Interview and article by Ella Donovan. Photos by Madalyn Schaller.
SoCal band Almost Monday opened for AJR’s The Maybe Man Tour at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on June 25, 2024. The trio—Dawson Daugherty, Luke Fabry, and Cole Clisby—brought their signature California sunshine vibe to the stage, captivating the audience with their infectious energy and catchy choruses.
For their second show of tour, I had the opportunity to sit down with the band for an interview. We talked about their creative process, the impact of their DIY roots, and their recent release, “Can’t Slow Down.” From playing gigs in surf shops to touring arenas with AJR, Almost Monday’s journey really shows their passion, talent, and dedication.
Getting to know Almost Monday
Q1: Can you describe your songwriting process and how you channel your California sunshine vibe into the music?
Dawson: I think the process is, I feel like all artists say this, but it’s changing song per song. You always arrive at the end of a song in a different way. But we work with our producer, Simon Oscroft, and I’ve been working with him for a long time.
It usually looks like showing up inspiring each other with what we’re listening to. Or, I feel like some my favorite songs we’ve gotten are from being inspired from playing live, coming off of a tour, or watching another band playing. It’s like “okay, we want like something fast like this.” And then you get a tempo, and then a guitar line.
Like our song “sunburn,” for instance, we just came in with that title. Just “sunburn.” What does a song called “sunburn” sound like? Which is, kind of reverse engineering. Other times, it’s like, what do we even call the song? The lyrics are done? But that’s typically I’d say what it looks like.
Q2: In your journey as a band, I found out you guys started playing a bunch of DIY gigs first. How do you think that the intimate and community-driven vibe of those shows has impacted how you perform today in these big arenas?
Luke: I think [the reason] why we started the band was to play live. We didn’t really have any music out, or songs finished, but we just wanted to put on show. So that’s what we did. And I think that’s kind of carried over in the sense of touring and being out on the road.
Playing any size venue has always been something we’ve really cared about. So it’s funny, like, you look over at these guys, and, we’ve definitely matured and grown, but there’s still kind of that same DNA that I remember, you know, playing for 50 people at a surf shop. It’s always kind of fun to transport yourself back into that moment and kind of realize how far you’ve come and, you know, look to the future and where you can go next.
Ella: Have you guys played a lot of different surf shops and things like that?
Luke: There’s one in particular where we would kind of throw. It’s no longer there.
Dawson: RIP.
Luke: But we’d just invite everybody in our phone contacts and have friends MC it, or have people put their art up.
Ella: When we were in San Diego a few years ago we went to… do you guys know Foxtide? We went to one of their shows in some alleyway behind a surfshop. I don’t know where. But it was super cool.
Dawson: Those guys are cool. They’ve got cool music.
Ella: Do you guys like to do outdoor shows or things like that?
Dawson: I kind of don’t like them as much just because like it’s harder to get the sound good. So it feels more traumatic. You’re out there and sound guys are like “I don’t know what to do” and it just sounds terrible. So probably it’s attached to that.
Ella: Yeah, that makes sense. It’s hard to control that for sure.
Q3: I wanted to congratulate you guys on your recent release of “Can’t Slow Down.” It’s a great song, I really like it! Can you describe its sound and how it compares to your other releases?
Dawson: I think for this song our producer Simon had kind of an outline of a song with the hook and I remember wanting it to be a song people can dance to or just feel kind of [how we felt] when we were writing the lyrics. The song is sort of about being out late with friends, and the night just feeling like a blur. So I think that we wanted it to feel like that. You’re there-you can kind of like teleport to that night and be able to dance.
I don’t know, my favorite feeling ever is when you play a song live and people are like, “oh yeah” and get their own little thing going [Dawson gives us a lil dance]. Yeah. So the hope behind it, in my head at least, was that the song would kind of hopefully accomplish that live?
Ella: I think that you’re right about it feeling like a late night out. I definitely get that from the song too, so I think you hit the mark.
Q4: What do you hope your music brings to your fans’ lives?
Luke: It’s been described before, but kind of the feeling you get when you have the windows down with friends driving. It’s always kind of a cool image. I’ve experienced it myself when there are songs that just make me feel good. It’s kind of a way to get away from whatever, even if it’s not super heavy. It’s just fun listening to the music. That, and also just creating a really fun live show where people can come and dance and make some good memories with good friends.
Q5: If your band’s music could be the soundtrack to any activity or experience, what would it be and why?
Ella: I feel like I may know the answer to this.
Dawson: Soundtrack to any activity… is what you think we’re gonna say is surfing?
Ella: Haha, maybe… Something like that? Something beachy for sure.
Dawson: Yeah. I mean, surfing is like, how we met.
Ella: Do you guys still like to go surfing now?
Cole: [Dawson] does a lot of it. Which is fun to watch. He’s the biggest surfer out of all of us.
Ella: I cannot imagine attempting to surf.
Cole: I feel like the activity would be… road trips. Like, I have timemark stamps in my brain from road trips I’ve taken with close friends and the albums we listened to.
Ella: Yeah, yeah. It’s kind of like a little souvenir from the trip; you can remember when you listened to that specific song.
Q6: How can fans best support you now and stay updated on your latest music and releases?
Dawson: Probably social media. Social media just isn’t glamorous. That’s okay. You know? It’s like Jason Mraz says, “are you making tiktoks? Are you doing reels?” Yeah, I have to. We’re always trying to play that game, but, you know, maybe not successfully. It’s funny, being in a band now is all about short form content.
Ella: That stinks. I agree. I feel like it’s better if you guys could just spend your energy on your music and the stuff that you like, right? And just do that stuff.
Dawson: And I would love that. It’s like, the album’s done. Okay, great. Now, how do you show off a short piece of it? Okay, so what is the reel? Like, it’s just so funny how that is probably more of it. Honestly.
Ella: It’s hard, you’ve got to battle to get people’s attention, which is unfortunate. I feel like with all your singles that have been coming out and everything you’ve been putting out on socials, you guys are doing a great job. By the way, when is the album coming out?
Dawson: It is coming out soon, we’re holding it a little longer. I will make sure that you know!
Ella: You’re okay! I understand. Don’t worry, everyone at Almost Famous will be waiting for it!
Keep an eye out, because Almost Monday is climbing their way up. With their happy, sunny, serotonin-boosting songs, I can’t wait to see what they do in the future. Their dedication to spreading positivity through their music is inspiring.
Check out Almost Monday:
Spotify | Apple Music | Instagram
Interview and article by Ella Donovan. Photos by Madalyn Schaller. If reposting, please credit @almostfamouszine and @madalyns.photos.