The Daybreak

The Daybreak

Everything In-Between
Pure Violet Records


The debut EP by Toronto quartet The Daybreak shows a young band with definite potential. Their sound is a potent mix of early Radiohead and Catherine Wheel with a little Swervedriver thrown in. In short, a music geek’s wet dream.

The disc’s five tracks are a mix of energetic rock songs and Brit-pop flavoured ballads. Front man Shoe’s falsetto voice is equal parts passion and vulnerability. The arena-friendly, big rock sound of leadoff track ‘Fall Apart’ is nicely balanced by the more quiet, radio friendly moments of ‘Stepping Stone’ and ‘Say Anything’.

The two live tracks only hint at how intense and loud a Daybreak gig can be. ‘Shuffle’ does anything but, hitting the listener with a driving wall of effects laden guitars.

Everything In-Between is a compelling batch of songs that sits comfortably alongside releases by fellow Canuck anglophiles Pilate, The Dears and The Stills. Considering Canadian’s love of all things British it’s only a matter of time before they make a breakthrough.

- Andrew Horan - SceneandHeard.ca Magazine

The Daybreak’s Master Plan

Toronto anglophiles think that the Toronto scene could learn a lot from the Brits
By Andrew Horan


In the mere two years they’ve been together The Daybreak has racked up an impressive list of opening slots. They opened for UK phenoms The Music at Lee’s Palace in February 2003 and it was only their seventh gig!

“The crowd was great, it was the kind of crowd that we always wanted to play for and still want to play for; the people who are into the indie rock but also indie rock with a British influence, people who want to come and dance and have a good time,” said guitarist/singer Shoe.

They were called in last minute to replace The Ravonettes after the Swedish rockers bailed out of a gig at The Horseshoe with The Sounds in May 2003 because of SARS.

“The good thing is that when they needed the band and House of Blues and The Horseshoe Tavern were like ‘Oh shit! What do we do?!’ guitarist Rob Domagla told S&H.ca prior to a recent gig at Lee’s Palace. “Everybody said unanimously ‘Get The Daybreak.’ So that’s what was really nice. They thought of us first,” he laughed.

Has any of this been overwhelming for this Toronto quartet? The answer to that is a resounding no. If anything The Daybreak want more attention, bigger shows and damn it! More people dancing!

“We gotta just keep looking forward, we’re not resting on any laurels because the nature of this business is so fleeting,’ Shoe stated. “Unless we keep moving forward we’re not moving forward, we’re moving backwards.”

The band has the drive, determination and confidence. Off stage they’re affable and easy going. On stage they ooze charisma and attitude. They brought the volume up to ear-splitting levels and demanded that the listless audience get up and shake their asses. While one guy did dance vigorously in front of the stage the audience responded in typical Toronto indie rock fashion; with polite head nodding and toe tapping.

Getting cooler-than-thou Toronto music fans to get up and dance can be akin to pulling teeth according the band, even though they picture a full house dancing and having a great time when they write songs. They attribute this to a combination of shyness and a lack of familiarity with their material.

While getting more people up and on the floor would be great the main thing is that people enjoy the music and have a good time at their gigs.

“Once we get the exposure that’s probably what will translate into a more energetic crowd,” Shoe admits. “I mean we try to put on a good show, we’ve been improving our shows, I feel, every time we play. Because we want people to get that vibe.”

The Daybreak are unabashed anglophiles. Shoe quips that they’re British ex-patriots who have never been to England. Their debut EP Everything In-Between had a definite Brit-pop vibe to it. There’s even been some interest from a couple UK labels. Does this mean that the band will seek fame across the pond like fellow Canucks Danko Jones and Peaches?

While they aren’t ruling out the possibility of heading over to the UK the band would like to be famous in Canada first before taking it to the rest of the world and they hold out hope that it will happen here first. Their love of all things English extends to the British star system, something they think the Toronto scene could learn from. If everyone from musicians to promoters to club owners worked together then more local bands could take off like Broken Social Scene, The Constantines and Hidden Cameras have.

“It’s top down,” Shoe said of the North American star system. “In the UK or in Europe whatever it’s bottom up it seems like.” i.e. - release a half-assed 12-song album and sell a million copies out of the gate instead of generating interest with a solid single or EP.

“The people want the next big thing, the people want stars or whatever and in Canada, we don’t want any it doesn’t seem like it,” Domagala says. “We don’t take them, like the White Stripes or The Strokes, until somebody else has made them into stars. So we should create our own star system.’

- SceneandHeard.ca Magazine

Daybreak @ Club 279
Friday June 11, 2004 @ 1:00 AM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff


Band: The Daybreak
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Venue: Club 279
Date: June 10, 2004
Reporter: Caitlin Hotchkiss
Background/
Composition Melodic college rock performed by, oddly enough, four melodic college rockers.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations

80-100: Band exceeds skill and knowledge expectations. Rocked us so hard we peed our pants.

70-79: Band achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.

60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.

50-59: Band demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.

Below 50: Band has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.


Grade: 83

World Domination Status:
Progressing well towards world domination

Comment:
Atmospheric, bittersweet post-rock in a British style (with a decidedly non-British rowdy cheering section at the front of the stage). Solid stuff.




Learning Skills:
E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really


Oral And Visual Communication

Eye Contact: E Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Pronounciation: S Hey, Daybreak — are you having fun onstage? Yes? Well then, smile once and a while! Pronounciation needs a bit of polishing too, but overall, these guys made a good onstage package. Having a bassist that looks vaguely like a young Chris Murphy doesn't hurt either.
Stage Presence: E
Stage Banter: G
Image: S
Appearance: G
Use Of Stage: G



Musical Analysis

Level Of Participation: E Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Problem Solving: G Once they drew a crowd in, there wasn't much stopping them (though encouraging dancing that late at night with that much alcohol in the audience's system isn't a good idea, folks). The drums helped lock the melodies together, all accentuated by the lead singer's unique vocal style and big guitar sound.

Teamwork: G
Work Habits: E
Organization: G
Audience Participation: E
Sound: G
Composition: G
Songs: E



Other Skills And Areas Of Interest

Charisma: S Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step:
Problem Solving: S Now THIS is a band that knows their Chart report cards! Kudos to the guitarist for decking himself out in proper disposible indie-rock clothing, and for making the admirable attempt to flatter the journalist.

Teamwork: G
Sexiness: G
Haircut: E
Indie Rock Footwear: E
Nods To Disposible Fashion: E
Cool Equipment: G
Level Of Inebriation: S
Actual Ability: G




- ChartAttack Magazine

Interview Transcript: 102.1 The Edge


The following is a transcript of Shoe’s April 1st interview with Dave Bookman of 102.1 The Edge which also included the international radio debut of ‘Twice As High As The Sun’.

DB = Dave Bookman
SM = Shoe


DB: 102.1 The Edge, Bookie here with you and we’re going to take a minute here to take a look at a gig happening next Tuesday at The Mod Club Theatre, it’s going to feature our friends from the U.S., stellastarr*, and a little bit of homecooking with The Daybreak, Shoe’s on the line, how you doing man?

SM: Good. How are you Dave?

DB: I’m doing OK. It’s been a gas watching you guys develop and working on some gigs with you. It was real nice to have one of the songs on your latest release recorded live at The Horseshoe, I always take pride in that.

SM: Actually, the two of them, on our E.P. …

DB: Right, right.

SM: Were from our Edge Nu Music Nite last April and it was a real honour to do it and we’re actually going to be doing another one in May probably.

DB: OK, so people who this might be their first introduction to the band, give them the thumbnail sketch of The Daybreak.

SM: Well, we started in November of 2001 that’s when myself and Rob Domagala, the other guitarist, and Mike Dawson we all met and we decided to try our hand at music, and we solidified the lineup in March with our bass player, Pat Bramm and we’re basically just a four-piece rock band inspired by, you know, British music, trying to take our influences from The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Verve, Joy Division and trying to create our own unique sound in the Toronto scene.

DB: You know it’s funny because, the name of the band, which is The Daybreak, and sort of the artwork on the record are contradictory of each other. The artwork gives it a sort of cold, sterile feel – it’s almost like Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ – that Battersea Power Station sort of a cold, warehouse look – and yet the name of the band and feeling in the music gives out something more optimistic.

SM: Well, actually I’ve never really thought about that, I guess we’re a band fraught with contradictions. The name actually comes from a Stone Roses track from the ‘Second Coming’ album …

DB: Wow, wait a second, wait a second, I’ve got somebody who can actually name a song of the ‘Second Coming’ besides ‘Ten Story Love Song’? We have a weiner!

SM: I know a lot of people at The Edge didn’t really dig the ‘Second Coming’ album …

DB: The Edge? Come on, a lot of people on the planet didn’t dig the ‘Second Coming’!

SM: Well, to be fair I think it’s a highly underrated album and I think if you look at the progression Oasis took after that album came out, and a lot of British bands, I really think that it had an influence in terms of the heavier sound.

DB: No, absolutely. And you know what, if it wasn’t for that show, down by the lake there, maybe that record would have had a chance. That, easily, was the worst show ever in the history of rock music, that Stone Roses show.

SM: That’s what I hear, unfortunately. But I have about fifteen of their live show from that tour …

DB: Right.

SM: … and some of them are quite good.

DB: Right. We’re talking with Shoe from The Daybreak. Hey, you’re going to be playing the show with stellastarr* at The Mod Club Theatre, that is a really new and very, I think an important new venue on the Toronto music scene.

SM: Yeah it’s really cool, I’ve had a chance to go down there and I really enjoy The Mod Club on Fridays and Saturdays and this new place is really quite nice – I haven’t had a chance to see a show there but it kind of reminds me of The Phoenix in terms of its set up, it should be really exciting, hopefully it should be a good time.

DB: What can we look for now, what’s the summer plans for The Daybreak?

SM: Well we’re going to try to play as many shows as we can in Toronto like we always do, and all of our shows are always free – if you go to our website, thedaybreak.net, you can always get on our guestlist. We’ve played most of our shows in Toronto but we’re going to look to play outside you know in terms of Hamilton and London, hopefully Montreal and Ottawa – we’re working on new material that’s up on our website as well and just try to get some more good opening slots and try to stir up some more interest in Toronto.

DB: Shoe, let’s put some Edge listeners and new Daybreak fans at the show, why don’t you tell us what you’ve been gracious enough to give us?

SM: This is actually one of our new tracks that we’ve been working on – we put our E.P. out in September and we’ve been working on some new songs and this is the first track that we’ve finished mixing, it’s called ‘Twice As High As The Sun’ – I think it’s the best thing that we’ve done so far and hopefully people enjoy it and dig it.

‘Twice As High As The Sun’ international radio debut.


- 102.1 The Edge

The Daybreak

These Lines in Your Eyes
Pure Violet Records

The latest offering from The Daybreak is the Toronto quartet’s strongest release to date. And it’s only their second EP!

These Lines in Your Eyes' six tracks don’t stray too far from the “veddy British” sound of their previous outing, 2003’s Everything In-Between. The disc’s soaring leadoff track ‘Miss California’ and ‘Twice as High as the Sun’ are reminiscent of the Gallagher brother’s best work, while the propulsive ‘Shuffle’ will bring back memories of the Manchester scene. The EP’s final track, ‘Promises Disappear (Let Me Say I’m Sorry)’, could make the band a hit with fans of UK acts like Coldplay.

All of this is anchored by frontman Shoe’s phenomenal vocals. He is by far one of the best lead singers on the Toronto scene.

This stellar CD only adds to the strong buzz that’s presently surrounding them and solidifies their place on the list of local bands to watch.

- Andrew Horan - SceneandHeard.ca