DeadJournalist.com Exclusive Interviews
A Sunny Day In Glasgow

EXCLUSIVE Interview: A Sunny Day In Glasgow
Chuck Norton, DeadJournalist.com
11.09.07

MP3 - A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Watery

What you need to know about A Sunny Day In Glasgow:

- A Sunny Day in Glasgow is Ben Daniels, Lauren Daniels and Robin Daniels;
- The band is based out of Philadelphia;
- ASDiG released their debut EP, The Sunniest Day Ever, in 2006 and followed with the LP, Scribble Mural Comic Journal, in February 2007;
- Their latest EP, Tout New Age, was released in July 2007;
- ASDiG is signed to Notenuff Records;
- The band is taking a break from touring to work on a new album.

For more information of A Sunny Day in Glasgow, visit their Web site at www.asunnydayinglasgow.com/asdg/ or their MySpace.com page at www.myspace.com/sunnydayinglasgow.

DeadJournalist.com brings you this exclusive with Ben Daniels of A Sunny Day in Glasgow.

What is the history of A Sunny Day In Glasgow?

BD: It started, I guess, back in 2004 or so. I had just moved back to Philly from London and then a friend of mine moved back from Glasgow. We started recording songs on our own with 4-tracks and whatnot. It was essentially just pop songs but neither of us could sing so it didn't go anywhere. Eventually my friend quit to work on art stuff and I just kind of kept going.

In 2005, I finally got together enough money to get a computer and pro tools and all that and I just started recording songs like crazy. I asked my sisters to sing on the songs and by March of 2006 we had mostly finished a few songs.

We decided to put these together as an EP and send it to some college radio stations to see if they would play it. It wound up charting #1 at NYU's station and doing really well at a bunch of other places as well. And then blogs started writing about us and it just kind of snowballed from there.

It was pretty crazy, before we had played a single show, I was having phone conversations with some pretty gigantic record labels.

Bizarre.

In the end, we picked a small label from NYC/Berlin and I think it's been a really good decision. We're very much on the same page.

The band is often compared with "ethereal" bands from the mid-'90's. Is that happenstance or were you influenced by artist from that timeframe?

BD: Oh, I don't know. I think it's impossible to say who influences you. Other people are better at pointing that out. I will say though that I really think a lot of the "shoegaze" bands were absolutely horrible and I think they made some of the most boring music ever.

But I don't know, I love the Cocteau Twins, Stereolab, Magnetic Fields... Probably the only band the three of us would say we all really love is R.E.M. I don't think a lot of the comparisons that have been made are unfair or anything, but I hope people hear something new/different in our music.

How would you describe the band's sound?

BD: Dreamy pop music. Maybe slightly experimental, but nothing too crazy.

Having recently completed a brief European tour, what did you find to be the biggest difference between the audiences there versus the ones in North America?

BD: Well, this was a VERY brief tour. I don't know that there were big differences. The London show sold-out but it kind of seemed like everyone in the crowd really didn't care that we were there. It was really hard to read any sort of emotion and that kind of struck me as different from US shows.

On the other hand, the show in Glasgow did not sell out but everyone there was unbelievably enthusiastic.

Were you able to take in any of the sites while you were there?

BD: Here and there. Robin and Brice (our bass player) went to Stonehenge. I mostly walked around places I used to hang out in London. Also, the airline lost our luggage for a few days, so we had to wait around for it to get delivered to where we were staying.

The band is in the midst of recording a new album. How is the process going thus far? Will these songs be a departure from your previous work?

BD: No recording has really taken place yet. We're more writing the new record now. I would like the songs to be a departure but I don't think they really will be all that different.

This summer, when we got back from tour I didn't have my own place to live in and I didn't have all of my musical stuff, I only had my mandolin. So right now I have about 10 songs that are all written on mandolin. But I've just got set up in a new place with all of my stuff, so we'll see what happens.

The next record will be recorded in a proper studio this time, so it will probably sound different. And I really want Robin and Lauren's vocals to be the centerpiece of the songs. I kind of want to have a real 1950s feel- something like Roy Orbison or Santo & Johnny. Again, we'll see how it plays out.

Which do you enjoy more, performing live or writing and recording?

BD: I think writing and recording is something I'll always enjoy more, though I do like playing live. We haven't played live that much because we've never really had a full, proper band. We had one for the big US tour and that was really great.

Ideally it would be nice to get to write a lot and to get to test the songs live. It's been odd because right as more people were discovering us and when our record came out I moved to Montreal while my sisters were still in Philly. So it was hard to maintain a "real" band. But we're all back in Philly now and we have a proper band now.

Hopefully we'll get out a lot in 2008.

To the band, what is the most important aspect of performing in front of a live audience?

BD: Well, because I lived in Montreal during much of the time we were playing shows, I was most concerned with just getting through the songs without making a million mistakes. But by our big tour everyone knew the parts so that wasn't a concern.

I don't know really what the most important aspect of playing live is. I really hate going to shows and having someone in the band say something like "You guys should dance around, come closer, etc…" I want people to do whatever they need to do to enjoy our live music or have a good time regardless of us (as long as they don't harm others).

I guess I would just like to have something that people would be happy to come out and see.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being on the road?

BD: Oh man, so many things…the driving is probably the worst. I can do eight hours with no problem, and 10-12 is annoying, but on the last tour we drove from Tucson, AZ to Austin, TX in one day and that was the worst thing ever. We were all going insane. I had no real appreciation for how big Texas is.

But I really like touring otherwise. I love going out to breakfast everyday, I loved driving through North Dakota (I had never seen it before, it's beautiful!). It's awesome meeting so many really nice people everywhere.

On this last tour, we recorded sessions at a whole bunch of radio stations and I think it's always kind of exciting getting to go to these places surrounded by thousands of awesome records and meet the people who work there as they are almost always super enthusiastic about all kinds of music. And KEXP gave us lots of free t-shirts and sweaters which was really nice.

I don't know, tour defeats you physically and mentally in so many ways, but ultimately I think it's incredibly uplifting.

The most bizarre thing that has happened to you while on tour is ... ?

BD: I feel like nothing that bizarre happened. We would have to wake up each morning and head right for the next city because we were usually recording a session in the day and playing a show that night. We didn't have time to do anything except eat and even that didn't happen alot.

Our show in Chicago was at this old Baptist church and they had a neon crucified Jesus hanging above the stage/alter. That was pretty bizarre, but totally amazing.

Other than that, a couple people asked us for autographs, that was pretty bizarre.

Oh yeah, our bass player is only 20, so he was forced to stay outside of the place we played in Seattle until we went on stage, and then he had to immediately leave again when we were done.

Who and where was your first concert?

BD: Nirvana at the Philly Armory. BEST SHOW EVER. The Breeders opened!

What were you listening to in 1997?

BD: I don't know, I think that may have been the year I learned about the Cocteau Twins and the Pixies. Probably lots of Sonic Youth too. Stereolab for sure.

One Drink; One Movie; One Album:

BD: Milk; Half Japanese: The Band Who Would be King; Chill Out by the KLF or Discovery by Daft Punk (tie)