EMQ’s with DAYGLO MOURNING

EMQ’s with DAYGLO MOURNING

Hi everyone! Welcome to our new EMQ’s interview with Atlanta, Georgia based Doom Metal band, DayGlo Mourning. Huge thanks to lead guitarist/vocalist Joe Mills for taking part.

What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

I’m Joe Mills and I do lead guitar and vocals for DayGlo Mourning. The band was formed in the spring of 2017 and was assembled via responses to a craigslist add in the greater Atlanta area. Originally starting as a 4 piece, the band quickly made a decision to continue on as a trio. Shortly after, we went into Ledbelly Sound Studio to record three demo tracks. As it turned out, those tracks were eventually released by Black Doomba Records on the split album “Rope Enough For Two” which also featured the band Bludy Gyers. Prior to the album release however, founding member and bassist Matt Rayborn decided to leave the band for other pursuits and the current line-up of Ray Miner (drums), Jerimy McNeil (Bass Guitar) and Joe Mills (Lead Guitar) was established. The band then quickly returned to Ledbelly Sound Studio to record the track ‘Busla’s Curse’ for the Black Doomba Records compilation album “Doombanomicon” and the remaining tracks included on the self-titled debut EP “DayGlo Mourning”. Following up on those early recordings the band began a flurry of shows and writing to prepare for the upcoming release of “Dead Star”, again being produced with Black Doomba Records. The scheduled release for this album is Feb 12, 2021.

How did you come up with your band name?

It was originally used in a song lyric that one of the other members had been involved with. It took a few days to grow on us to be honest, but the visual and mood that it inspires grew on us until we all decided to go with it.

What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?

We’re based out of Atlanta, Georgia and apart from the COVID issues the Metal scene here is alive and well. There are so many awesome local bands and musicians in the greater Atlanta region and they’re only surpassed by the amazing friends, followers and supporters of the music we all love.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

The single and accompanying video for the new album “Dead Star” will be coming out at the end of October and Mid-November, respectively. The full album will be available Feb 12th, 2021. You’ll be able to find all of this on the Black Doomba Records and DayGlo Mourning websites.

‘Dead Star’ Single (Visualiser)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smP6uLvXa3Q

Who have been your greatest influences?

In truth as a young player I was heavily influenced by the blues and all of those legends who’ve inspired so many other musicians. Buddy Guy and BB King in particular have been very inspirational to me. The bands who now continue to inspire me are Black Sabbath (obviously), Iron Maiden (again, obvious), Electric Wizard, Sleep, Conan, Monolord, etc…We all know that great list.

What first got you into music?

I was about 6 or 7 years old when I saw KISS perform on a Halloween special in the 70’s. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was watching…But I knew immediately that was what I wanted to be.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

I would love to do something with my friend Jon Paul Davis of Conan. When I first aspired to doing this kind of music, I wanted to write something as heavy as Conan. I even have a couple of his old guitars as inspiration. So far, I haven’t been able to capture that level of skull crushing sonic devastation but it’s something to aspire too.

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

For me it would be Desertfest for sure. I love Berlin first off, and to be able to play there with all those great heavy bands, particularly the ones that I follow but don’t get to see in North America, would be really amazing.

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

We are very thankful for the support we’ve received to make this new album possible, and we are very excited to deliver, clearly our best work to date. That and we truly miss the friendship and interaction that we’ve been missing with you all since all of the show cancellations. It can’t last forever, and we expect to be back at it some point next year!

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

That is a seriously tough question. I’d have to choose someone who left us way before their time like Jimi or Randy. For me personally the one that hit the hardest is Stevie Ray Vaughan. I was just discovering his music while serving in the Middle East when he died. He was just coming into his prominence and then tragically taken from us much, much too soon.

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

JM. What I love most is playing shows, which allows me to meet other musicians and music lovers in kind and the friendships that result from that. The metal music scene has always been a beautiful thing to me that people on the outside just don’t get.

Being a Doom artist, I tend to bring a heavy arsenal of gear to the show, because sound systems or not, it’s just more fun!!! What’s not fun and a complete drag is loading in and out all of that gear! As the years go by its not getting any easier either! Next year once things heat up again, I’m seriously considering hiring a young lad to handle all of that…lol

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

I’d love to see a clear business model in the industry for talented and dedicated bands to be able to get properly compensated for their art. I hate seeing some of my favourite artists have to get secondary jobs after a tour because they couldn’t make enough to continue making music full time.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Iron Maiden – “Powerslave”

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?

Nothing beats the warm sound and interaction with the music like Vinyl…No contest.

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

The biggest was the Atlanta Slaughter Que festival. However, my favourite was early this year, literally two weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. It was a packed house at my favourite venue (529 Bar) with Toke and couple of my favourite local bands. The kicker was my best friend had travelled to Atlanta to see us perform for his first time. It was a glorious night of great music and friends that I won’t forget.

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

Drawing or painting likely. I’ve always tinkered with it, but music takes precedence on the time I have available for such pursuits.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

Tina Turner, Lemmy, Leonardo Da Vinci, Muhammad Ali, Robin Williams.

What’s next for the band?

We have in fact already started thinking about the next album. It’s certainly more conceptual at the moment, but a few rough tracks have already been recorded. As we get closer to the release of our latest album “Dead Star”, we’ll start preparing for our live set because in the end, that’s why we do all of this.

What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?

We use Facebook primarily, but we have pages on IG and Twitter as well. Soon we’ll also have an official YouTube channel. There are a couple out there representing us already, but nothing we’ve created or have control over. Our music is available on our Bandcamp page as well as Black Doomba Records. Just search each respective site for DayGlo Mourning and you should find us easily enough.

www.facebook.com/dayglomourning/
www.twitter.com/dayglo_mourning
www.instagram.com/dayglo.mourning/
www.dayglomourning2.bandcamp.com/

Jaffa Cakes? Are they a cake or a biscuit?

Sadly, I’ve not yet tried one. I’ll attempt to rectify this next year because I’ve planned a hiking trip along the UK’s Southwest Coastal Path next spring/summer. Whenever it’s ok to travel again I suppose.

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

We greatly appreciate this opportunity to reach out to your audience and we hope that we’ve created something on “Dead Star” that people will be entertained by. Cheers!

Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.

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