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.

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 pigs wearing lipstick to Lost to favorite restaurants to eat at on the road to how he chooses what song to open a show with.

Al: Now that you’ve appeared on both nighttime (CSI: NY), daytime (last Friday’s episode of As The World Turns) and morning (The Early Show), what are the differences you noticed in the way the shows are put together? Do you think it’s easier to do a show you don’t personally watch, so you don’t feel totally overwhelmed? I mean, how could you possibly stay in character if you were playing “Piece of Mind” on the deck of the Galactica?
Will: Well, the morning show was intense because it was very early in the morning and singing at that time isn’t the most natural thing to do. And you’re live, to millions of people. It can either get in your head or just be another day at the “office”. The CSI gig was a little surreal because I hadn’t done anything like that and never aspired to play music on a crime drama. The experience was fascinating and a lot of fun. You do 30+ takes of your song blasting out of speakers and you can sing along if you want to because it is so loud. The whole experience was extremely foreign to me so I had no idea if was was doing anything wrong. Also Gary Sinise is right beside you and if you let him down then you’ll feel like a chump.
The ATWT gig was amazing. It is an pop institution that has been part of our culture for 50+ years. And it was too perfect getting asked to do a scene to save a farm while also getting asked to do Farm Aid. Having never really watched a soap, I was stunned by the level of work that goes into doing one show (and they do one show a day!). It was a unique experience. However, you only get one or two takes in daytime television which I found out after the first take. I am basically playing myself but I usually feel like I am on a high school field trip and checking out how “things work” in the world of television.

Al: Assuming that you weren’t playing live on at least one of the two shows, is lipsynching a skill? Growing up watching Puttin’ On The Hits I thought it was easy but something tells me it’s a lot harder than it looks.
Will: For Me lip synching is a lot harder than singing. It’s certainly a skill but I wouldn’t call it a musical skill.

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

Will’s Link of the week: Election Shmershmection