Interview with Some Days Are Darker
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
As far back as I can remember, music was a part of my life. It was my first love. I started playing guitar when I was 12 and I really dug into it. I’ve played obsessively ever since. If I wasn’t doing music, I’d probably move to California and start a cult. I’ve been thinking of doing something religion-based with a tax exemption. Then again, those two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
I do a lot of photography and video work. In a way that feeds into the music as well because I do most of the band promo myself. It’s refreshing to bounce between different disciplines. It helps me to think more laterally.
How long has music been your career?
I decided a long time ago that I didn’t want music to be my career; I want music to be my art. My partner and I own a multimedia studio and I use my income from that to fund the band. I knew that if I was relying on music as my sole source of income I’d have to make too many compromises. To please people. To sell more. With money out of the equation my intentions can be pure.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
I’m based out of Phoenix, AZ right now but I’m starting to split time in NYC. I like big cities and I’ve always loved the night. That has definitely played into the themes of Some Days Are Darker. There’s a calm, bleakness to the desert at night. The days are brutal and the nights are magical. That’s the dichotomy of a lot of my lyrics. It’s also interesting to live in a place that wants you dead. Almost everything in the desert is designed to stab, poison, or kill you. I find romance in that as well.
Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.
I’ll start with the worst, which was Birmingham Alabama years ago. Our show was actually canceled, but the promoter didn’t tell us about it until we got to the venue. He didn’t want to give us and the other two bands with us our guarantees, so we kidnapped him and eventually took him to an ATM and made him pay us what he had. I’ve never been back to Birmingham. I think the best Some Days Are Darker shows are still ahead of us…
Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?
Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix is my current favorite. The live room is perfectly small. Great drink selections. Elite-level Mexican food. An intimate, moody balcony for small acoustic shows. It has it all. I’d love to play the Fillmore in Detroit. I saw so many of my favorite bands there growing up. I’ll take the Fox Theater too if you’re offering.
If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?
Alive or dead? I’m not sure how powerful your necromancy skills are… Let’s do both! Dead: Some Days Are Darker opening for Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen closes the night. Alive: Some Days Are Darker, Chelsea Wolfe and Depeche Mode.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into music?
Don’t let anyone’s opinion affect the music you make. Be true to yourself.
If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?
Make more mistakes sooner. Take more risks. Don’t let anything hold you back.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
Demons. A bluesier tune on the new record. The main lyric is “the longer I’m here, the more I feel”, which sums up a lot of the sentiment in my current writing. I always expected to become more callous and less caring as I aged, but I just feel things more and more. It can be overwhelming at times, but it’s something I’m learning to live with and I think it makes the songs better.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Take Me Anywhere is a song I look forward to every time. It’s a song that seems just as urgent to me every time I sing it.
What is the creative process for you, and what inspires you to write your music?
My songs are all inspired by my own personal experiences and relationships. Existentialism. The human condition. Life. Love. Regret. My creative process usually involves some kind of pain, like a mistake or a failure. It can even be an insatiable desire. From there I try to use the song as a way to resolve my feelings. To reconcile, in a way. But that’s what I do; I write love songs.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Longing. Nostalgia. In Greek nostalgia literally means ‘the pain from an old wound.’ It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. It’s not a message as much as a feeling I’m chasing.
Do you ever have disagreements when collaborating and how do you get past them?
In any creative disagreement, it’s the responsibility of each individual to base their idea or opinion in strategy. If the strategy is sound the idea holds. If not, you have to be passionate enough about your idea that everyone believes in you even though your logic is flawed. And this, my friend, is how cults are formed.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?
We’re working on US bookings at the moment and should be hitting a bunch of new cities in the next year. Our debut album drops on November 18th and will be self-titled. The first single, Lost Days is out now. The next single, Nocturne will drop on October 18th and we play the next night, October 19th at the Nile Theater in Mesa with Chameleons.
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