USC grad student plays Conundrum Music Hall Wednesday
It’s karaoke, but with an indie rock twist. College rock, infused with the heart of ’60s and ’70s greats, takes on a new, wildly diverse sound — full of high-tempo tracks that fit into the age of the psychedelic all the way through the ’90s.
Jeremy Joseph, who plays under the guise of Daddy Lion, has turned his gig into a one-man music scene. The Maryland-born songster has taken to the stage and studio as a solo performer, recording and playing all instruments that go into his music — which boils each of the decade’s trademark rockers down into a more contemporary rhythm. And Joseph, or Daddy Lion, will be performing at West Columbia’s Conundrum Music Hall tonight at 9.
Joseph, a philosophy graduate student at USC, is “a touchstone for music.” Although his music fits under a popular and cookie-cut genre, his interests reach far into the vinyl collections of the past.
“If I had to put a general heading, I’d go ‘indie rock,’” Joseph said. “But some songs remind people of covers from the ’70s, some from the ’90s. Ideally, everything would sound brand new, but that’s almost impossible these days.”
But he’s close. With Joseph’s personal music collection housing everything from Sonic Youth to Joy Division to Pixies, his sound stays away from the bands that have defined the 2000s — with the exception of Modest Mouse and Deerhunter.
“Eighties post-punk is a big touchstone for me. But my music itself doesn’t sound post-punk,” Joseph said. “It’s poppy and less aggressive, but the influence is really reflected in the songwriting.”
It all centers on what Joseph calls the “jangle-y, indie rock, guitar kind of genre.”
But it’s Daddy Lion’s jack-of-all-trades ability that garners the attention with his knack for every instrument on the set list. Joseph lived in Washington, D.C., before moving to Columbia this summer for grad school and played with a band in the nationa’s capital city. However, all of Daddy Lion’s recordings — the self-titled EP and upcoming full-length “Habitat” — and his shows in Columbia feature Joseph as a solo artist, playing the guitar, keyboard and drums with the vocals.
“It’s difficult working with a band. I write everything myself, I record everything myself and I’m extremely controlling over the recordings to the point of being just flat-out difficult to work with,” Joseph said.
And with his solo performances, Daddy Lion has been bringing his own recordings into his stage performances to preserve the full-band sound and experience.
“I have been doing, more or less, a karaoke version of myself,” Joseph said. “It’s not my long-term goal — hopefully, I will have a backup band at some point — but as a short-term plan, it’s been working out well. People have really responded to it, probably because I put on a fairly energetic performance.”
Comparing himself to a 28-year-old Mick Jagger, Joseph fully embraces his guitar riffs and on-stage jam sessions. They’re what give him that added edge — those moves like Jagger.
Joseph has already had a taste of the signed life; he released Daddy Lion’s first EP on 24 Hour Service Station and is now contemplating releasing “Habitat” with the same label.
“It’s a trade-off,” Joseph said. “If you sell it, then you sell it. And it’s cool — you’re on a label. But way more people hear the music if it’s free and you can send it around yourself.”
Joseph has also been featured on NPR — and there’s a story behind it. While an undergraduate student in St. Louis, he submitted his rough, garage recordings to then-reporter for local Riverfront Times, Ben Westhoff. Westhoff, who is now the music editor at LA Weekly, remembered the student he’d featured in the regional paper years later and submitted him for the NPR plug.
It’s all about the connections.
And now, Daddy Lion is alive and well with a tweaked ideal in mind.
“If all my dreams come true, I’d like to be a philosophy professor,” Joseph said. “I’d get summers off, and I could tour around the entire world. It’s definitely not impossible, so I have that going for me.”
Daddy Lion will be performing at Conundrum Music Hall tonight at 9 with Dolfish and Concrete Animals. Doors are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $5.