An insight into dad bod with michael marinos
“We are more mature musicians in a way, we've gotten better at what we do,” says Michael Marinos, lead singer and songwriter of local band Dad Bod. “We’re more comfortable and confident now, we know what we want.” And what they want now is a new album that conveys that maturity and growth.
Marinos created Dad Bod two years ago alongside his brothers, Matthew and Marcus Marinos and friends Ben Ostler and Russ Allphin. Over the course of two years, the band has been able to explore different sounds and reach a larger audience, quickly rising in the ranks of Utah bands. Recently, they revealed their Spotify Wrap Up, and it detailed that the band had reached 92 countries—an impressive feat for a newborn band.
And what their success could be accounted for, are some of their singles, such as “Truth” and “Wasting Another Heart,” with Marinos behind the blueprints for the songs. I caught up with him over FaceTime as he walked around with his brothers in Las Vegas, not only entertaining me with answers for my questions but also making sure I saw the tiger sharks swimming around them. It’s almost symbolic for their music—their warm and open personalities, wanting to show you things ecstatically, is what you will receive with their songs as well. It’s all so familiar.
With Marino’s songs evoking so much warmth I had to ask about his musical process: How does he concoct Dad Bod’s sound? “I think the music always comes first—well, I shouldn’t say always,” says Marinos. “There are times, it's a lot more rare ... Typically, it's a thing I hear in my head and I play something on my guitar and try to add lyrics to it or hum or sing so I can figure out a melody.”
Although a lot of the songs they’re known for come from Marino’s mind palace and his daily inspirations, his band still inspires a lot of what they release. “I think a lot of the time we will play together at our friend Michael’s; that’s a big part of our band is getting together and trying out songs or sometimes we will jam and figure it out.”
Dad Bod is a band filled with brothers and friends, and a big part of their production is being in each other's company. The brothers are rarely seen separate from each other, and two of them are co-workers. It’s a band that remains level headed and fun. They are making music, but the prime objective is to just be with each other. As cheesy as it sounds, there’s an essence of a brotherly bond that allows for no competition or hastiness. They’re there for enjoyment, not streams. (Although, I am sure they wouldn’t mind.)
And with an upcoming album, an influx of streams would be a great celebration. With 92 countries under their belt it begs the question, are they worried about their newfound audience? “No, it's mostly like, writing music is such a stress relief, and makes me feel like myself.It's exciting to find something that sounds good or ok together, that’s the main focus,” says Marinos. “I don’t really ever consider an audience, I’d rather make something I enjoy and express how I’m feeling at the moment. And, if it's good then that's cool, and if people like it then that's great too. But if they don’t that's ok too, but it is nice to have people enjoy your music.”
I don’t think Marinos needs to worry about people not liking his music. His band has had sold out shows in the past few months, and have been regular performers at Urban Lounge, a venue filled with fans. To get more connected with their supporters, they’ve created a band Tik Tok account—a millennial’s nightmare. “Man, I think it's just become the next thing and I think social media and sharing is going to change, like it always does. Like, myspace isn't even a thing anymore,” explains Marinos, discussing why bands are migrating to this new platform. “We found a new way to share our music and share who we are as people, and just be idiots and shit like that.”
Although they are having fun on Tik Tok with posts such as releasing acoustic versions of their songs, Marino’s main focus at the moment is the curation of his new album, Pastel. I couldn’t help but ask what his current inspirations were for the album, especially one with such a featherlight and whimsical name. “I've been listening to a lot of Paul McCartney lately, and his album Ram. I'm loving that time of music, listening to old country artists like Lee Hazelwood,” describes Marinos. “I am influenced a lot by Harry Styles, I will say. I am influenced by his style and vibe, and I like that he uses instruments that I also like, like different synthesizers and guitar tones with reverb and certain drum sounds that are older and closer to Fleetwood Mac.”
With Marinos mentally being accompanied by an array of eclectic and renowned artists, one can’t wait to see what type of tone and mood his new album will bear. Besides Marinos’ new album, it leaves us wondering, what’s next for Dad Bod? What new heights do they plan to reach? “I don’t know, I think we will always be making music; we all love music,” says Marinos. “Our new album ..., we just want to do it all on our own and have other people master it and, yeah, that's the next goal from there.” Check out Dad Bod’s music at Spotify, and follow them on Instagram @officialdadbod.