Hot Gig Alert (tonight! 10/16): Daffo hits the Sinclair tonight (Interview in Post!)
(photo credit: Sam Penn)
As we hit the mid-October mark, I have the perfect gig for you tonight! LA’s illuminati hotties are hitting The Sinclair with one of our new favorite artists, Daffo in tow! I recently chatted with Daffo to talk about their time so far with illuminati hotties, working with the iconic Rob Knapf and the roots of their current project!
Limited tickets can still be scooped at The Sinclair’s website! Hope to see you there!
New England Sounds: To jump right into it, I know you’ve been on tour with illuminati hotties for about two weeks or so. How have these dates been going so far for you?
Daffo: It’s going great. I mean, playing shows is my favorite thing in the world, so being out every day is awesome. It’s definitely so exhausting, a lot of driving, but it’s definitely worth it. I’m having a lot of fun.
NES: And then, I know you’ve played in MA, not too long ago, in Lowell. How have you been curating these sets on this tour so far? Considering the re-release of your album, these singles, how have you been planning these sets?
Daffo: I basically just play whatever I feel like playing. We typically play the hits because that’s why people are there. And then, we’re playing some new ones as well. I love trying new songs out live after I’ve written them. Because it kind of helps me understand what works, and it also just feels really good to be in them. It makes me feel more emotional about those songs than the ones I put out a while ago. It changes sometimes; I don’t do the same thing every day; I think we’re playing a song off Crisis Kit for one show because someone requested it. And then we played a song that I wrote years ago, which is really online only, that I played at my junior recital, which is on Youtube (at the first show). Because this girl wanted that song. And I haven’t played it, since my junior high school recital. So that was really fun.
NES: That must be wild to have someone follow you for that long, where they request that song.
Daffo: They actually found me through the Sir Chloe tour. They just saw us, took a deep dive, and were super sweet.
NES: And this project, Daffo, was something you started during Covid times, right? Like you hadn’t toured this project before Covid.
Daffo: Initially, my project was Gabi Gamberg, just my name up until, I think, February of last year. But the Sir Chloe tour was my first tour after the switch. But I’ve been doing this project since I was fifteen.
NES: That’s wild. When did you start exploring Daffo? Were some of them songs from back in the day, or were they all songs written fresh for this project? You released the EP in 2021 and then the album. When did you start working on this material?
Daffo: For Pest, “Poor Madeline,” I wrote when I was seventeen. “Collector,” I wrote earlier that year. “Good God,” I wrote a month or two before the EP came out. So I think I wrote everything for “Poor Madeline” and Pest in the same year. And then, Crisis Kit, I wrote when I was like fifteen/sixteen.
NES: Then maybe considering how young you are, and some bands have been doing this for so long, I’m sure they were confident that live music would return. Maybe how was that experience for someone who was in their teens, kind of as the pandemic hit, and experiencing the road for the first time?
Daffo: I mean, during Covid, it was tough. I was in high school and songwriting was what got me through it. So I was fortunate to have that—the ability to process my emotions. I also was using going to shows as an escape. I went to New Jersey every weekend to play a show or record, and I started shutting off my mind from high school life. And focusing on leaving. And I didn’t have that community anymore. So it was tough, and then after things were opening back up, I went to college briefly, and I started playing shows in New York and New Jersey. It was like gigging every weekend, so I’ve just been dying to get on tour for a long time. And when it finally happened, it just felt like the right thing; it’s perfect.
NES: And how has that experience been so far? You talked a little bit about the shows, but how has that experience been being out with such an LGBTQ-friendly act?
Daffo: The crowd is fantastic, and technically, it’s been a little different from the Sir Chloe shows. The shows have been 21+, and I’m 20, so most venues don’t let me in until I’m playing. After I play, I have to leave and sit in the van. And the rest of my band is over 21. I don’t really mind it, but I definitely miss being able to be inside at the merch table after the show and meeting everyone that came. And some venues will let me in to do that. It’s still been amazing. I feel like the audience is so accepting of me as the opener. I’ve been having a lot of fun.
NES: And then, “Get A Life” is the newest single that has dropped, right after the record’s re-release. You made it with Rob Schanpf, who has Elliot Smith under his belt, Beck, Kat Power, and the list goes on. How did that collaboration come about for you?
Daffo: I signed a record deal earlier this year. I think it was in April or March. And my A & R at the record label has been mutuals with Rob for a long time. And they were just like, “Gabi, I want you to meet this guy when you’re in LA.” So I go to this guy’s studio, and I’m like, I don’t really know who he is, and I don’t really do a lot of research around the music that I like. I just kind of listen to it. I was feeling really sick that day, and I threw up in his studio. I was like, “Oh, what’s going on? This is awful.”
I was playing the Troubadour that night. I sat down and was like, “So sorry. So, what kind of work are you doing?” And then obviously all the people he’s worked with, like you just mentioned, and then he’s like, “Okay, let’s like hear some of your music.” And he hands me a guitar, and it’s the acoustic Epiphone that Elliot played on his records. And it was like, what? Like, I don’t know, I feel so awful. Like, my stomach hurt so bad. I’m just sitting here, holding this guitar. So I played three songs, and he just said, “Awesome, that sounds great.” And then, he called me after the tour, and said, “Yeah, let’s work together!” And I found out later that he hadn’t even listened to my EP; he hadn’t listened to anything, and he was just a big fan after that interaction. I thought for sure after throwing up in his studio, it was done after that for sure. But it’s been really awesome. He’s so funny, and it was a very different experience from the recording of my last two EPs. I feel like he’s very patient with me, and we were able to take our time. And kind of see what feels right. It’s been totally amazing. I wish I could be in that studio all the time.
NES: Your puking; it charmed him.
Daffo: I know! I definitely went in there being like there was nothing else to lose.
NES: Then, as live music returns to its full extent, There are shows pretty much in every venue every night. What do you think makes a Daffo show something you can’t miss? I know it may seem a little cheesy.
Daffo: I always receive the back-handed compliment of, “Oh my god, you guys rock so much harder live.” And I’m like, “Oh…thank you, I guess.” But it is really fun. We definitely are a lot heavier live. And I think it adds a little depth to our music, and we have a lot of of fun. I don’t know, I think people should come because it’s cool and fun; I don’t really know how to sell myself very well. But I promise you, if you hate it, you can throw tomatoes at me. Or something, hopefully, you come, and you don’t hate it.
NES: They won’t be throwing tomatoes; I don’t think that’s in the plans. You’re on this tour for the rest of the month, but maybe hopes and goals for these next few months?
Daffo: The next few months are when the industry shuts down because of the holidays. I definitely want to spend a lot of time writing, and I might move to LA. There’s some transitional stuff going on. I’m getting back in the studio in January. I wish I could go a little earlier, but Rob has some wonderful people he works with, so I can’t take up all of his time. So I want to be writing more, figuring out where I need to be for the next year. I can’t give away too much.
NES: I know you can’t; it’s not my first rodeo.
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10/16: Daffo opening up for illuminati hotties at Sinclair! Doors are at 7:30, with Daffo opening it up at 8:30!
