In Conversation With First Daze
First Daze is a female fronted project led by Gui Pelaez and Taylor Lines along with Ben Thorton. The band debuted in 2013 and since has evolved their sound to feature lush harmonic melodies with folky vibrations. Recently, Salt Lily Magazine conversed with the band about their emergence into the music scene, and their inspirations.
How did you guys start playing music together?
Gui: So Taylor and I met in high school towards the end. We went to high school together the whole time, but we didn't really know each other. We went to a really big High School.Then senior year, we had some interactions. I think we were kind of just a little over it, maybe feeling like we needed to expand friendships or just, you know, feeling the end of childhood a little bit. I think that's where we found each other. We started jamming together and then we jammed through college. We started off trying out for an Even Stevens’ gig in which we really overdressed for it.We wore heel heels like real high heels, like the kind of heels you wear to a high school dance. And we would just ride off their dresses. We looked like we were going to prom or a funeral or like a mix of it.
Taylor: We would drive to our gigs at Even Stevens where four people would watch us and we would hyper ourselves up.
Gui: Then we started getting more of a groove and we played Even Stevens' brunches a lot. They were like two hour sets. We learned a lot of covers. And then towards the end of that we started doing our actual music. We had already been writing songs. But we started being more experimental in terms of showing that to each other and trying them out. Once we started trying out our own music, we had an even larger urge to play at real venues and play real gigs. Outside of the, you know, the restaurant scene.
What does a try out at Even Stevens look like?
Taylor: Absolutely nothing.
Gui: It was fifteen minutes. That’s the gig we overdressed for.
Taylor: It was a fifteen minute tryout and then some guy just says go for it.
Were there patrons in the restaurant?
Taylor: There were a few patrons
Gui: I will say we were one of the first hired.
Taylor: We hype up Even Stevens way too much when people ask us questions.
Gui: But it was a big part of our year or two, we did play for them a lot and that and we got money from them. And that helped us record our first EP. Not just from them, but from other stuff. But what I was gonna say is we I think the other thing that's interesting is we didn't just like, try out for Even Stevens. We played at the very first try out at the very first Even Stevens. We were one of the first like, musician sets for them, you know, which is not that epic, but they were just starting.
What was the moment you guys realized you didn’t have to be formal for performances and you guys could be comfortable?
Taylor: I feel like that probably. I think it lasted beyond Even Stevens. For us. I think that we spend a lot of time stressing, stressing about outfits.
Gui: Not just outfits
Taylor: Yeah, I mean, stressing about everything. But like, I feel like, you know, Gui and I are girls that like to get dressed and like, we really like fashion. And so we'd always try and coordinate our outfits. feel like I was like times gone. We definitely become more casual. Because I think we're just a little less stressed about playing music.
Gui: Yeah, we just started stressing less.
Taylor: Which is nice. At some point, you stop wearing heels, and wear your combat boots.
Gui: We used to go and show up to various gigs and be like, 'we don't know how to set up'. They'd be like, 'there's everything, just set it up yourself'. And we had really no experience. And so they were like, ‘there's the PA system’. We were like ‘what the fuck is a PA system?’
Taylor: I remember we're pissed off at this Even Stevens guy who didn't set up our sound for us.
Gui: We were like, just confused.
Taylor: We literally left that gig being like, ‘why did he not help us? Like, what? He's the sound guy’. It's a good thing, because then you kind of learn how to figure out your own sound and what you need from people.
Gui: It was just an absolute shit show for the first two years.
Taylor: We didn't know what to tell the sound guy so we just let the sound be shitty.
Gui: We would just accept what was given to us instead of asking for something better. Sometimes with sound people really rush you through it. And so we remember one just one time, we just decided, hey, we need to ask for something better. We like wrote a whole thing. Like just ways to chill out. Like, we need to take a breath. We don't need to rush because it wasn't just that other people did it to us. We did it to ourselves, you know.so we've just talked about chilling, taking our time, not letting people rush us, not rushing ourselves and then saying to the sound person, you know, something wasn't right. So I don't know. Yeah. A little bit of vouching for ourselves. I think, God, we sound like fucking bitches though. We were mad at the fucking sound guy.
I feel like being a woman is weird because if you complain you sound like a bitch. I don’t know if you guys felt that.
Taylor: Yeah, there's probably some underlying thing of like, hey, let's just be, you know, cute and not say anything, because we just assume somebody like had our back or were looking out for us. And they weren't. So we figured it out. And yeah, I don't know. I mean, just a starting out musician is just weird.
Gui: No playbook
Taylor: Yeah
How did you meet your drummer Ben?
Gui: My partner, Richard, who's friends with Ben. And we was like, my friends is a drummer. And we're looking for one. And we tried him out. And we're like, well, let's see how this goes. And it was at my parent's house. The day after one of Taylor's birthdays, he came into the house and he sat down and put on a little blanket.
What did you do?
Ben: You guys were like ‘hey, we had a ranger last night. So our neighbors are kind of pissed. So we're gonna have to practice quie.’ I was coming up with ideas and like drums are loud, ‘What the fuck am I going to do?’ And I ran around like ‘you have towels’ ‘like, yeah, hell yeah’. So I put towels on so it was super quiet. And then we played some songs that they wrote.
Taylor: And you were like playing in a Christina band before?
Ben: Yeah, I was playing with whoever I could get a gig with.
Gui: Yeah. I just remember you telling us that you had been playing with Christian bands and you were kind of over it.
Ben: Yeah, well, yeah. I'm not Christian. Their music is really like ‘hell yeah’ and I’m like’ hell no’. So, I had just been bouncing around. When they said,” Yeah, we got to show in a month. Let's do this.” I kind of canceled the other two or three bands I was in and just focused on this one.
Taylor: With Ben, we didn't know really where it was going. then we actually ended up really enjoying ourselves and having like, a lot of banter, and just play. Like we really do dig around a lot of practice, like we joke, essentially the entire time. We have like a lot of conversations in between practice and stuff. And so I think that's another reason why it was such a good fit. We can already talk to each other. Yeah. So I don't know who we're expecting to have that relationship but we're lucky we do.
How have you guys evolved since you guys first started out?
Taylor: I feel like we've just done a lot of growing up together, in a lot of ways. Like, Gui and I met each other when we were 18. And we're just like, drinking 40s and like fuckin practicing in her bedroom.And now we're like adults with adult jobs have different problems. And I feel like we've been through it together. And we've grown a lot together. And I think it's really one of the coolest relationships I think you can have with somebody is like growing up in that way and being best friends and also partners in music. It's kind of crazy.
Where does the inspiration from your music come from?
Taylor: I just feel like we write songs sporadically when it kind of just hits us and we feel inspired to do so. And I feel like a lot of our shits kind of, like, out of being frustrated with where we were. And, you know, like being in college and learning things that were shitty or being done living in Salt Lake, the place you went to high school in, and then I think it kind of grew into, like, you know, your 20s and how sometimes you're uncomfortable, and sometimes shit happens. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. And I feel like we've written a lot of songs based off of that. What do you think?
Gui: I think we’ve written a lot of love songs too.
Taylor: I really actually only recently wrote like, the first love song I've ever and that was like, purely like not, like, out of frustration.
Why is that?
Taylor: I don't know about you. But a lot of like, my inspiration does come from feeling kind of uncomfortable or feeling upset about something or not even upset by just like, some type of way about something.that's my way of kind of getting those feelings out. And I don't ever think to pick up my guitar when I'm feeling genuinely just happy. Which I like that dawned on me the other day. And I was like, Oh, you know what, you could actually write a song. It's like, not clouded in a little bit of like, sadness. Yeah, you know, or frustration,
Do you guys have a certain theme or subject you guys like writing about?
Taylor: I mean, Fat Cats and Lady Fingers are definitely like, a little bit, fuck the system type songs. I feel like a lot of songs are written about the passion for music and wanting something for ourselves. And kind of like the struggle of being a musician and not exactly knowing where you fit.
Gui: I think sometimes a theme might be timing. I think sometimes there's like a knowledge of where we're at in our life. And it's like, we're young, but we're also pretty well on our way into adulthood. So I feel like sometimes there's like she said, wanting to do this, but I feel like sometimes it's compounded with timing, you know, how much we can do. And what we're able to write definitely says we sing a lot about maybe wanting to do what we want to do. I can also say justice is definitely a theme.We do tend to bring it up. Like we've had the luck to play a lot of kind of community building events, like, we played at The Gateway for the women in music event, we played it. Various fundraiser shows, from anything for like, a person of ours who's going through an illness to raise money for the food bank for Planned Parenthood. I think it's definitely something we always bring up like, you know, make sure you're registered to vote. We definitely always managed to bring up in some way or another that we're about human dignity and maybe people to do well, and respect. And I think that some of our songs do touch on that. I don't think all of our songs touch on that. Because I think life is more nuanced and fluid. And I don't think you're always like a social justice warrior. But I definitely think that that's something that we definitely care about and are either impacted by or here to listen to those who are impacted by it.
Check out First Daze on Spotify and Instagram
