What's In A Name? JR JR Dance Through Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Hours before JR JR took the stage at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on Tuesday, the flow of traffic behind the stage was steady. As some made their way to soundcheck, others began to set up the merch and stock the bar - slowly building an experience for later that night. Keeping his calm though through it all is Potato. As he's carried from room to room the four pound Chihuahua is sporting a hooded sweatshirt, unimpressed by the swirling activity and more concerned with exploring his dressing room for the evening.
Potato has become a constant tour companion for the Detroit band once known as Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, who have evolved in both sound and name since the release of their third album earlier this year. It is self-titled with their more efficient moniker JR JR.
As Potato gets all of the best sniffs out of the coffee table, JR JR's Daniel Zott explains the change. "The goal is hopefully the music starts to speak for itself and we have a song that takes off or a whole album. It's way more about that."
That plan has pretty much worked for the rhythm driven yet genre defying duo. Their latest collection has gained new fans with JR JR's brand of electro folk hip hop, most notably with the single "Gone".
"The name started out as a thing that we felt would give us no limitations, but then the name kind of became a limitation in and of itself" adds JR JR's Joshua Epstein on their original name. "We thought that the name would give us no limitations because everyone would have no preconceived notions of what we would sound like and so we could kind of sound like anything we wanted, but then by the second album the name kind of became a limitation in that it was all anyone talked about and focused on. It was like the name was more of a story than the album somehow."
The name served its purpose, to get people to notice. And they did - even the actual Dale Jr signed off on the band - but now they've grown beyond gimmick and into legit success and confidence. "At the risk of sounding arrogant, I think that Daniel and I - we've worked with a lot of musicians, worked with a lot of people we respect. I think that we're really confident in our skills and we could go into a room with anyone and hold our own" explains Josh. "We could open for anyone or play after anyone and feel comfortable with it. I think focusing on the music is something we really want. We really want everyone to be talking about the fact that we're making music that I think is challenging. I think it's challenging in a different way than a lot of people who are making music right now because we're taking the risk of being earnest."
It's a grace and sincerity that JR JR didn't have when they first began five years ago, the kind of wisdom that comes only from experience. To sit with the pair, they both carry themselves in a more consequential way. "You start to realize, wow this is actually my career. This is what I'm doing to make a living" describes Daniel. "There's a seriousness about that, but there's also this self-realization. Maybe it's some sort of like - you're at peace with - ok I guess I am really gonna do this. I survived this long and so maybe some of that is just settling into that role."
"When you're first doing it, it's just hard to really believe that you're gonna do it. That you're going to be able to sustain yourself and buy groceries and basic things off of making your art. So we're getting to a place where we're trusting that a little bit more and feeling great about it."
To hear more from JR JR, check out the full interview below.
