Surfing For Daisy Brought Incredible Energy And Hometown Crowd To The BMI Stage On Lollapalooza Day Four
Interview by: Shawna O’Hara – Photo by Jina Kelly
When Surfing For Daisy began playing porches in their native Asbury Park, New Jersey, they never thought they’d get so far as to be playing festival stages. Still, on Sunday, they took the BMI stage to a packed crowd, including a loyal group of fellow New Jerseyians, to help close out Lollapalooza on an upbeat rock-and-roll note.
Chicago Music Guide Editor Shawna O’Hara was fortunate enough to catch up with the band after their energetic and well-attended set.
CMG: You guys were incredible today. Did you end up seeing Wunderhorse? What do you think?
Nick: They’re incredible. I think they’re just gonna fly.
CMG: So you guys started playing out small shows in Asbury Park, as you mentioned; this is now your Lollapalooza debut. What part of the original small town feel are you trying to capture at all, if at all, in these shows and bring with you?
Nick: I think that Jersey is just a really special place. It’s got a lot of grit and a lot of heart, and I think Grit and Heart sometimes feel like they might clash, but we don’t do it like that in Jersey, and I feel like that’s what we’re trying to bring to the plate. And we’re just very real about the music that we’re trying to make, and we want people to feel something when we’re doing it.
I guess I would just say, just staying true to ourselves, building a community, wherever we’ve gone, our community of people in Asbury Park has become, like, ridiculous. We started on a porch, and it was really small. And we want people to still feel like they can connect with us on a deeper level. I think sometimes it’s harder with bigger artists because they just grow so big. Of course, we want to grow big, but we still want to keep that sentimental, kind of, like, close, tight-knit, familial feeling. That’s what we’re trying to bring.
Katie: And I don’t know if this even answers your question either, but for me, literally, it’s pretending like I’m in my room, and I take my shoes off for a lot of shows, because I didn’t do it this time, but I don’t know, just pretending like I’m like jamming in our the basement that we usually practice in, and like, We’re just being loose and not too serious, either.
CMG: Exactly, yeah. Well, speaking of that, (during your set) you asked, “Is anyone here from New Jersey?” And there was quite a bit of representation!
Nick: There were more people than I was expecting when we did you said it, and I was just like, holy crap. There was a bunch of people waving their hands, and Jersey’s strong. Everywhere we go, it’s crazy, but so we take a lot of pride in that.
Katie: And we just love our Jersey fans. Yeah, I have to bring it up, but yesterday we were in Wisconsin playing a show. And this bartender was, like, checking IDs, and she’s like, oh, you guys are from New Jersey? We’re like, yeah, she’s like, why? And I was like, so true? I don’t know why she said that, but because it’s an underrated, frowned-upon place, I feel like, but I think when people come to Jersey, they see that it’s a lot different.
CMG: Well, speaking of Jersey, so you guys have done Sea.Here.Now. That’s a big festival, also essentially the hometown crowd there. So does Lolla feel more intimidating because you’re introducing yourself outside of that community that we just spoke about or?
Nick: Yeah, I think when we went into it, there was definitely intimidation for sure. Because it’s any new place that we play, it’s scary because we don’t know anybody there. It’s hard to have a support system when you’re so far away.
Um, we still did have a support system, though, but I think it’s surprising and shocking to see how many people were still there for us, that knew us, um, just from, I guess what we’ve released so far, and I don’t I don’t know if they were spinning on us on the radio, or I don’t know, there was a lot more people there than we expected. And it’s always nerve-wracking in the beginning, but I think, you know, once we get to the middle of the set, we really lock in.
Katie: And it’s nice seeing all the people, you know, dancing and enjoying themselves. I had, like, a cousin out there, so even just for me, seeing one person that, you know, he recognized, it eases you, and, like, I felt like I was at home again, and I’d say it’s daunting, but it’s necessary. Yeah. yeah. It’s always big.
CMG: You know, you said during the set that you guys have really only been a band for a little while and that playing Lollapalooza was an absolute honor. Was there a particular moment during your set where it sunk in? Like, okay, we’re here. We’re playing Lollapalooza. This is it.
Katie: You know what? When we were in the green room, and I was just, like, sitting there, like, looking around, and I saw her name on the freaking door, like, Surfing for Daisy, I was like, you gotta be kidding me. Like, this is a thing. As a little girl, I was like, I’m gonna be in a touring band. And I’m in a touring band. But, yeah, being at Lollapalooza is surreal, and I feel like I was the only one freaking out before the show. Yeah. We were locked in. (To Nick) Were you freaking out?
Nick: I wasn’t. Was it just all of the guys were like, everything’s fine. Everything’s chill. I was like, Are you kidding me? Do you wanna know why? Because the performance is the thing we worry about the least, ’cause we trust ourselves, we trust everything, the process. We worry about the logistics of everything, and once we, you know, set everything up, we’re good to go, had a good sound check. There’s nothing to be worried about. Because we know that we can, you know, we’re gonna bring it, and I think we’re- I keep saying this, but we’ve become a well-oiled machine, because we’ve just been putting a lot of hard work into it now.
CMG: That’s very palpable from the stage. So, your current tour run is called the Don’t Quit Your Day Job tour. So who in this band would thrive in a normal office environment and who would absolutely be fired before lunch?
Katie: Well, it’s funny, you should say that. Because I have to clock into my 9-to-5 tomorrow morning.oy. On tour, in the van. Uh, yeah, I work on 9 to 5, corporate. Uh, I work for a medical communications company, and I’m a film editor there. But yeah, it’s very funny doing something like this and then, like, clocking in the next day and having to sit at my office job, like, all right, guys.
CMG: Is there anyone that would just absolutely flounder?
Nick: My, uh, the individuals that I work for are extremely supportive. I’m very lucky to be in the position that I’m in, but the office life, I don’t think, is really for any of us. So that’s why we’re so committed to trying to make it to the level where we can quit our day jobs. And the thing is, like, we have mad respect for our day jobs, because they give us the opportunity to go do this. But at some point, we want it to transition and have this be our main, just our main source of, I guess, income and just the main thing that we do for life.
CMG: I love that you guys slipped in a little Zeppelin (during your set today), which, you know, no one’s mad about Zeppelin ever. How deeply does classic rock shape your band? And which influences tend to reveal themselves when you’re playing live?
Nick: I try. I feel like Pink Floyd, for me, was really formative in terms of, like, my key sound and what I’m trying to emulate. We cover them a couple times as well, but… And Zep one, to be specific. They’ve always been an inspiration to all of us. One of the first classic rock bands that I found on my own. During my formative years of just trying to become a musician.
So just being able to kind of play them is special to us because they are heroes. It’s almost like giving back a little bit, but, um, I’d say the classic rock sound is an undertone in a lot of our stuff. Whether it’s planned or not, it kind of just seems to come out, because I think classic rock may be the best genre of music of all time. That’s where we all agree as a band; I feel like that’s the genre. Yep. sticks. There’s a reason why the Stones are still playing 60 years or so.
CMG: I would love to know if there’s a woman in music or outside of music that has influenced the way that you play or see or hear music today.
Katie: Oh, my God, uh… Karen Carpenter? Oddly, of the Carpenters, I feel like she, in terms of vocal style, was very formative for me personally. Joni Mitchell as well. Stevie Nicks, obviously, in everything I do, I try to just emulate that. Even her views on being, like, a woman in, like, a male-dominated field are very inspiring for me.
Nick: For me, all the women that she mentioned, and then I’ve been very interested in, I don’t know all their names, but, like, I’ll mention Wet Leg- I’ve been a big fan of Wet Leg and kind of what they’re doing. Olivia Dean, obviously, she also played here. Just to see her doing so well, and she’s worked so hard, and just, from what I was reading, and, um, she’s just got an incredible voice.
She’s bringing back something new, unique. Um, Mannequin Pussy. I love her. So we saw her at Sea.Here.Now. She’s just an absolute force. And then… the Lambrini girls are another band that I’ve been absolutely head over heels for. I think I just love the angsty, powerful women. music. I’m a fan of it big time. I really do.
CMG: So, who do you think, in your opinion, is next in up-and-coming? You just mentioned Lambrini girls…
Nick: Next upcoming….Oh, my God. I would have said, yeah, I would have said Lambrini girls, probably. I don’t know if they’re who they’re going on tour with or not, but I feel like when I started listening to them, they just had a shift where they just like blew up almost instantly. I saw their KEXP concert, and then after that, they were like all over the place. And I was like, this is crazy. Yeah, that might have been- that’s one thing. It’s all it takes, really. So, now, I’m a big fan of that.
CMG: You guys are returning to Chicago for a show at the Beat Kitchen on November 17th. What do you do, or what can you do in an intimate club that you can’t do on a festival stage? How does that feel in terms of, you know, your interaction with the audience or yourselves?
Katie: I can relax. So this is funny. Yesterday in Wisconsin as well, we played this bigger stage earlier in the day, and then later in the day, we played a more intimate vibe, and, like, I felt like two different people. Like, throughout the day. Like, it’s strange when you’re on a festival stage; the sauna’s in your face, and it’s kind of like, I feel like I can’t relax.
And as much as I could, you know, being intimate. And also, I like when I’m able to, like, the people are very close to you, and I’m, like, basically, like, at the same level as them, right? I hate being so high above, yeah, and far away, yeah. We want to be right next to the people. But as I said, festivals, you got it, but you gotta do them. But we still absolutely love them.
Nick: Oh yeah, absolutely. You can just condense emotion better when you’re in a smaller space; you can craft it to be more intimate in that way. And I honestly think that that’s what this band kind of thrives on, ’cause that’s how we started. We started playing on a porch and playing in tiny little coffee shops and house parties and stuff like that. So… Well, from an audience perspective, I will say that just seeing you guys was a big stage. Obviously, there were tons of people there; they seemed very devoted. It absolutely felt like a small environment, almost like a community.
CMG: What’s next for you guys? What’s coming up? And, you know, anything that you want us to know about?
Nick: To the moon. To the moon, baby. Well, we’re gonna be going on tour. Steve is way better at remembering all the dates. So I’m not gonna even try right now, but if you go on our social media, we’re going on the rest of our tour. We’re hitting, um… where we hit Nashville. Well, we’re hitting Decker, Georgia, going to Eddie’s Attic. We’re hitting, uh, Nashville. We play in the basement. Then we’re going to Asheville, then we’re going to Charlottesville, Virginia, and then we’re going out to Camino, California, for Folk on the Farm. So we’re gonna be busy.
Katie: And we have an album coming out September 25th. Echo the Madness. This one’s more dark, folk. We’re very excited about it.
Nick: Then we’ll be going on another tour in November. And we’ll be posting that and promoting that as well, soon. So we’ve got a lot. We’re busy.
Surfing For Daisy’s new single, “Methamphatime”, is out now. You can catch them at Beat Kitchen this November 17th.
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Links:
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Surfingfordaisy/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surfingfordaisy/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@surfing_for_daisy
Lollapalooza:
Official: http://www.lollapalooza.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lollapalooza
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lollapalooza/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lollapalooza