Indie-chic should be a word. Well, technically that's two words. In either case, Minnesota-based Now, Now Every Children have managed to grasp both the musical maturity of a band with much more experience and the contemporary attitude of fun-loving young artists (all under the age of 22) with bright eyes towards the future.
Their debut full length album, 'Cars,' which was released on Afternoon Records in December, brings in sounds that range from The Postal Service to post-rock.

Now, Now Every Children is the combination of after-school boredom and a penchant for following hunches. Primary members; vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Cacie Dalager and drummer/backup vocalist Brad Hale, met at their high school through marching band and decided to write what would become their catchy blend of, you guessed it, indie-chic.

"[Brad and I] were in marching band together, so that's how we met initially," says Dalager. "You realize once you start doing something if it feels right or not, and it was something that when we started doing [it], just felt right immediately, and then I kind of just wanted to become more and more involved with the whole thing."

At the time, though, high school became a road block for them pursuing anything too serious. As the months went on, however, the band began releasing demos on Myspace and rapidly gained a following before ever hitting an actual stage. When Hale entered college, their connection with Afternoon Records gave them the push to take things a step further.

"Ian [of Afternoon Records] actually went to college with me. I don't recall how I actually met him, but I was always aware of him on campus," says Hale. "I was always like, 'He looks cool, he should be friends with me.' It was really fun. Just from other people that knew him, I would find out that he wanted to be my friend, and one day I got up enough courage to send him our Myspace, because I knew he owned the record label and stuff, and he was like, 'Oh! I didn't know you did this,' and then it kind of went off from there."

Even with the backing of a label, though, the band kept things DIY for some time. Their initial recordings for their first two releases — EPs 'Not One, But Two' and 'In the City,' respectively—were created in Hale's basement. Eventually, they received studio help from Afternoon Records, but it still remained minimal, the majority of the work remaining in Dalager's and Hale's hands.

"For the full-length, we had more help with studios and stuff like that, but Ian was the only person we worked with, really," says Dalager. "We demo [songs] in Brad's basement. For the EPs, we did those recordings in Brad's basement also, but for the full-length we did a series of demos. Like we did rough draft demos, and then we did the real recording. So then we'll have a series of drafts, and then we'll have a final rough draft, and then we'll take that to the studio."

Even though 'Cars' is still in its primary stages of life, the album has received positive reactions from a variety of critics — from Absolutepunk.net to Hayley Williams of Paramore, who raved about Now, Now Every Children's new record in her band's Livejournal.

"One of my friends was like, 'Oh...Hayley mentioned you in their Livejournal.' And I was like, 'Are you joking? This is a really odd joke,'" says a humble Dalager. "And then, I don't know, it was true, and I was totally weirded out. But it's really cool."

Now, Now Every Children just wrapped up a tour in the midwest and are planning a U.K. tour in March, bookending it with a spot at the Bamboozle festival in New Jersey this May. Although they just recently started gaining a larger following, their tour thrust them into a glimmer of fame.

"It's weird when people treat you like a band. Kids come up to us, and ask us to sign things or take pictures with us. It's kind of new territory for us,” says Dalager. “It happened a significant amount on this tour, and it usually doesn't happen."

Not that the fans are complaining. At the Chicago date of their recent tour, the band unfortunately played an 18+ venue, cutting out a lot of their younger fans. Lucky for them, they received a personal experience.

"We had pizza with a few kids that couldn't go to the show, and that was super entertaining," says Dalager.

When they're not playing shows or working on recording songs, the band has another way of keeping themselves busy — creating Youtube videos. Their videos range hit on topics that affect the band. Everything from lettuce heads to merchandise to dogs and guitars can be observed in their short, entertaining clips.

"I've always been kind of a freak about documenting things, and I could always put something together from it," laughs Dalager. "But I think once we started doing band stuff, it became an excuse to be able to actually make things out of what I would be documenting. You kind of don't really know what you want to be sharing about yourself, like 'Should people know that I'm this hyper at moments in my life?' But then, I don't know, you just put it out there and see."

Now, Now Every Children have definitely made their mark—and will more than likely continue to drive it into the ground. Dalager's vocals are heart-wrenching but relatable, and the unique blend of a simple, low-key (but driven) recordings of drums and pianos or guitars turns into something reaching a more complex level. In short, this band is phenomenal.

"I kind of feel that a lot of bands, or, a lot of people that make music don't make music that they would listen to themselves. It makes sense, but it's also kind of weird, because you think you'd make something that you'd enjoy yourself," says Dalager. "Not like, 'Oh, I really enjoy listening to my own band,' but like, the kind of music you would enjoy. So when I'm writing, I have a weird listening standpoint of what I would listen to in music. Not a certain band or anything, but something that I would like to hear."

So far, we like what we're hearing, too.


Interview by Laila Hanson


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