1) What's new about Radio Days these days? Is this still the same band with the same members who recorded "Back in the day"?
Hello! It’s still me (Dario) on guitar and vocals, Mattia on bass and backing vocals and Paco on drums. We are rehearsing with a good friend of us called Massimilano Raffa who will be a sort of session player and will play guitar and keyboards live!
2) About the newly released "RAVE ON!" what can you tell about the recording process? Was this a "live" recording in the studio or a track by track recording with lots of overdubs?
“Back in the Day” was a live recording with few overdubs, this time we decided to do a track by track production so that we could work a bit more on the sound of the different songs. We are very happy of the results, we worked with our long time friend Marco Matti at Casemate Recording Studio, our second home. The pandemic caught us during the recordings and we had to delay the album release by a year… it was a stressful time of course but we are now happy that we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
3) Why did you choose to name the new album after a Buddy Holly song? Is this some kind of
tribute to the man with the big glasses?
It was Paco's idea, very spontaneous. We were thinking about a good title and after some days Paco asked us: “What do you think about “Rave On!”? Me and Mattia were like: “Let’s do it!”. We are all big Buddy Holly’s fans and the title has a great energy, exactly what we were looking for in the title.
4) For this new record, was there a main composer in the band or was everybody involved in one way or another?
Yeah I always write all the music, I do it at home with my acoustic guitar, then we rehearse all together and we arrange the songs. The other guys write most of the lyrics!
5) Do you have a new video on youtube featuring a track from the new LP??
This time we made 4 videos for 4 singles before the album release:
1. I Got a Love:
2. Till the End of the Night: https://youtu.be/OhR56TZDDWg
3. Lose Control: https://youtu.be/NxdyMI6MwnM
4. What is Life?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPsz0qy58JY
Marcello Perego at Milkit Film is the director and we love the results!
6) I noticed that Herve Peroncini of the Peawees designed the artwork of the album. Are there any bands in Italy today you consider yourselves close to musically speaking.
Yes! We love Hervè artworks and we are good friends, check his job at slowbeat.it! We love the Peawees, they are one of the best italian bands! It’s a shame that there isn't a proper Powerpop scene here but there are other cool bands such as Giuda or Bee Bee Sea.
7) What are the plans for the rest of 2021 as far as Radio Days are concerned.
We are currently in touch with some promoters to plan live shows as soon as possible. We will play in London September 25th at Pump It Up Powerpop Weekender with the Yum Yums, the Speedways and many more and we can’t wait. We will be in Spain for a 10 days tour in February 2022 and we are in touch with some festivals right now and waiting for a confirmation. We also plan to come back to Japan as soon as possible.
8) In 2017 you told this blog you were planning your first Japanese tour. Did it happen and how was the experience? Tell us everything about it.
It was a fantastic experience! Totally different from Europe but we loved every single moment of it. The beautiful country, the passionate fans and the wonderful people there will always have a place in our hearts. We have played fantastic shows in Osaka and Tokyo with very enthusiastic hospitality. “Rave On!” has been released in Japan by Wizzard in Vinyl Records and we can’t wait to go back to Japan!
9) You had some "guest singers" (Kurt Baker, Paul Collins, Morten Henriksen and Jorgen Westman to name a few) on the track " What is life". How did you manage to get all those guys? How were they recorded? I suppose they did not come specially to Italy to record that one track?
Yes we thought that What Is Life? Was the perfect song for a singalong chorus with some of our friends and favorite singers singing together. It’s like a Powerpop Hymn! The song has been recorded during the pandemic so everyone recorded in a different studio and then they sent us the vocals. We mixed them in Italy and we love how it sounds! Check the video too! Thanks a lot for your questions and talk soon!!!
PURCHASE THE GOODIES HERE: https://radiodays.bandcamp.com/album/rave-on
“Rave On!” is also available here:
Screaming Apple (Lp) www.screaming-apple-records.de
Rock Indiana (EU CD) www.rockindiana.com
Sounds Rad (US CD) www.soundsradical.com
Wizzard in Vinyl (JAP CD) www.wizzard-in-vinyl.net