Interview: Natalie Newbold & Lucas Dalakian of Well Wisher with an Acoustic Performance of "Sweet" (VIDEO)

Natalie Newbold and Lucas Dalakian of Well Wisher

This Is Fine

On a gray Sunday morning, Rosi and I headed over to Hot Dog House in Asbury Park to meet up with Natalie Newbold and Lucas Dalakian at their band's practice space. Natalie and Lucas should be familiar faces to readers here. Natalie was a member of CDM faves, dollys; and Lucas has played in ROMP, Ragged Lines, and other bands that we've written about or booked over the years here at CoolDad Music. Together with Mike Lindardi and Lynsey Vandenberg, the pair form the indie / pop-punk quartet, Well Wisher.

Last fall, Well Wisher put out the excellent This Is Fine with 6131 Records; and, in the last year, the band have been on a steady, upward climb, opening for The Front Bottoms, Manchester Orchestra, Newfound Glory, and more.

When we got together with Natalie and Lucas, Well Wisher were preparing to head out on tour with their pals in Maine's Weakened Friends. It's a tour that will take them to Austin, TX for this year's South By Southwest Music Festival. While there, Well Wisher will be playing the Little Dickman Records / CoolDad Music-presented Rock or Die VI showcase at Austin's Hard Luck Lounge on March 14th.

Natalie and Lucas were kind enough to spend some time chatting with me about, among other things, the origins of Well Wisher, the making of the band's recent video for "Sweet," whether Natalie prefers drums or guitar, and their upcoming tour. Natalie also performed a pair of songs for us on her newly set up acoustic guitar. Check out our conversation below, and stay tuned at the end of the interview for "Sweet." You can also check out bonus song, "All My Love."

Once again, Rose Lamela did all the video, sound, and editing for this; and I owe her a whole bunch of tacos.

This Is Fine is out now on 6131 Records. All of Well Wisher's tour dates are listed below.

Interview / "Sweet"



Bonus Song! "All My Love" (Who says we don't love you?)



Well Wisher on Tour

Worriers' Lauren Denitzio Played Asbury Park Brewery w/ Natalie Newbold, Emily Bornemann, and Mikey Pellegrino, 3/22/18

Lauren Denitzio of Worriers

Solo But Not Alone

There's been a lot of "stuff" going around town this past week. We finally heard the plans for what's going to happen to the building that used to house Asbury Lanes, and it's caused some... ...conversation. Much of that conversation has centered on what it was that made Asbury Lanes special; and, while Asbury Lanes no longer exists, some of that spirit still flickers around town at shows like the one Aftermath Collective and House of Independents threw at Asbury Park Brewery last night.

Lauren Denitzio of Worriers returned to Asbury Park for an intimate solo set and headlined a bill that also included Natalie Newbold (Well Wisher), Emily Bornemann (Dentist), and Mikey Pellegrino (latewaves). It was a special evening. Each performer usually plays as part of a full band; and, naturally, there had to be some nerves. But everyone playing was in the same boat; and I think that gave everything a nice, communal feel. At any rate, if there were any nerves, they didn't hurt a single performance.

Mikey Pellegrino

One of the great things about hearing the songs stripped of their full-band arrangements, guitar solos, drum fills, is that you really notice what good songs they are. Natalie Newbold and I discussed this with reference to Emily Bornemann and Dentist following Newbold's set, but it was true across the board. latewaves, Dentist, Well Wisher, and Worriers can all get pretty loud in their own way; but, last night, everyone's songs held up -- shone even -- in the more intimate setting.

Emily Bornemann

And the interactions with the audience -- from Pellegrino's pointing out where the band would come in, to Bornemann's revealing that this was her first solo set in a decade, to Newbold's forgetting the opening line to one of her earliest songs, to Denitzio's admitting that they liked to be able to do shows like this whenever the rest of the band was unavailable -- felt natural, like a shared experience among friends.

Natalie Newbold

Just a sweet, sweet night. I could go on about it, but I just wanted to acknowledge that there are still plenty of chances to support cool things in and around Asbury Park. It's easy to get down on the way things are trending, and I forget that sometimes. Last night was a nice reminder of what we can still do.