Poland’s Daymares is, literally, brand-new to the scene, having only gotten together as a band in 2006. However, they're still only a part-time project, choosing instead a path that ensures the preservation of their basic hardcore values. Of course, this doesn't stop them from banging out their songs with all of the same death ‘n roll aggressiveness of a band like Entombed. Their new CD, Can’t Get Us All, is out now on Selfmadegod Records. (Check out the review posted on this site.) Pat (vocals) was nice enough to step away for a few minutes and respond to some questions put to him by Pivotal Rage staff writer Michael LaRue.
Things have been going at a pretty quick pace for you all. How are you all doing in general?
We have just slowed down, having a summer break after a busy winter/spring season while we were recording and playing out a lot. Summer was quiet. Everybody was busy with their personal stuff, and we’ve just started to rehearse again and get new songs together. Some shows are in the works, and we should hit the studio again this year.
How has the reception been toward your debut release, Can’t Get Us All?
As far as we know, it was pretty much ok. We read some really good reviews, some average, and few where people didn’t like the album at all.
Since you have only been together for a limited amount of time, are you still feeling one another out musically? Or, have you all known each other for some time such that it hasn’t been too hard being a cohesive band?
We feel each other pretty much. We’ve known each other before we started to play in Daymares. We were friends, we lived together, we played in different configurations.
Your band has noticeable influences (from early Entombed to Cro-Mags), but you managed to pull it off with a fresh approach. Was this done purposefully, or did you all just do it the old-fashioned way of jamming whatever tunes came out?
The mentioned bands influenced us big-time. The twins (Marcin on guitar and Grzesiek on bass) were growing up listening to Cro-Mags and later to Entombed and tons of shit in between, so you cannot avoid getting inspired by the tunes of those giants. It was just what came out as the songwriting process went on. I can say that we wanted to use the formula of the strength captured in aggressive and powerful Cro-Mags lyrics combined with the roughness and harshness of Entombed’s groove.
The sound on Can’t Get Us All is refreshing because of its primitive approach. Do you see more bands in
There are tons of people tired of overproduced bullshit bands that try to be the next big thing and more and more kids tend to look for some fresh, raw, and rough bands that try to capture the anger and integrity, doing the rough recordings and staying away from toothless and plastic shit.
Who are some of the bands that you would call influential, not necessarily on your sound, but for you all to make music in the first place?
Everybody would say something different, I guess, so I will only speak for myself: Judge, Gorilla Biscuits, Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Verbal Assault, Instead, Earth Crisis, Snapcase, Dezerter, Carcass, Entombed, Dead Prez, Cro-Mags, and Tragedy.
A lot of times, bands have a message that they send to their audience and at times they don’t at all. Do you have one that you try to convey?
We have shitloads of stuff to say, and this is one of the main reasons we started this band. We don’t fit into this society at all, and we search for the other people who are pretty much pissed-off with what they see around and are looking for the strength in themselves to keep on pushing the things forward instead of being self-destructive and jaded. There are many people like this out there, and we want to bridge with them. It’s an amazing feeling to inspire each other, and that’s what I’ve been experiencing since the first day I got into HC/punk. I like to see the things going on, to see people active and crazy about their lives, not the shit-consuming lazy asses. I want to be around the people who are thoughtful, inspiring, strong, and sincere. What scares the shit out of me is this tendency that makes people so passive and not caring at all. Many kids that attend our shows are much younger than us, and I don’t feel like preaching to them or telling them what to do, but at least I can talk about my experience with different types of things, and they can learn from my mistakes and avoid some trouble on their way. Shows and records can really help you out when you’re down. It happened to me a lot.
Are there any plans in the works to take Daymares to a bigger audience with possible extensive tours? (And if so, please mention where/when.)
We want to tour as much as possible, but it’s not like we will ever become a full-time band. Forget about it. In the first place, it wouldn’t be possible technically and on the other hand, even if it was, I am not sure if we would be into it. Probably we wouldn’t handle that. We want to keep it the way it is – recordings, weekend shows, and like a couple of tours a year will do just fine for us.
In recent news, it’s been reported that the religious sector in
It is not as bad as it seems, and it doesn’t affect the shows I go to or that we play, really. We are not into the metal scene in this sense, at all. I mean, we don’t play any kinds of the metal shows, and it’s a different crowd totally. The idea is insane, as the people who came up with it are loons. I bet they’re real perverts while they’re off-duty.
Do you think there is going to be subsequent retaliation from kids and the music scene for this national policy?
People are already pissed off. It’s really ridiculous but as I said, it doesn’t do much harm.
On another note, do you see the emergence of Polish metal bands such as Vader and Behemoth as the flag-carriers for others in your country so that they can make a bigger mark on the international scene?
Well, I don’t care about the mentioned bands, at all. They’re a totally different cup of tea than we are.
What are your ambitions for the end of 2007 and into 2008?
We’d love to do some 3-4 dayers, in
On a lighter side, who is your favorite band at the moment?
Speaking of the new stuff that came out in the last months: Charge, High On Fire, Coliseum, Black Sheep Squadron, Cursed, Send More Paramedics, Ringworm, Bitter End, Snake Eyes, Turbonegro, Wolfbrigade, Municipal Waste, and SSS. Actually, it is an amazing year, speaking of the amount of the good records that have come out.
Favorite album that you’ve been listening to?
Judge Bringing It Down, Cro-Mags Alpha Omega, Dag Nasty Can I Say, Gorilla Biscuits Start Today, Outspoken Current, Verbal Assault Trial, Bad Brains Quickness, and Genocide Superstars III.
How about your favorite activity/hobby besides music?
Arek (drums) has a couple of jobs that are his hobbies at the same time as he is a journalist, and he’s always busy with writing. So he doesn’t have much time left, I guess. Grzesiek is totally into sound engineering and recording. They play some football with Marcin and other local kids every once in a while. They’re good cooks. I love to read, swim, travel, and I like to hang out, but who doesn’t?
And lastly, is their anything you would like to say here? It’s an open forum for you to say whatever you would like.
Thanks a lot for a chance to speak out. Go and read our lyrics and figure it out for yourself: www.myspace.com/yourdaymares. Peace.
Well, thanks for talking with us here at Pivotal Rage! Go out and buy the new Daymares disc, Can’t Get Us All, out on Selfmadegod Records, and support underground music!