Will Dailey & The Rivals: the Beatweek interview

by Dana Feldman

About to drop a new self-titled album with Universal Republic Records September 20th, ‘Will Dailey & The Rivals’ are gearing up for a very busy chapter in their lives. Dailey and his gang of musicians have had their tunes featured on fifty plus TV shows and films including the songs “Rise” on CSI NY, “How Can I Make You Happy” as the backdrop for Showtime’s promos, “Big Bright Sun” on NCIS, and “Undone” which was in the film ‘Middle of Nowhere.’ This is just to name a few as the list is too voluminous to type out in its entirety.

Deciding to name the new album after the band was a decision made, as Dailey put it, “Because of all of the hard work we put into this record as a team.” The Boston born and bred artist, who says of his city, “I’m not leaving,” gets to see the world when he is on the road. If things keep going in the trajectory that they are currently heading, he will be seeing much more of this planet than even he could have imagined.

When asked to pick a few adjectives to describe his music, he chooses adventurous and honest, adding “I always have one foot in the past prostrate, and the other foot forward.” With a nod to what has been and a view of what is to come, Dailey has a staunch ability to remain true to himself while at the same time create music that is nonpareil in his genre of singer-songwriter.

His definition of what a true singer-songwriter is, well, the man has good taste indeed. “Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – that is what a singer-songwriter is to me.” He says this with such conviction anyone would be gallant to disagree. “Elton John circa the 70’s, Elvis Costello, Dylan, The Stones, Zeppelin, The Beatles,” his voice trails off just a bit as he leans towards that one foot which remains steadfast in the past.

To touch on his resume, Dailey is a two-time winner of the Boston Music Awards in the category for “Best Singer/Songwriter” and he has performed with the likes of Neil Young, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp at two of their Farm Aid concerts, including the one this year in Kansas City.

Philanthropic projects aside, Dailey recently got together with Mellencamp and Stephen King on a project with renowned producer T-Bone Burnett entitled “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County”. An interesting collaboration of which Dailey described as “Grad school for musicians,” he tells of how grateful he was to be a part of it all. “I sang with Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello – it was an amazing experience to be involved with everyone.”

A musical written by King, with songs by Mellencamp, produced by Burnett sounds like a dream for any music lover out there. Scheduled to open in the Spring of 2012, eager fans can expect the soundtrack to be available prior.

With much on the horizon of which to be grateful, Dailey would be best-suited to keep both feet planted firmly in the present with his eyes cast on the glorious road ahead.

Learn more: WillDailey.com • iTunes • Facebook • Twitter • Lyric Video for Counting On Karma

Photo courtesy Universal Republic Records

About Dana Feldman

Dana S. Feldman is a freelance writer in the Los Angeles area. She has worked in the entertainment industry and has gained an appreciation for the artists that make Los Angeles such a thriving city. She strives to help them in their endeavors and to tell their stories in a fair and compassionate way that helps them to get recognized for their work, and to help others out there who may be struggling, to know that they are not alone and to keep pursuing their dreams. In addition to Beatweek, Dana also contributes to Examiner and Variety.