“They’re not exactly musically oriented,” chimes Tom Gaynor, AKA Allday, speaking of his family. “Music, though, was always a big part of my household. Music is playing 24/7 at my mum’s house and she always encouraged me to be creative.”
As a result, the youngster attended art school, toyed with graffiti and experimented with writing songs – all of which culminated in a hobby that ultimately looks like it’s going to lead to bigger and better things.
Indeed, after winning his first MC battle when he was just 17, Allday felt the scene was set for him. “I was young, but it didn’t feel young to me,” he explains. “My best friend is a rapper from Adelaide called Dialect. He was winning battles when we were 14, so that made me feel like a late bloomer. At the time, I just knew I could freestyle a little bit. I’d always written raps, but I had absolutely no idea how to make any of that into real music or what steps to take.”
The prize for winning that battle, as it turned out, was time in the studio. That spurred a demo CD which resulted in an EP, then a raft of touring and working on a debut album, Startup Cult.
“When my song‘So Good’got some traction on the radio I decided I didn’t have much else going on in life so I should give music a serious try,” he says. “It all just flowed on from there. When I did theLoners Are CoolEP, I really wanted to tell a story about the lone side of me; I wanted people who related to that to feel better about themselves. To be honest, the project was a massive struggle because I parted ways with my producer and had no budget to make the EP.”
Despite the setbacks, everything happens for a reason – when Loners Are Cool was all finished up, the only song that Allday felt he would listen to if it weren’t his own was‘Eyes On The Road’.
“So I started working on my LP and based it off that sound,” he says. “It’s coming out in the middle of the year and has been a real labour of love. I have been driving around listening to it and smiling to myself. I don’t want to talk it up too much, but I’m happy that I’m getting better and I intend to keep getting better.”
It’s a good moment for Allday to reflect on what makes this all worthwhile. “It’s all for the people, to the people. I always keep the philosophy that musicians are supposed to be the voice of the people and not above them. That’s why I prefer to meet fans and interact with them and that’s why I do my best to reply to people on social media.”
Life of a real MC? Must be.
Catch Allday with Jackie Onassis at The Lair, Metro Theatre (tickets here) and at Goodgod Small Club (18+) (tickets here) on Saturday June 14.
