Daffo on Where the Earth Bends, Philadelphia, and Touring

When Gabi Gamberg (they/them) walked into Rob Schnapf’s studio, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Schnapf has worked with Beck, Guided By Voices, and is best known for his time developing Elliot Smith’s sound. By the end of the first meeting with Schnapf, Gabi, aka Daffo, left with a vision for their debut album, Where the Earth Bends.  

With Elliot Smith’s acoustic Epiphone guitar in hand, recording with Schnapf opened Daffo to a broader audience, as explored in their debut record. Their sound ventured into the realm of transitional alternative rock, blending hard and soft melodies, much like her idol Karly Hartzman does in Wednesday. Daffo recently wrapped up a tour with Wednesday, a dream bill for any alt-rock lover.

The tour began in Philadelphia, Daffo’s hometown, where they once worked as an intern at WXPN. During the concert, they played the bulk of Where the Earth Bends, and based on the excitement in the crowd, it’s an immediate hit. After two sold-out gigs in Brooklyn, Daffo and I spoke about Wednesday, recording with Rob Schnapf, and playing in Philly.

Sam: You’re on tour with Wednesday right now. I attended the show in Philly, and it was incredible. How is it being on tour with Wednesday?

Daffo: It’s absolutely f***ing incredible, like it’s such a dream come true, and they sound so f***ing good every night. They’re playing my favorite songs, and I’m just sitting backstage drinking a beer.

What was your reaction when you found out you’d be touring with her?

I was so stoked. I was jumping up and down. It was so awesome.

How have the shows been going for you?

They’ve been great. The first two were great. The third one, the second night at Brooklyn Steel, my voice was a little messed up. But other than that, they’ve been really good.

In Philly, you sounded great. You mentioned that Philly is your hometown show. How was it starting the tour at home?

It was just incredible. I mean, I saw so many familiar faces. My dad was there. It was just electric. It was really cool.

You’re playing a lot of the debut record. How is it to play the new stuff?

Oh, it’s really great. On the last few tours, I was playing mostly older material, and I didn’t have a long enough set to really get to play the new songs. But Wednesday gave me a 40-minute set, which is more than I’ve gotten as an opener. It’s been really great and refreshing to play the new material, and it’s really fun.

How long has the new record been in the works?

It came out about a year after we started making it. I also wrote some of the songs while we were recording it. The last song I wrote was like six months before the record came out. We were recording for like six weeks in total, maybe more.

How does it feel to have it out and be able to put it on the shelf?

Feels really good. I finally feel like I have work out that’s really representative of my music and my taste. I’m really excited to kind of move on from it and explore more now that I’ve laid down my baseline. 

I love the harder tracks on the new album. “Habit” is definitely a favorite. I love it when an artist can balance the hard and soft, and it works. How did you find that balance?

I was talking to someone about this the other day. I think they all [my songs] kind of start soft because I write mostly on my acoustic guitar. I can sometimes tell when a song is going to be produced in a heavier way. With the songs that I play live before they come out, I kind of get to explore the way that I’m presenting the song. When I do play a song live, I tend to go harder with it, because that’s just kind of what an audience responds to when you’re playing with a band.

Your live band is so strong. How did you meet everyone?

Wyatt, my guitar player, I met two years ago. He was opening for my friend’s band, and I heard him play, and I was like, ‘That’s the guitarist I need.’ I went up to him, and I think I scared him. I was like, ‘I’m poaching you. I need you in my band.’ And he said, ‘Who are you?’ He told me the other day that when I came up to him, he was like, ‘No way am I going to be in some freshman’s band.’ And then he listened to my music, and he loved it, and that’s how we met. 

And then Matt, the bass player, engineered the record, so I met him in the studio. We became really good friends, and we’re very close now, which is great as well. 

Then, with Nick Wilkerson, I wanted an LA-based band. Wyatt lives in New York, and Matt lives in LA. I wanted an LA-based drummer so that we could conduct all our rehearsals in LA. I auditioned a few people, and Nick was just perfect. He’s the best, and we’ve become really good friends now, and we have a lot of fun. He’s hilarious, and he plays in the band Bully as well. 

What was it like recording in LA?

It was great. It was nice for me to get to go to LA a bunch when I wasn’t living there. I mean, working with Rob [Schnapf] was incredible. He’s one of my favorite producers. And, yeah, it was just surreal. It was really fun.

I wanted to ask about Rob. How did that happen? What was that experience of being in the room with him like? 

I was introduced to him by my A&R at my label. I didn’t know who he was at the time, so I walked into the studio, and I was feeling really gross and sick, and I was just feeling really horrible. And I was like, ‘Oh, what have you worked on?’ And then he told me, and I was like, ‘Holy s***.’ 

He handed me the Epiphone that Elliot [Smith] played on a lot of his records. And I was just in awe. And I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m gonna play my shitty little songs on this incredible guitar.’ We ended up using that guitar on a lot of the record. I think pretty much anywhere you hear an acoustic guitar, it’s that guitar. 

Was it surreal to be playing Elliot’s guitar?

Yeah, it was kind of magical. I think it’s my favorite guitar in existence.

Outside of Elliot, what were the landmark inspirations for the record’s sound?

I feel like when it comes to writing my songs, I don’t really have anyone else in mind. I think that all of the music I listen to influences me. I think when I was writing the record, I was listening to a lot of Elliot Smith, Sparklehorse, and Wednesday. 

With Wednesday, I think people forget how deep her catalog goes. When did you discover her and the whole Asheville, MJ Lenderman scene?

The First Wednesday song I remember hearing was “How Can You Live If You Can’t Love How Can You If You Do.” It was sent to me by a friend, and I instantly fell in love with that song. I think it’s still it’s one of my favorite Wednesday songs. That song means a whole lot to me. I sang it at my grandmother’s funeral. 

Going back to your record. I love the album cover, the artwork. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

That’s one of my sister’s paintings. Well, I commissioned it from her. You know, it’s depicting the part in the song, “Where The Earth Bends,” where I sing, ‘I can see where the earth bends

// Where the trees combs the clouds into dividends.’

Do you have any favorite college radio stations?

The summer after high school, I was a production intern at WXPN. I would put together the zippers and lay out the show for the actual production guy, and then he would fix it. I would load the songs to the computer and put in into Pro Tools and all that stuff.

Did you see any cool Free At Noon shows?

Oh, yeah, I saw Kurt Vile. Which is funny, because I just hung out with him the other day at Rob’s studio. 

I saw Cat Bite. They’re kind of ska, which isn’t really my favorite thing, but they were a great live band. Yeah, those are the two that I remember.

Wow, Kurt in Philly is as good as it gets. Could you help me make a segment including one of your songs?

Okay, what are my favorite songs right now? I guess we should do a Wednesday song. I think we should do “Phish Pepsi.”

I saw you did that with her live.

Yeah, I know it’s insane. That’s my favorite song right now. 

For the other two… I’ve been listening to a lot of Neil Young recently. My favorite one is “Tell Me Why.” And then, you should do “Impossible Germany.”

Daffo’s debut album, Where the Earth Bends, is available now. Find more info on Daffo here.