(Photo Credit - Pamela Littky)
As the release date of their new EP looms, we had an opportunity to interview alt-pop superstars JR JR! Check out what they had to say about their new EP 'August and Everything Prior'!
1. Can you tell us a bit about the writing and recording process for August and Everything Prior? "After we released, Invocations/Conversations we started writing for something new (which we always do upon completion of an album). It was August of 2019 and we were going through some old sessions that hadn’t made it on to other albums for whatever reason. We realized that we may have been too hard on ourselves. Sometimes music is only meant to illicit a physically joyful response, and that’s as valuable as a song that Expresses a thought we’ve not yet been able to quantify. So we started writing new stuff and revisiting old stuff but the goal was to just make fun songs that don’t weigh anything down. Before we decided on naming the band, “Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr” we had thought of calling it “Counting Crows Part 2”. Since they made an album called, “August and Everything After” we thought it was a nice homage."
2. How has it been promoting a brand new EP during the COVID-19 pandemic?
"I can’t really tell what works and doesn’t work promotionally in general, even prior to the pandemic. This really is a moment that cuts through a lot of bullshit though. Whether that be
an invented persona or an inadequate government policy there’s less tolerance for man made problems when a natural one so real is omnipresent. I think being honest is just the best way to be always." 3. What can fans expect from August and Everything Prior? "A lot of people have told me it reminds them a lot of our earliest work. I think that’s because this time it was back to only Daniel and Me writing and we tried our best not to over edit or get in the way of how the music feels."
4. What do the songs from August and Everything Prior mean to you? "It’s a fun thing to be almost a decade into our career and to take a moment to come full Circle and celebrate the original ethos." 5. What's next for JR JR?
"Well we’ve obviously started a new album! And hopefully our tour will happen as soon as possible and our new label, “Love Is EZ” will release some more things. And hopefully we will be able to hang out with each other and our family, friends and fans again some day."