It was a pretty big deal back in 1997 when we all heard that Sunny Day was reuniting and playing some east coast shows. About a dozen kids from all over the states flew in and drove out to my place so we could all catch the show at Irving Plaza. It was a long time ago, but I remember it being absolutely epic. I was excited to hear their third (1998) release How it Feels to be Something On, and remain pleased with that record. Unfortunately, I feel that this is where they stopped grabbing my attention. Their debut release Diary was the one that shook the rock world in 1994, with their unique brand of heart-felt melodic rock that hit a booming grunge scene with great surprise. But it didn't last.
I spoke on the phone with front man Jeremy Enigk for about three hours one July night in 1998. I asked him every question I could think of asking him at the time. The overall theme of the conversation became a discussion about his recent conversion to born-again Christianity and the effects it had on his life, his music writing, and his band. Their second record (that I always call LP2 even though some people call it the pink album, which was the result of guitarist Dan Hoerner's "I don't care, just make it pink" answer to Sub Pop's question: "what are we doing for a layout") was saturated with heavy , spiritual lyrics and complex musical arrangements. No printed lyrics were included with the record, but the public quickly recognized Enigk's lyrical subject matter as a direct reflection of his new beliefs. Jeremy's life-changing revelations about his own religion, along with tensions occurring within the band was enough to break them up while drummer Will Goldsmith and bassist Nate Mendel would join Foo Fighters.
Will decided to leave the Foo Fighters after some creative conflicts between him and Dave Grohl (which apparently included something about Grohl overdubbing Goldsmith's drum tracks) and Nate stayed on. The band eventually grabbed Jeff Palmer for bass and they did some more shows for 2000's The Rising Tide.
That's where I lost interest. I had piles of cassettes of live SDRE shows, I had shelled out massive amounts of money for rare records by the band, i had lost sleep worrying that I wouldn't get a ticket to their shows, and I had finally lost interest. I think it was the over-produced edge that The Rising Tide screamed as well as bad timing for me personally. I just wasn't into it, and decided to move on. In recent months, i was informed that the band had been practicing together as a the original lineup for a new tour. Yesterday this was confirmed for me.
The new facts are in the tour listing. The new rumors are that they will be playing with The Jealous Sound and Thorns of Life (Blake from Jawbreaker/JTB's newest). Expect a repress of their first and second releases (Diary and LP2 respectively) on Sub Pop, and who knows what else...
As great as this sounds to me,the band has picked me up and let me down about three times already. But Nate is on Bass again! Ugh. I'll probably end up going.
Sunny Day Real Estate Tour 2009
9/17/09 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
9/18/09 - Portland - Crystal Ballroom
9/20/09 - Salt Lake City - Murray Theater
9/21/09 - Denver - Ogden Theater
9/23/09 - Minneapolis - First Avenue
9/24/09 - Chicago - Metro
9/25/09 - Detroit - St Andrews Hall
9/27/09 - New York - Terminal 5
9/28/09 - Boston - House of Blues
9/30/09 - Washington DC - 930 Club
10/01/09 - Philadelphia - Trocadero
10/03/09 - Atlanta - CW Center Stage
10/05/09- Dallas - Granada Theater
10/06/09 - Houston - Warehouse Live
10/07/09 - Austin - La Zona Rosa
10/09/09 - Tempe - Marquee Theatre
10/10/09 - Anaheim - House of Blues
10/11/09 - Los Angeles - Henry Fonda Theater
10/13/09 - San Francisco - Fillmore
10/15/09 - Spokane - Knitting Factory
10/16/09 - Seattle - Paramount Theatre
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