Days to Come ready for EP release

ALBANY — Although they believe their upcoming debut EP is an excellent representation of where they were as a band several months ago, for the members of local rock outfit Days to Come the best thing about dropping “Subsist: The Art of Survival” is that they finally have something other than T-shirts and stickers to give to booking agents and their swelling legion of fans.

“After two and some years, we actually have music,” lead singer/rhythm guitarist Justin Goodson said jokingly during a recent interview to discuss the release. “Otherwise, it seems we’re really more of a clothing company. People will come up and go ‘What do you guys sell?’ Well, T-shirts and hats and stickers. We don’t actually have music. What’s Days to Come? It’s a lifestyle brand, a premium VIP lifestyle. No music.”

Until now.

Although Goodson and his bandmates — lead guitarist Brandon Rix, drummer Russell Bowden, bassist Taylor Hartley — have a naturally jovial rapport with each other, and seemingly anyone floating around their orbit, they’re only half-joking when discussing their upcoming release, which they have been working on since they first came together a little more than two years ago.

Goodson, who is not only the band’s primary lyricist but also the group’s unofficial spokesman, explained that “Subsist” is the sound of a band coming together, finding its sound and learning how to play and record together. And, the EP is a “good description” of the band’s sound evolving.

“We’ve been working on the EP for quite a while, since we started as a band,” said Goodson.” We have been around for a little over two years, and, you know, we’ve written songs and enjoyed those songs and we’ve continued to mature. We’ve written more songs, and we’ve kind of gone back and reworked some of those songs. So some of these songs, like ‘Color of the Sun,’ that’s been around since the very beginning, and it’s kind of changed just a little bit as we’ve continued to mature and define our sound.”

Bowden agrees, saying that although the band is incredibly proud of its debut EP, when he listens to it he can’t help but hear a group of musicians still growing into their abilities.

“As Justin said, we recorded this about six, eight months ago, when we started, and it’s been a long process to get it done,” Bowden said. “As a band, I feel like we’re all pretty talented musicians, and I feel like we all excel at our instruments and have progressed since then even more so. It is nice for us to listen to it and see where we were then. I feel like we could definitely do better now, but from where we were then I feel like it is a nice breath of fresh air to look back. I would say I thoroughly enjoy it.”

The idea of the record as a measuring stick is also a theme for Goodson, who speaks with the quiet, measured authority of someone who sees very clearly the future he’s been building toward since the group came together.

“It’s cool; It’s a nice little chapter, and hopefully when we go through, later on down the road, the end of this year, or next year, we’ll start working on another one and we can really tell how much we’ve progressed, how much more seriously we’re taking this,” Goodson said. “And hopefully every time we do a release, we’ll be able to see improvements. Whenever we recorded this, six months prior to that, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

While the members of Days to Come believe they could make an even better record today, they also believe that they’ve created something special and something fans will enjoy. And the band makes no bones that the reason “Subsist” is as good as it is, the reason they believe they’ve established a rabid following, is the same reason they were able to win last year’s Albany Battle of the Bands despite having been together only a relatively short while. Hard work.

That hard work came in the form of weekly rehearsals and, more importantly, playing live.

“We’re trying to play a lot of shows,” Goodson said. “Last year, we played almost 50 shows in five states. And that, to us, was more important than recording because we were really trying to develop as musicians and get out on the road and go through experiences to try, fail and get better. That way, whenever we did release something, we could actually support it more consistently, rather than getting together, writing songs and releasing (an EP) before we’d even played a couple of shows together.

“(The strength of ‘Subsist’ is) only from getting together and rehearsing as often as we do. And, more importantly, playing shows. That’s one thing that I can stress to somebody is you’re going to not do well for a long time, so just go do it. That’s how you get better. You’ll just get way better.”

When Goodson talks about playing live, he’s clearly talking about one of his passions, and he waxes philosophical that a band’s ability to play live is what makes a group great.

“I would say, for me, that playing live is paramount,” said Goodson. “That is more important than recording for me. I mean, you can do a lot of studio magic and it can sound great with certain tones and with autotune and different amp styles and triggers. Live, it’s a totally different animal.

“I always, when I find a band, when I really enjoy them, the very first thing I do is I go look at a live video. And I’m not expecting 100 percent perfect because that is just not going to happen. But I want to see that they are trying, that they’re really giving it their all. If they’re doing that, then that’s a good thing. (I’m not interested in) some band that hits all the notes perfectly in a recording, because anybody can do that. For me, playing a show will always be first. That’s always what I love doing.”

That love of the live experience is also shared among his bandmates, whose eyes sparkle as they imagine themselves sweating it out under the lights in front of a wild throng of fans.

“I say it’s an adrenaline rush, just the thrill of being on stage and performing,” said Hartley.

“I agree, dude,” adds Bowden.

Even the quiet Rix, who spent most of a recent interview listening to his bandmates rather than opening up about his feelings, chimed in enthusiastically when talking about performing. In fact, it’s when talking about playing live that Rix finally reveals a bit about what makes him tick.

“You can just keep a mask on me, I’ll just stay in the corner and play,” deadpanned Rix (although he does far more than that when shredding at a gig). “I’m a machine. I play guitar, and then I go to sleep until the next show.”

In truth, as excited as the band members are to release their debut recording Friday, they’re equally excited about the EP release show they’re slated to play that night at Albany’s Oglethorpe Lounge.

For one, it’s a chance to rock out with their hometown fans. But it’s also a chance to say thank you to those fans and to the staff at the O, as the club is affectionately known, who helped them early on.

“Alison (McCorkle-Cleland) and the Oglethorpe Lounge have definitely helped us a lot,” Bowden said. “She actually booked our very first show and actually, for the longest time, they actually let us practice there. So I would say that without them, it definitely would have been a lot harder, especially starting off.

“I think that’s one of the reasons, one of the biggest reasons, why we chose the Oglethorpe to be the first place we have our release at here in Albany. And we’re really excited. We really enjoy playing there, and enjoy the people there and the management there.”

For the release show at the Oglethorpe, the band will share the stage with local metal favorites Dog Head, with whom the guys in Days to Come have a special bond. In fact, Chris Lodge, Dog Head’s lead axeman and the architect of their sound, played an important role in making “Subsist: The Art of Survival” a reality.

“We actually had Chris Lodge, he mixed and mastered it for us, which was absolutely great,” Goodson said. “I’m really glad that he was able to do it for us. He’s a really good guy. Super nice, and he’s got great ideas.”

Another close friend of Goodson’s was also instrumental in helping birth the new EP, which Days to Come recorded in Albany over the course of several months.

“We recorded with a friend of mine that I’ve known for a very long time, like 10 years, and he lives in Pensacola, Fla.,” said Goodson. “His name’s Chuck Johnson, and he actually came up, brought almost all of his gear with him, and we recorded over multiple weekends, multiple months, in between playing shows.”

The band’s humble sense of thanks is also apparent when they talk about their inner circle. Both Goodson and Bowden are married, the 26-year-old drummer also a father, and both of them repeatedly share how much they appreciate the sacrifices those loved ones have made.

“I want to be a full-time musician, a full-time original musician, playing songs that I’ve written with the guys, not a cover band,” said Goodson. “And I work full-time, I’m married and do a ton of other things. I’m very thankful for my wife’s support in letting me do this and letting me have time away from whatever it is that we’re doing and pursue this. She knows that it’s very, very important to me, and Russell’s the same way. He’s married, he’s got two kids, and family definitely comes first.”

“I definitely agree about what Justin was saying,” added Bowden. “I work, and I’ve got two kids and a wife, and without my wife’s support, it would be impossible. So definitely, it’s good to have her support.”

The band members also make a point to talk about how much they mean to each other. All of them have played in other bands prior to coming together, but it’s the magic they create together that they believe can propel them to the next level.

“I feel it’s been a long time coming,” said Hartley. “I’ve been playing music for 13 years, and these three guys are the reason that my dream is finally coming true.”

“I’ve been in previous bands before; I’ve been playing music since I was 15,” said Bowden. “It seems like every other band I’ve been in before, it goes good for a while and then somebody just loses their drive. I’ve always been the one that wants to keep driving. With these guys I think we all have an equal drive to make something happen, and I feel really good about my future. I definitely think this is the most successful band that I’ve been in and I see this going somewhere.”

The good thing shared by Days to Come’s musicians will be on full display this weekend as the group follows its Oglethorpe Lounge show with a gig Saturday night at Coach’s, where they will be joined by their good friends from Oblivious Signal and Mopeland. Soon after, the band hits the road to support the EP. And do what it does best.

“The next place we’re going is Birmingham, Ala.,” said Goodson. “We’re playing at the Knick, and that’s an awesome venue. It’s been around forever. I mean Elvis played there. Then we’re playing Hattiesburg, Miss., the next night at the Tavern. Then we’ve got a couple of release dates lined up in Florida as well. We’re playing in Orlando and Palm Bay and Tallahassee. And before the end of the year, we’d like to go to the Carolinas.”

Although they’re excited about converting new fans with their live shows at those upcoming gigs, Days to Come are also excited that they now have the ability to leave something special in their wake.

“This will be the first time our CD is available,” said Bowden. “You can go play places and people will like you at the time, but if you don’t have any material, such as a CD to give them, the next day they probably will have already forgotten about you. We’ve enjoyed playing, we love playing and we will always enjoy playing, but we obviously need to have content to get fans to remember why they like us and to also be able to sing along to us, to get more involved with us at our live performances.”

The band also realizes the importance of having a CD when it comes to booking gigs. Goodson points out that the band has been very fortunate to have gotten gigs through developing relationships with other bands they’ve shared bills with, as well forging a bond with promoter James Cripps.

“He has really helped us with booking down in Florida, and he’s been absolutely fantastic and we didn’t even have a CD,” said Goodson. “He kind of took us at face value. So we’re grateful for that.”

The band is also grateful they’ve now got a chance to share their music with fans far and wide, and to further represent the town and the fans that have nurtured them along the way.

“We are proud to be from Albany,” said Goodson. “As a band we appreciate the support that we’ve had from people here and we look forward to gaining their trust. We hope that whenever we’re out and about in other cities playing shows, that we represent Albany well.”

When it’s released Friday, the six-track EP “Subsist: The Art of Survival” will be available to fans through a variety of channels, including iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, CD Baby, and Google Play. Fans can also pick up hard copies and download cards.