Anthony Gualano approaches a Zoom call the same way he approaches creating music: with bright curiosity and a hunger for connection. The South Jersey native is eager to dive into conversation, sailing through topics with ease. While Gualano has been releasing music under the name Beach Daze for about five years, he’s been a musician for as long as he can remember.

At age five, he began taking drum lessons. Over the years he expanded to guitar, keyboard, and bass guitar. In his early teens, Gualano discovered GarageBand, and combined with busking on the Asbury Park boardwalk, this opened a new chapter in his passion for music. 

All of this led up to Beach Daze’s first release in 2021: a collaborative album titled Broken Together that features vocals from the other instrumentalists in the band. Gualano describes his 15-year-old self’s work as “like having the training wheels on;” he purposefully requested other singers on the tracks because he wasn’t completely confident in his own voice. Since then, he’s released five projects that feature all his talents. 

In 2025, Anthony Gualano is a third-year student at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, where he’s working towards a Bachelor’s of Music in Sound Engineering Arts on the Classical Music track. That fascination for GarageBand in his youth evolved into exploring Logic Pro and Pro Tools, professional-grade Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) softwares. Gualano says that his main focus, though, is really on production. “It just so happens that I do shows,” he laughs. 

He cites three musical eras for his inspiration: 60s classic rock, 80s new wave, and 2010s bedroom pop. From the instrumental impact of The Beatles to production that’s reminiscent of Joy Division, each genre shines in the Beach Daze catalogue. As for the indie pop takeover of the last decade, Beach Daze fits right in. The vocal influence from Rex Orange County and Two Door Cinema Club is crystal clear.

The most recent single for Beach Daze is titled “too many times”. Gualano sees it as a turning point in his artistry. “I took a very different approach,” he says. “Things just change so much when you get to college. When I was in high school, I could just work on stuff all the time.”  In the midst of trying to navigate creating for school and personal use, he found himself facing burnout. Despite this, he’s still working on new music.

Gulalano describes Beach Daze’s next release as “more lyrically driven.” “You have to be vulnerable as a musician, as an artist. Try different routines, get out of your comfort zone,” he explains. He speaks highly of creativity as a concept. For Gualano, creating art is grounding and helps him stay in touch when life gets wild. He also strongly believes that the act of being creative is not reserved for artists: “Creativity isn’t a mystical gift, everyone creates something every day.”

Throughout his studies, he examines how it feels to have a passion for music and a desire to pursue a career in the craft. “They (passion and career) sound like they contradict each other, but really they go hand in hand,” he says. He often asks the question of who wants to do well in the industry and who wants to make music.

“People have to find a healthy medium,” Gualano adds as the conversation takes a turn towards social media. It’s clear that short-form and long-form content alike are both changing the perception and consumption of music. He questions how to combat the negativity from the oversaturated consumers and the passion driven creators. The analysis doesn’t upset him; if anything it makes him more curious. As his career grows, however, Gualano wants to remain people-facing in the industry. “I don’t wanna limit myself,” he says. 

The conversation’s conclusion looped back to Gualano’s roots. While his dream performance venue is Carnegie Hall in New York City, New Jersey beaches have his heart. Of course, we had to know his favorites: Brick Beach 3, Bay Head, and Lavalette.

Beach Daze will be traveling down the shore in 2026, performing at Wild Air Beerworks on January 2 and Asbury Park Brewery on January 9. In the meantime, Anthony Gualano can be found on social media at @beachdazemusic.

Photos courtesy of photographer Evie Seetoo | Interviewed on November 21, 2025