"I have seen the future, and it is the Heyday," writes Cory Casciato of Westword. The Heyday are rapidly becoming used to these praises, but these five kids from the south end of Denver started out just looking for fun.
The Heyday formed in the spring of 2006, when singer-songwriter Randy Ramirez and pianist Jeff Appareti parted ways with their former Americana-roots project aptly-named "Like Chasing Wind." Shortly after, guitarist Brian Martin and drummer Sean Bennett began sneaking away from their other bands to develop the Heyday's sound in Appareti's parents' basement. Spring turned to summer, and Pete Wynn, a friend of Bennett, took over as bassist. The newly formed quintet decided to forego any live performances and write for the remainder of the summer, honing their soulful sound into an honest but radio-friendly new take on rock and roll.
Three months and five songs later, the Heyday gathered what money they could and traveled to the Blasting Room in Ft. Collins, CO to record their first demo. With help from engineer Andrew Berlin, the five tracks caught the attention of local producer Christopher Jak, who offered to roduce a full length album with help from mixer Jeff Juliano (OAR, Jason Mraz, John Mayer).
The result is a solid, wonderfully constructed 10 song effort by this mostly-teenage outfit. Tasha King, of thisweekindenver.com, wrote that the "anthemic choruses are full of new love and saying goodbye, topics du jour for a group of kids negotiating graduation, college, new responsibilities and friendship lost to time and distance." The band calls them fit for "the drive home with your friends on the last night of summer," but these radio-ready tunes are destined for bigger things.
In January 2007, near the end of the recording process, Westword 's music editor Dave Herrera got wind of the songs and featured the Heyday in his "Class of 2007" feature. Herrera deemed the band the next-generation Fray- only six live performances into their career- claiming he'd " found a promising new group to trumpet from the mountaintops...this one in particular has all the makings of becoming the next Mile High sensation to sweep the nation…," and calling the record the "epitome of radio-friendly power pop." Match that with strong support from Denver's 93.3 KTCL, the station many claim to be responsible for the record label successes of Colorado acts the Fray, Meese, Single File, and Tickle Me Pink, and the Heyday's future appears bright.
The band is looking forward to travel in the coming months to expand their fan base outside of Colorado, as well as continuously writing and recording new songs. A KTCL DJ referred to the Heyday's early success as "karma" and perhaps it is, but the band's strong belief in having fun while playing music has taken them very far in a short amount of time. Ramirez states that "progressing is something we really look forward to in the future," and the band's hard work seems to be paying off. Easy to see when Ramirez is asked how many hours a week the group spends on music- "Uhhh, all of them."
Like striking gold in an open field, discovering The Heyday was equally as unlikely but equally as rewarding.
-Tyler The Album Project
Their live show brings a lot of energy regardless if you know their music.
-Ryan Reetz eCircuit.com
Sun-soaked, sing-along pop-rock [is] bound for dorm rooms and dining halls makes The Heyday the windows-down soundtrack to a southwestern summer.
-Spencer Griffith IndyWeek.com
The Heyday's self-titled debut — overseen by Andrew Berlin and lauded local producer Christopher Jak — is the epitome of radio-friendly power pop.
-Dave Herrera Westword
I have seen the future and it is The Heyday
-Cory Casciato Westword
...the songs soar, sounding natural and unforced.
-Kurt Brighton Westword
...bassist Peter Wynn, Martin and Ramirez build country and rock riffs on quiet intensity, exploding on a snare roll from drummer Sean Bennett and soaring on Jeff Appareti’s keyboard melodies and Ramirez’s slight vibrato and catchy hooks.
-Tasha King This Week In Denver
I've found a promising new group to trumpet from the mountaintops...this one in particular has all the makings of becoming the next Mile High sensation to sweep the nation.....Despite their noted juvenescence, the players already exhibit a stunning ability to craft instantly memorable hooks that become irreversibly embedded into your consciousness on first spin.
-Dave Herrera Westword
"...full of instantly memorable melodies, well-crafted turns of phrase and fist-pumping choruses."
-Cory Casciato Westword
Check out our interview on denvermessageboard.com
