Welcome to the last installment of The Dailey Weekly for 2009. Each week Will talks with pop culture writer Al Norton about what ever crosses his mind. Check out Will’s year end show at the Paradise in Boston, MA and Al’s pop culture blog.
Tickets to Show
Link to Blog

AL: Congratulations on the Boston Music Awards nominations! How did you get the news? Where can fans vote for you? Will you be attending the show, and if so, might there be a performance by you and the Rivals in the cards?

WILL: I was on a train to Detroit to start a tour. It was great news and totally surprised me. It actually feels really good. I’ve heard this all my life by people who get nominated for things but it really is nice to be in the same company as the other acts. The Boston Music Awards are important in that they highlight the people who are working hard and drawing attention to the city. Also supporting the clubs and the service staff and media outlets. Artists help those things thrive.
We are playing at the awards Wednesday night. I think we are doing about 5-6 songs.
You can vote here: http://thebostonmusicawards.com/contests/bma09/vote/
Today (Monday ) is the last day to vote.

AL: Crazy as it seems, 2010 is right around the corner…What plans do you have already lined up as far as your music goes? Will there be a big tour coming up soon? Any new studio time booked?

WILL: The main focus is a new material. I will be demoing stuff up through January and tracking in February if all goes according to plan.

AL: Being a musician, a profession that seemingly does not lend itself to quality health insurance options, I thought you would be a good person to ask about the health care debate going on in the country right now. What’s your take on this, both the concept of national health care itself as well as the way the dialogue is being conducted?

WILL: Being a musician it has been tough at time. Any old bio on the web will tell the tale. Being a musician also means that I don’t know much about the inner workings. So much of it to me does not make sense. Universal care sounds ideal and matches my values but I am not educated enough on the matter to declare it an absolute must. Everything has a positive and negative outcome and to calculate the perfect answer can be exhausting. So I tend to insist on my personal values: everyone, if they so choose, should be able to have health care and stay healthy, and others shouldn’t make astronomical sums of money off another’s illness there by promoting illness. First and foremost I would like to be able to bid on heath insurance across state lines that would make a huge difference for me as a musician and for my musician friends. That much I do know.

AL: Are you as psyched for the release of Avatar as I am? I wasn’t paying that much attention until I saw the full length trailer they aired during Glee a few weeks back and now I am obsessed.

WILL: Yes I am. I am excited about a lot of winter films. It is amazing how 3-D is becoming the norm.

AL: Speaking of which, what would be a bigger pop culture high – having a contestant do one of your songs on American Idol or hearing one of your songs done by the kids on Glee?

WILL: Hmmm. Not being a huge fan of either it is tough to say. But I love answering your questions. I would have to say Glee because that means a whole group of people think that your song is right for their project as opposed to one person who is trying to be the next sacred cow.

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

LINK OF THE WEEK: VOTE- http://thebostonmusicawards.com/contests/bma09/vote/

Will Dailey Torrent, Volumes 1 & 2: Fashion of Distraction / By the Blue Hills

By Drew Pearce

Laden with electric 12-string riffs and rich harmonies, Will Dailey’s third release has a vintage vibe that calls to mind intergenerational collaborations between the Byrds and the Jayhawks (“Laugh It Off”) or Tom Petty and Ryan Adams (“So Many Wrong Ways”). But it’s more than the ring of familiarity that makes this record instantly enjoyable; Dailey has impeccable pop instincts and a knack for marrying the finest phrases to the catchiest melodies. Blending anthemic melodies, rave-up rhythms, and a “Wall of Sound” arrangement that culminates in a killer guitar solo, “Never Be Your Baby” sounds like his surefire radio hit. When the instrumentation is pared back to acoustic guitars, mandolin, and percussion (“Allston”), or a single ukelele (“Too Long”), the songs have even more charm and resonance. And though some songs come close to “Kravitz-ing” the classics, one tune captures the passion of someone reacting to this moment in history. On “Down the Drain,” Dailey digs into the lyrics with the conviction of Bruce Springsteen and the soul of Martin Sexton and makes you believe him when he sings, “I am more concerned with the quality of my freedom than I am with the quantity of my days.” (CBS Records, cbsrecords.com)

http://www.acguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=25041

Torrent artwork