#will dailey

Matthew Connor - "Housewarming Party" (featuring Will Dailey)

Stream/buy here.

Director/Editor: Matthew Connor

Director of Photography: Jen Bagley

Hair and Makeup: Alicia Dane

(With doing notes took over 1.5 hours vs the actual 50 minute interview)

Found instrument

Songwriting came out of

Sick of doing others music/covers

Learning other’s ways

Behind wheel of car finding you don’t like the roads

Songwriting was like making your own road

Sexy violent malleable- songwriting/music

Helped him as a child through everything

Between two houses and it became his own household

Seen as anomaly-musician famous- vs. songwriting as a person

(Circle of Fifths)

Pressure of being “something”

Starting writing “terrible songs”

“Grownup” and peer excited

About something I thought of?

Good feedback and believed it

Key part- believed it

Peer excited and making something you created

Addicted to being around people being better than me

To pull you

Songwriting

To get better

Only going to get better by doing it (AH)

Always try to be the worst person in your band

To learn, to grow, to be pushed

(Same as surrounding yourself with people “smarter” than you)

 Neil Young Crazy Horse changed as artists- with band

Parental advisory,

By 90’s pluralism at our fingertips

You can be whoever you are

Know rules and forms and having cohesive story

Or not having cohesive story

Like a dream

Hardcore Truth right in front of you

Music can be funny, Pop(py), Rock

Operate from that thing

(What I Love about Will, same as MF in many ways- she would agree “male version of (self)”

Never quite found/had genre

Never had niche, could hurt songwriters career

Never belonged anywhere

Too rock for indie crowd too pop for rock crowd too folk for pop crowd

Carve out own fan base

By getting in front of them

By striking one chord at a time

Jungle he grew up in, all that influence

Genre madness from 90s to now

Every song at fingertips

Algorisms send streaming service that find out something about you

“This algorism knows me so well” (smile)

From way back when or something new

Amazing, and daunting

And business of songwriting leaves him hopeless

Same time is exciting

If too many options will walk away and come back later(AH)

Overwhelming vs having structure or type of melody in mind (AH cont.)

When having a hit

How to do it again no idea how

Feel like never be able to have something that big again

Always potential to have that feeling

It is a craft and way of being

Learn every rule of songwriting

Then forget every rule of songwriting

Some songwriters only know 4 chords or one tuning

Being open to craft, learning rules

Talk to other artists, figure out what you can do

Ex. There is a verse, pre, chorus, verse, pre, chorus, bridge, verse, pre, chorus.

When you do verse chorus bridge, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus- then done.

When designing song what you want to do when pouring out of you

Be aware of the rule you are breaking because might be creating a hook

Or special pattern

Everything is pattern or pattern upset ( **Relatable to Sociology**)

Ex. Listeners singing along to altercation of pattern

Learn the rules to break them

Being able to predict what’s about to happen sometimes satisfying

Sometimes too much then can lose interest

Sometimes song shouldn’t have surprises

Sometimes should be a meditation

Also option of production making the surprises

Making those choices as artist and writer consciously

Or the emotion is making choice so definitely you don’t need to use your conscious decisions

Or know the rules you are breaking

Not just chasing knowledge- will leave you frustrated creator

Marry the two parts

Person inside who is in there that doesn’t know rules and it’s just pouring -marry that person with that person that knows the craft- effective to communicate and making the parts that are connected more effective (AH)

(Side note Loved hearing his story about title of album- really had impact/was felt moment live)

Obtuse

Writing while in studio, cleanse palette with

Doing things thought of as totally obtuse and irreverent

Would have haunted if not gotten them out- even not to share with others

Intent behind songwriting is most important part (Yes!!! Across the board in the world- all about intent)

Dogged as artist- using everything at fingertips

Always having intention behind his music

Always had in mind person who was going to freak out about it

Or who was going to totally connect to it

Someone imaginary, himself, someone he knows

Intention to reach them with this piece of music

Ideally in that someone else will hate it too

(Van, tour manager, VAN!! )

Kiss of death is someone says it’s nice or it’s good

You want reaction of wow whether love or hate

Have that fearless while writing (AH)

Not trying to please everyone trying to write for “that person” (AH)

Can write song in 5 minutes of 5 years

When 5 years see as so worth it (own Sistine chapel)

5 minute one like wth why didn’t I do with all of these

Can’t call on either one of them

Frustrated with unfinished- not the end of them (AH)

Just work at the end of the day

Pushing it

Ex. Gun n Roses- “Where do we go now” from “Sweet child of mine”

The rpducers thought song needing another part

Slash solo

Where do we go now came from that

Meaning where do we go in song

Came from him joking and producer saying yes keep doing that

Look up Led Zeppelin rehearsal demos

Robert Plant mumbling stairway to heaven

Coming up with gibberish while creating

If you don’t have a lot of songs with gibberish then not trying

Have to marry all these-

Cadence of vocal, delivery of vocal, words, melody having hook

Have to marry all these parts

Not all need to hit

Advice for someone who doesn’t do it for living but wants to carve out time.

Booking time, open mic- invite friend will

Also sets intention  help carve song out energy wise

Give self deadline to write (ex. starting Monday need to finish by Friday)

A little bit of work each day it will get there

15 minutes a day to work on a song

While creating, more focus on lyrics

If in love and/or married to cadences or melody and trying to fit with words together

Can screw yourself bc a lot of work to do- tough- but can be really fun at same time

Plays “It already would have not worked out by now” (THIS line!!)

Songwriting and music way of being

Huge part of being human

It’s not (a) business

Business is what we’ve manufactured around it

Referred to esp by Americans is in those terms

Really robs us of a huge part of our humanity

Remember while writing, Songwriting really engaging in being human

Engaging in this universal communication technique that we have with music

Don’t let anyone take that from you while creating.

(Side note- random ish I love that his site uses the word “Shows” versus “Tour”

And also not so random this was such an amazing interview prob I think even fav thus far)