They are life long friends, they grew up together, and they make music. Almost Monday, aka Luke (bass), Cole (guitar), and Dawson (vocals) are united by their Southern Californian roots and their passion for music. From their numerous garage jams as high school band to being signed and mentored by Simon Oscroft and Mark Needham, the three sunny boys never disappoint to surprise.
Their style is characterized by their home town San Diego, California, which is a melting pot for so many lifestyles, and personalities. The trio fuses funky basslines, danceable rhythms and yet super chilled vibes. Almost Monday is a refreshing mixture of Blink 182, Prince, and The Gorillaz, who perform in your favourite surf shop. Their impeccable chemistry is what makes their performances so enjoyable.
For this week’s SIT IN ON FRIDAY, the three have recorded their latest single release “Live Forever” just for us! Summer vibes incoming:
TITLE: Can you give us a brief introduction to yourselves and let us know what you are currently working on?
Almost Monday: We are Dawson Daugherty, Luke Fabry, and Cole Clisby. We’re all from San Diego and started playing music together in high school. We used to throw our own shows at the back of our friend’s surf shop and from there on we formed almost monday. We’re currently finishing up our 2nd ep and shooting the visuals for it.
TITLE: What is your first memory or experience of music ?
Dawson: My first experience of music was listening to the album BOY by U2 with my dad. We would blast it in his car when I was growing up and I just remember both of us singing every lyric at the top of our lungs. He also introduced me to the live slane castle DVD, and I think that show was where I really fell in love with the idea of playing live shows.
Cole: I think my first experience with music was going to a Blink 182 show when I was really young. I just remember loving the energy and full experience of live music and I think shortly after I started learning guitar.
Luke: My first memory of music is my dad playing guitar in our living room. He used to play Blackbird by The Beatles over and over again to the point of annoyance but in retrospect it was a cool first introduction into music.
TITLE: Why did you start making music ?
Dawson: I started making music because it felt like the next step from learning how to play. I remember just casually learning how to play guitar and then trying to sing my own melodies over chords of other songs I was learning. Making music shortly after messing around with my own songs became one of my favorite things to do.
Cole: I started making music after learning a bunch of songs on guitar and stumbling into guitar riffs and chords of my own. Cutting your teeth with first writing music is definitely a challenge but once you do it enough you start recognizing patterns of things that do and don’t work and how to write better songs.
Luke: I have always been intrigued by music ever since I learned how to play the piano. There’s something that happens to people when they try to learn an instrument. There is a greater respect and curiosity around music when someone actually tries to partake in it. When I played the piano I tried to play the songs that I was learning in different ways and make up my own version so I guess I’ve just continued to do that.
TITLE: What inspires you most about the city you live in?
Almost Monday: San Diego has always been so appealing to us because there is so much to do from surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. The city just suits such an outdoorsy lifestyle and in all honesty it’s just a super fun place to live.
TITLE: And what did the city add to your individual sound?
Almost Monday: Our sound started out in the more traditional route for a San Diegan band with playing more of a garage/surf rock type of sound. I think over time we naturally developed our own unique sound and vibe. I don’t think we will ever know the direct impact San Diego has had on our sound but it probably has in some way or another even if we aren’t aware of it.
TITLE: Did the pandemic change the music industry? Did it change your way of working, if so in which ways?
Almost Monday: Yes it definitely changed the music industry. For us the creative process became a lot more difficult, because of zoom sessions being so hard to connect on and just the lack of life experiences to write about.
TITLE: How do you manage to stay creative? Do you have any tips for aspiring musicians?
Almost Monday: Ya I think always staying open to whatever has been inspiring you. For us our creative process isn’t always linear or repeatable so we have to be really open to what comes!
TITLE: Which song can you not wait to perform in front of a big crowd?
Almost Monday: We can’t wait to perform live forever. That song is super fun to play live
TITLE: Did the pandemic change the music industry? Did it change your way of working, if so in which ways?
Almost Monday: Yes it definitely changed the music industry. For us the creative process became a lot more difficult, because of zoom sessions being so hard to connect on and just the lack of life experiences to write about.
