10 Things with Dreamers
How did you guys first come together and what was your first big break into the industry?
Nick and I met in Brooklyn. Nick was living in this ramshackle rehearsal studio to save money, tending bar one night a week, focusing on writing songs. When we met, we immediately got to work recording the material. That initial batch of songs contained “Wolves”, and our first big break was Sirius radio’s Altnation playing it on the air. There was a huge fan response on social media; people kept tweeting to keep it in rotation. “Wolves” stayed on their top 18 countdown for a couple months. That success led to us getting signed and moving to Los Angeles, where we met Jacob and completed the circle. We’ve been marching nonstop towards global domination since.
Who were some of your musical influences as you navigated through the business?
We love everything from 60’s psychedelia to 70’s NYC punk, to 90’s grunge rock to Michael Jackson. A lot of older bands; The Beatles, The Doors, Nirvana, Iggy and the Stooges, Radiohead. We also love a lot of our current Alt contemporaries. The 1975, Cage The Elephant, Tame Impala. And bands we’ve toured with like Bear Hands, The Griswolds, Night Riots. We listen to and love A LOT of music.
As mentioned, your breakout single “Wolves (You Got Me)”, landed in rotation on Sirius XM’s AltNation, and sat in the taste-making AltNation Top 18 Charts for months, all based on fan-votes. How does it feel to have such a strong fan base?
It’s been incredible. We’ve watched it happen organically, online and at shows, and it’s an amazing feeling. We’ve all been playing music practically our whole lives, so we know how hard it is to get anyone to care. Now we have shows were the audience is singing along to every song. We have a lot of fun on social media with our fanbase. It really is our own weird universe.
You got the chance to record your album at Fairfax Recording Studios. What was going through your minds when you thought about some of the greats that were there before you?
Fairfax Recordings, formerly Sound City, was a dream come true for us. Couldn’t have asked for a more inspiring place to make our first record. We were using snare drums that had been used on Nirvana’s Nevermind. It was a bit surreal. You can kind of feel the ghosts of all the greatness there. It just meant we were inspired to work harder and bring our absolute best everyday. It helps that it just plain sounds incredible and has some amazing vintage/analog gear.
What is your new music about and what do you want your fans to walk away with after listening to the music?
We’ve been writing a ton of new material so it’s hard to know which songs will end up on the record and which will not. We will say, we’re venturing into different territory, some darker and a bit moodier. We are also still writing a lot of fun songs. When we write and record a song and share it, we really just want to bring something to someone else’s day or life that makes things easier, better, more fun. Something that helps them transcend the more mundane realities of daily existence. It really is about that transcendence for us. Someone having a bad day and hearing a favorite song on the radio, or putting on an album that takes them out of it and elevates them above those circumstances. That’s what it’s about for us.
If you had a chance to work with any artists, which ones would make your list and why?
John Lennon, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain. Getting together with these artists might be difficult today, but it would be a dream come true. Every once in a blue moon theres a music artist who’s really on to something that no one else was, musically, spiritually and philosophically.
What do you guys do on free time in order to relax and take a break from all the work you do in studio and on the road?
These days we get almost no breaks, too much to do and too much fun to be had. But generally, any time off is used to catch up on sleep and do absolutely nothing. Hit the reset button real quick and get back to it.
If you weren’t working on your careers as musicians, what type of work would you be doing?
Growing up I always thought I’d be a scientist, or an engineer of some kind. I’d love to write fiction or philosophy. There’s so many things to do and so little time.
Fashion is a big part of musical acts. What types of styles do you guys like personally and collectively?
We have a lot of nostalgia for 90’s grunge and tend to gravitate toward things that remind us of that. Also 70’s punk. All the best style icons worth imitating are female, Debbie Harry, Kim Gordon, Madonna.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. What do you guys have coming up for us in the near future?
Tons and tons soon and forever. Check out new bizarre and wonderful video for ‘Painkiller’. We’re touring non stop all over the US, and we’re writing a ton of new songs which will become our second album and next version of our sound.
Twitter: @DreamersJoinUs
Soundcloud: Dreamers Join Us
Facebook: Dreamers Universe
YouTube: Dreamers
Website: https://www.dreamersuniverse.com
Photos: CJ Moy