Surfbort Interview: Dani Miller talks ‘Reality Star’ and the wild new single ‘Hot Dog’
Surfbort is back and they want to give you a giant, sweaty hug. If you felt battered by the world in recent times, Dani Miller and her crew are standing right beside you.
The doors to the Freak Family are wide open. After relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and joining the TODO Records roster, the band poured all their inclusive energy into their third studio album.
‘Reality Star’ drops on March 6th and bottles the spirit of 80s punk mixed it with a heavy dose of early grunge. They sound like finding happiness right after taking a beating, blending the frantic pace of Dead Kennedys with the weird, playful bounce of the B-52s and more!
We interviewed Dani about this new chapter. In our interview below, she gets real about recording the album at The Boat studio, learning to laugh through the pain, and fighting back against digital age intolerance. Whether she is fronting Gucci campaigns or screaming her lungs out on stage, Dani remains the ultimate champion for the underdogs.
The band takes these explosive tracks on the road starting this month. They have record release shows booked at Radio East in Austin on March 15th, Zebulon in LA on March 27th, and Night Club 101 in New York City on April 3rd. Surfbort gigs are like massive block parties.
Grab a copy of the record next week, read our conversation with Dani, and enjoy ‘Hot Dog,’ directed by Pooneh Ghana and starring Jesse from The Neighbourhood, Dead City, Bonnevega, Zumi from The Black Lips, Bella Ferrada, Lex Orozco Cabral, Mz Neon, Brad Oberhofer, Chandler Burton, Lizzie Armanto, Faery Baby, Hatti Rees, Holly Sillius, John Bryars, Sloane Lenz, Glo Marie, Chelsea Morgan, Maxwell Robinson, Nick Arnold, Riff Cuellar, Rider Garbarino, Tara Spky, and Surfbort.
“Life is so brutal.”
Congrats on joining the TODO Records family! The new record channels everything from Black Flag’s rage to the bouncy energy of the B-52s. How did settling into this new label environment, or just surviving in LA together, totally mutate the DNA of this album compared to Keep On Truckin’?
Dani: Thank you so much!! Working with Todo has been such a blast! They really get Surfbort and let us be the weirdos we are! I’m really lucky to link with Meesh, Simon and Pooneh. They have elevated the record to huge levels and I am so grateful! I love B-52s and Black Flag… best combo! That’s such a good summary of the record.
Tell us about songwriting and inspiration behind it. You guys always manage to make the apocalypse sound fun. This new record balances life’s brutal realities with the delusional dream we chase just to get by. How do you write tracks that romanticize all this shit around us without giving up and going full nihilist?
Life is so brutal. There is so much human suffering and on personal levels it gets really depressing and everything starts closing in on you. I think being human is super complex, but the more we link as a community, help each other, show up for each other in real life off the internet, the less hopeless it feels. And my favorite thing is getting nihilistic but then pushing through to screaming at the moon. Best of both worlds. Making art, hanging with friends, calling people on the telephone and chatting all help me not want to give up and I hope this record helps you get through harsh vibes to the other side onto the good vibes!
“The contrast between hardcore punk vibes and fairy angel soft.”
Dani, your vocals on this record are all over the map in the absolute best way. You are jumping straight from guttural punk poetry to these beautiful, airy interludes. Did you approach writing melodies differently this time around to capture that specific friction between brash and dreamy?
I just had to battle my own demons to show up and make the art, that’s the hardest part. When I’m in the studio with Sean, Adam, Riff, Luis, etc., my words just flow. We have so much fun. The words come so quickly and easily. I don’t know where they come from? Maybe outer space? My melodies come naturally and I know aren’t traditional, but I think my favorite thing is the contrast between hardcore punk vibes and fairy angel soft. Which is just a reflection of my energies. I’m Pisces, Scorpio rising. I’m a dolphin at sea hanging with the fairies one second and yelling into the abyss with all my angst the next.
Staring down the tracklist, going from ‘Mk Ultra’ right into ‘USA Cheese’ and then ‘Notorious Brat’ sounds like a terrifying and hilarious American fever dream. Is there a hidden narrative connecting the weirdest corners of culture across this album, or did you just want to put all our brains in a blender?
Muahah yes thanks for noticing. It definitely is our reaction to living in America. ‘Mk Ultra’ shows that we’re frustrated with the government and know of their crazy evil plans. ‘USA Cheese’ is a statement on the impossible living wage and brutal climate that feel nuts. And ‘Notorious Brat’ is commentary on America’s capitalist maximalism obsessions. But I try to put a cherry on top of it all, process the harshness and give you something to sing and laugh to and get out your grievances.
The band has an insane history of visual collaborations with like Lizzie Armanto, Tony Hawk, and Fred Armisen. Does the visual element drive Surfbort’s songwriting process these days, or must the riff and the drumbeat absolutely have to come first?
I’m a film head at heart so I am always thinking of visual ideas, but the song comes first and then when the song is done I geek out on ideas. Then for ‘Reality Star’ we were so lucky to link with Pooneh Ghana. She really made the music videos into award-winning short films. They are so incredible. Things always just come together when we are working together like wait should we have Lizzie skate the bowl wearing a hotdog hat? Will Jesse and Bonnebgas be bodybuilders? Will your friend Becca be a chicken because Hatti will be a pickle and a duck hahaha like what are we up to and how do we come up with these songs and videos I don’t know but that’s the beauty of it! We have so many talented friends. I feel blessed to have Lizzie, Fred and Tony and so many other great people in our videos. That’s what dreams are made of. Shout out to all of my friends who turn my dreams and ideas into reality.
When you finally hit Zebulon or Night Club 101 this spring, what is the exact feeling you want the crowd in the pit to take home with them after absorbing these new tracks for the first time?
Pure joy.
If you’re ever around my part of the world and have some spare time to dig through my records, what do you think we’d end up listening to? Rare HC punk? Feel free to share some of the unusual records you have been enjoying lately….
Mother Earth’s ‘Plantasia’
Circle Jerks – ‘Group Sex’
Buzzcocks – ‘Singles Going Steady’
Blondie – ‘Parallel Lines’
Wes Montgomery – ‘So Much Guitar’
The Slits – ‘Cut’
Cocteau Twins – ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’
Ramones – ‘Rocket to Russia’
Blink-182 – ‘Greatest Hits’
Oh, and let’s put this at the end. While growing up, what are some of the most influential records that made you who you are today?
‘Fantasia’ and every X and the Knitters record!!
Klemen Breznikar
Headline photo: Raz Azraai
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