The Daily Reveille: I understand that you are the lead singer for Paper Route. Could you tell me how you guys came up with that name?
J.T. Daly: When we started we were talking about how we didn’t want to make this like a full time thing. It was mostly a studio project, and we love the fact that paper routes were like a way that a lot people made ends meet, or extra money. I had one as a kid, it just reminded us of day dreaming and the Midwest.
TDR: How did the three of you guys get together?
JTD: Well, Chad and I went to college. We moved to Nashville for a record deal that eventually fell through. That band ended and Chad started making tracks and I started singing on them. This was back when Myspace was basically the coolest thing in the world, and people kind of made us tour. We needed to bring it to people, and that really changed the dynamics of the band because we became a lot louder, the songwriting became less “found sound” and we made it for large venues instead of just making it in a bedroom. Eventually we started touring with extra members, and we met Nick, and we need someone else to come out here and bring the magic and that’s when Nick became a member.
TDR: And how would you classify Paper Route’s genre of music?
JTD: I always tell people it’s Indie Rock-ish. I don’t really know because we use a lot of random sounds — a lot of samplers and a lot of the things you hear on our recordings, the sounds are very meticulously crafted. We’re very particular about how they are engineered or they are completely wrecked. We ran multiple songs through a VCR on a VHS tape on this album to give it like this feeling of you’re underwater. Or to think you’re in outer space. So it’s not really your typical electronic band, not your typical rock band, almost like the artists we love, like Radiohead.
TDR: I see that Paper Route has headlined for bands such as Passion Pit and Paramore. Tell me what that was that like. I know that’s a different league.
JTD: It is always a cool thing to perform on a stage like that. To be honest, the Passion Pit thing was a little confusing because we were on tour with them and a blog decided they were the coolest thing in the world, and to see that happen sort of overnight, they just all of a sudden made our shows twice as big. But it was fascinating because, I don’t really know if the audience even knew why they were coming some nights, and that was, I think, disappointing to witness that. We have always been thankful for the fact that we have had this slow, painful growth, and we’ve never had to endure people coming to see you play just because someone said they should. It’s just a bizarre thing.
The Paramore audience they were some of the most remarkable, kind fans that I have ever seen. You could probably compare it to Twenty One Pilots right now, where it’s a family and people take it so seriously. That kind of changed our careers. Working with that band, we learned so much from them, and their crew is so kind. The people that started our Paper Route’s fan club from all over the world, they are all people that found us from Paramore, so we are really grateful for that.
TDR: I know that there is a huge difference between writing and performing. How does it feel to perform live in front of masses of audiences?
JTD: It’s surreal. There are nights when it feels right and I know that that’s exactly where I’m supposed to be because it’s connecting and you can see it work. And then there are other nights when it’s just not connecting and I think there’s kind of an ache there and I feel it kind of takes its toll on you when you’re away from home and everyday it’s just different. Struggling with anxiety already, you’ll feel alone and I think that’s the complete opposite of why we make our album because that’s a huge deal to us that we are very very honest. It’s who we are as humans, and I think we are putting it out there is to remind other people that others are thinking the same way. Like there are a lot of us out here and band together on some subjects. Touring is always different and we always try to steer clear from hitting autopilot.
TDR: How do you connect with your audience?
JTD: We are always available after the show. Social media has certainly helped us. We have gained the ability to communicate with our audience as we are able to see what songs that might want to hear that night. It’s good to know, because we have more in common than our differences. What is it that they are gravitating toward and how does that fit into where our headspace is tonight?
TDR: Could you describe the creative process in not only writing your music, but creating visually stunning videos such as “Laugh About It” and“You and I?”
JTD: Those are both specific situations where we have found artists in which we trusted and let go. With those videos, it just felt very comfortable. You hit a point sometimes with art, that the more that you become involved, the more it gets pulled away from the original vision and it kind of becomes everything for no one.
TDR: With your headlining tour kicking off in Baton Rouge, how do you manage to find time to keep yourself sane and centered?
JTD: Struggling with anxiety already, there are new tricks every time, and I don’t know if any of them work! I recently downloaded a meditation act. We do a lot as a band — podcasts, book clubs, a whole bunch of nerdy things. People kind of look at us like, “that’s what you guys do on tour? Plan book clubs?” It also really helps to be in the same room before we go on stage, just to unpack the evening. It seems kinda obvious or cheesy, but it really helps.
TDR: What’s a good book that I should pick up?
JTD: The one that really changed the DNA of Paper Route is “Jayber Crow” by Wendell Berry. It is a special one.
