Daffo

Daffodils symbolize rebirth and renewal, which aligns with blossoming musician Daffo’s sensibilities. Gabi Gamberg chose the flowery moniker to represent their artistry and band at the age of 21. The young queer singer uses they/them and she/her pronouns as descriptors in life.

Raised in a suburb of Philadelphia, Daffo started playing music at an early age and at 15 took a summer program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. This led to adventures in New Jersey, singing at various open mics and meeting collaborators.

On their 19th birthday, Daffo’s viral TikTok videos revved up in popularity and the extended play Pest came out in 2023. This has led to a debut album titled Where the Earth Bends with outstanding tracks such as “Habit” and “Dagger Song.”

Their cover version of Arthur Russel’s “I Couldn’t Say It to Your Face” was released on Concord Records while in the midst of the current tour.

Daffo spoke candidly backstage at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago before their set.

JN: (Jerry Nunn) Where did the stage name Daffo come from?

D: (Daffo) Daffodils are my favorite flowers and my mom used to say that the daffodils growing in her yard were singing when I was born.

JN: Your birth name is also nice and could have worked as well.

D: Thank you. I started liking my real name after I switched it to Daffo, but I wanted it as a band name and not tied to me personally.

JN: That keeps some amount of privacy for you and worked for Lady Gaga. Did you begin playing music at a young age?

D: Yes, I am that type of person [laughs] and I have always loved music as well as performing.

JN: Is your family musically inclined?

D: Well, I started learning guitar from my dad and there was music always playing in the house.  We were told that we needed to play some form of an instrument when we were younger. I learned piano first and I sucked at it, but I was also six years old. It wasn’t really that bad at piano, but I didn’t like it.

I chose the violin next, but my dad taught me guitar, which was easy because I had the finger strength of a violin. My grandfather was a violinist, although not as a job, so that’s why I chose that instrument.

JN: You grew up in Philadelphia?

D: In the suburbs of it. I moved to New York when I was older and I studied at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University. College wasn’t part of my plan. It just happened because it is what people are told to do.

I didn’t like school and as soon as I got a chance, I left. I was offered a tour with Sir Chloe and I dropped out.

JN: I interviewed Sir Chloe at Lollapalooza. Are you based in California now?

D: Yes, in Los Angeles.

JN: Where the Earth Bends sounds like the title of a good book. Where did it originate?

D: It comes from a very early childhood memory. It was the first time that I saw my mom cry. We were going to an amusement park and my dad wasn’t there. All three kids were in the back of the car, screaming and complaining. My mom started crying and I was staring out the window at the horizon. I noticed the curvature of the Earth and it was a moment of uncertainty where I learned my mother wasn’t a superhero. I thought about being on this Earth with no attachment to another human being and that feeling is what I am trying to convey on my record.

JN: The title reminds me of the poet Shel Silverstein.

D: Well, I love children’s books and animation.

JN: That ties into songs like “Carrot Fingers” from last year and “Poor Madeline” from 2023. Where did the puppet come from in the video for “Get a Life”?

D: My friend Sunny Keller did that music video and we went to high school together. She made a short film with herself as an animated doll and I asked if she could help me make the video. We came up with an idea around making it a puppet.

JN: Do you have the puppet in your house?

D: Yes.

JN: Who is the song “Get a Life” directed toward?

D: Myself. It’s about the frustration I have about not living my life and enjoying the present. I was at a Buddhist meditation retreat and I was frustrated with myself because I was resisting.

JN: It sounds like you are too hard on yourself.

D: Yes, I have a problem with that.

JN: Do you enjoy touring?

D: It is tough. I love parts of it and I hate parts of it. It is harder than people think it is.

JN: How is your banter onstage? Do you talk on the mic a lot?

D: It depends on the show. I have found that I have gotten less talkative. This is mostly because I want to keep things smooth and moving. I have seen videos of myself. I feel awkward and cringe, so I try not to talk too much.

I don’t like to talk about the songs. The whole point is that they explain themselves and I want listeners to have their own idea on what the song is about. They can connect to my music in their own way and just feel it.

JN: Don’t ever feel pressure to explain a song if I ask you about it. We can skip it and move on. Many artists have told me they don’t like explaining their work.

D: I think keeping it unknown casts a wider net to connect to a song even more. I want to convey emotion and not tell someone how to feel.

JN: Playing off your song, do you have a terrible “Habit” right now?

D: ZYN Nicotine Pouches. I have stopped owning a pack of cigarettes. I also think the song pertains to the obsessive-compulsive disorder side of my personality and digging into my intrusive thoughts to scratch that itch. That’s a bad habit to self-indulge in my own mess.

JN: I am familiar and I suffer from perfectionism myself.

D: Some people have it inside their own mind, like “that’s a bad thought” or a certain thought is unclean. I suffer from moral scrupulosity, which is being obsessed with right and wrong.

JN: After watching Dear Evan Hansen, I learned that the lie in the show will turn people off if they have a strong sense of justice.

D: I haven’t seen it, but I have listened to the music.

JN: Do you like musicals?

D: I used to and I did musicals when I was a kid. I did Urinetown, Willy Wonka and I played the Cat in the Hat in Seussical The Musical.

JN: You have had an interesting life. Where the Earth Bends is available on vinyl?

D: Yes. It’s a more mindful way to consume music when someone listens to the record all the way through. I am not into playlists, but maybe being a musician makes me biased.

JN: The fact that there are two sides to a record has always been cool to me.

D: I knew when I made that record where side one ended and side two began. Musicians are very intentional about the order and sides of their records. These days, people take it for granted and there is a lot of passive listening happening with a song instead of sitting down with a whole record. I love that we have music on vinyl.

JN: What is a piece of merchandise that you like to create?

D: I think boxers would be fun.

JN: You toured to Nashville yesterday and I grew up there. What venue perform at?

D: The Blue Room and it was one of my favorite places I have played at so far.

JN: Where are you heading next?

D: Ohio. There’s one show in Columbus and one in Cleveland.

JN: What drew you to the new cover song “I Couldn’t Say It to Your Face”?

D: I love Arthur Russell and his record Love Is Overtaking Me. I looked through all of my music and at that point, the song touched me in an incredible way. I love to sing it. His records are all very different and special.

JN: I learned he’s a queer artist who died of AIDS in 1992.

D: Yes, Love Is Overtaking Me came out in 2008 after he died. The Lyrics “I couldn’t say it to your face, but I won’t be around anymore” are haunting.

JN: What are your future plans?

D: I want to write new songs and I don’t write when I am out on the road. I am usually exhausted. I usually write music with my acoustic guitar and I don’t have it with me.

I also don’t have much time alone when I am on tour.

JN: How would you describe yourself as an artist to those who have not discovered you yet?

D: I am an indie rocker with personal, confessional and raw songs in my catalog of work.