But First!

Welcome to The Dailey Weekly, the newest feature at www.willdailey.com. Each week Will will talk with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind, from television to the musician lifestyle to plants to favorite songs to stories from the stage to how he chooses what to obsess over.

Al: I know it’s got to be difficult to answer this in a few sentences, but can you give me a idea of what your typical day in the studio is? Do you spend more time recording or mixing? Do you do the vocal tracks with the band playing live or does everyone record separately?


Will: I would have to say all of the above. We have done songs live in the studio and we have done them by building up one track at a time. Usually starts by deciding which songs would be best to track live and which ones would benefit from the microscope. They first two days are dedicated to Dave Brophy (drums) and Joe McMahon (bass) and making sure the basic tracks are solid which is never a problem with those two. Though they might be done after those two days they usually stay in the studio the rest of the time and will put down some percussion (tambourine etc) at the end, along with some vocal harmonies. We’ve recorded every which way but the path is dictated by the song. On Back Flipping Forward, for example, the song Good To Me was tracked live while Hollywood Hills was tracked one instrument at a time. On Goodbyeredbullet I recorded the opening acoustic guitar to Casual Friday first by itself for the whole 7 minutes and then added one thing at a time.

Al: We talked a couple of weeks back about song writing but I am curious as to how the process continues once words and music are on the page; how much can a song change once you get in studio and hear it? Can you give an example of a song from Back Flipping Forward that came out of the studio much different than how it came in? Maybe some info about a new song?


Will: The most exciting part of the evolution is when a song, going in, isn’t the general focus of the session, people on the whole aren’t as excited about it and then by the end of the session it is a stand out track and everyone is flipping out. On Back Flipping Forward the song Eliza is a perfect example of that. It went in as a little folk song and by the last night in the studio we were all sitting around listening to it over and over. On this last session a song that went through a lot of transformation before we settled on how to do it is a track called “So Many Wrong Ways”. Once we found the right way to record it it was immediately apparent to everyone and it is a gorgeous song that I am very excited for everyone to hear.

You can read Al Norton’s Two Tivos To Paradise every Friday at 411mania.com

Will’s Link of the week: Actual food for thought.

Welcome to The Dailey Weekly, the newest feature at www.willdailey.com. Each week Will will talk with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind, from the economy of the music industry to wild animals to favorite movies to stories from the studio to how he chooses what songs to record.

Al: Got your Halloween costume picked out? What are some of your favorite memories from Halloweens past?

Will: For this Halloween I will be dressed as a recording artist in a studio in Cambridge MA. I found the outfit in my closet. It is basically made up of jeans that I can wear for 14 hours straight and possibly sleep in. A couple layers of shirts: one short, one long and some sort of sweater with a hood. No make up and I do my hair in a bed-head style so it looks good when I am rocking out and also easy to pull when an amplifier craps out.
One of my best Halloweens was when I dress up as a nurse and we had to ride the T (Boston subway) to a party with my other friends dressed as nurses. There is a picture of us on the T somewhere in a shoebox. I was just glad there wasn’t a medical emergency that Halloween because I know CPR but I don’t think anybody would have let me perform it with the outfit I had on.

Al: The election is right around the corner and as has been the case in recent history many in the entertainment industry have used their celebrity to help push their candidate of choice. What’s your feeling on this – is it inappropriate to do so, a privilege that comes with success, or is it perhaps a right that more should take advantage of in order to push the country into thoughtful dialogue?

Will: Good question. Stumping for politicians it isn’t my style but I think it is great when people find something that they believe in strongly enough to throw all their effort behind. My personal belief is to advocate and support people and ideas. Being a part of Farm Aid is the perfect example. We are advocating for farmers, agriculture and quality food and the idea that if the family farm goes so goes our economy and health. I would stump for that cause any day because I can participate, see and celebrate the direct positive results. The results being the allocation of funds to farms that create jobs while at the same time distributing healthy food in an environmental sound way and raising the awareness for the importance of this particular issue.
On that same principal I appreciate musicians like Tom Morello and Serj Tankian who created www.axisofjustice.org to broadcast social and economic issues that they see as important. They are fighting for people and holding a lot of events that shine a light on issues often over looked by political leaders.
Now, it is well within everyone’s right to campaign for a candidate running for political office and I don’t have a huge problem with it. My opinion however is that the people we elect work for us. We fire and hire. The election process is out of control when we consider the time and money spent campaigning vs. actual governing. I have a hard time giving money or time to a candidate or party. I instead prefer to give my money and time to my neighbors, to ideas and to causes that result in policies and a culture that I believe in.
I take nothing away from people like Springsteen, a hero of mine, who is following his beliefs when he campaigns for Obama. He, throughout his career, has been a champion of the people in his songs and does a lot of philanthropic work beyond campaigning. And he believes that the election is paramount to endure those values. Most people, myself included, believe that we are in a dire state and will do what they believe will best elevate out of the situation. I believe the best way to do that is by investing in people not politicians. I endorse politicians with my vote and let them know how I feel about their job performance in calls, letters and mails.
That being said, I endorse Farm Aid, Habitat For Humanity and The Humane Society. Dailey & The Rivals 2009!

You can read Al Norton’s Two Tivos To Paradise every Friday at 411mania.com

Will’s Link of the week: Thoughs?

Welcome to The Dailey Weekly, the newest feature at www.willdailey.com. Each week Will will talk with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind, from rock n roll to baseball to favorite books to stories from the road to how he chooses what song to close a show with.

Al: What’s a song of yours that ended up sounding much different that you originally expected?
Will: There are a bunch that surprise me. Hopefully they all surprise me a little from each recording to each performance. The one song that did a 180 on “Back Flipping Forward” and put a smile on my face was “Bi-Polar Baby”. It was originally a tiny little acoustic song and I loved the demo I made. Then we got in the studio and it turned into this glorious pop adventure. And live it has turned into quite a large song. We often open or close a set with it. I didn’t see that coming originally. It always a good lesson. You never know what a song will become before you toss it out to the world.
There is a new song that we are playing, recording and is going to reach ears soon that has gone through a bunch of adventures since called “So Many Wrong Ways”. Through the evolution it has become more and more specular and fantastical.

Al: Since we are on the subject of Will Dailey songs, when can we expect to hear some new music from you?
Will: Real soon. Working on that right now. Actually I am taking a break from it to type this. I should be able to answer in great detail in the next Dailey Weekly. Until then I am Will Dailey saying, “Stay classy San Diego.”

You can read Al Norton’s Two Tivos To Paradise every Friday at 411mania.com

Will’s Link of the week: Finally.