Comments

There are no comments yet. Click here to start the conversation!

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Printer friendly

More Music News

• Campbell: Tuned In: Sade, Pantha Du Prince, Meaghan Smith
• Bonnaroo 2010 lineup: Dave Matthews Band, Regina Spektor, Steve Martin, Black Keys, Avett Brothers added
• UT Symphony offers free concerts

Share and Enjoy

Christian pop act The Day Of is peeking at the most opportune of times. Working nonstop to tour and record to meet the demands of its management, the band claims to be producing its best work to date. With label interest circulating, the group couldn’t have picked a better time to reach new songwriting heights.

Possibly one of the hardest-working bands in Knoxville, members of The Day Of are truly full-time musicians. The trio performed more than 100 shows last year and hopes to surpass that mark in 2009. In meeting the weekly writing and recording requirements of its agency, The Day Of has produced an enormous catalog of material, and the requirements provide a creative writing exercise that has evolved the band’s abilities beyond its years. Furthermore, The Day Of’s willingness to drop everything to make long-distance, last-minute gigs proves the group’s dedication to prospective industry representatives.

“It has evolved hugely and in a short time,” says Nick Hickman (vocals, keys, guitar). “We have had people within the industry, that we have encountered numerous times, that tell us they cannot believe the progress we have made in such a short time. We attribute that to our work ethic. We do whatever it takes, and will do anything for our work. It is not unlikely for us to have a show in Texas that we find out about at 1 a.m. ‘the day of’ the show. We get in the van and drive 12 hours to play that show, turn around and head straight to Pennsylvania for a show the next day, only to get home at 2 a.m. and sit up till 7 recording a new song that must be presented that day. We work our tails off and will continue to do so as long as we are able.”

Despite its frequent, scheduled recordings, The Day Of are perfectionists when releasing material. The trio’s newest and sophomore release, “Undiscovered,” was recorded by Trevor Reddick and mastered by Seva. The Day Of says that the material written since then holds promise of a superior release to come.

“The songs from ‘Undiscovered’ are bigger, stronger and hookier,” explains R.J. Helton (guitar, keys, vocals). “The album was released in May of 2009. It is available worldwide online and in various stores. We are actually in talks with a label with major distribution right now, so perhaps it will be available in more outlets soon. We have written about eight songs since the release of the last record. We are writing heavily already for a new record. We have to be prepared. We are going to put more of ourselves and the opinions of others into the new project. We are going to make it bigger and better, including working with the best producers we can find. We also write and rewrite heavily. Some songs are rewritten 15 times before they are ready to be put on a record.”

Monday The Day of will perform twice as part of The Tennessee Valley Fair’s second annual Crossfest event. This will be the band’s second year of involvement with Crossfest and is set to play at noon and again at 5 p.m.

“We are looking forward to the whole evening at Crossfest,” says Hickman. “There will be surprises and perhaps a big announcement from us. So we would encourage all to come and check it out.”

RUN FOR THE BORDER: Border Lions, Tenderhooks and The If You Wannas take the stage at The Pilot Light tonight. The show starts at 10 p.m. and costs $5.

SEEPEOPLE AND ME: Jescoe joins Seepeoples and Spoonfed Tribe to perform at The Catalyst Thursday night. The show is slated for 9 p.m.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
Want to use this article? Click here for options!