Bamboozle Roadshow: Here they come to 'Save the Day'

Originally published April 02, 2008 in The Orion.
Direct link to article

It's true, there used to be a time when MySpace did not exist and e-mail inboxes were not flooded with impersonal friend requests from bands.

New Jersey's Saves the Day, composed of singer and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist David Soloway, bassist Manuel Ragoonanan Carrero and drummer Durijah Lang, remembers the days when bands did not rely on the Internet to promote themselves, Conley said.

Saves the Day formed in 1997 out of the New Jersey hardcore and punk scene. The band quickly gained fans through touring and its mix of fast guitars and melodious and pitchy vocals.

"Before MySpace, the only way to promote your band was with fliers handed out at shows and playing all-ages venues on weekends, hoping someone would like your band enough to book you for another show in their basement on the following week," Conley said.

The band, which now has a pop aspect on its rock sound, is not against utilizing the Internet. Saves the Day has a strong online presence with exclusive online presales for tours, including its headlining spot on The Bamboozle Roadshow, which stops in Chico tonight.

Conley's agitation with online promotion stems from the superficiality that can be attached with music, he said. Some bands do not work hard to prove themselves because it is easy for people to say they are fans without actually having heard or seen the band perform live.

Senior Angela Martinez discovered Saves the Day two years ago through a friend, but she relies on the Internet for new music, she said.

Saves the Day uses the Internet to connect with fans, Conley said. The band runs its Web site, which includes video podcasts and blog updates. Conley asks fans to e-mail him song requests, which he fulfills on the Web site with videos of him performing the songs on an acoustic guitar.

Peter Gillen, a junior media arts major from Concord, has been a Saves the Day fan for seven years and admires how dedicated the band is to its fans.

"It makes the songs more personable," Gillen said.

The band has been through a lot and it appreciates its loyal fans, Conley said. Saves the Day has had several changes, with Conley and Soloway being the only remaining original members. In 2003, the band had a nonsupportive relationship with its label, Dreamworks. The band was dropped after Interscope Records took over.

Saves the Day rewards its faithful fans with a CD series called "Bug Sessions," only sold on tour. CDs feature seven acoustic versions of old and new songs. The first volume was sold in 2006 and the second and third volumes are available on this tour.

Other than selling the exclusive CDs, Saves the Day has a few other tricks up its sleeve, Conley said. The band has prepared a master list of 70 songs for the tour, containing a mix of old and new songs.

"We'll be picking the set based on how we're feeling each day," he said. "Each night will be totally unique and much more spontaneous."

The band practiced seven hours a day for a week and a half to prepare for the assorted set lists, Conley said. Band members even worked on a new version of "East Coast," the first Saves the Day song ever written.

"The new arrangement is killer," Conley said. "It sounds like a punk rock version of a Supremes song."

Gillen hopes the band will play "Do You Know What I Love The Most?" at tonight's show, he said. The song is a fast, upbeat track from the band's second album.

The tour is leading up to The Bamboozle Festivals, taking place in April in Irvine and in May in East Rutherford, N.J. Each festival features more than 100 artists and comedians performing on numerous stages.

Band members are excited to play both festival dates because they get the opportunity to see friends in other bands and play with a variety of artists, Conley said. At last year's New Jersey date, the band played after MC Hammer and before Muse.

The road show does not showcase the diverse festival lineups, but it does feature a mix of veteran and new bands, Conley said.

"If you come out to The Bamboozle Roadshow, it will whet your appetite for the real deal on each coast," he said.