Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Will Dailey picks up where he left off from his tremendous last album “Goodbyeredbullet”. His songs are Mayer-esque but on “Back Flipping Forward” he ups the ante with infectious melodies that are instant hits. Only Dailey could make the words “Boom boom ba-boom boom” sound awesome. The guitars are great with slight twang on them. I thought there would be so much buzz surrounding Will Dailey on his last release that surely his follow-up would be on a major but no apparently they’re still holding out that Britney Spears will put down her fried twinkie. Heartfelt emotions wrapped around modern rock with pop hooks that nearly lift you out of your seat, “Back Flipping Forward” is quickly becoming my favorite pop album of 2006. - smother.net
"Songs from the Heart is what you get when you place this order. Simply amazing songwriting and beautiful lyrics." - Billy Zero
"...it's this album that is the accomplishment that will have him going down in history as potentially one of the indie world’s best contributors. I dare you to find a better independently released album this year." - smother.net
MATERIAL: Will Dailey is a Boston-bred artist who's a classic singer/songwriter. So much so, that he's almost a throwback to the glory days of Donovan, Van Morrison and Nick Drake. His folk-rock songs delve into sweeping themes, both personal and observational. With his fluid arrangements, breathtaking vocals and strong melodies, he takes listeners on a beautiful journey filled with emotional layers and enough dynamics for a full band. Indeed, to say his material is exceptional would be an understatement. This is an artist with a bright future.
MUSICIANSHIP: Dailey is such a natural, he makes it all look easy. His talent is at such a high level that even his sophisticated approach to song structure and arrangement seems simple, but it’s not. The dynamics he infuses his songs with are impressive and his vocals are spot on. This is the type of artist you could listen to for hours on end and never tire of his music.
PERFORMANCE: With an easy-going demeanor and nonchalant attitude, Dailey charmed the audience. He talked about his songs and life in such a conversational and effortless way that it was easy to like him. Even his humor scored points with the crowd. In fact, you could easily imagine him in a much larger arena, filled with adoring fans. No doubt, a great deal of Dailey’s stage presence was created by being on the road, proving what touring can do for an act.
SUMMARY: Will Dailey has already sold 10,000 records and toured the country from coast to coast. Today, with artists like James Blunt ruling the charts, Dailey appears poised to enter that rarified atmosphere. One break is all it will take. And if there’s any justice at all, he should get that break soon, because he conveys artistry at its finest.
-Bernard Baur
- Bernard Baur
"'Back Flipping Forward' is quickly becoming my favorite pop album of 2006." ""...it's this album that is the accomplishment that will have him going down in history as potentially one of the indie world’s best contributors." J-Sin, Smother.net - Smother.net
"Dailey’s ability to take a melancholy subject matter and ably apply it to an upbeat tune is part of the genius he displays on his latest offering. Dailey’s songs range from a decidedly pop sound to a darker quality, which is anything but predictable. Dailey seems able to adapt to any sound, and Back Flipping Forward certainly seems to have the ability to enter the mainstream. Before long, Will Dailey’s name will be on the lips of DJs, VJs, and fans everywhere."
Stacia Waraska - New England Performer
Discography
Goodbyeredbullet 2004
Backflipping Forward 2006
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
It is cliché for a reason, life happens in mysterious ways. If not for a bout of appendicitis that left him in great debt and physically beaten and battered, Boston singer/songwriter Will Dailey might never have made the sparkling album Back Flipping Forward (which will initially be released digitally by CBS Records), a collection that demonstrates why he took home the 2006 Boston Music Award for Best Male Singer/Songwriter.
“I was out in L.A. doing the whole major label showcase and power lunch hustle. It’s really just a terrible experience,” Dailey says laughing. “You have these people taking you out to lunch, you’re sitting next to all these famous faces and they’re telling you, ‘You’re going to be famous.’ When all you really want to do is make a great record and hit the road.”
Unfortunately, just as things were picking up in the courting Dailey calls “the dance,” he was hospitalized with appendicitis. Imagine his surprise when he, with no insurance, came out with a $50,000 hospital bill. Anyone who’s ever been sick and far from home can understand what happened next. “I get [out of the hospital], limping about, and I didn’t know what to do, so I thought, ‘I gotta go home for a little while. I know how to get back on my feet there,’” Dailey recalls. “So I come back to Boston and immediately get a phone call from my manager, ‘We’re going to make this record on our own.’ Originally, he wanted to meet with all these producers back in LA, people who’ve produced Neil Young etc. and I said, ‘I know the perfect guy to do this album with.’
That guy was Tom Polce. And in working with Polce, as well as friends, who Dailey says, “Are amazing musicians who deserved a crack at it all,” Dailey has come up with a collection of 10 tracks that are genuine, intelligent, and show the best of the singer/songwriter genre.
On songs such as the lovely melodic opener “Boom Boom,” the genteel “Eliza,” the infectious pop-rocker “Bi Polar Baby,” and the gorgeous Appalachian folk closer, “Dear Grace,” a number usually done a capella live, Dailey shows his eclectic influences, from Tom Waits to early Rod Stewart, while conveying a sound that is fresh and contemporary and, as one reviewer stated, “You hear a long forgotten master being channeled here.”
One thing Dailey knew making this record after the experience of his first album, Goodbyeredbullet, was that he wanted it to be a shared experience. And while he clearly can manage on his own, as evidenced by “Dear Grace,” he appreciates music as a communal art. “For me I like having a group of people, an ensemble, and getting everyone’s energy into this thing I created,” he says. “Last time I was more on my own, but I didn’t want this album to be that way. It is not as much of a spiritual experience. When you bring in all these different talents and personalities on something that you created and bring it to the next level together, it’s tremendous. I remember being in the studio thinking, this is the best thing I’ve done so far.’”
Working with longtime friends also gave him the opportunity to continue to pay back a Boston scene he is very proud of. That’s a big part of the reason the Boston Music Award meant so much to him. “Those bands and artists who win a Boston Music Award are just hard-working Boston musicians,” he says. “I haven’t seen a person win one of those awards who isn’t tenacious and bringing something to the music scene here. So getting that award is a gratifying feeling of accomplishment."
He admits being a little surprised because, like a true troubadour, he took his act on the road, building up a following and dedicated fan base the old-fashioned way by traveling around the country with his guitar. “Sometimes I didn’t mingle as much in Boston ‘cause I would head out and go tour the country or I’d position myself on the west coast and play up and down the west coast alone for a month and then come home, play a show, then leave again,” he says. “So to be out and come home, put out a record, and win an award was a testament to the fact that this is home, this is my base.”
Dailey says Back Flipping Forward was definitely informed by his experiences outside of his native city as well. “There are a lot of characters in songs like ‘Hollywood Hills’ and ‘Eliza,’ talking about fleeing to Mexico, spinning the tale of something that’s definitely not the true life of a guy hanging out in Boston,” Dailey says. “That kind of national experience and the traveling, getting your hands dirty on the road, definitely seeps back into your art without even trying.”
And while there are specific characters at the heart of those songs, the themes and ideas in Dailey’s lyrics hold true regardless of where a track was written. Within such songs as “Eliza,” “Good To Me,” and “Undone,” the ideas of redemption and restlessness play out as if in an early Bruce Springsteen song. In one of the strongest lyrical passages, at the conclusion of “Rise,” Dailey sings, “Wh
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