Dinosaur Boyfriend began in late 2016 as a solo project of singer, songwriter and guitarist Mario Amador. After finding his voice and writing for many years, Dinosaur Boyfriend became official in 2018 with the release of their solo EP “Daydreaming.”
In 2019, Amador moved to Oklahoma City where lifelong friend and drummer Robbie Jones joined the Dinosaur Boyfriend. Since then, keyboardist Jessi McCord, bassist Connor Bowen, and guitarist Tristan Todd have united to form the five-piece band, which Amador said has elevated their music.
“A lot of the old songs were just me in a room recording on my phone solo,” Amador said. “So when I met these guys, it really helped bring this whole thing to a new level.”
Dinosaur Boyfriend’s music falls under the categories of alternative rock and folk rock, but most specifically shoegaze, a subgenre of indie and alternative rock. Shoegaze is commonly characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback and loudness.
McCord said that alongside their genre of shoegaze, some distinguishing trademarks of the band’s sound are lead singer Amador’s voice and their studio-recorded songs. Amador said that most importantly, Dinosaur Boyfriend is a means of embracing individuality.
“Dinosaur Boyfriend is really about being yourself and that’s hard to do sometimes,” Amador said. “I tend to think about what people think of me and then Dinosaur Boyfriend helps me forget all that stuff and do music.”
Each band member said that their history with Norman Music Festival runs deep. Amador said he has attended Norman Music Festival for over a decade, where bands such as Other Lives and DEERPEOPLE inspired him to perform shows.
After hosting an unofficial show on Main Street last year, Norman Music Festival invited Dinosaur Boyfriend to perform at this year’s event. The upcoming festival is the smaller band’s first appearance there.
“There’s a benefit to hearing music live, especially if it’s a local band because usually they don’t have the resources available to make an extensive soundtrack,” Bowen said.
The concert experience that Dinosaur Boyfriend creates is unique to their band and irreplicable. Todd said that shows resonate with audiences in a manner that only live music can create.
“Live performances give you a certain kind of energy that you can’t really get anywhere else,” said Todd.
Dinosaur Boyfriend’s set will differ for Norman Music Festival compared to previous shows to include new, less performed and unreleased songs to their setlist. McCord said that the band’s live performances vary greatly from their recorded songs.
“We sound a lot different live than the recordings,” McCord said. “I feel like the people that like us have heard us on Spotify, but the people that love us have been to shows.”
Dinosaur Boyfriend is headlining Norman Music Festival on Friday, April 28, at 6 p.m. on the Monster Energy West Main Stage.
This story was edited by Silas Bales and Emma Blakley. Nikkie Aisha and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
