From Detroit, Two "Pretty Uncalculated Dudes": An Interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

You don’t have to love NASCAR to have heard about Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. In fact, it’s probably a reasonably safe bet that they won’t be getting an invitation to the Indy 500 anytime soon. But like their racecar driving namesake, the industry buzz about Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott’s band has been picking up a lot of speed. In anticipation of their upcoming gig at ACL, we talked with Josh about the origins of his band, their album It’s a Corporate World, and what the heck they would call their unique sound.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and the band.

Well, let's see, I'm a nice Jewish boy, from Detroit, Michigan and we’re called Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jr. I started it about two years ago with another guy named Daniel, who is also from the Detroit area. We had been playing shows around town since we were fourteen, but we had never really tried to work with one another.

Then I called him out of the blue and I said, "Hey, we should do a song together." We did a song, and then we did a bunch more songs, and eventually we got to the point where we're at now, which is, you know, we made a record.

What made you think you two should collaborate?

He’d made a solo album where he played every instrument and recorded it all himself and everything, and I was getting more into doing that myself. I thought it would be interesting to be able to write with someone where I could bring an idea, and if he didn't like it he could kind of rewrite it. I've never really worked in that capacity before.

Was it strange for him to get that call or were you guys friends enough that it wasn't weird?

We had known each other and we had mutual friends, so it wasn't weird. I guess it's weird in this day and age that people want to work with other people. With recording equipment being so accessible, anyone that can has their own band and they're usually pretty content to have that band. But, I really wanted the collaboration, I really wanted the input and I think Daniel was open to that as well.
Read more and watch a live performance by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. after the jump...

And how does that collaboration work?

It just kind of varies from song to song. Some songs were ideas that I brought, some of them were ideas that he brought, some of them were ideas that we really fully collaborated on. We just try and figure out what's best for each song and we try and make the song the focus.

That's kind of why it's interesting to work with someone that's capable of making their own record, because, ultimately, the focus does end up being in the song. No one has a personal attachment to any instrument or any role that they feel is theirs. It's just kind of an ever-evolving thing, which makes it a lot easier.

So you guys both play all the instruments?

Yeah, we both play everything. We do take a drummer on tour. Drums are something that when they're not there in a live setting, the energy just doesn't feel right.

And what are those live shows like?

Yeah, we believe that the people that are at the show, that it's really their show, not ours. So we just try and bring as much energy as we possibly can. I've always been a fan of theater, and I like to try and have some visual stuff going on with our show as much as we can. Obviously, we're not at a point where we can travel with these huge rigs like Coldplay and U2 have, but we try our best with what we’ve got.

For both of us, where our tastes align is kind of the focus and appreciation of melody.

Your music has been called: indie pop, psych/retro-pop, beach wave, minimalist alterna-pop, and a hip-hop/folk mix. How would you describe it?

I think that our sound is probably just pop music in the general sense of the word. I think that for both of us, where our tastes align is kind of the focus and appreciation of melody. Daniel and I both have pretty specific ideas of what we like things to sound like at this point and if you combine them it just kind of ends up sounding like what our album sounds like. So I guess maybe that is our sound, but we’re still learning what that is.

I believe that our songs are widely accessible and in that way it’s pop music, but not in the new sense of the word, you know, the K-Mart pop that they’re making now. It’s more like pop music in the old-school sense of the word. But I think how anyone chooses to describe it is fair, obviously, because that’s their take on it you know, so… “hip-hop/folk” is pretty cool, I guess. And what did you say? Beach-rock pop or something?

Beach wave, minimalist alterna-pop, psych retro pop. There’s a lot. “Pop” is in all of them though, it seems.

Yeah, well that’s good then.

How did you choose the band name and how has that affected the perception of you guys in the industry?

Well, when we first started the band we didn’t really think we were going to be a band. But I think that that because the name is so out there, when people actually come and listen to the records they’re kind of are forced to listen to the music. And we’re pretty happy that that is taking place.

I don’t really know how it translates to how people view us in the industry. I mean, Daniel and I are pretty uncalculated dudes. We end up doing things because we’re feeling happy about them in the moment or because they’re exciting to us. I think that we’re really, really, uncalculated. So I wouldn’t even be able to venture a guess as to what everyone thinks of us or how they perceive us. At this point I hope well. I don’t know. (Laughs.)

Daniel and I are pretty uncalculated dudes. We end up doing things because we’re feeling happy about them in the moment.

So is it really a corporate world? Why did you name your album that?

I would say it is, yeah. Both Daniel and I are becoming increasingly aware of the ever growing foothold of big money and big corporations in our lives. I don’t think it’s our place at this point to put out our particular viewpoints. I think it’s kind of our job to bring up what we see as topics of discussion.

I mean sometimes its good, sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes it’s really nice, when you want to use the internet and have a coffee to be able to go to a Starbucks in every town. But sometimes it’s depressing to see the same, homogenous streetscapes in every city. You kind of long for the creativity of the people in each town to be able to shine through, and sometimes they’re not able to because they’re just not able to compete.

But a city like Detroit where we’re from, there are a lot of amazing little businesses that are opening up everywhere and I think it’s a beautiful thing. But you know, inevitably people will move there and those stores will close because bigger things have opened and that’s just the cycle of everything. So yeah, I would say it’s definitely a corporate world.

So will we be hearing one of your songs on a commercial soon?

You know, I don’t think there’s such a thing as selling out anymore. In the 90s, a band like Nirvana was making a decent living playing music and was able to say, “I don’t want my song to be used to sell a product that might be bad for the environment or might kill people.”

But I believe that to some extent, every artist is entitled to try and make a living by producing art. I think that if you don’t encourage that, then it’s going to be a huge game of attrition and no one is going to stick around long enough to make a significant a contribution to the art world, so I think that’s kind of a necessary evil right now.

The sad thing is that fans aren’t supporting musicians anymore. Corporations are supporting musicians. Corporations are putting musicians’ songs into commercials and they’re paying for these musicians to be able to make another album, and the fans who are so quick to rush to judgment on those things are downloading their music. And I guess I don’t really know if it’s bad or good. I think I’m probably somewhere in the middle. But it’s interesting that it’s the corporations that are really funding the arts right now and not the people.

This final question is fill in the blank. If you like _______, you’ll like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Piña coladas.Yeah, cause you know...I like that song.