Necessary Reflections with Dino Gala on “British”
“We were worried that this would just be an online phenomenon and we’d have trouble having people come out to shows, but that really hasn’t been the case,” guitarist Bailey Willetts of Dino Gala told Wormbrain World when asked about how TikTok celebrity garnered during the pandemic translates to being a newer band in the real life physical realm.
The emo rock project has only been releasing original songs as Dino Gala since early last year and has already established their status in their local Boston, MA music scene, but their creative endeavor predates and potentially eclipses this — through posting a wide range of covers on TikTok (from Florist and Field Medic to My Chemical Romance and Paramore), the project has amassed over 30,000 followers and 2.7B views through the app at the time of posting this article.
“Even before shows were open, we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to make the transition from TikTok to Spotify well,” Willetts said. Despite this, the band’s latest single “British” has already shattered the 1,000 streams landmark on the platform in its first 24 hours. “…but again people seem generally interested in the music we’re making.”
“Now does that mean that since we have this large TikTok following we’re going to be graduating from the DIY scene anytime soon? Probably not yet, but TikTok has still helped us immensely.” The group is a real thing with organic staying power, regardless of its viral roots. Echoing this, they shared “The TikTok videos of ours that have been doing the best recently have been original music of ours.”
Dino Gala’s new song is every bit of existential muck and grunge, with dual singers Martin Kessler and Alex Massey exchanging warped, bouncing lines, which Kessler says are “about loathing someone and yourself at the same time, and the way those two feelings interact with each other.”
When asked whether this song’s darkness is necessarily good or bad, he told Wormbrain that he’s not sure. “I think the self-loathing in the song is definitely unhealthy, but also like a necessary reflection.”
“Now, does that mean that since we have this large TikTok following we’re going to be graduating from the DIY scene anytime soon? Probably not yet...”
The lore of Dino Gala already runs deep despite the band’s short history, apparently a few evolutions along already both in roster and moniker. At one point named a full entire mouthful of Dinosaur Gala, it was eventually shortened to not be confused with the similarly Massachusetts-based guitar rockers Dinosaur Jr., as the members thought the current shorter name was snappier and easier to remember.
“Weirdly enough,” Willetts joked, “we changed our names from Melk in the first place to make it easier for people to pronounce, but a lot of people still pronounce it weird, like ‘dee-no gay-la,’ so who knows if it was the right move.”
Photo by Saffron Shoots.
W.W: What is Wormbrain?
BW: Wormbrain is more than an idea - it’s a lifestyle. It’s saying hey, I’m not afraid to act batshit crazy. I don’t care if anyone thinks what I’m doing is “cringey” or “cheugy.” It’s liberating yourself of doubts, and hyperfocusing on creating art to the point that others feel threatened by your aura. Also IDK.
W.W: Thank you for sharing with Wormbrain.
“British” is available now, self-released by Dino Gala everywhere.
