San Diego trio almost monday, consisting of lead singer Dawson Daugherty, guitarist Cole Clisby and bassist Luke Fabry, emerged from garage jams and DIY gigs right into the 2020’s indie pop music scene, with their catchy tunes and infectious energy that embodies a sunny day in California. The past few years have been particularly exciting for them, having released their debut EP, supported multiple artists and bands on tour, such as Kings of Leon, Dayglow, and The Regrettes, and played different festivals – all while working on their astonishing debut album ‘DIVE’. Currently, they are on tour with The Driver Era across the UK and Europe, making their SoCal sound internationally known. On a cold and rainy Monday afternoon in the UK, we sat down with Cole Clisby and Luke Fabry, who at that time were exploring their tour stop in Edinburgh, and talked about all things songwriting, especially regarding ‘DIVE’, aesthetically pleasing movies that inspire their visual projects, their Californian upbringing and its influence on their sound and more.
“We’re enjoying walking around Edinburgh. Got some coffee and trying to see the sights,”, bassist Fabry seems relieved about his day off even though the weather is miserable. For the past few weeks, they have been touring the UK with pop duo The Driver Era, and will soon hop over to Europe to continue their tour. We congratulate them on the release of their debut ‘DIVE’ and ask if there was a certain concept behind it. “There wasn’t really,”, Clisby explains, “I guess, we were trying to take a snapshot, per se, of where we’re at in life and musically. We wanted to capture that moment in time, based on the songs we were writing and everything”. The trio has been releasing music since 2019, and Fabry acknowledges that their sound has “changed quite a bit” over the past few years. “I think that’s just a representation of how we’ve changed as people naturally. Your tastes and preferences change along with you as you grow up. So I think now we’ve settled into who we are, and it just comes back to where we’re from and leaning into our authentic selves.” “Being from San Diego always works its way into some lyrics or production, whether intentional or not,”, guitarist Clisby continues. “The music we grew up on is heavily influenced by songs in surf movies or just beach culture. I guess that worked its way into the influence a bit. But it’s never like, “We have to write about San Diego!” or something, it just happens.” Their collective favourite song off the new album is ‘life goes by’ – “It encapsulates the band,”, Fabry states and Clisby agrees by calling it the “central track”. However, they are excited to play all of the record live and see if the favourite will change over time. “I’m excited to play ‘never enough’ live, I just like the vibe that it gives!”, Fabry reveals while Clisby highlights ‘she likes sports’ – “We just started playing it live and it’s been fun! Same with ‘tidal wave’ as well!”
The band’s songwriting process varies every time, but a lot of it includes shared Google Docs, as Fabry describes: “Sometimes we’ll start with a melody. Sometimes someone was bringing some chords or maybe a basic track, and we work off that. But I think it’s important for us, to change the process so it doesn’t get too stale. And when you change the process, you also change the outcome, which keeps things fresh.” Regarding their creative approach when it comes to their visuals, such as music videos and their album cover, Clisby admits that they “haven’t been super big on the mood board thing for some reason.” “It always sounds a little daunting to me. We’ve worked with quite a few different directors now and we either have an idea to bring to them or they bring something to us, whether it is really small or a full concept or narrative video. A lot of times, we’re just going off of references and movie stuff that we’re into or we’ve watched, or thought the director and style were really good, and trying to take a piece of that and put it into what we do.” So what are the movies they have subtly referenced or been inspired by? “Let’s see…,”, Clisby takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts, “I mean, the most recent one in my head, we didn’t shoot this video, but we were going to do something inspired by ‘Mulholland Drive’. There were some scenes from that movie that we were going to try to make. But generally, a lot of Wes Anderson movies, just because of the cinematography and how great they look. We also shoot a lot of our stuff on film too, so we’re always trying to stay true to that.”
Curious about the meaning of “almost monday”, we have to ask why “Monday” was the weekday they chose. “I mean, our friend said we should be “The Mondays” when we were asking what a cool band name would be, but that name was taken. There wasn’t that much thought, we all just wanted to be in a band and play live music and stuff, so we just did it. It wasn’t like, “Oh, we’re going to do this for the next year”, or, you know, hopefully, the rest of our lives. It wasn’t a super deep thing, but yeah, now we’re here!”, Fabry laughs and Clisby adds, “We were sophomores in high school and we just wanted to play shows, and then it stuck and we didn’t change it.” Even though both of them wouldn’t describe their homes as exceptionally musical, music did play an important role in their childhoods. Fabry tells us that his dad played guitar, “but nothing crazy”, and that he “grew up playing at church a lot, so that was a good kind of platform where you can get up and learn and fail and get some confidence”. Clisby’s family, on the other hand, had a lot of family friends that were musicians: “I grew up going to concerts since I was young. When I was six years old, I went to my first concert, it was Blink-182 with No Doubt opening. So that influenced me to want to do it.” A pivotal moment for them and their start in their professional music career was when they decided to drop out of school once they got signed. “That was kind of like, “Okay, we’re diving in, all in!”, so that was a defining moment!”, Fabry reminisces.
Since they have been touring the UK for a while now, have they noticed any differences between US and UK crowds? “It depends a lot on the city,”, Fabry emphasises, “But the crowds are great and responsive here, they sing a lot of the parts, which is cool. I feel like the UK, compared to some of the other international shows we’ve done, seems like the closest probably to the US that I’ve seen. I feel like they’re just a US crowd, but with maybe a little more energy”. Their least favourite shows so far have barely anything to do with the crowds, more with technicalities, as Clisby remembers: “We had a really bad technical difficulty show in New Orleans. Oh, that was terrible! But sometimes when you play in LA or New York, the crowds can be a little cool, like, too cool to be into it. And maybe there’s a lot more industry people there, who aren’t necessarily fans.” A live memory that positively stood out to them was playing at the famous Madison Square Garden in New York. “There was a part of that show where we had people take out their flashlights and shine them, and that was a very cool thing to see at such an iconic venue. When you’re playing without the flashlights, you don’t even realise that there are people all around you and far to the back, and then you see their little light out, and you’re like, “Wow, that’s a person paying attention and listening”, so that was a very cool moment for me,”, Fabry smiles. “I think my favourite shows we’ve ever done were in Mexico City,”, Clisby adds, “The crowds there have the most energy, aside from maybe the UK. They go pretty hard!”
As almost monday continue to ride the wave of their growing success, their journey seems to be just at its beginning. From their laid-back San Diego roots to electrifying stages across the world, the trio is carving out a unique space in the indie-pop scene. As they look ahead, it’s clear that their infectious energy, genuine approach to songwriting, and love for live music will keep propelling them forward. Whether they’re playing for a packed arena or finding inspiration on a rainy day in Edinburgh, the band’s future is as bright and expansive as the California sunshine that helped shape their sound.
Written by Vicky Madzak
Tickets for almost monday’s tour are on now.
Tour Dates – EU + UK 2025
MAR 22 – LONDON, UK @ Garage
MAR 24 – BRISTOL, UK @ Bristol Exchange
MAR 25 – BIRMINGHAM, UK @ Mama Roux’s
MAR 27 – GLASGOW, UK @ King Tut’s
MAR 28 – MANCHESTER, UK @ Deaf Institute
MAR 29 – DUBLIN, IRELAND @ Green Room
GEM Magazine 