4 minute read
Good and Weary
Good and Weary
INTERNET DATING TALKS ISOLATION ON THE ROAD, COMMUNITY, AND THE NEW EP
By Nathaniel Kennon Perkins
Deano Erickson was living in the back of his 1997 GMC Silverado during the first recording sessions of Weary, the new EP from Internet Dating, the name under which he performs and releases music. In addition to being his home, the truck also served as a recording studio, and it was there he began constructing the complex and emotional songs that would gel into the artist’s fifth release.
The outcome is four sincere offerings reverberating into a peaceful assemblage of indie, folk, and art-pop. From bowed upright bass and finger-picked acoustic guitar to celestial vocal harmonies, the tape (also available for digital download and streaming) is a heartfelt celebration of texture and tenderness, carrying listeners through the highways and landscapes of America.
Talking about the time in which the album was written, Erickson says, “I was going to go work in a café in Maine for the summer, and it was way cheaper to live in the truck and drive out there than rent a spot because everything on the island where I was staying is super expensive. I was just writing as I was going—like, find a chill spot and sit down to write a riff or some lines. It’s interesting to look back and think, ‘This part was written in New York,’ or, ‘This little part was written in Michigan on the way back.’”
The limitations on time and space that accompanied such a lifestyle had a profound impact on the ways Erickson was able to compose and record. He had to get creative, using different instruments than he normally would have and incorporating field recordings of truck sounds, such as squeaky belts, grinding rotors, and slamming doors.
“I used half-scale acoustic guitars so that I could sit in the front seat,” he says, laughing.
Being on the road, away from friends and community in his twin hometowns of Kansas City and Minneapolis, also influenced the focus of Erickson’s lyrics. Occasional periods of isolation pushed him to consider the nature of interpersonal communication, its breakdowns, and the way it affects relationships.
“I would spend a few days in different towns where I didn’t know anyone at all and wanted to meet and talk to people,” he says. “Then I’d start overanalyzing longterm friends and long-distance communication I’d had, miscommunication—all that.”
These themes constitute the EP’s major spiritual throughline. The lyrics in “Misread” appear to lament a relationship that ended because of a communication breakdown, stating: “If you hadn’t left me on misread, we’d be together instead of pretending we’re impervious / like we’re prepared for this kind of impermanence.”
Later, in “The Real,” he advocates emotional honesty, singing: “We all need these forms of intimacy / through shared transparency.”
Finding himself temporarily removed from some of the important people in his life provided new insight into the nature of Erickson’s interactions with them. The realizations that emerged formed the message that he thought was important to share on Weary
“I feel like good communication can solve most problems,” Erickson says. “It’s not often in life that you get to find people where you can say what’s on your mind and be well received. Good communication is the best way to learn things with each other.”
Erickson’s social life shifted when he returned from the East Coast that fall, and with it, so did the nature of the EP. It transitioned from a solo project to a collaborative effort built upon the community-based scaffolding that he had already put into place. Instead of the more stripped-down sounds that appear on Complete Control, Internet Dating’s previous release that came out during the height of the pandemic, this tape offers a fuller soundscape aided by contributions from a crew of guest musicians. Cassidy Wall and Claire Hannah Festa provide ethereal vocals, while Trevor Aarsvold plays bass.
Weary also differs from past releases in being the first record that Erickson recorded himself, an ultra-DIY approach largely necessitated by the realities of living out of the back of a pickup and being far from home.
“On a lot of the other releases, I would record the main instruments with somebody in a studio. Just show up and be like, ‘Here’s the part,’ and record it and watch them take it from there and turn it into a song,” Erickson says. “For the first time, I got a laptop where I could record because before, I’d had super cheap laptops that were only good for searching the internet and basic word applications. It was really fun to get into learning how to do it.”
Internet Dating often performs in Kansas City and across the Midwest. Follow the project on Instagram at @internetdating_ to stay up to date on shows.
