| Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. with Ugly Purple Sweater |
| » Where: The Red Palace, 1210 H St. NE |
| » When: 9 p.m. Thursday (8:30 p.m. doors) |
| » Info: $8 (ages 18 and over); 202-399-3201; redandblackbar.com |
So what’s with the funny name of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.? Band members usually hate when they’re asked about their band’s names, but Joshua Epstein, who formed the Detroit-based band with Daniel Zott, takes the question in stride. After all, the less he can demystify the band, the better, right?
“We were goofing around with names,” Epstein, who’s also the band’s frontman, said. “People are very serious in indie and we just wanted our attention on the music. We realized there’s a huge parallel between NASCAR and indie music. No one takes it seriously except its core audience.”
No doubt fans of this new musical group and those of the famed NASCAR driver from whom they took their name would agree. And certainly these musicians take the music seriously. Why else would the duo work in a basement with minimal equipment to record their “Horse Power” EP, except because they believe in their sound?
“We’re definitely a new band,” Epstein said, talking about their catalog and why they play covers of such familiar songs as the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” into their sets. “I think we found when we were working with each other that we share a similar esthetic. It happened that we both tapped into a similar mood and similar vibe, that we’re not able to define.”
Yet listeners heard it, too, which is why the band moved ahead to a November four-track follow-up “My Love Is Easy: Remixes Pt. 1.” The music is pop with hints of soul and blues and hip-hop that you want to trace back to the duo’s Detroit roots where musically anything goes.
Epstein and Zott were well schooled in the musical world of choosing bits and pieces of various musical genres and pulling them together in a distinctive sound. After all, that’s what they did when they were honing their musical chops playing in local bands around the Motor City.
While Epstein doesn’t see the band moving more solidly into a single genre, he does believe in easing listeners into Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s more diverse sound by wrapping it in the tried and true.
“I always find when I go see a band play, especially if it’s a new band, I think it’s really nice to attempt to meet me half way,” Epstein said. “I think you really need to think about the audience and what they want. Too many bands are selfish, focusing on what they want.”
