Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr Speed Up With Sophomore Effort

Josh Epstein of Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

Daniel Zott of Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

Opening act Chad Valley

Photos by Andrea Calvetti

Following the release of their second album, The Speed Of Things, Detroit born and bred indie pop duo Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have begun making a name for themselves for something beyond, well, their name. Quirky yet accessible, polished but never bland, Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein have found the sweet spot between pop sensibilities and uniqueness, expanding their electronically-tinged hooks and dynamism just enough to keep things interesting without abandoning their comfort zone, deftly outmaneuvering any possibility of failing prey to the dreaded sophomore slump. The Speed Of Things changes gears often, shifting between exuberant choruses, love poem sensitivity, introspective melancholy and conversational assertions, but never stops moving forward through the swirling melodies and smooth vocals.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. recently packed Chicago’s own Metro with a sold out crowd, their largest ever outside of their hometown. Epstein’s colorful world map jacket and Zott’s curly hair tied into a ponytail on the side of his head were framed by flashing J’s and R’s sidestage as they opened up the set with “Hiding,” singing into a disembodied phone receiver and thrusting fists in the air with every “Hey!” The solitary incandescent bulbs attached to each mic stand illuminated intermittently, seemingly signaling new ideas realized mid-lyric, while each half of the duo dutifully took their turn leaping into the crowd to lend credibility to their synth-infused single “If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor).”

Transverso spoke with Zott after the show.

TRANSVERSO: Congratulations on what was your biggest ever show outside of Detroit to date! How does it feel?

DANIEL ZOTT: It's an amazing feeling to have people in another city show up at all, so to have a record crowd made it even more special. 

How have you been enjoying the tour so far?

It's been the most successful and most fun. That's a good combination. 

You brought your dog Potato on stage during the show. What’s it like bringing him along? 

It's actually Josh's dog, but yes, he's been incredibly well behaved. He brings a lot of joy to the bus and helps us keep things in perspective. 

I understand you recently did a benefit concert to raise money for a sick child. Can you tell us a little bit about this?

Alex is a kid who recently discovered he had brain cancer. His family got nailed with a huge bill and we were just trying to help out. It was a really fun day with him and his family. Being in a band is full of self-centered moments. You spend most of your time trying to make people care about you. So, it was good to spend a day thinking about someone else. 

So I have to ask, what’s the story behind the name?

We wanted a name that wouldn't restrict our sound. It's so outrageous that it gives us freedom to sound like anything we want. 

Will your children carry on the legacy as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Jr.?

Never.

Is Dale himself a fan?

He is. He says so in a video on Tumblr via Fox Sports. 

I understand you started the band rather casually without many expectations. Do you believe art is always best created with spontaneity? Is your process more calculated now that you’ve found success?

There's a good mix of both. In order to finish any good idea you need to have vision and execution which is more calculated, but spontaneity is good for coming up with ideas and changes. 

You both seem to split frontman duties 50/50 more or less. How does this work?

We are finding our roles more and more as we grow together. We never plan for it to be perfectly split, but it does seem to balance out. 

Many people consider indie pop to be a bit of a contradiction yet you guys blend the two worlds perfectly. Do you consider yourselves to be more of one or the other? How do you find balance?

We are just trying to make pop music in the old sense of the word. We'd like to make a popular song that has some substance to it. 

How has the Motown style popular in your native Detroit and the presence of legends such as Jack White influenced your music?

Greatly. There is pride that comes from being from Detroit. You respect the history and feel responsible for the future. Makes us work hard at writing good songs. 

You recently made a hip hop mixtape, can you tell us a little about that?

It has been a dream for a while. We really like making beats and producing other people’s tracks. It was a way for us to let people know what we can do. 

I heard Paul Simon worked on your new album in some capacity, what was that like?

It was wild to get his thoughts. He didn't just have general thoughts either. He gave some recording tips that really worked well for "War Zone." 

What’s next for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.?

I need some lunch. 

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Originally published on The Music Ninja

The 7 Best Songs Over 7 Minutes Long From the Last 7 Years

Ever since John Lennon decided to add a few minutes of “Na Na Na’s” to the end of what would become the timeless hit “Hey Jude” purely to piss off the radio stations with strict three or four minute run-time limitations, artists everywhere have experimented with song length, often to brilliant results. While many “Best of” lists of this nature have been compiled before, they contain almost exclusively classic rock tracks such as “Free Bird” and Pink Floyd; looking amidst our own generation I give you the seven best songs over seven minutes long from the last seven years in chronological order. Compound songs (hidden tracks and such) were not considered.

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Peter Bjorn and John / Up Against The Wall

Writer’s Block (2006)

7:06

Delightful Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John claim to be Abba’s illegitimate sons. While that may be ridiculous, they do have a legitimate claim to something else: The title of most underrated indie pop rock band. While you may have heard their whistling hit “Young Folks,” overlooking the rest of the masterpiece album,Writer’s Block, is a terrible mistake, especially “Up Against The Wall.” The rolling drums, meandering guitar, and subtle vocalization techniques combine to make such a biting reflection of a relationship deceptively upbeat and toe-tapping:  “Maybe we could make this work / But now you start to leave before it's getting worse / I don't know what you came here for / It's almost that I wish we hadn't met at all.” I could not say the same to Peter, Bjorn, and John; I am incredibly thankful to have found them.

of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (2007)

11:53

This tense 12 minute adventure in angst and confession is the turning point in Hissing Fauna, arguably the best album in of Montreal’s extensive discography. It is within this song that front man Kevin Barnes claims to have transformed into his alter-ego, Georgie Fruit, a "dark mutation” that takes the form of a “black she-male,” as he deals with antidepressants and their effect on his marriage. Themes of existentialism and hopelessness intertwine as he struggles to come to terms with how someone could have “red-rovered the gestapo circling [his] heart” and love him despite his crippling flaws. The chilling ooh’s that begin around 4:20 will continue to haunt you long after the song has ended, and the synth undulations that appear later on sound straight out of Pink Floyd’s “Animals.” The line “It's like we weren't made for this world / Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was” epitomizes Barnes’s entire artistic career: bizarre alien creations that somehow feel more comfortable and better exemplify our most basic and secret human emotions than we ever imagined possible. He goes on to wonder if his lover “mythologizes” him as he does her and admits he’s so “touched by [her] goodness” he feels “criminal,” beautifully articulating the insecurity and altered perceptions that accompany the most vulnerably irrevocable love.

MGMT / Siberian Breaks

Congratulations (2010)

12:10

Following the success of their anthemic debut, Oracular Spectacular, psychedelic duo MGMT were given almost absolute artistic freedom by their record label while making their immensely underrated follow-up, Congratulations. That freedom allowed them to stray from the pop single structure of “Kids” and “Time To Pretend” and create this sprawling 12 minute conglomeration of acid-tinged streams of consciousness which vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden claims is his favorite of the album, saying, "It's kind of like eight different songs strung together into one, and the general theme is about surfing in the Arctic Circle by Russia." With crushing retorts such as “There's no reason / There's no secret to decode / If you can't save it / Leave it dying on the road” and the suicide note-worthy “If you’re conscious you must be depressed / Or at least cynical” amidst heavy reverb, this song undoubtedly has a depressing air about it, and yet the glittering synth and fitting realization of “Being here's always changing tunes” leaves you with an almost indifferent taste of acceptance in your mouth as you fade away, gently reminded nothing is truly ever “created or destroyed.”

LCD Soundsystem / Dance Yrself Clean

This Is Happening (2010)

8:56

It was difficult to pick only one song by the unfortunately now-disbanded indie dance pop masters and synth gods of the long song that are LCD Soundsystem, but I decided on “Dance Yrself Clean” based on the fact that it is quite simply perfect. Although a bitch to play on air during my radio show due to its immensely dynamic volume range (either it’s too quiet or peaking, always!) it is infectiously catchy and well worth the struggle. The initial soft patter of percussion and whispered vocals give way to a barrage of delicious, dance-inducing noise and hair-raising howls around the three minute mark, creating a drop that ended dubstep before it even began. Frontman James Murphy later admitted to needing steroids to help carry his voice through the recording process and protect it from injury, and while this may feel like cheating to some, it is a testament to his dedication as a musician and drive to create the best that he can, and the thought of this work of art having never been completed instead is far more discomforting, especially when considering it ended up being the very last song LCD Soundsystem ever made. “Break me into bigger pieces / So some of me is home with you,” he cries; careful when giving in to this song around your expensive music playing equipment, or he may not be the only thing left in pieces.

Cold War Kids / Fashionable (Bonus Track)

Mine Is Yours (Deluxe Version) (2011)

7:02

I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed by the overproduced and polished third album by the soulful and, until this point, brilliantly raw Cold War Kids. And although it was still enjoyable, Mine Is Yours even left out the best song of all: “Fashionable” is only listed as a bonus track on the deluxe version, or a rare 7” that used to be available exclusively at shows before they quickly sold out (I had to hide mine under a couch in Atlanta’s Buckhead Theatre back in 2011, but that’s another story). It begins with vocalist Nathan Willett gently cooing over bouncy acoustic guitar before transitioning to a church organ, in turn introducing the percussion, and eventually building up to a delightful return to his wonderfully powerful and emotional wails of old (sadly, the only song post-Loyalty to Loyalty to really do so), as it builds in excitement towards the end, sending chills down your spine. “I am your style / Oh and you are my style” he belts out before asking, “Who will sweep you off your feet?” You do, Nathan. You do.

Young Man / 21

Vol. 1 (2012)

7:04

Colin Caulfield’s big break happened when his YouTube cover of a Deerhunter song caught the ear of the band’s frontman.  An album and record deal later he has put together a full band under the name Young Man, and the resulting fuller sound is perfectly showcased in “21.” The almost eerie piano opening is reminiscent of Musique pour Supermarché as it blooms into soothing guitar melodies driven by pulsating snares and Caulfield’s gently probing cries of “crying shame.” The also lyricized “indeterminate feelings” swirl throughout the seven-plus minute runtime, presenting indie dream-pop at its best since Beach House’s Bloom.

Grizzly Bear / Sun in Your Eyes

Shields (2012)

7:07

Daniel Rossen’s flawless vocals lift this song along with its listeners above the clouds in fits of beauty. “It overflows / It overflows / It overflows” within you, receding momentarily as the piano seems to contemplate it’s very existence, before it resumes, “Silver inside / Rushing on.” After erupting with pulses of distortion, the last track on the band’s latest album, and the final song they played when I was lucky enough to see them live, signs off with a blunt, “I’m never coming back.” We can only hope this isn’t true, and that Grizzly Bear merely hibernates before returning with the sun to shine on us once more.

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Honorable Mentions

Bright Eyes / Firewall

The People’s Key (2011)

7:17

I’ll admit, I’m still not quite sure what to make of the prophetic mumbling that makes up the first two and a half minutes (Hitler being name-dropped here and throughout the album reeks of stabs at sensationalism), yet I can’t help but be intrigued. The commanding, military ritual drums, rolling guitar befitting of a sedated Jack White, and the typical Conor Oberst misery spouting of lines like “On all fours she's just so insistent / Fills my mind with jump ropes and slit wrists” seem to lack some genuineness, but even at their most calculated, Bright Eyes are still worth a mention.

Death Cab for Cutie / I Will Possess Your Heart

Narrow Stairs (2008)

8:26

Although it may be one of my favorite songs from Ben Gibbard’s extensive repertoire, it doesn’t quite make the list on merit of length, as it is essentially a 4 minute song with an enjoyable yet unnecessarily drawn out intro. I might prefer it half as long but played twice as much.

Real Estate / All The Same

Days (2011)

7:22

The sweet jangly melodies of New Jersey band, Real Estate, are impossible not to hum or whistle or sing along to (although not all at once, that would be impossible). This is the perfect song for lazy warm afternoons, or, I imagine, painting.

Hospitality: It Turns Out Our Music is Kind of Friendly Sounding

New York pop rock trio Hospitality hit the indie scene after their self-titled debut album was released by Merge in January of this year, drawing comparisons to Tennis and Belle and Sebastian. Transverso caught up with lead singer and writer Amber Papini at the Radio Room, a small dive bar in Greenville, South Carolina, where her band would be the last of four playing that night. The noise inside and “wet paint” signs above the benches by the door led us to chat standing in the parking lot, competing with the sounds of nearby traffic in the darkening autumn air.

TRANSVERSO: How have you enjoyed touring so far?

AMBER PAPINI: It’s been great, we went on these tours earlier in the year with Eleanor Friedberger and Tennis and that was awesome. Now we’re headlining and we get to pick out our own opening act, Teen, and they’re really great.

What’s the biggest show you’ll be doing this year?

We’re headlining Bowery in New York on November 2nd.

So how did you decide on the name Hospitality for both the band and your album?

Well for the album, I don’t know why we chose Hospitality. We went through a couple ideas; I guess we liked the name for the band ‘cause it’s sort of anti-rock and roll, anti-angst, and we always thought we could be like an edgy rock and roll band and have a name like Hospitality which would juxtapose with the meaning of hospitality, but it turns out our music is kind of friendly sounding so people think that we’re like twee, and I don’t know, kind of cutesy or something.

And now you can be rude to everybody.

[Laughs] Yeah now I can be rude.

How do you feel about being labeled “twee”?

Oh I don’t mind it, I like twee music actually. It’s weird, I didn’t really understand the definition and then I looked it up; I read some articles that people wrote about it and the music. I kind of like [the band] Orange Juice. It’s a really broad, weird description, first of all. I don’t know. I definitely don’t think that people are going to describe us that way with the 7” or the new material that were making.

So I understand that’s coming out on Tuesday, tell us a little about that.

It’s The Drift / Monkey 7” and comes out October 30th. I guess it’s a much more live recording than the record ‘cause its basically just the band playing and there’s not a lot of overdubs, and like I said, I don’t think that people are going to think “twee” when they listen to it.

Your mix of cheery, upbeat music and often more cynical lyrics creates an interesting juxtaposition. What is your thought process behind that?

I guess I always like music that does that. I like writers that do that. I’m a big fan of Elvis Costello, and I think I’m a pretty cynical person so it’s inevitable that it’s going to come out, but I also really like pop music and I like catchy melodies and all that, so I think that they can live together, you know, peacefully or happily.

Your debut EP came out back in 2008, why such a long time until the album?

I guess we had a few delays, one being Brian, our bass player, had an opportunity to tour with this band called White Rabbits.

I just saw them open for The Shins.

Yeah that’s right, they’re really big and they’re really good.  Brian wanted the opportunity and it was great and he really enjoyed himself, and the problem was while he was touring with them we didn’t really know when he was going to be back, so we had one-off shows here and there, and then getting in the studio, logistically, was sort of problematic. Finally, when we did get organized and get into the studio to record this record, then we were able to push things forward with Hospitality, basically.

New York is referenced a lot in your music. How has the urban setting influenced you?

Because I’m not from New York -  I’m from Kansas City -  I always sort of dreamed and idolized NYC, and I think, being a foreigner, it’s easier for me to notice little things and I can sort of pick up on stuff that, maybe, somebody that has lived there all their life and just sort of takes it for granted, can’t. I’m finding that I think distance always helps with writing and I feel like now that I’ve been away from Kansas City for, like, ten years now I’m going back and I’m tapping into that landscape and that story. It’s more comfortable for me to write about that world now.

You used to be a teacher. What was that like?

Oh, that was great. I pursued teaching ‘cause I thought it would be a good balance between being able to make music, and teaching. [It's] creative and you’re working with kids and you have lots of vacations and summers off, so I thought I could have a nice job, an interesting job that’s working with interesting people and doing interesting things, and then it would also allow me the time to do my own creative work, so it was really a happy relationship. And then when the record came out, we had to tour so much that I had to say goodbye and quit and it was very sad, but I think they’re happy for me now.

Did your students enjoy having a rock star teacher?

Yeah, I think they did. They were really impressed, and I think it was a big deal for them. They saw a video that we made, and I remember this little girl watching the video when we were in the classroom and I was standing there, and she kept looking at the screen and looking at me, and looking at the screen and looking at me, and I think it was like ‘Wow!’ They kept saying ‘That doesn’t sound like you!’ And the singing, they couldn’t believe that it was my voice. It was funny just to hear their reaction.

What is your favorite album of the last year?

For 2012 I really like the Dirty Projectors’ new record and Frank Ocean and Tame Impala; we’ve been listening to that record in the van.

I’ve been getting into Tame Impala too, it’s like John Lennon and Cream had an Australian love-child.

Yeah, it’s a really great record, very 70’s and kind of psychedelic. What else… oh, I like the new Grizzly Bear record, too. I guess that’s just off the top of my head. There are a lot of good albums out right now.

Any plans to get back in the recording studio any time soon?

Definitely, after this tour I’m going to just kind of lock myself up and write more songs, and we’re going to work together as a band, and hopefully we’ll be ready by 2013 to record. So that’s the plan.

You’ll have to make sure your roof doesn’t collapse on you like with Arcade Fire.

Yeah, were looking out for that. We’re going to try to get home, actually, there’s a hurricane coming and we’re going to try to get home before that hits.

Ever thought about doing a show in the middle of a hurricane?

Yeah, we have actually. We sort of did in Florida, there was like a rainstorm happening in the middle. That would be cool, that would be awesome, yeah. [Laughs]