Dad Bod has been a part of the Minneapolis music scene since the summer of 2019, regularly playing shows at 7th St. Entry and college house parties. The band is made up of five members: Callie Marino, Wilson Zellar, Noah Topliff, Michael McGough and Alex Gray.
A&E sat down with Dad Bod lead singer Callie Marino and guitarist Wilson Zellar to talk about their excitement and emotions surrounding the band’s upcoming EP.
How have the last few months affected the band and this year’s plans?
Marino: The last few months have been difficult for everyone. Wilson and I have worked together for a while and being able to work together on this stripped EP has been really good for us. We were originally planning to put out a full band EP sometime this spring, but that changed with everything that has happened. Wilson and I got the chance to see how we work together and see what kind of music we can make.
Zellar: It’s definitely been bizarre, especially the fact that there’s so much going on that everything feels secondary. It feels weird to have everything going on in the place that we’re in. To sit and do something is sort of self-centered, making art. I think it’s being conscious of the fact that we have to do it because it’s what we want to do but also knowing that there are far more important things happening.
Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind this new EP, “Precursor.”
Zellar: Callie approached me about a year ago, and Callie had been playing solo for a while, just her and a guitar, and she asked me if I wanted to record her. I was really into that idea, but we didn’t really know what it was going to be. Once COVID hit and everything got shut down, we decided that we wanted to do something that we could just do together. We didn’t need to get everyone together in the same room to record it. It’s weird because even though we’ve been doing the full band thing, this is more of what that original idea was, which was Callie playing guitar and me playing whatever instruments behind her.
What can fans anticipate for its release?
Zellar: As far as fan expectations — it’s not going to sound like Dad Bod. It’s been really fun for me because it’s working with Callie’s songwriting, and in a very intimate way where it’s just us sitting in a room getting annoyed with each other. It’s a product of quarantine. It’s a product of being shut in. We’ll put out the album that people were expecting later in the summer. I think people are going to like this a lot.
Marino: I feel like lyrically and sonically, it feeds into that self-reflection that everyone has been feeling or forced into this whole quarantine period. It can be a good thing to self-reflect on everything that’s happening and to look back on your previous actions and see how you want to see yourself in the future.
Since we’ve all been spending a lot more time at home recently, what’s your favorite takeout food/restaurant in Minneapolis?
Marino: I know this immediately because it’s my favorite restaurant ever, and it has been since high school. Quang — it’s this Vietnamese Thai restaurant. They have really good tofu spring rolls.
Zellar: I live in St. Paul. It’s called Pho Pasteur. It’s right around the corner from me. You can buy a $5 tofu banh mi.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
