Beach Daze Talks New Single “Everything We Ever Wanted” and Kicking Off 2026 With an Upbeat, House-Inspired Sound
- Isabella Basile
- 3 hours ago
- 8 min read
From the shores of Brick, New Jersey, Anthony Gualano has been carving out his own lane in the indie and alternative world. Performing under the name Beach Daze, he operates as a true one-person project, handling everything from songwriting to production, channeling personal experiences into bright, energetic rhythms that feel both intimate and expansive.
IB: Hi Beach Daze, we are so excited to chat with you today!
BD: Thanks so much for having me. It’s great to finally get the chance to chat with you guys.
IB: When and how did your passion for music start?
BD: Music has always been a huge part of my life. My parents aren’t musicians, but they were constantly playing all sorts of different genres around the house. When I was a toddler, my favorite show was “Jack's Big Music Show” with these 3 puppets who were musicians. I was crazy about that show, and that definitely sparked an interest for me. I always had First Act instruments lying around and would play with them, but drums got me the most. One day, I was tapping along to a song on the radio, and my dad asked me if I wanted to take drum lessons; I had to be 4-5 at the time, and I thought sure why not? And now I’m here. Funny how things work like that.
IB: Who are your musical inspirations?
BD: The 3 big genres for me are 60s classic rock (Beach Boys, the Zombies, The Beatles), 80s new wave (The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order), and a lot of 2000s-2010s indie music that I grew up listening to (Rex Orange County, Mac DeMarco, The Drums, the Radio Dept., Beach House). I feel like those eras have influenced the Beach Daze sound the most.
IB: Who is your biggest supporter?
BD: Definitely my family. They’re very supportive and have helped in countless ways over the years. I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now without their love and enthusiasm!
IB: When and how did you decide you wanted to go to William Paterson University for Sound Engineering?
BD: I started to get into music production around 7th-8th grade, from finding GarageBand on my iMac. And it just kept evolving from there. I attended GPAA in Toms River, NJ, and took audio engineering classes all 4 years of high school, and have been hooked ever since. I didn’t have to go to college for it, but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and meet new friends and connections, and WPU was a great pick for that.
IB: How did you learn to record, write, produce, and play your instruments?
BD: I had played drums solely up until middle school and was taking drum lessons for years at that point. I was making beats on GarageBand with samples, but I wanted to start writing original music with instruments. So I started busking with a cocktail kit on Asbury Park Boardwalk when I was 13, and used the tips to buy some beginner home-recorded gear (interface, MIDI controller). My uncle also gave me his Gibson Epiphone, and I had gotten a Fender P-Bass for Christmas a few months before. So everything fell into place naturally, but I am self-taught with all of those instruments. I would learn my favorite songs on guitar (particularly Rex Orange County) and memorize the chord shapes from the songs, and I guess it translated over to piano as well. There are some chords I play that I don’t know the name of; I just know them from Apricot Princess. A lot of it was just trial and error in the beginning, and trying to find what sound I wanted to create for myself (and from my teachers in audio engineering classes, of course).
IB: What instruments do you know how to play, and of them, which is your favorite?
BD: I can play drums, bass, guitar, piano, ukulele, and vocals (if you count that as an instrument). Drums will always hold a special place in my heart, but I like different instruments for different reasons. Guitar and piano are more songwriting tools for me, rather than an instrument I’m knowledgeable about, like drums. I don’t know if I’d be super confident playing those other instruments live. When we do live shows, I’ve always been on drums/vocals and have stuck to that role, so I’d have to say that drumming is my favorite.
IB: How much do you think your musical style has evolved since the release of your first album, Broken Together, in 2021, to your latest single, “Everything We Ever Wanted”?
BD: “Broken Together” was an exciting time because we were learning as we went along. I was insecure about singing/lyrics, so the vocalist/lyricists from that album are all of my friends/bandmates from Lakehouse Music Academy who were strong singers. I’d have the music completely arranged, and the other members were free to write lyrics and sing however they wanted to, and we’d record the songs in my bedroom at my house. It was a lot of fun for us 14-15-year-olds just getting into songwriting. By the time I got to the second album, Beach Daze, there was still collaboration, but I started to sing and write lyrics for some of the tracks and come out of my shell. And then the third album, The Night Away, was written entirely by me and produced with Chris Chrisman, who had a massive impact in making the tracks have more depth and balance. He made those songs sound so atmospherically different compared to the first 2 albums in the best way possible. I still use the mixing techniques that he showed me in Logic Pro today, and I try to have every album have a different production style to it because of that album…
So Beach Daze didn’t immediately start with everything being written and produced by me. Over the past 5 years I’ve gotten a much better grasp of mixing techniques, stereo imaging, adding different textures to the songs, different types of song structures, even incorporating other types of instruments, more mid-tempo songs; so I think that’s why the newer material has a different feel to them, and I think that really comes though on "Everything We’ve Ever Wanted." I have also experimented with different genres like R&B, electronic, ambient, etc.. There have still been collaborations here and there, but ultimately it’s been working towards building the confidence of what sound I’d like to have, but I think change is a key aspect for anyone who’s creative.
IB: I noticed that most of your album art has to do with the sky and the sea. Does this come from your love of surfing?
BD: I suppose! Growing up down the Jersey shore certainly influenced the aesthetic, especially in the beginning. I’m an avid beach go-er and most of my childhood was spent on my local beach skimboarding, surfing, and hanging out with friends. I also feel like the sky and sea capture the mood in most of the Beach Daze material, and because Broken Together is a sunset cover, that visual theme has continued on, even though the music has evolved since then. I guess all of that just naturally seeps into what I create
B: On a similar note, I notice that all of your album art, except for one, has an inverted version, like on Am I Running Out of Time?, Am I Running Out of Time Again (The B-Sides Bonus Version), and your latest single, “Everything We Ever Wanted.” What is the reason for this? Does it hold a particular meaning for you?
BD: I started using inverted covers for certain albums because all of the material was recorded during the same time, but all of it couldn’t fit on a single album, so I’d divide it up into a Part 1 and Part 2 type-release. “Too Many Times” has a black and white cover; now the new release is the same picture but inverted in color. So it’s like "Too Many Times" is Volume 1 from that era, and this new release is like Volume 2, if that makes sense….
IB: The lyrics often include “we” and “us.” Was this written as a song for you and someone else?
BD: No, which is interesting, you bring that up. I’m not sure where that came from. On "Broken Together," there are lots of “we” and “us” songs, so maybe that had some sort of subconscious influence? Sometimes I write externally outside of my situations as well, so that somebody else out there will be able to relate it to something that’s going on in their own lives
IB: How do you typically go about writing your music? For example, the electric switch at 1:25 and the synth/disco switch at 1:58.
BD: Typically, I’ll start with chords on the guitar and will continuously add other instruments and textures onto that idea until I feel like there is enough there. Then I’ll arrange it into different structures for the vocal, but lately I’ve been into unconventional song structures, FX automation, last-minute key changes, anything that adds surprise to the song but doesn’t totally throw the listener off. It’s really important to have dynamics in a song for me. A few of my songs only have 1 verse, or no chorus; ultimately, it’s whatever feels most appropriate for the song. I have a soft spot for house music, so I guess you could say “Everything We Wanted” is me trying to make a Daft Punk song.
IB: I see that you are a one-man show, typically recording, writing, producing, and playing your instruments yourself, but how does it differ when working with another artist, such as Kevian Kraemer, on your first two albums, Broken Together and Beach Daze?
BD: It’s always super exciting to see what another artist can bring to the table because everybody thinks and creates differently. Sometimes being a one-man show for recording, writing, playing instruments, and producing can get lonely; or I’ll get stuck on a vocal part, etc., and want to see what someone else can come up with for it. It’s also different because you have to be more open and have conversations with the other writer about what feels best for the song, vs. me in my bedroom by myself deciding how the whole operation goes. I don’t have any problem with doing that, but collaboration is super important to me as well, and has been a key component for a lot of the Beach Daze songs as well.
IB: What is one song you wish Beach Daze wrote?
BD: Troublemaker by Beach House. Very inspirational song for me.
IB: What’s next for Beach Daze?
BD: I have another concert at the Sanctuary in Butler, NJ, on February 7th! I’m still working on getting more dates for February/March, but there are tons of new music coming out as well. I’m going to try to release 1 new song per month for 2026, so the next single “Those Other Days” comes out February 25th :)
IB: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. We wish you the best of luck in your future musical endeavors!
BD: Thank YOU for taking the time to chat with me, I really appreciate the support!
Stream "Everything We Ever Wanted" below!
Linktree | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Music | TikTok
Credits:
Songwriting, Instruments, Production: Anthony Gualano