It’s simply after midnight and Chicago’s Backside Lounge is packed. Some children are sporting ‘Hellfire’ merch shirts, referring to the fictional Dungeons and Dragons membership from Netflix’s multi-Emmy nominated thriller Stranger Issues. It’s the uncommon event the place love for a TV present spills into help for an actual band — Joe Keery’s psychedelic rock undertaking referred to as DJO (pronounced “Joe.”) At that second, Keery, who performs heartthrob-with-a-heart of gold Steve Harrington on the collection, steps onto the stage wanting just like the antithesis of his character in wiry glasses and matted brown hair. The room erupts.
Earlier than Stranger Issues swept him as much as Los Angeles, Keery lived in Chicago till 2018. Earlier than fame, he was considerably of a fixture within the Chicago DIY scene, performing within the indie band referred to as Publish Animal by evening whereas hustling for appearing gigs by day. However as a lot as his life modified over the course of three years, Keery by no means deserted his ardour for making music.
In 2019, Keery launched a standalone observe referred to as “Roddy” with keyboardist Adam Thein, below the pseudonym DJO. Their first album, Twenty Twenty arrived that fall, amassing a couple of hundred thousand month-to-month listeners. However since Season 4’s return, DJO’s listeners have greater than quintupled to a whopping 2.6 million month-to-month listeners. The growth has led to prime music competition placements at Lollapalooza, Boston Calling, See.Hear.Now and Austin Metropolis Limits to tease a extremely anticipated sophomore album, DECIDE (out September 16).
The morning after DJO’s first Lolla set, Keery was sitting alone exterior the Chicago Athletic Affiliation with the remnants of a Bloody Mary in entrance of him. As we seemed out onto Millennium Park, he sounded nostalgic. “Coming to Chicago is like location reminiscence,” Keery says between sips of an iced espresso. “I bear in mind touring DePaul with my dad, we stayed down right here, and we walked via Millennium Park.”
DECIDE is an ode to uncertainty and alienation, which is becoming as Keery simply turned 30 and is determining what comes subsequent for him after he’s accomplished saving Hawkins, Indiana.
This dialog has been condensed and edited for readability.
You’ve stated in previous interviews that you simply contemplate music a enjoyable aspect undertaking. Is that also true? How do you retain music enjoyable as a substitute of traumatic?
Effectively, I undoubtedly am careworn about it, as a result of there’s strain to make it actually good. I’m not relying on it financially; that’s what makes it enjoyable. I feel the music business, to be sincere, is so fucked. On your regular touring band to make a dwelling is grueling and laborious. We performed for perhaps two weeks, and it simply grinds you down. The rationale that I actually love [music] is the writing, and the recording and being within the studio. All of the exhibits and stuff are a little bit traumatic, but when it might gas the writing and the recording, that’s fully alright for me.
Your after present will need to have been good prep to your set at Lolla the subsequent day.
I imply, I’m glad we had the present earlier than, as a result of I used to be fairly nervous for Lolla, and we’ve by no means accomplished a conventional string of dates; the longest we’ve accomplished is perhaps seven days.
On the brand new album, your track “Finish of the Starting” talks about returning to Chicago, the place you used to reside. Did you are feeling the nostalgia you categorical in that observe throughout this go to, or if it was totally different since you have been working?
No, each time, coming to Chicago is like location reminiscence. Each place I flip, there’s a reminiscence related to random avenue corners, or folks that I’ll see or areas. “Finish of the Starting” is a flip of phrase that got here up kind of by accident. I feel a phrase that’s extra troubling is “the start of the tip.” That is the place I turned an grownup, and I simply turned 30. “Finish of the Starting” is [about] saying goodbye to a sure a part of your life, and it being a tragic factor, but additionally wanting onward.
I seen that DECIDE is poppier than [your last album] Twenty Twenty. Do you contemplate your self a pop musician now?
I don’t know… I imply, sure, I actually do love pop music, and I feel there are parts of boy band-ness in there, like NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys, particularly after I’m doing stuff with falsetto. The Beatles have been a pop band, and so they’re the best band of all time. That’s an affect. I simply, I assume, have a love and appreciation for lots of various music. Once I’m listening to an album, I get pleasure from listening to a bunch of various influences, and that’s what I’m making an attempt to herald. I like having the ability to hear Daft Punk and in addition the Backstreet Boys.
The Daft Road Boys.
Yeah, The Daft Road Boys. That may be our solo undertaking.
We’ll work on it later.
Yeah, we’re workshopping that.
I seen lots of people evaluating “Gloom,” which you launched as a single in July, to one thing by DEVO or Speaking Heads.
Yeah dude, that’s so cool. It was type of the ethos of that. It was created from the constraints of me being at house–I recorded this guitar half, after which I pitched it down and chopped it up and sampled it out in the way in which you can hear it now. It has a frenetic kind of perspective to it, and I ended up making an attempt to play into that character. That really was additionally one thing that helped me within the album, discovering the totally different “characters” for the songs. Lyrically, “Gloom” comes from a spot near my coronary heart. However the efficiency of that took by itself life.
That’s attention-grabbing. You’re an actor, and moving into a personality in your music… it feels like your two careers aren’t completely separate.
No, in no way. It’s tremendous useful and takes loads of strain off making an attempt to make good. Being too valuable completely kills any kind of creativity for me, so it’s all about looking for the best means in and going with my intestine. Enthusiastic about that character helped me so much.
A whole lot of the lyrics on DECIDE are very anxiety-fueled, however the instrumentation is usually upbeat. What caused that dissonance?
Nice query. You understand who does that so properly and is a giant affect of mine is The Strokes. Julian Casablancas. I really feel like he nearly created a mode, bringing this sort of angst and turmoil in beneath these jangly, kind of energetic traps. I don’t know. I assume it’s not one thing that I used to be actually fascinated with doing, it’s simply what ended up occurring for lots of the document. The document is about taking company in your personal life. I’m a reasonably indecisive particular person, and I’m not the most effective planner in my life, in order that’s type of a theme.
What are the benefits and downsides to being a musician higher referred to as an actor?
I imply there’s a bunch of benefits. It’s not misplaced on me that lots of people tune into the music due to Stranger Issues, and I’m actually appreciative of that. There are such a lot of different artists creating albums which can be unbelievable, so the truth that the present was capable of get extra ears listening to my issues is actually cool. For some time, I used to be anxious about why folks have been listening to it. Each artist needs to be taken significantly. Lately, I simply really feel actually grateful for that chance in my life and every little thing that it’s allowed me to do.
Is being an impartial artist essential to you?
It’s crucial to me. And it’s one thing that has allowed me to make the kind of music that I’m making with out feeling strain from anybody.
You labored on the album from a bunch of various locations. What was that like?
It was loopy. The vast majority of the time, I used to be truly in Zurich, [Switzerland].
Oh, cool.
I had COVID.
Not cool.
Effectively, it was cool place to have COVID. However that type of informs it. One in every of my strengths is, I’ve loads of concepts–it may be additionally a weak spot as a result of I might be scatterbrained. With the ability to have these concepts after which see them via, particularly with Adam as a result of he’s so savvy, brings me nice pleasure.
You performed in Publish Animal, as one member of a band, for 5 years . Do you favor to work collaboratively or alone?
Effectively, I’m a reasonably large management freak. One of many nice challenges of being in a band is that it’s a democracy, and that may be a very constructive factor. However it will also be a detrimental factor. While you’re an actor, you’re just like the bass or guitar participant in a band–I’m only one factor of this large factor that’s being put collectively. I’m so grateful to be a part of that factor, however I don’t get last say of what takes are chosen or what it seems to be like, or something like that. [The DJO project] is satisfying another way as a result of I can have management over it and see it via. I’m beginning to grow to be much more excited about collaborating with folks, like Charli XCX–we’ve been speaking about her all weekend. She is so nice at doing options and dealing with totally different artists. It’s actually inspiring to see any person try this as a result of it might create actually distinctive stuff. I feel it could be cool to try this sooner or later.
