Dad Bod: A Band of Brothers
Images provided by Dad Bod
Brooke Hannel spoke to Dad Bod about the formation of their band, their new single and their upcoming album.
Brooke Hannel: Thank you for doing this interview with me! So, I know you began your band about 2 years ago, what made you want to start a band?
Michael: I was doing some solo stuff and played a few shows opening for some local bands. I got a spot at Pigstock, and thought it would be a lot more fun to play with a band. That’s kind of how the band was born.
Marcus: Michael, Matthew, and I just wanted to play music together more than anything. The idea to “officially” form the band didn’t really come until after we played our first show together.
BH: And with the name Dad Bod, it tends to garner a lot of attention. Where did you come up with the name? Did you try out other names before you settled on Dad Bod?
Michael: It kind of started off as a joke and then it just ended up sticking.
BH: I think that has worked out with you! And, how would you describe your sound?
Russ: Music you’d listen to in a hot air balloon.
Michael: I like the term “psych-pop”
BH: You’ve released several different singles where you play with your sound. How has your sound changed over the past 2 years?
Matthew: I’d say it’s just progressed overall. We've grown as people and as musicians so we have influences from all over. We've experimented a lot with recording techniques and the type of sound that we have wanted.
BH: What is your music writing process? What happens in the studio?
Michael: A lot of the time I will be messing around with some lick or chord progression on the guitar and that’s how a song starts. Then we start making lyrics based off of something in our lives or something we've been going through together as friends. I am really excited for this album because there is a lot of collaboration between all four of us. The writing process includes all of us.
BH: You guys are very passionate about film, photo and design, how does that go hand in hand with your band?
Matthew: I think every creative outlet that we enjoy tends to overlap with each other. Our music is the result of all of the things that we surround ourselves with. Without these other creative outlets and influences, I believe our music would sound a lot different. Our music has become a window into who we are as individuals.
BH: Your new single, The Drifter, just came out. What can you tell us about it and what do you love about it?
Matthew: I really love this new single because, to me, it really captures the direction that our overall sound is going. I feel like our music is constantly evolving and it’s fun to hear the progress that we’ve made.
BH: I heard your new album is being produced by Nice Guys, what makes this album different from your other records and what do you love about this new album?
Matthew: Nice Guys helped us with our latest single but we’ve decided to produce this album ourselves. We are really excited to put this new album out because this will be our first album worthy of vinyl. I feel like we all have become better musicians and I hope that this album reflects that.
BH: What is the future for Dad Bod? What do you see yourselves doing in 5 years?
Matthew: We just hope to build off of what we have now. I think each person in this band has the same priorities when it comes to what we’re doing here, and the most important thing to do is to keep making music that we love and would want to listen to.
