Days Unknown

Alex Li, Matt Tortorella, Paul Jacques, Seneca Nowland, and Mike Jacques, also known as Days Unknown, are one of the biggest drawing heavy rockers in the area. They derive their sound from some bands they’ve kept company with, commercial growlers such as Staind and Godsmack, and they make no bones about it. They specialize in serving up solid platefuls of meat-and-potatoes, metal-tinged decibels, and the signs are beginning to emerge that they’re ready to take it to the next level. "We’ve gotten the record into the hands of people like Mark Tremonti [Alter Bridge/Creed] and Aaron Lewis [Staind] and now we’re waiting to see if anything will come of it," says Tortorella, the front man. "But no matter what happens we’ll stay determined on being the best band we can be and at some point get signed. That’s our dream."

The quartet rose from the detritus of a couple of fairly popular area outfits, including Crankshaft and Tremor. Both of those bands had made some headway but couldn’t get to where they really wanted to go. Now, as Days Unknown, a band so named because it felt like a new beginning with an uncertain destination, they’re making headway quick. "We’re headlining the Century Lounge once a month," says Tortorella, "and we’re doing a weekend feature once a month at Mardi Gras in Cranston, which is something an ‘original’ band never did at that venue." They also play regularly along the New York/New Jersey/Boston/New Hampshire axis and are in the beginning stages of a tour that will take them through Baltimore early next year. "We’re focused on picking up where a band like Kilgore left off," says Tortorella, "and bringing back actual rock to a scene that’s lacked it since then. When it comes to ‘mainstream’ rock, we’ve emerged as leaders and we’re hellbent on keeping it that way."

- Providence Phoenix