iHeartRadio (May 22nd 2017)
No Doubt-AFI Hit The Refresh Button For New Sideband DREAMCAR
Fame is irreversible and so are some of the standards that labels appoint for project deadlines, marketing projections, and even creative boundaries. However, AFI frontman Davey Havok and all the members of No Doubt (sans Gwen Stefani) arrived at one pivotal opportunity in their careers in 2014 to free themselves of some of those industry pressures when they banded together for a new collective called DREAMCAR.
Their sound isn't representative of No Doubt. It isn't representative of AFI. But instead, the four hark back to the funk and buoyancy of the '80s for a vibrant 13-song set, which lifts pages from The Cure and Duran Duran. After the release of the self-titled LP, DREAMCAR stopped by iHeartRadio HQ to talk about the importance of being able to create in freedom and how their two worlds collided for the group.
"There's utter freedom in working in isolation and not having external influences influence what you're creating," Davey told us. "Whether that be the history of having never been a band before or whether that be the music industry. Being able to create this in isolation and in secrecy just allowed it to be pure in a way that we're very excited to be able to experience. We're very lucky to be able to experience with all of our individual histories really confronting us and, typically, having that kind of history that we have it wouldn't be possible to have that freedom."
Because DREAMCAR was created without any of those external limitations, Davey said that the LP is the result of a record that Havok, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young appreciate from top to bottom.
Formed in 2014, the collective started out as just an idea between the No Doubt bandmates, before they courted Davey, someone who has crossed paths with them during their longtime careers, with just a simple date to his favorite restaurant: Los Angeles' Crossroads Kitchen.
"We love Davey and we're fans of Davey. We're fans of his music and his bands. I think we've crossed paths many times at radio shows and literally on the streets of San Francisco. We just had this idea one day, 'Let's ask Davey,'" Tony recalled. "We gave him four pieces of music which he returned promptly and had really done such a great job."
Among the four pieces, included a dough version of the album's lead single, "Kill for Candy." Clocking in at two minutes and 54 seconds, the DREAMCAR introductory track is a high-energy '80s-charged anthem accompanied by a vocal delivery from Davey that is reminiscent of The Killers.
Asked about the reception of DREAMCAR from their other bandmates, Davey took the lead, revealing that AFI and Blaqk Audio (both comprise of a common denominator: Jade Puget) have supported his newest musical chapter. However, the verdict from Gwen Stefani is still out, well, unless you count this as a response.
Nonetheless, the support stemmed from their other musical ventures is as strong as ever, as seen in what's set to be a modest debut for DREAMCAR on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. "It was, I have to say, it was so fun the whole process because we would kind of write one song at a time really over a long period of time and each new song that we composed together was like its own revelation," Tom explained. "It was like opening a Christmas present, like, 'Oh, this one's great! This one's really unique and cool and excited to get the next one.' I think we were driven by that joy of 'What are we going to create next?'"