CJSW Profile: Daydream Dance Party

By Andy Williams

Zoe Pearce was first recruited to help move CJSW into their new space, but it didn’t take long for her to take on a time slot. Her show, Daydream Dance Party is on the airwaves from 12-2 p.m. every Tuesday.

Gauntlet: Where does the name Daydream Dance Party come from?

Zoe Pearce: It was half an hour before I was supposed to hand in my show proposal — I already knew I was going to be getting a slot, I just needed to come up with a name. I was totally freaking out, I’m like, “I have no idea what I’m doing, this is going to be so stupid, I don’t know why I’m doing this.” I was getting so down on myself. And yah, half an hour before I had to hand it in: Daydream Dance Party. Done.

G: The name, even though it was chosen randomly, does it affect the music that you play now? Do you try and fit that aesthetic of a Daydream Dance Party?

ZP: It’s funny because the music I played at first didn’t necessarily fit with that name as well as it does now. It’s almost developed into fitting really well. When I first started I played mostly quintessential indie-rock: Wolf Parade, Arcade Fire, Local Natives (who I actually played today). But total indie rock. Now, I play a huge variety of stuff. I play a lot of instrumental, really melodic stuff that is really daydreamy . . . I also love garage rock. I also play tons of random bluegrass stuff, which only happened a little bit at the beginning. At the same time, I’m still playing Phoenix with the Black Lips, with some ridiculous band like Deranger thrown in — just a hoedown in the booth.

G: You do segments on your show, could you talk about that a little bit?

ZP: I try and group things together. It sounds nice. For example today, I did Broken Social Scene next to Sufjan Stephens next to the Besnard Lakes next to this band called Chikita Violenta and they all have a really unique sound, but it’s similar. I could have thrown Most Serene Republic in there and it would have fit.

G: Do you have a set list when you come into the booth everyday or do you fly by the seat of your pants?

ZP: It usually goes better when I have a little bit prepared. It’s funny though, when I had my hour-long show, it was so stressful. But now, coming in every week and having to listen to a lot of stuff — the library in my head is just thousands of times bigger. I’ll be going through the CJSW library here and every 20 CD’s I’ll be like, “Oh I know this band.” Or at least, “I’ve heard of this band, so I’ll give them a chance.”

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