Few new bands have as much hype as I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. With an army of fans following their every move, the duo have snowballed in a way they never thought possible – and there’s plenty more where that came from. Creative force Dallon Weekes fills us in.
How’s life now the ball is fully rolling for you guys?
Oh it’s crazy busy! It seems like its non-stop, it’s hard to find a moment to you know, enjoy a movie, but you know it’s been a good problem to have, being as busy as we are. And there’s a lot being thrown at us and coming our way, but our mentality is bring it on. This is what we love to do so anything that does get thrown our way we want to jump on board and tackle it.
Not to mention you also just released an acoustic version of ‘Choke’.
Yeah, that was recorded at my kitchen table! I’ve been slowly learning how to record on my own. I’m still learning and probably will be forever because there is so much to it, but I think I’ve gotten to the point now where I can get by, but usually, at some point, I have to rely on people to do a little more than I do. But yeah I think it turned out really great!
Being able to do things at your kitchen table opens doors for you to do more little bits and pieces between the larger projects?
And I’m trying to get a space in my home built, like a more proper space for me to work and record. I feel like the more things I can learn how to do on my own will be better for me, and not just creatively speaking but also saving money and for budgets – I’m trying to be practical and to have a little bit of fun with it while being fiscally conservative.
How has the idea of IDK gone since the release of the EP last year?
I wish I could say it was according to plan, but we didn’t really have a plan once we first started. It was just sort of something that we wanted to do for fun and to have a creative outlet. We started this thing not only in secret but with zero expectations as well, so everything that’s happened to us so far has just been incredible. We haven’t expected anything to happen to us, apart from having a good time and we certainly have been doing that. But everything else on top of it has just been an incredible bonus. We’re stoked.
How has it developed in your head since?
I have a little plan that comes and develops this conceptual storyline that we made, because it’s not something that I want to have do forever, to present us as a band from thirty-something years ago. It’s a fun concept, and it’s been something that’s been fun to do, and it still is fun, but we never want to have to do the same thing twice. The plan is to develop that storyline, I don’t want to give too much of it away, but there is a plan! We just have to wait for the green light from the right people to get it underway.
Ultimately there are no confinements for you since everything began with no plan.
Yeah, and that was one of the big reasons we ended up signing with Fearless Records. They, of all the people that came and met us at certain points, they were the ones that offered us 100% creative control over everything, and that was the most important thing to me. Because that’s why I do this. Not because I’m trying to be a star or a billionaire or something, I just have to make music; I have to be creative.
The whole ‘being in a band from thirty years ago’ – what was it like diving into that?
It was pretty second nature to me because I was born in 1981, I don’t think I really qualify in being a part of the ‘MTV generation’, but I was around to observe it growing up, and I discovered a lot of bands that way. The Smiths and The Cure, bands that I still love today. I just happened to be able to see MTV for 23 minutes every other weekend or something like that. When I was making this record I’d take breaks and watch old shows like Top of the Pops or The Old Grey Whistle Test and things like that, and a lot of bands that I love and wish that I could be on those shows that don’t exist anymore. So presenting that band in that way sort came as a way of circumventing that improbability.
What has this journey to this point taught you?
If you’re a creative person, the takeaway is to treat it like a job.
I guess you have to once it takes over your life like it has.
Yeah, you know I think anyone who’s wanting to be in the music business, you definitely increase your chances of luck by working hard. And everyone still sort of depends on that same bit of luck to happen. If you’re gonna be successful, but as much as I think any creative person would want to think… or the basic notion of why you do this is because you have to or because you love it.
And speaking of love it – your fandom has certainly grown. How is that for you?
They’re extremely clever, and sometimes that can be frustrating trying to keep things a secret. I don’t even know how they do it, but they discover what we’re up to or what we’re doing, sometimes even before I know which is kinda surprising. But, yeah, it’s only ever frustrating when you’re actively trying to keep things under wraps, but that’s kind of our fault I guess and we did start this band in secret, and for about a year we completely denied our existence, so I think it created this fanbase of DIY detectives.
On keeping things a secret, is that ‘done’ for you now, and how is it knowing you can’t go back into the woodwork so to speak?
It served a purpose for sure. We knew it wouldn’t be able to work forever, but it certainly was good while it lasted, but at a certain point we realised ‘okay, we gotta fess up to what we’re doing’. Especially if we wanted to make it last and a full-time thing. Operating in secrecy is kinda counter-productive if you want to pay the bills.
Taken from the June issue of Upset. idkhow plays this year’s Slam Dunk, which takes place in Leeds (25th May) and Hatfield (26th).
