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| DREAMERS and I after the show |
Autumn Lucas (me): Have you been to Salt Lake City before?
(Nick was talking before the interview that he'd been to Salt Lake once when he was younger, and his mom used to live here for about a year.)
Jacob Lee Wick: Yes
Nick Wold: Jacob actually played here, in this venue.
JLW: Yeah, 10 years ago. Found that bag in the dumpster *pointing at a black duffel bag, that seemed to be in great shape, that was on a table behind me*, I still use it.
NW: Oh yeah, that duffel bag that he still uses.
Marc Nelson: Which is a great duffel bag, why did somebody throw that away?
JLW: I think someone stole it from the airport and then took the-
NW: contents
JLW: -the inside-
NW: -and dropped it off.
MN: Yeah, 'cause it is such a good bag.
JLW: Yeah, and I found that and- like- a Gucci bag, and an XBOX.
NW: An XBOX?
JLW: Not the actual thing, but the box that is comes in with all the cables.
MN: *laughs rather loudly*
NW: Oh, an XBOX box
JLW: Yeah, I didn't want to say "box" twice, but...
MN: I still haven't seen SLC Punk; is that a good movie? I've heard it's great.
AL: Yeah, I've only seen it once, and that was a little while ago, but I don't know... (It's a great movie, but it's depressing, so I'm not totally sure how I feel about it)
NW: Was it a Salt Lake movie?
AL: Yeah
NW: Nice, I haven't seen it yet.
MN: Now that we're here, that's- like- on my immediate to-do
JLW: Don't you guys have a nice tea shop here?
AL: I have no idea...
JLW: Yeah, that was a while ago, though.
MN: There was one particular cup of tea, that he definitely remembers.
JLW: The Red Iguana, is that a place?
AL: Oh, that's a burrito place (it's a Mexican restaurant, but you know what I mean), we just went there for my brother's birthday
JLW: Then there's Blue Iguana on the other side of town?
NW: There's multiple colored iguanas?
AL: Yeah, they're both Mexican food places. The Blue Iguana is by the Capitol Theatre.
JLW: Oh yeah, I did spend some time here. High School Musical was filmed here.
NW: Wow, wow *in an odd, high-pitched tone*
AL: I looked at some articles online before I did this interview and say that almost every one that I looked at had you classified as a different genre-
NW: Nice.
AL: -so I was wondering what genre would you classify yourselves as or if you feel that you don't apply to a single genre or...?
NW: We can't be defined, man!
MN: You can't pin us down; they try, they try. They put their finger [on it] and it just keeps moving around.
JLW: It keeps moving around; it's like Whack-A-Mole.
NW: Yeah, we try not to define ourselves, I guess, genre-wise, but we're definitely- like- some kind of rock-pop situation. We're a trio... a power trio.
MN: I like that actually: saying we're a rock-pop situation.
*agreement amongst the band on the phrase "rock-pop situation"*
NW: People say that... We like music from all these different periods- 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and even today- so we totally mix all that together in our music, and just want to carry that torch on forward. So whatever it comes up sounding like, we'll let the journalists decide.
AL: That's kind of how felt, because... I first heard you guys on AltNation-
NW: Awesome.
AL: -and when I first heard you guys, it's sort of like... It's just liked the sound of you guys, because it was just you guys, not a specific genre. Like, you guys have built your sound around the band, not the band around the sound. If that makes sense?
MN: No, we love that.
AL: Ok *while releasing the breath I'd been holding throughout my whole speech, because I was so worried they would totally disagree with my assessment*
MN: That's definitely the intent, so it makes us happy.
NW: We don't think we sound like the other bands on the radio, and we think that we like that.
AL: How does it feel to hear your own song on the radio?
NW: Feels *split-second pause to find the correct word* awesome.
MN: I'm not going to lie, I really like it.
JLW: It kind of feels like when you lay down on grass and look up at the stars, and kind of feel a little dizzy or something for a moment.
NW: I like when they play the weird sounds, like *doing a very amusing impersonation of a crazy radio DJ* "Now this is DREAMERS with wi' der sung 'Wolves'", *imitates explosion*, then the song comes in.
*laughter*
WARNING: Marc is going to get deep and philosophical
MN: It's a little bit like raising- like- a dove-
JLW: Yeah
MN: -and you're just like, "Ok, I'm going to set you free."
NW: And it flies.
JLW: And it flies really well.
MN: And it flies away, and then, just one day, it comes back, and it's just like, "Yo, that's my dove, and he's doing good, and he's just chillin' and he just wanted to stop by to say, like, 'Thanks, Bro. I'm doing good now; I just wanted to say I'm doing alright.'" And he flies away, again.
*imitation of dove noise*
MN: It's like that.
JLW: Exactly.
NW: Yeah.
AL: ... *stares, for a split-second, at my list of questions at a complete loss for words*
NW: Did you get that?
AL: That was just- like- a really good analogy.
MN: *laughs* Whew... Some of them fall flat, so I'm glad that one worked.
NW: That was good.
AL: How does it feel knowing that people enjoy your music, and people relate to your music? Along those same lines, but- like- personal, people...
NW: Wait... people.. oh, people relate to it?
AL: Yeah (*facepalms into another dimension, because I couldn't word that question properly*)
NW: Oh yeah, I mean, it feels awesome, because when you're writing you hope that somebody's going to listen, I guess. And I've written a ton of songs that no one will ever hear, so when somebody say, like, "Hey, your lyrics are- like- really meaningful to me," or something, I'm like... It makes me feel good, and then validated. And, uh... Music is- like- about connecting people.
MN: That is cool.
JLW: It's one of the most rewarding as an artist, is to hear that people connect to something that comes from you, you know?
AL: Who are some artists that you are listening to right now?
JLW: You want to go first? *pointing at Nick*
NW: Yeah. I really like this album by Rodrigo Amerante, most people don't know who that is; it's really good. Jake showed us this band, Alvvays (pronounced "always"); super cool band. The other day, when we were in New York, on this tour, I went to my friend's show and saw this band, SLOTHRUST,-
JLW: Yeah *quietly while nodding enthusiastically*
NW: -never heard of them before, but they were sick.
MN: They were really good.
NW: They're a trio, like us, but with a female singer and kind of a 90s vibe, which I dug.
JWL: Darwin Deez, started listening to him
NW: Ooo, yeah.
MN: There's a lot of good bands. I just started listening to two really good bands. I like The Virginmarys, I just started listening to them; I started listening to this band, Houndmouth; just like yesterday, I started listening to the record.
AL: Houndmouth was here a few months ago, I didn't see them, but they were here.
NW: Nice.
MN: They have some really great stuff.
NW: Alright, this isn't new, but I recently started listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain.
JLW: Yes!
NW: I had never heard of them before-
MN: They are phenominal, I remember back in the day
NW: -and they are badass.
JLW: Yeah, they have that song, what is it?
NW: "Just Like Honey"?
JLW: "Just Like Honey"
MN: I think that song has a really good video, that I kind of want to steal- that I kind of want us to draw from the video down the line.
NW: Not gonna lie
MN: Not gonna lie; we're gonna steal that video.
(if you want a sneak peek at DREAMERS' new music video here's the link: "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain)
AL: On Twitter, you interact with your fans so much and I love that-
NW: Nice.
AL: -and I was wondering if that was an intentional sort of thing that you did, or if it just sort of happened?
NW: Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of just fun. When our song, our first song, "Wolves", came out on AltNation, that was when we suddenly... For the first time, there were all these, like, Tweets and stuff about the song,-
MN: Yeah.
NW: -so that was how we immediately saw that there was actually a reaction and there's people, like, doing it, so it just started up right away, just, like, responding to them all. And then, we met a lot of people that way, so we still just do it.
MN: It felt really good, and we were like a completely independent band when "Wolves" got on AltNation, when they started spinning it... Totally, TOTALLY independent, and we had just really started and, uh... So, it just felt really good to see that immediate response, so we were just like, "Wooo!", ya know? And from that it felt like a community kind of, which we're really proud of.NW: And Nelson runs the Snapchat. (username: dreamersjoinus)
MN: Yeah, I don't know if "running" it is a good... I, yeah... You can't really run a Snapchat, you know, it's kind of...
JLW: He tries.
NW: He bathes in Snaps, constant Snaps.
MN: I do. You can't run one, you just gotta run with it.
NW: It runs you.
MN: It runs me, actually.
AL: Yeah, I saw the cat you met.
MN: Oh yeah, the cat, the cat.. Cutest cat ever.
NW: That's a nice cat, then we ate lamb gyros after.
MN: We did. Well, I didn't actually, because I don't anything but protein bars,-
JLW: Yeah.
NW: True.
MN: -but if I, I would *unsure what he's trying to say*... Cute cat.
JLW: Cute kitty.
AL: You guys, I feel, as a band, have a personality, and it, like, blends each of your individual personalities. Do you feel like that was something you planned, or do you feel like that has sort of changed and happened as you've grown as a band or..?
NW: Yeah, I think it definitely has grown. Naturally, when you make music, it's just, kind of, you're taking all the things that you like the most and you're putting them in one place, and with three different people. We like a lot of the same things actually, which, it's probably not a coincidence that we like the same things,-
MN: Yeah.
NW: -but, also, we like some different things, and we all inject it and that's kind of what it is. I think that's how bands become unique.
MN: And there's just three of us, too, which kind of... It allows our personality to probably-
NW: -to be more defined.
MN: Yeah, to come through a little bit more. If there was eight of us, it would just be like "who is that guy in the band?"
JLW: Then it would just be a crowd.
AL: That's kind how it is with The Mowgli's, though. There's, like 12 of them. (I am exaggerating, don't hate me, Colin)
MN: We just had a different guy playing keyboards, no one would even notice, just like, "Wait, is that a different keyboardist?" "I didn't notice, maybe."
NW: Yeah, it's pretty different...
AL: Are you directly involved in creation the concepts for your videos?
NW: Yeah, totally.
MN: For sure.
NW: The "Wolves" video, we made entirely, pretty much, ourselves with our friend Nikolai in New York, and I did all the animation on my crappy, little computer. Uh, yeah, and the "DRUGS" video, we wrote it, we wrote the script and, then filmed it in LA with our friend Frank, so, yeah, it's all pretty... we're pretty involved in it.
AL: Now with the "DRUGS" music video, did you envision that concept when you were writing the song, or did that idea come later?
NW: That came on later, but it's still related the concept of the song.
AL: Yeah, because, it's like, I feel that listening to the song and having seen the video, but, it's like, I wasn't sure it was intentional.
NW: Yeah, I think we wanted to make it more obvious in the video than it is in the song- what it's about- so we wanted to spell out how it's about social media and phones and being addicted to "likes" and "followers" and stuff. So we wanted to kind of make that clear, so that people got it.
MN: Yeah, swiping...
NW: Swiping left, swiping right.
AL: Yeah, I really like that video.
NW: Nice, thanks.
AL: I got chills watching it honestly, it was just, like, really good.
NW: Awesome. Chills is the ultimate high.
MN: We shot a bunch of stuff in the desert, well we tried to shoot a bunch of stuff in the desert, too.
JWL: Yeah, the last scene of us walking away.
MN: It's like everything, it evolves. We tried to shoot in the desert and got, like, shut down.
JWL: Permits
MN: Permits? In the desert? We're just like, "We're in the desert, who cares?", but, ya know, it was still fun. We got to hang out in the desert with all the extras and our friends.
JLW: Filmed in my apartment...
NW: The government was keeping us down!
MN: I was like, "You can't own the desert, man!"
NW: We just found out that this awesome, big festival in Boston we were gonna play, but then the city of Boston banned us,-
MN: *laughing* We got banned!
NW: -because of the song "DRUGS". They thought it was too offensive,-
JLW: They banned us. *in disbelief*
NW: -even though there's not a single curse word in the song.
JLW: We just played there.
NW: And the song's about social consciousness, so the joke's on them... So I think we're gonna go there now and play a different afterparty after, which is gonna be interesting. I don't know if I'm allowed to say it... (they have announced it on Twitter, so we're all good now)
AL: You should just play "DRUGS" over and over.
*laughter* (that's right, I made them laugh #bigpimpin')
NW: Yeah, we should. Just, like, 12 times.
AL: Yeah, just keep going.
JLW: Instead of confetti blowing, it'll just be white powder.
*laughter*
AL: Do you have a favorite city or venue that you like playing?
NW: Salt Lake!
MN: Yeah, that's what I was going to say.
NW: We've never played here before. Uh, I don't know, not really. There's so many favorites, so many awesome places we've played. It's, like, you never know what's you're going to get, man.
MN: That's true; we've played cities, where that's our first time there, and it's a Monday night, and we're just thinking, "Oh, it's gonna be chill," then it's awesome. It's awesome.
NW: Then, there were town's that we'd never heard of that we think are going to be small, and then they're like the best tour.
MN: Like Maquoketa, Iowa
NW: Maquoketa, Iowa
MN: They brought the fire in Maquoketa, Iowa. No kidding, like, literally, the middle of nowhere.
NW: It was the Daytrotter Downs out there. It's so awesome.
MN: It's incredible.
NW: We had a good show- a really great show- the other day in Kansas City, Missouri. It's one of the best shows of the tour, if not the best.
MN: We were not expecting it... Because we'd never been through Kansas City, had we? Missouri, we'd never been through.
JLW: A life changing one.
MN: It was, it was pretty, it was pretty epic honestly.
NW: We transcended this mortal plain.
JLW: Yeah, we have beautiful flowers there.
NW: Orange tulips
JLW: They need some more water, though.
MN: And they have goat-cats
JLW: Oh yeah, that's where the goat-cats are
MN: That's where the goat-cat was
JLW: I mean, that was the start of our day there, so...
MN: That's how we knew
JWL: Once you see two goats walking down the street...
NW: The goat blessed us.
AL: When I went to Kansas City, it wasn't as pleasant. I'm a Real Salt Lake fan, and I went there for the MLS Cup against Kansas City and we lost and it was bad, and there were drunk guys telling me to "fuck off", because I was crying as we were leaving the stadium. (Though, I now remember that we were on the Kansas side of Kansas City, so maybe that's the difference.)
JLW: Yeah, that sucks.
NW: I wanna punch them guys for you.
AL: But, the hotel we stayed at, had a waterpark in it, so that was pretty cool. It was also really cold there; like, it's the coldest I've ever felt.
JLW: Hence the waterpark being inside
NW: That's crazy.
AL: Yeah, and it's like, one of the slides went outside, and you could feel the cold when went out...
MN: That sounds awesome.
JLW: That's crazy.
AL: Yeah, and it was all steamed up in that part of the slide.
NW: That's cool to know that they have water, because we saw a big city fountain there and it was completely empty.
JLW: Yeah, it had LEDs, though.
NW: And we saw a Vietnam memorial with these big pools and fountains, but they were all empty of water.
JLW: Yeah, it's supposed to be really cool.
AL: They probably haven't filled them back up from winter, since it gets so cold. Like here, we have restrooms at parts and stuff that aren't open, because pipes freeze and everything. (I don't know why I chose that as an example, because we also have fountains and pools of water in Salt Lake City, not just outdoor restrooms that are closed in the winter)
NW: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
JLW: Yeah, can't flush it.
MN: Can't flush ice!
NW: What did we learn today?
JLW: Can't flush ice.
MN: Can't flush it.
AL: Did you feel, when you started DREAMERS, that you'd get to where you are now?
NW: Definitely.
MN: Yeah, I think that so, yeah. I mean, when I met Nick it was kind of like that, I was like, "I'll do this."
NW: We've all been in bands before, and this is one where we felt like we knew how to do it now, so we're going to do it for real. And so... And also, we always just try to think- we believe that we can do anything and we always operate on that frequency, and we aim for the stars, so we really believe that we can do whatever we want.
AL: Do you have an ultimate goal as a band?
NW: When we play this first sold-out show on the moon,-
MN: You beat me to it.
NW: -then we'll have made it.
MN: Yeah.
AL: I don't know, Walk the Moon might want to get there first.
NW: They can open up for us.
MN: They can open for us on the moon.
JLW: I like that.
NW: Isn't there a band Walk Off The Earth?
JLW: Yeah
AL: I don't know, it sounds familiar, but... (Walk Off The Earth's Website)
AL: What about plans for the near future?
NW: Yeah, we just put out our EP, You Are Here, which is from our latest California recording sessions. We're going to release a full-length album- this album does not exist from those sessions- coming up. And we're going to tour a ton. I think that's it.
MN: Mmhhm. Big festivals, big shows. Gotta keep it movin'-
NW: Keep it movin'
MN: -upwards towards the moon.
NW: Yep.
AL: You're gonna get to the moon someday?
MN: We're gonna get to the moon. We're gonna be the first band to play the moon.
NW: The moon is the symbol, the mystical symbol of DREAMERS, so I think it's only fitting that we should play there.
AL: My brother was actually just watching a video about building bases on the moon.
MN: It's gonna happen, and NASA's already, like, they're fans of us. We're on, like, NASA's radio station.
NW: True, we're on their playlist.
MN: We're on their playlist, so-
JLW: Get ready.
MN: -we've got an in.
NW: We can make space popular again.
MN: Yeah
JLW: Who knew a rockstar could go to the moon?
MN: Space is pretty cool.
NW: It is.
AL: How do you keep the emoji game so on point on Twitter?
JLW: We study a lot; reading up on emoji use.
NW: We have an ancient scroll from Ancient Japan about the art of emoji. Yeah, and we study it everyday.
MN: It's carefully guarded scrolls. We met a Buddhist monk in Compton Square Park-
NW: Compton?
MN: Yeah. We had a moment with him and he gave us the scrolls, and he said, "Look, you guys seem like cool guys and-
NW: "Use it wisely."
MN: -and I want you to learn the art of emoji," and he just handed us these scrolls. It's been on point ever since.
JLW: Yeah, we're still learning. You can never learn too much.
MN: He had a pitbull with him, too.
NW: My favorite emojis are the moon and the setting sun.
JLW: You've sent me an amazing emoji story.
NW: You can make whole paintings with it.
JLW: It's like flip books
AL: Like just the moon, or the creepy moon with the face?
NW: I like the sliver moon with the face the most, and if you see that, that's how I sign things, so you'll know that's me. (What if Jacob or Nelson start using that now just to fuck with us, though?)
AL: It's like every time you tweet, I'm like, "oh, emojis!" It's, like, just adorable.
NW: Yeah, it's just way more colorful and expressive that regular.
AL: This is more of just a fun one, but what are your spirit animals?
NW: Oooo...
MN: Hhmm...
NW: Yes, we all have several. They definitely have different roles in our spirits, but mine is definitely the crow; that's the mystical bird of my homeland of Seattle, it's all black, it's smart, it's mysterious, it eats carrion. And also, though, I feel like my spirit animal is a whale, because they make me feel hard feelings whenever I see them,-
MN: Beautiful.
NW: -and they sing, and they're big and peaceful, and they're also smart. What about you guys? *turning his attention toward his bandmates*
MN: This, it was somewhere, somewhere random, and this, like, hippie girl just came up to me and she's like, "Do you know that your spirit animal is the wolf?" And I said, "no, I did not know that." Then she said, "well it is," and then she walked away. And she had crystals and stuff, so I assume that she understands spirit animals.
NW: She knows, and we have that song. (What song might that be? 🤔)
MN: I don't know what that means, but she seemed like an authority, so that's probably it.
NW: He's a lone wolf.
JLW: But they're in a pack, too.
NW: Pack animals...
MN: But small packs; they like their people.
AL: Like The Hangover, The Wolf Pack
MN: Mhm, exactly. Except my band's my wolf pack.
NW: What were you Jacob?
JLW: Uhh, a falcon... A dragon.
NW: Were you born in the Chinese year of the dragon?
JLW: I was. I like dinosaurs.
NW: Those are like real life dragons.
JLW: Yeah, they are dragons, we just painted 'em different when we were killin' 'em,-
NW: True
JLW: -the ones that were left.
MN: The dragons?
NW: Someone was slaying 'em.
MN: It's so sad that there's no dragons left.
JLW: It's like the couple dragons, or dinosaurs, that were left we decided we'd kill them all.
NW: And that's where dragon slayers were.
AL: *thoughtful pause* I'm learning a lot right now.
*laughter* (yeah, that's twice I've made them laugh.)
NW: Most people don't know that there were dinosaurs in Medieval Ireland.
JLW: Yeah, they used to fly around and you'd ride on their backs, and- if you kicked them right- they'd blow fire.
MN: This is true. They were in Scotland, too; that's the one thing that Braveheart got wrong. He was riding a dinosaur.
JLW: They were there, though; they just knew they didn't want to get involved in that shit.
MN: They couldn't pay for the CG,-
NW: -so it's historically inaccurate.
JLW: Also Jurassic Park's real.
MN: Totally real.
NW: Yeah.
AL: Did you see Jurassic World?
JLW: No, see... I can't do it; too much CG... I can't do it.
NW: I watched the first half of it, but, then, I guess something happened and I couldn't finish. Yeah, but it's great; I love those movies, so I'm not hating.
AL: Ok... On that note...
*laughter*
MN: That's a good way to end an interview.
*clapping*
AL: Thank you guys.
NW: Thank you; that was a great interview.
After the interview was over, we said our goodbyes, talked a bit more as we were leaving- about my Converse I was wearing, Salt Lake City, and the venue- and they headed out to get some barbecue. Before they left, I more hugs; I was taken a bit aback by how tall Nick and Nelson are in person, so mid-Nelson-hug, I just say, "You guys are so tall." Luckily, Nelson handled it like a pro, just say, "That's how we roll," so I didn't die of embarrassment and was able to see their show later. I'm really glad that I got to see this show, too, because it was so great. And before they played their last song, Nick thanked me for interviewing them while he was onstage, so that's pretty damn cool.
I feel like this is the best interview I have done so far, because I ended up just feeling like I was talking with my friends; the conversation- at least in my opinion- didn't feel forced, and I felt like we could've talked for hours. These are such amazing guys and I feel honored to have been at all acknowledged and complimented by them. One of the best feelings in the world is when you meet someone you've loved and looked up to for a long time, and they are just as nice- in this case, nicer- than you thought they'd be. I can't how lucky I am to have met Nick, Nelson, Jacob, and Poltkin (along with all their tourmates that I was able to meet), because I feel like I am a better person having just been around such genuinely nice and cool people. To put it in Nick's words, this interview was "awesome"; when DREAMERS play the first show on the moon- even though I am more afraid of going to space than anything, and have sworn I'd never leave Earth for any reason- I will be there; I hope you'll join me on DREAMERS' journey to the stars. 🌛
DREAMERS' Website
DREAMERS on Facebook
DREAMERS on Twitter
DREAMERS on YouTube
DREAMERS on Instagram
AL: That's kind of how felt, because... I first heard you guys on AltNation-
NW: Awesome.
AL: -and when I first heard you guys, it's sort of like... It's just liked the sound of you guys, because it was just you guys, not a specific genre. Like, you guys have built your sound around the band, not the band around the sound. If that makes sense?
MN: No, we love that.
AL: Ok *while releasing the breath I'd been holding throughout my whole speech, because I was so worried they would totally disagree with my assessment*
MN: That's definitely the intent, so it makes us happy.
NW: We don't think we sound like the other bands on the radio, and we think that we like that.
AL: How does it feel to hear your own song on the radio?
NW: Feels *split-second pause to find the correct word* awesome.
MN: I'm not going to lie, I really like it.
JLW: It kind of feels like when you lay down on grass and look up at the stars, and kind of feel a little dizzy or something for a moment.
NW: I like when they play the weird sounds, like *doing a very amusing impersonation of a crazy radio DJ* "Now this is DREAMERS with wi' der sung 'Wolves'", *imitates explosion*, then the song comes in.
*laughter*
WARNING: Marc is going to get deep and philosophical
MN: It's a little bit like raising- like- a dove-
JLW: Yeah
MN: -and you're just like, "Ok, I'm going to set you free."
NW: And it flies.
JLW: And it flies really well.
MN: And it flies away, and then, just one day, it comes back, and it's just like, "Yo, that's my dove, and he's doing good, and he's just chillin' and he just wanted to stop by to say, like, 'Thanks, Bro. I'm doing good now; I just wanted to say I'm doing alright.'" And he flies away, again.
*imitation of dove noise*
MN: It's like that.
JLW: Exactly.
NW: Yeah.
AL: ... *stares, for a split-second, at my list of questions at a complete loss for words*
NW: Did you get that?
AL: That was just- like- a really good analogy.
MN: *laughs* Whew... Some of them fall flat, so I'm glad that one worked.
NW: That was good.
AL: How does it feel knowing that people enjoy your music, and people relate to your music? Along those same lines, but- like- personal, people...
NW: Wait... people.. oh, people relate to it?
AL: Yeah (*facepalms into another dimension, because I couldn't word that question properly*)
NW: Oh yeah, I mean, it feels awesome, because when you're writing you hope that somebody's going to listen, I guess. And I've written a ton of songs that no one will ever hear, so when somebody say, like, "Hey, your lyrics are- like- really meaningful to me," or something, I'm like... It makes me feel good, and then validated. And, uh... Music is- like- about connecting people.
MN: That is cool.
JLW: It's one of the most rewarding as an artist, is to hear that people connect to something that comes from you, you know?
AL: Who are some artists that you are listening to right now?
JLW: You want to go first? *pointing at Nick*
NW: Yeah. I really like this album by Rodrigo Amerante, most people don't know who that is; it's really good. Jake showed us this band, Alvvays (pronounced "always"); super cool band. The other day, when we were in New York, on this tour, I went to my friend's show and saw this band, SLOTHRUST,-
JLW: Yeah *quietly while nodding enthusiastically*
NW: -never heard of them before, but they were sick.
MN: They were really good.
NW: They're a trio, like us, but with a female singer and kind of a 90s vibe, which I dug.
JWL: Darwin Deez, started listening to him
NW: Ooo, yeah.
MN: There's a lot of good bands. I just started listening to two really good bands. I like The Virginmarys, I just started listening to them; I started listening to this band, Houndmouth; just like yesterday, I started listening to the record.
AL: Houndmouth was here a few months ago, I didn't see them, but they were here.
NW: Nice.
MN: They have some really great stuff.
NW: Alright, this isn't new, but I recently started listening to The Jesus and Mary Chain.
JLW: Yes!
NW: I had never heard of them before-
MN: They are phenominal, I remember back in the day
NW: -and they are badass.
JLW: Yeah, they have that song, what is it?
NW: "Just Like Honey"?
JLW: "Just Like Honey"
MN: I think that song has a really good video, that I kind of want to steal- that I kind of want us to draw from the video down the line.
NW: Not gonna lie
MN: Not gonna lie; we're gonna steal that video.
(if you want a sneak peek at DREAMERS' new music video here's the link: "Just Like Honey" by The Jesus and Mary Chain)
AL: On Twitter, you interact with your fans so much and I love that-
NW: Nice.
AL: -and I was wondering if that was an intentional sort of thing that you did, or if it just sort of happened?
NW: Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of just fun. When our song, our first song, "Wolves", came out on AltNation, that was when we suddenly... For the first time, there were all these, like, Tweets and stuff about the song,-
MN: Yeah.
NW: -so that was how we immediately saw that there was actually a reaction and there's people, like, doing it, so it just started up right away, just, like, responding to them all. And then, we met a lot of people that way, so we still just do it.
MN: It felt really good, and we were like a completely independent band when "Wolves" got on AltNation, when they started spinning it... Totally, TOTALLY independent, and we had just really started and, uh... So, it just felt really good to see that immediate response, so we were just like, "Wooo!", ya know? And from that it felt like a community kind of, which we're really proud of.NW: And Nelson runs the Snapchat. (username: dreamersjoinus)
MN: Yeah, I don't know if "running" it is a good... I, yeah... You can't really run a Snapchat, you know, it's kind of...
JLW: He tries.
NW: He bathes in Snaps, constant Snaps.
MN: I do. You can't run one, you just gotta run with it.
NW: It runs you.
MN: It runs me, actually.
AL: Yeah, I saw the cat you met.
MN: Oh yeah, the cat, the cat.. Cutest cat ever.
NW: That's a nice cat, then we ate lamb gyros after.
MN: We did. Well, I didn't actually, because I don't anything but protein bars,-
JLW: Yeah.
NW: True.
MN: -but if I, I would *unsure what he's trying to say*... Cute cat.
JLW: Cute kitty.
AL: You guys, I feel, as a band, have a personality, and it, like, blends each of your individual personalities. Do you feel like that was something you planned, or do you feel like that has sort of changed and happened as you've grown as a band or..?
NW: Yeah, I think it definitely has grown. Naturally, when you make music, it's just, kind of, you're taking all the things that you like the most and you're putting them in one place, and with three different people. We like a lot of the same things actually, which, it's probably not a coincidence that we like the same things,-
MN: Yeah.
NW: -but, also, we like some different things, and we all inject it and that's kind of what it is. I think that's how bands become unique.
MN: And there's just three of us, too, which kind of... It allows our personality to probably-
NW: -to be more defined.
MN: Yeah, to come through a little bit more. If there was eight of us, it would just be like "who is that guy in the band?"
JLW: Then it would just be a crowd.
AL: That's kind how it is with The Mowgli's, though. There's, like 12 of them. (I am exaggerating, don't hate me, Colin)
MN: We just had a different guy playing keyboards, no one would even notice, just like, "Wait, is that a different keyboardist?" "I didn't notice, maybe."
NW: Yeah, it's pretty different...
AL: Are you directly involved in creation the concepts for your videos?
NW: Yeah, totally.
MN: For sure.
NW: The "Wolves" video, we made entirely, pretty much, ourselves with our friend Nikolai in New York, and I did all the animation on my crappy, little computer. Uh, yeah, and the "DRUGS" video, we wrote it, we wrote the script and, then filmed it in LA with our friend Frank, so, yeah, it's all pretty... we're pretty involved in it.
AL: Now with the "DRUGS" music video, did you envision that concept when you were writing the song, or did that idea come later?
NW: That came on later, but it's still related the concept of the song.
AL: Yeah, because, it's like, I feel that listening to the song and having seen the video, but, it's like, I wasn't sure it was intentional.
NW: Yeah, I think we wanted to make it more obvious in the video than it is in the song- what it's about- so we wanted to spell out how it's about social media and phones and being addicted to "likes" and "followers" and stuff. So we wanted to kind of make that clear, so that people got it.
MN: Yeah, swiping...
NW: Swiping left, swiping right.
AL: Yeah, I really like that video.
NW: Nice, thanks.
AL: I got chills watching it honestly, it was just, like, really good.
NW: Awesome. Chills is the ultimate high.
MN: We shot a bunch of stuff in the desert, well we tried to shoot a bunch of stuff in the desert, too.
JWL: Yeah, the last scene of us walking away.
MN: It's like everything, it evolves. We tried to shoot in the desert and got, like, shut down.
JWL: Permits
MN: Permits? In the desert? We're just like, "We're in the desert, who cares?", but, ya know, it was still fun. We got to hang out in the desert with all the extras and our friends.
JLW: Filmed in my apartment...
NW: The government was keeping us down!
MN: I was like, "You can't own the desert, man!"
NW: We just found out that this awesome, big festival in Boston we were gonna play, but then the city of Boston banned us,-
MN: *laughing* We got banned!
NW: -because of the song "DRUGS". They thought it was too offensive,-
JLW: They banned us. *in disbelief*
NW: -even though there's not a single curse word in the song.
JLW: We just played there.
NW: And the song's about social consciousness, so the joke's on them... So I think we're gonna go there now and play a different afterparty after, which is gonna be interesting. I don't know if I'm allowed to say it... (they have announced it on Twitter, so we're all good now)
AL: You should just play "DRUGS" over and over.
*laughter* (that's right, I made them laugh #bigpimpin')
NW: Yeah, we should. Just, like, 12 times.
AL: Yeah, just keep going.
JLW: Instead of confetti blowing, it'll just be white powder.
*laughter*
AL: Do you have a favorite city or venue that you like playing?
NW: Salt Lake!
MN: Yeah, that's what I was going to say.
NW: We've never played here before. Uh, I don't know, not really. There's so many favorites, so many awesome places we've played. It's, like, you never know what's you're going to get, man.
MN: That's true; we've played cities, where that's our first time there, and it's a Monday night, and we're just thinking, "Oh, it's gonna be chill," then it's awesome. It's awesome.
NW: Then, there were town's that we'd never heard of that we think are going to be small, and then they're like the best tour.
MN: Like Maquoketa, Iowa
NW: Maquoketa, Iowa
MN: They brought the fire in Maquoketa, Iowa. No kidding, like, literally, the middle of nowhere.
NW: It was the Daytrotter Downs out there. It's so awesome.
MN: It's incredible.
NW: We had a good show- a really great show- the other day in Kansas City, Missouri. It's one of the best shows of the tour, if not the best.
MN: We were not expecting it... Because we'd never been through Kansas City, had we? Missouri, we'd never been through.
JLW: A life changing one.
MN: It was, it was pretty, it was pretty epic honestly.
NW: We transcended this mortal plain.
JLW: Yeah, we have beautiful flowers there.
NW: Orange tulips
JLW: They need some more water, though.
MN: And they have goat-cats
JLW: Oh yeah, that's where the goat-cats are
MN: That's where the goat-cat was
JLW: I mean, that was the start of our day there, so...
MN: That's how we knew
JWL: Once you see two goats walking down the street...
NW: The goat blessed us.
AL: When I went to Kansas City, it wasn't as pleasant. I'm a Real Salt Lake fan, and I went there for the MLS Cup against Kansas City and we lost and it was bad, and there were drunk guys telling me to "fuck off", because I was crying as we were leaving the stadium. (Though, I now remember that we were on the Kansas side of Kansas City, so maybe that's the difference.)
JLW: Yeah, that sucks.
NW: I wanna punch them guys for you.
AL: But, the hotel we stayed at, had a waterpark in it, so that was pretty cool. It was also really cold there; like, it's the coldest I've ever felt.
JLW: Hence the waterpark being inside
NW: That's crazy.
AL: Yeah, and it's like, one of the slides went outside, and you could feel the cold when went out...
MN: That sounds awesome.
JLW: That's crazy.
AL: Yeah, and it was all steamed up in that part of the slide.
NW: That's cool to know that they have water, because we saw a big city fountain there and it was completely empty.
JLW: Yeah, it had LEDs, though.
NW: And we saw a Vietnam memorial with these big pools and fountains, but they were all empty of water.
JLW: Yeah, it's supposed to be really cool.
AL: They probably haven't filled them back up from winter, since it gets so cold. Like here, we have restrooms at parts and stuff that aren't open, because pipes freeze and everything. (I don't know why I chose that as an example, because we also have fountains and pools of water in Salt Lake City, not just outdoor restrooms that are closed in the winter)
NW: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
JLW: Yeah, can't flush it.
MN: Can't flush ice!
NW: What did we learn today?
JLW: Can't flush ice.
MN: Can't flush it.
AL: Did you feel, when you started DREAMERS, that you'd get to where you are now?
NW: Definitely.
MN: Yeah, I think that so, yeah. I mean, when I met Nick it was kind of like that, I was like, "I'll do this."
NW: We've all been in bands before, and this is one where we felt like we knew how to do it now, so we're going to do it for real. And so... And also, we always just try to think- we believe that we can do anything and we always operate on that frequency, and we aim for the stars, so we really believe that we can do whatever we want.
AL: Do you have an ultimate goal as a band?
NW: When we play this first sold-out show on the moon,-
MN: You beat me to it.
NW: -then we'll have made it.
MN: Yeah.
AL: I don't know, Walk the Moon might want to get there first.
NW: They can open up for us.
MN: They can open for us on the moon.
JLW: I like that.
NW: Isn't there a band Walk Off The Earth?
JLW: Yeah
AL: I don't know, it sounds familiar, but... (Walk Off The Earth's Website)
AL: What about plans for the near future?
NW: Yeah, we just put out our EP, You Are Here, which is from our latest California recording sessions. We're going to release a full-length album- this album does not exist from those sessions- coming up. And we're going to tour a ton. I think that's it.
MN: Mmhhm. Big festivals, big shows. Gotta keep it movin'-
NW: Keep it movin'
MN: -upwards towards the moon.
NW: Yep.
AL: You're gonna get to the moon someday?
MN: We're gonna get to the moon. We're gonna be the first band to play the moon.
NW: The moon is the symbol, the mystical symbol of DREAMERS, so I think it's only fitting that we should play there.
AL: My brother was actually just watching a video about building bases on the moon.
MN: It's gonna happen, and NASA's already, like, they're fans of us. We're on, like, NASA's radio station.
NW: True, we're on their playlist.
MN: We're on their playlist, so-
JLW: Get ready.
MN: -we've got an in.
NW: We can make space popular again.
MN: Yeah
JLW: Who knew a rockstar could go to the moon?
MN: Space is pretty cool.
NW: It is.
AL: How do you keep the emoji game so on point on Twitter?
JLW: We study a lot; reading up on emoji use.
NW: We have an ancient scroll from Ancient Japan about the art of emoji. Yeah, and we study it everyday.
MN: It's carefully guarded scrolls. We met a Buddhist monk in Compton Square Park-
NW: Compton?
MN: Yeah. We had a moment with him and he gave us the scrolls, and he said, "Look, you guys seem like cool guys and-
NW: "Use it wisely."
MN: -and I want you to learn the art of emoji," and he just handed us these scrolls. It's been on point ever since.
JLW: Yeah, we're still learning. You can never learn too much.
MN: He had a pitbull with him, too.
NW: My favorite emojis are the moon and the setting sun.
JLW: You've sent me an amazing emoji story.
NW: You can make whole paintings with it.
JLW: It's like flip books
AL: Like just the moon, or the creepy moon with the face?
NW: I like the sliver moon with the face the most, and if you see that, that's how I sign things, so you'll know that's me. (What if Jacob or Nelson start using that now just to fuck with us, though?)
AL: It's like every time you tweet, I'm like, "oh, emojis!" It's, like, just adorable.
NW: Yeah, it's just way more colorful and expressive that regular.
AL: This is more of just a fun one, but what are your spirit animals?
NW: Oooo...
MN: Hhmm...
NW: Yes, we all have several. They definitely have different roles in our spirits, but mine is definitely the crow; that's the mystical bird of my homeland of Seattle, it's all black, it's smart, it's mysterious, it eats carrion. And also, though, I feel like my spirit animal is a whale, because they make me feel hard feelings whenever I see them,-
MN: Beautiful.
NW: -and they sing, and they're big and peaceful, and they're also smart. What about you guys? *turning his attention toward his bandmates*
MN: This, it was somewhere, somewhere random, and this, like, hippie girl just came up to me and she's like, "Do you know that your spirit animal is the wolf?" And I said, "no, I did not know that." Then she said, "well it is," and then she walked away. And she had crystals and stuff, so I assume that she understands spirit animals.
NW: She knows, and we have that song. (What song might that be? 🤔)
MN: I don't know what that means, but she seemed like an authority, so that's probably it.
NW: He's a lone wolf.
JLW: But they're in a pack, too.
NW: Pack animals...
MN: But small packs; they like their people.
AL: Like The Hangover, The Wolf Pack
MN: Mhm, exactly. Except my band's my wolf pack.
NW: What were you Jacob?
JLW: Uhh, a falcon... A dragon.
NW: Were you born in the Chinese year of the dragon?
JLW: I was. I like dinosaurs.
NW: Those are like real life dragons.
JLW: Yeah, they are dragons, we just painted 'em different when we were killin' 'em,-
NW: True
JLW: -the ones that were left.
MN: The dragons?
NW: Someone was slaying 'em.
MN: It's so sad that there's no dragons left.
JLW: It's like the couple dragons, or dinosaurs, that were left we decided we'd kill them all.
NW: And that's where dragon slayers were.
AL: *thoughtful pause* I'm learning a lot right now.
*laughter* (yeah, that's twice I've made them laugh.)
NW: Most people don't know that there were dinosaurs in Medieval Ireland.
JLW: Yeah, they used to fly around and you'd ride on their backs, and- if you kicked them right- they'd blow fire.
MN: This is true. They were in Scotland, too; that's the one thing that Braveheart got wrong. He was riding a dinosaur.
JLW: They were there, though; they just knew they didn't want to get involved in that shit.
MN: They couldn't pay for the CG,-
NW: -so it's historically inaccurate.
JLW: Also Jurassic Park's real.
MN: Totally real.
NW: Yeah.
AL: Did you see Jurassic World?
JLW: No, see... I can't do it; too much CG... I can't do it.
NW: I watched the first half of it, but, then, I guess something happened and I couldn't finish. Yeah, but it's great; I love those movies, so I'm not hating.
AL: Ok... On that note...
*laughter*
MN: That's a good way to end an interview.
*clapping*
AL: Thank you guys.
NW: Thank you; that was a great interview.
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| Nick Wold being a badass |
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| Marc Nelson shredding the bass and Jacob Lee Wick killing it on the drums |
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