a lot more to give,” Rick Everard of Daily J tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
The drummer is talking about how it feels to read recurring online comments insisting the Aotearoa indie-rock band are “underrated.”
But Daily J have been dishing out memorable music for six years now. Originally hailing from Blenheim and based in Auckland, they’re now the soundtrack for over 450,000 monthly Spotify listeners. Not bad going for a band that’s supposedly flying under the radar.
On Friday, February 21st, their second album, Scatterbrains, was released, and Daily J want everyone aboard for the ride.
Rick, alongside bassist Jonny Paul, is keen to emphasise the “evolutionary” nature of their new record.
“It feels like we’re maturing and growing as people as well through it,” he says.
Jonny, Rick, and the rest of Daily J – Jonny’s brothers Jayden and Jesse – took six months to decide upon a title for their album.
“Scatterbrains plays on youthfulness, reminiscing back on the days where you live in a world where you don’t need to worry so much,” Paul explains. “It’s almost like a state of mind we had during the whole process and theme.”
Among many highlights on Scatterbrains is “Cheap Tequila Sunrise”, and Daily J posted on Instagram their take on the drink.
Unwritten ingredients include a “funky guitar slide” and an unconventional recording process. “You’ll hear [the slide] quite a lot,” Rick reveals. “It was kind of like an early-on idea that kept going through the recording.”
When they brought it to producer Joe Faris, they were surprised by an unusual move. “One of the cool things he did was putting guitar to the monitors and creating lots of feedback,” Jonny recalls. “He did that before at the end of the chorus.”
“An almost static sound,” Rick chimes in, adding that he also loves the gang vocals on the track.
“[‘Cheap Tequila Sunrise’] is just a really good energy, fun song that feels quite drivey and punchy… I just love how it goes through quite a few modes in that song,” he continues.
Now full-time musicians, the pair are very aware of the ups and downs of their new life. “You get to meet a lot of people in the industry… and do things out-of-the-box,” Jonny points out.
Rick agrees. “You have the ability to really dial in on your goals and make things move a bit quicker.” He considers the other edge of the sword too. “We’re getting less free time and opportunity to do the things we love, which is associated with your youth.”
Focusing on music full-time has brought a further test of free will. “When you work for yourself, it’s quite challenging to not just go off and have a couple beers or go to the beach. So you need the strength with it to keep you going,” Rick says.
View this post on Instagram
It’s time again for the boys to open up their “nutty” world, as they call it. They’re buzzing to embark on their biggest-ever tour of Australia and New Zealand in celebration of Scatterbrains.
“We want to make sure the tour is an absolute doozy, ” Rick says with a smile.
“It’s a massive milestone for us to play the Powerstation in Auckland,” Jonny adds. “We’ve got family coming and all our friends, and hopefully a lot of fans too.”
Although their dreams recently led to a UK and Europe tour, Daily J are thinking of moving to Australia this year. “It’s been a big stepping stone goal for us,” Rick explains. “I think that might be the right market more for us and [we’ll] see what can happen there… maybe that’s where the ‘under-rating’ will become ‘normal-rating’.”
“Highly rated,” Jonny jokes, to which Rick retorts, “Overrated. Yeah, we might come back.”
Daily J got great preparation in for their upcoming tour when they opened for Girl in Red last year at Spark Arena. It was the biggest stadium the band had played in to that point.
“Just having the whole setup around us, it felt pretty grand and we got a good crowd,” Rick says. “Girl in Red was cool to watch. She had some amazing, crazy energy live. We always take something away from watching artists like that.”
Now, they just can’t wait to reconnect with their Aussie and Kiwi fans.
“We’re keen to catch up,” Rick says. “Make sure people stick around and we’ll come out and say hello. We love doing that, we want to connect with our fans.”
Daily J Australia/New Zealand Tour
For tour information, visit dailyjband.com/pages/tour
Wednesday, February 26th
La La La’s, Wollongong
Thursday, February 27th
King St Warehouse, Newcastle
Friday, February 28th
The Factory, Sydney
Sunday, March 2nd
Freo Social, Fremantle (Labour Day Eve)
Tuesday, March 4th
Jive, Adelaide
Thursday, March 6th
Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast
Friday, March 7th
Brightside Carpark, Brisbane
Saturday, March 8th
Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sunday, March 9th
Torquay Hotel, Torquay (Labour Day Eve)
Friday, March 21st
San Fran, Wellington
Friday, March 28th
Powerstation, Auckland
