By: Jamie Steinberg
Photo By Rachel Weber
Q) Your music is often described as Britpop meets pop-rock, but how would you describe your sound?
A) Very 90s-coded with big guitars and lots of melody. I want it to feel like discovering a long-lost CD in your parents’ car and becoming obsessed with it. That “britpop meets pop-rock” comparison probably stems from my influences really. I’ve never been shy about wearing them on my sleeve. UK acts like Oasis, The Smiths, Catfish & the Bottlemen – and great American songwriters like Lindsey Buckingham and Tom Petty, have inspired me since I was a kid.
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) My dad gave me Green Day’s American Idiot on CD when I was about nine years old and that album completely rewired my brain. I immediately begged my parents for a guitar and spent the next several years playing power chords in my bedroom. Billie Joe Armstrong was definitely the gateway for me. As I got older, artists like Noel Gallagher, Michael Stipe and John Rzeznik really shaped how I think about songwriting and melody.
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Better Off Lonely.”
A) “Better Off Lonely” was a half-finished demo that sat on my hard drive for years. I remember writing an early version of it one morning back in 2022 while I was getting ready for a shift at this burger joint I used to work at in Nashville. I was listening to a lot of Bob Dylan and Lord Huron at the time and wanted to make a song with that kind of storytelling. The lyrics take some creative liberties, but at its core it’s about self-preservation and knowing when to walk away. I’m glad it finally found its place on this record.
Q) You’ve described it as “the Dazey Chain sound I’ve beeen reaching for.” In what way?
A) The new music is much more guitar-driven and explosive. When we were recording, I made a conscious effort to focus less on production tricks and more on just writing the best songs I could. It’s not a drastic departure from my previous album, just rougher around the edges and a little more alive.
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
A) Instead of making traditional music videos this time around, we brought the band into East Iris Studios in Nashville and filmed the songs live in one take. As we were gearing up for release, I had to film a million lip-sync Tiktok videos and I wanted to balance that with something more raw and human. The live videos feel a lot closer to what our shows are actually like.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) Most of my songs are born from just strumming an acoustic guitar, waiting for an idea to fall out of the sky. I heard someone once compare it to fishing: as long as you get out on the boat and drop a line in, eventually something will bite. It may sound boring, but when it finally clicks it’s such a special feeling. Some of my favorite moments of my entire life have been alone at my desk, demoing a new song late at night while the rest of the world is asleep. Creating something meaningful out of thin air is about the closest thing to magic, in my eyes. I’ve been chasing that high since I was fourteen years old. I’m always searching for the next song.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) I self-produced most of my debut album and earlier EPs, so I’m really comfortable hands-on in the studio. But Tone Def (Green Day, Briston Maroney) completely took the reins on this project and that pushed the music somewhere really exciting. We were intentional about making the whole thing feel cohesive front to back. A lot of records evolve into something unexpected while you’re making them, but this project feels very close to the vision we had from day one.
Q) With “Better Off Lonely” out now, is this a prelude to a full album or an EP?
A) There’s an EP coming this summer with “Better Off Lonely” and a few other new songs, but it’s only a small taste of what’s ahead. We’re finishing a larger body of work right now actually and it wouldn’t surprise me if all these songs ended up appearing on my second album.
Q) The band is known for their energetic live performances. What can fans expect from a live Jacob and the Dazey Chain performance?
A) I think that because a lot of my exposure has been through social media, there’s sometimes this assumption that the live show is going to be me quietly strumming acoustic guitar songs. It’s the complete opposite. I view the live atmosphere as a totally different animal. It’s loud, chaotic and emotional. We leave everything on stage whether there are two people in the room or two thousand.
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) Honestly, small clubs are still my favorite. I love being close enough to actually connect with the people who came out to see us. Those shows feel personal in a way bigger rooms sometimes can’t.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Getting Johnny Marr or Lindsey Buckingham to play guitar on a Dazey Chain song would be unreal.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you them? “
A) Dizzy Up the Girl by Goo Goo Dolls is my favorite album at the moment.
A) Someone played me “Black Balloon” earlier this year and it completely blew me away. The songwriting is timeless and those open tunings are gorgeous. Records like that are definitely something I aspire to make.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) Just thank you, honestly. Every stream, ticket, message or person singing the words back at a show means the world to me. I’ve dreamed about doing this since I was a kid and the fact that people are connecting with these songs at all is something I’ll never take for granted.