by Jason

Hello Jeff, how are you?  Thanks for doing this interview.  Can you give us a bit of the history The Daysleepers?

I’m doing great. My pleasure, I love interviews. The history of The Daysleepers is pretty simple. We were all friends before the band even started. We live in the same area, and knew each other from other bands. We all really have a love for atmospheric music so we decided to have a few practices just to see what would come out of it. Our first practice really amazed us all. It seemed like we all were on the same page, right from the beginning. We wrote our song Loved by the Sun on that first practice session.

When and how did you get your start in music?  What instruments do you play and how long have you been playing each?

I liked a lot of crap music up until about age 14. Then I decided to venture out and find good music, and that’s when I discovered the Cure’s Disintegration, I was never the same since. That album is on a level that no one can touch. My love for that sound led me to the shoegaze genre where I embraced bands like Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Lush, Catherine Wheel and so on. The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, are also among my favorites.

I play guitar, Bass, Keyboards, and vocals. But on the EPs mostly just Guitar & Vocals. I wish I could play the piano, but I don’t have time.  The rest of the members play many instruments but for The Daysleepers, Scott plays bass and keyboards, Mario plays drums, and Elizabeth plays Keyboards, Bass, and Vocals as well. They are so talented. I Love them.

I(Jeff) have been playing guitar since I was about 13. I’m 25 now. Mario and Scott have been playing since they were young as well. Elizabeth has been singing for a very long time. We have been playing as a band for about 2.5 years.

How does the group write songs?  What is the writing process like for you in particular?

At first I wrote the songs and brought them to the group and said Put Bass and drums to this, but now we just play together until we find a sound or idea we think sounds good…then we build on that idea. I write all the lyrics and guitar parts. Mario does all the percussion, and Scott writes all the basslines. We all kind of work on the keyboard parts.

I love the writing process. When you hit the feeling just right, there is nothing quite like it.

You have released two fabulous EP’s.  What’s next?  Are we going to get a full-length in the year 2007?

Yes and no. Yes to a Full-length next, but probably not until 2008. We are going to take our time with it, but when it is done it will be all worth it. We work very hard to make sure every single song is crafted in such a way that we are 100% satisfied with them. We love our EP’s, and we want the LP to be of the same quality or better.

Being a self-released band, the way we like it, we pay for all the expenses ourselves, so if people keep buying our old EP’s this will help us to release more material in the future. So that factors in a bit. So far so good, Thanks everyone!

Are you planning a nation-wide tour?  This is, of course, a self-serving question because I really want to see you play.

No tours. We don’t make enough money at this to make it our full time job yet.

What is the music scene like in Buffalo?  Is it difficult to find places to play live? Have you hooked up with any of the great Canadian bands across the border to play gigs?

Buffalo has a really horrible mainstream music scene, but some of the underground indie bands coming out of Buffalo are amazing, Such as: The Sleeping Kings of Iona, Vera Lena, and Besnyo. They all give me hope that Buffalo does breed some really amazing musicians, you just have to really sift to find them.

Do all the band members have day-jobs?  What do you all do outside of the band?

Unfortunatley we all have day jobs. I like mine though. I am a graphic artist and I work with animation. It’s fun. The other members are constantly changing jobs, and I can’t keep up.

What artists would you consider to be influences on your music?  This can include musicians, authors, and painters.

Robert Smith & the Cure, Slowdive, the Cocteau Twins, Chameleons, Chapterhouse, Lush, Pale Saints, Mew, The Flaming lips, Bjork, Sigur Ros, Catherine wheel, to name a few.

I love Film. Blade Runner, 2001 Space Odyssey, Gattaca, Lost in Translation, Science of Sleep, Tim Burton Films, and i love most forms of Animation.

Many Graphic Designers, i love Design!

Most importantly Nature. I hate to sound like a stupid artist, but I really love Nature in every way. It is the main inspiration for everything I do.

What equipment does the band use live and what do you use in the studio?

I am an all Fender Guitar nut. I have 2 Fender Jazzmasters, and A Fender Bass VI Baritone guitar. I play mostly BOSS Guitar pedals, and Korg Keyboards. Scott plays a Fender 73 Deluxe Jazz Bass, It is amazing!

What is in your current music rotation?

Not what you’d expect probably: Camera Obscura Let’s get out of this Country, Silversun Pick-ups Carnavas, Mew Frengers, Goldfrapp Supernature, Feist Let it Die, I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness Fear is on our Side, and as always all the classics, The Cure, Siouxsie, Slowdive, Chameleons….

Any other comments?

Thanks for this opportunity Jason, and all your help. Thanks to all of our fans, we really couldn’t do this without your support.