from http://www.splendidezine.com
2001

Many of you out there probably are not familiar with Tom Daily. Even those of you who hail from the fair city of Chicago probably wouldn't know him if you ran him down on lower Wacker Drive. Those of you who have heard of him probably already know that for years he fronted seminal pop-punkers Not Rebecca, and from time to time played guitar with perennial faves The Smoking Popes. What barely anybody, anywhere has seemed to notice is that after the demise of these groups, Tom has embarked on a relatively low-key, yet well received solo career. A few weeks back, to coincide with the release of his third solo outing, The Burlington Northern, on Thick Records, I conducted an e-mail interview with the man, the myth, Chicago area legend…Tom Daily. Welcome to his very own "world of yawns."

Tom Daily: Mostly, I just wanted to start making music for myself again. Being in a band means making compromises. That's what makes great bands great -- that give and take of musicians challenging each other. But it can also wear you out. I needed to not answer to anyone other than myself for a while, and to figure out what I sounded like on my own.

Splendid: You seem to be quite proficient on a number of instruments. When/why/how did you begin playing music?

Tom Daily: The main reason that I started playing guitar was that I wanted to write songs. I guess that has been my motivation for learning any instrument. Playing drums or piano or learning how to use recording equipment has always been for the purpose of making the song sound the way that I want it to. The instrument is just a means to an end.

I never wanted to be a guitar hero. I wanted to be a great songwriter.

Splendid: What were your goals/motivations while recording The Burlington Northern? And along the same lines, what prompted you to name the record after a (Chicago area) railroad line?

Tom Daily: The only goal that I kept in mind was to make a diverse record. I originally wanted it to sound like each song was recorded by a different band. I don't think that it turned out to be that extreme, but I do think most of the songs are quite different from each other. I really wanted to challenge myself as a songwriter.

As far as the title goes, the Burlington Northern is the train line that I had been taking to work for the past couple of years. I wrote most of the lyrics for the record while I was on the train. It is a very strange environment to be submerged in.

Splendid: I think many people, especially around here, can relate to the monotony of riding on a train day in and day out to a job they do not necessarily like. With that in mind, did you write this album as a reaction against those kinds of feelings?

Tom Daily: It was something that I couldn't avoid. At the time I was not happy about commuting, and I think that it shows somewhat on the record. I write as therapy. I feel better when I'm done recording a song. Sometimes the things that are getting to me end up trapped inside the song.

Splendid: Is "The Kids are Not Alright" a backhanded homage to the Who, or some sort of social commentary about the current state of America’s youth?

Tom Daily: It is definitely a commentary on how easy it is for kids to get their hands on a gun these days. Being a teenager is a very stressful time. Everything is amplified. I don't think that it's a good idea to let people who are that emotional make a decision that could change so many lives in one second. It's a good thing that I couldn't get a semi-automatic weapon when I was in high school.

The title is just a way to point out how different of an environment kids are growing up in today, while keeping in mind that teenagers are always going to be going through the same things.

AUDIO: Reese Witherspoon
Splendid: I have to ask, why write a song about Reese Witherspoon instead of, say, Katie Holmes or Denise Richards?

Tom Daily: I liked the sound of the words Reese Witherspoon. Say it to yourself a few times, I think you'll understand.

Splendid: The line "exploding in front of an April moon, die in flames" from "Reece Witherspoon" is beautiful stuff. Was it inspired in any way by someone/something in your life?

Tom Daily: No. I just like the imagery of it. That song is about someone who is realizing that their life isn't going to end in some newspaper-worthy event. Most of us are going to die without much fanfare at all. I think that that's a good thing to come to terms with.

Splendid: What, if anything, is "The Hitler of Crickets" supposed to represent? It seems to me to be about standing up for what you believe in, to not be passive, to take an active interest in the goings on of one’s own life.

Tom Daily: That song is a little strange. The words were taken out of my train journals over a long period of time. It's more about a feeling than an event. The title refers to Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard, but it doesn't have too much to do with him. Some of the lyrics come from me trying to deal with the death of a friend of mine and how you should not waste time (which is about all you can do while commuting on a train) because you really don't know how much of it you have left.

Splendid: What are your touring plans as far as this record is concerned? Midwest, national, global?

Tom Daily: I'm going to be playing around the Midwest for the next couple months with the new band, "The Volunteers", who are Mark Ruggiero on drums and Jeanne McClure on bass. No major tour plans, though.

Splendid: Does The Burlington Northern's artwork have any symbolic meaning as far as you or your music is concerned?

Tom Daily: I was very happy to have Christian Northeast do the illustration for the cover. I am a huge fan of his artwork. It is a drawing of a man who is made up of mechanical parts. I think that it represents the music well. I used a lot more computer and tape manipulations to create this record, but the lyrics and feel of it are very personal and human, much like the artwork.

Splendid: The Tom Daily live experience is quite different from your recorded output. Is that born of necessity or a need to just rock out?

Tom Daily: I think that a live show is a completely different thing from making a record. It's more about immediate gratification. A record has to be able to stand up to repeated listening, over (hopefully) a number of years. A live show only has to feel good for 45 minutes or so. The current lineup has definitely influenced the way the show sounds. I like to modify the songs to fit who's playing them. I think that it also keeps things interesting for the listener.

Splendid: Do you have any other projects or bands you are currently working with/on?

Tom Daily: Right now I'm just focusing on the solo stuff, though I'm very interested in working with a lot of different people in the future. I like the way someone else can have an idea about a song, and it can become something totally different than you had intended. I may be recording the next record with the Volunteers, like a regular band would do it.

Splendid: What’s one thing that people who are new to the world of Tom Daily should know about you, your music or anything else?

Tom Daily: I make music for myself. It's not that I don't want people to like what I do, but it isn't going to make a difference either way. I'm going to keep recording these songs that I write as long as I enjoy doing it.

AUDIO: World of Yawns
Splendid: Is your music supporting you yet, or do you have another career/job?

Tom Daily: My music is not supporting me and I don't intend it to. I tried for years to be a "professional musician", and it made me hate music. I don't like to tour, I don't want to be famous, and I don't want to worry about whether or not I'm going to get dropped from a major label because I want to make a record of clicks and beeps. It's not worth it. I have a lot of respect for a guy like Ian MacKaye, who will not give in to the way that the music business is run. The difference is that I don't want to run a record label. That doesn't sound like fun to me at all. So I'm happy to make music for myself.

Splendid: If you had to choose a product or service in whose commercial your music would be used, what would it be and why?

Tom Daily: PETA. I am a vegetarian, and I feel very strongly about the proper treatment of animals. I won't get into the blood and guts of it, but I highly recommend a visit to peta.com.

Splendid: Can you still see yourself making music and performing live in ten years time?

Tom Daily: I think that there will always be a part of me that will want to write and record music. As for playing live, I'm not sure. I'm an introverted person. I'd rather stay home and read a book than go out and see a rock band. Ask me again in ten years.

Splendid: Last but not least, who has the best pizza in Chicago?

Tom Daily: Jewel. (It's a grocery store chain -- Ed.)