RattleMag talk to Days N Daze.

Billy Jackson
Jun 19, 2016
7 min read

Interview by Billy Jackson.

A certain percentage of you reading won't have anything remotely close to Days N Daze on your playlist.

That's nothing to do with their popularity at all, but moreover the reasoning is that there are so few bands that come close to this one. Should your interests stray this way you may have heard of Leftover Crack, or Mischief Brew....perhaps delving further and hazarding an ear in the wake of Gripe, The Hail Seizures, or Witch Hunt....or given of a slight tangent, Split Lip Rayfield. However, an education in modern punk and its subcultures, may require you to get to know these tousled Houstonian gypsy hearted musicians and their juxtaposed dulcet.

Not only do Days N Daze play with aptitude, off the wall arrest and a deep seated wandering wolf pack love, they are flying a ska infused banner of collective resumption and guardianship of the often misunderstood folk and rouge punk genre. ( Though the correct terminology preferred by the band is affectionately known as 'H-town thrashgrass')

In case you're entirely not familiar, imagine The Violent Femmes covering a Mumford and Sons song. Though that's a very brambly method of description to say the least. Nonetheless, like any previously uncharted music ground, if you want to know more, simply listen and learn - musicians have a way of teaching you what you never knew you always needed to know.

The band formed in 2008 South East Texas, the symphonic amity and province of Whitney Flynn and Jesse Sendejas, which eventually expanded to include alternative musicians Geoff Bell, Megan Michelle and formerly Marissa Sendejas and Freddie Boatright. They expend a grand and impassioned sense of vital DIY ethics, from their image and production to their choice of venue; and despite having the ability to effortlessly stand up with the likes of acts such as Weezer and more, they are still willing to play a backyard show with equal amour and efficiency. That says everything you need to know about the silty sweetness and dauntless resolution of this band. That is besides the fact that many a wandering man will make their shows an audible place to come home to - Days N Daze are esoteric flames to the spirit of the travelling moth.

Though the band have a growing appeal, patches baring their name are often worn on the backs of nomads and wayfarers among the crust punk community throughout the USA and beyond. This is where the lifeblood of their scene has welled from. They are the blackfoot daisies of punk rock and offer a tightly played call of tough living freedom no matter where you are.

RattleMag have caught a conversation with Flynn and Sendejas, both vocalists for the band and offering musical skills variable beyond the recurrently seen peddle of onstage instrumental - to help us all learn more about the special kind of beauty that is selling this band to the wildhearts of the world.

RM: We know it's cliche, but you guys are an immensely interesting band musically - generally most people will have not heard anything similar to what you do. How would you introduce yourselves (to readers with more of a 'virgin ear'?

(Jesse Sendejas) - We are a punk band that plays acoustic instruments. We call our genre Thrashgrass, which my little sister, Marissa Sendejas, coined back in 2010.

(Whitney Flynn) - We use a ton of different influences in our music ranging from punk to ska to folk. Every song we play has a singular sound but varies in genre.

RM:Talk us through the kit - what instruments do you guys blend to make your distinctive sound?

(W) Live we are a four band with guitar, trumpet, washboard and washtub bass.

(J) In our recordings we incorporate not only our four base instruments but also ukulele, mandolin, banjo, acoustic bass, harmonica, and other various instruments to fill out our sound.

RM:What are the challenges of holding quite a riotous punk ethos in a state like Texas?

(J)There aren’t that many problems we have, maybe the scenes that we have aren't as large but everyone really bans together to make our community work and getting out of Texas to tour (or touring bands to come through) is always a struggle since we live in such a big state.

(W) I think over the years we have a solid scene going, especially in Houston. The kids that come out to shows are at every show and are so extremely supportive of local artists. Yeah there are cliques that form but usually the drama that’s held is kept out of shows so we have a really incredible sense of community that comes with the Houston and all around Texas scene.

RM: How did Days N Daze form?

(W) Jesse and I grew up together and in 2008 we were living in San Marcos,TX. He had dropped out of high school to move with me there while I attended my first year in college. We didn’t fit in with any of the kids that lived in the town so we would spend our time writing songs and traveling on our time off. Eventually we started booking shows and going on tour. Eight years later we are making music and traveling full time, all of the in between is filled with crazy adventures both good and bad but we never stopped believing that this was what we wanted to do with our lives.

RM:Not every band wants to make it big, most just play for the art and the personal calling.... Was there a heartfelt agenda in your shared passion?

(W) We had no initial agenda, we never thought that anyone was ever going to listen to our music we were (and still are) just making it for the pure love of what we do. Without the ability to make music I personally couldn’t see a life worth living. I can probably speak for both of us when I say that writing and playing music is the only real truth I’ve ever found in this life. Both of us are too stubborn to ever give that up.

(J) It was also an excuse or reason to travel. Wondering waywardly gave me kind of a purpose to go out and see things, to meet people. But it was never for like”I want to be in a band that plays festivals” that was never a part of any of it. All of this was a distant dream that we had.

RM:In such uncertain times as we live in today, what merit and message do you think people can absorb from bands like your own?

(J) Stop waiting around for something to happen because you could save up for your retirement fund then die a week before you retire. Time is fleeting so don’t take shit so seriously. Focus on getting your politics straight, decide who you want to be as person, what your values and beliefs are but don’t let that dictate your entire world. Realize that you only live one and you’re going to die a lot sooner than you probably think you are. So go out and fuckin do it. Just do it.

(W) Whenever life gets too tough and you feel like you can’t go on just to know that you aren't alone. That we all gotta stick out the bullshit together.

RM:You guys have toured pretty widely, and I'm sure it has taken you to some interesting places. You're headed to the United Kingdom soon...Do you think the British audiences receive your performance differently than here at home?

(W) I think every place we play is different and has something really special to say about each community we go to. So yeah I hope it’s really different but in the best of ways.

(J) I hope it’s a different setting, people, culture but with the same collective release that we feel at shows in the states. A collective communal cathartic release.

RM:If you all could pick one place that is your favorite to play, where would it be and why?

(J) Skatopia because it’s fucking Skatopia!

(W) Houston,TX because it’s our hometown.

RM:What is something Days N Daze have done that you're particularly proud of?

(W) I’m proud that we stick to our DIY roots. Everything we do we have complete control over. The only people we work with is our friends, there is no big label or corporations telling us what we can or cannot do. We burn every cd, book our tours, manage the band etc. all ourselves. It’s a never-ending job that takes all of the passion and hard work we have but it is extremely rewarding, especially having such a close relationship with the people who listen to our music. We’ve always wanted what we do to be all inclusive, we are only here because of the people who have supported us through the years.

(J)I’m proud that we’re still doing it and everyone is still alive! Through all our crazy shit none of us have given up, that we keep making music and living life.

RM:...is there anything you'd like to see the band do that they have not?

(W) Tour abroad, which we will be doing this summer and we can’t wait!

RM:What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to Days N Daze?

(J) I think the weirdest thing is us winning “Best Punk Band” for the Houston Press Music Awards. Being chosen in a city as large as Houston, playing punk with acoustic instruments is kind of mind blowing.

(W) I think we both agree the weirdest thing is that any of this is actually happening, that people are actually listening to our music.

RM: What or who are your musical influences?

(J) My parents are a huge influence on my music, when I was ten years old they introduced me to The Sex Pistols and other punk bands. As far as bands or musicians Leftover Crack, Watsky, Mischief Brew, Night Gaunts and all the bands we play with while we are out on the road.

(W) I gain alot of my influence from being on the road constantly, the struggle between the need to keep moving and also finding stability in a life that’s so uncertain. Railyard Ghosts, Dirty Kid Discount, The Taxpayers, Larry and His Flask and also all the bands we have the opportunity to tour and play shows with.

RM:3 songs or artists that should be on any young punks play list.

1. Choking Victim 2. Mischief Brew 3. MDC

RM:To finish up...You guys all have quite a few side projects - share with us a little about those.

(W) A few of my side projects is a folk band called My Pizza My World and an electric punk band with Jesse called Deacthect.

(J) I’m in a folkpunk band called Chad Hates George and also an electric band called Escape from the zoo.