Radio Days has released 3 full length albums so far, plus one EP and 2 split 7” : one with The Rubinoos and another with The Paul Collins Beat. Their latest release, "Back in the day" is out since a couple of months and is definitely their best offering so far.
These guys really know how to write catchy melodies that will stick in your head for days. The trio displays the perfect combination between 60's melodies reminiscent of the Beatles or the Kinks and the energy of bands from the 70's like Elvis Costello, The Knack or The Romantics.
Here is a little chat yours truly had with Dario Persi:
1) What can you tell about Radio Days? How long are you guys together as a band. You used to be 4 of you but now it seems you are a trio. What happened to the fourth guy? Are you feeling more comfortable now as a trio?
Ciao! We started out as a band in 2003 but we really started playing gigs a lot around 2008 when we released our EP "Midnight Cemetery Rendezvous". Our previous guitar player, Omar, joined the band in 2008 and left in 2014. We were not feeling the same anymore about our music. Now he plays guitar for another Italian band. We had to stop for a while and learn to play as a power trio... But we love the way it sounds and it gave a new life to the band. We recorded our last album Back in the Day as a trio and live. Then we added some overdubs and we feel it's our best record.
2) To what kind of music did you listen to as a teenager and does it still influence your today work? What was your favorite band as a teenager? Name 3 bands that you consider still have a influence on your own work today.
As a teenager, the first rock band that really blew me away was Green Day. I remember I was playing classical guitar since I was 8 or 9 but when I saw "basket case" video clip I thought: "I need to play electric guitar!". I loved old Green Day album and I still like them a lot. My favorite records are Dookie, Nimrod and Warning. They introduced me to Punk Rock and then I discovered rock'n'roll and power-pop. Discovering Punk Rock was amazing and I became a big fan of the Ramones and many Ramones core punk bands. I used to play with our drummer Paco in a punk band named Retarded. We toured all over Europe and the US from 1998 to 2008. We both have always been big Beatles fanatics... Mixing The Ramones and the Beatles it makes power-pop to us... That's what we like about music, playing with energy pop songs with great melodies and harmonies. And that's what we try to do with Radio Days. So if I have to mention 3 bands that still have a big influence on me since I was a teen I'd say Green Day, Ramones and the Beatles.3) Are you the main composer in the band or is everybody involved in one way or another?
I write most of the music, I wrote all the music for our latest album and most of the old ones too. Sometimes our drummer Paco and our previous guitar player Omar wrote some stuff too. I don't like too much writing lyrics so the drummer Paco and the bass player Mattia write most of them. Usually I write a song with the acoustic guitar, with a verse and a chorus, then we rehearse all together and arrange it. We almost never jam songs during the rehearsals... We really focus on melody and harmony so we need to take our time and a good inspiration to write a good tune!
Yes, we have always been nostalgic about an old world, probably something that we even don't know well... It's a sort of nostalgia for a dream or a state of mind... It can also relate to the 50's or 60's, our favorite eras, when you could hear great songs on the radio and mainstream music was fabulous. But it's also a nostalgia of our teenager's days... As you can see we are really nostalgic. Also this album is the first that we recorded as 3 piece band , with the original members, after 13 years of existence. So it's a sort of rebirth for the band, back in the day again.
5) Radio Days can generally be seen as a Power pop band. Do you agree with this label or do consider there is more than that?
I agree with that, our idea of power-pop is to play a song with a beautiful melody, with vocal harmonies, played with energy with a fun attitude. If this is power-pop we are more than happy to be considered just like that!
6) Do you have a new video on YouTube featuring a track from the new LP??
We still don't have one... But we are planning to film a video for the song "Back in the Day" this winter. Here is a video featuring a track from the previous record.
7) What can concert goers expect at a Radio Days gig? Are you playing any famous cover songs?
They can expect a loud rock'n'roll show with great songs and a fun attitude! We play our songs from all our records and we have "La ruleta del Rock'n'roll", a rock'n'roll wheel that people can spin. We then play the cover songs! They are songs from our favorite artists (Beatles, Ramones, Kinks, Buddy Holly, Elvis, Undertones, David Bowie, Elvis Costello and many more...).
8) Are you guys the "future of power-pop"??
If we are the future of power-pop this means the genre it's not as its best... We are all around 35 years old haha But for sure we are not gonna stop. We are planning to release a new EP in early 2017 called "El Delfin y el Varano" for Clifford Records in Spain. It will feature a song taken from "Back in the Day", 2 unreleased tracks and a cover by the Nerves. We are also planning our first Japanese tour in 2017. We love what we do and we are gonna do it over and over again! Thanks for your time and see you soon!
PURCHASE IT HERE in vinyl, Cd or digital download : https://radiodays.bandcamp.com/album/back-in-the-day
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