The Day After
By Courtney Davis

I’m sitting in a parked car outside of a bar with four members of The Day After. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Jenine Cali sits in the backseat with the outspoken, charismatic bass player, K.C.Wells. Drummer, Luis Cano and I are up front. The present members of The Day After are ready to talk about the release of their new EP THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS, why their band members are “dropping like flies”, and recent events that could mean finding success beyond Las Vegas for The Day After.

It took a total of six years, one name change, two independent recordings, and more than four different line ups, including the recent departure of lead guitarist, Trevor Warnick, to get where they are at this moment. They haven’t reached household-name-status yet, but ask anyone to name ten of their favorite local bands and you’ll find The Day After… at the top of the list almost every time.

The band’s overall sound of strategic, melodic rock is enough to attract a buzz, but often the talk is about their singer being a girl. “I think it’s interesting that a lot of articles that have been written about us tend to focus on the fact that we have a girl singer. I think it’s more intriguing that not only do we have a girl in the band, but we have a big black dude and a mexican in the band. It’s like a rainbow coalition meeting.”

K.C. Wells is the kind of guy who will say whatever he wants with no sweetener added. When he makes a comment that’s not socially or politically correct, Cali (who played drums in a band she and Wells had back in the 6th grade) dusts the air with sugar to keep the faces of fans from going sour. She’s an even tempered person who likes to keep the peace. And that’s a good thing since Wells doesn’t seem to have that off switch that prevents people from being brutally honest.

At a pivotal moment, prior to the winning of a Battle of Bands competition back in May, Warnick announced he was leaving The Day After for good. Before making his exit he agreed to finish the shows already booked, and prime the new guitarist, Shaun Dogherty, to take his place. Although the rest of the band is prepared to move on, they still resent having to go through the transition of losing one member and gaining another at a time when they’re playing shows and receiving recognition for the work and the sound that Warnick helped create.

Wells recalls the first show Warnick ever played with the band at The Cooler Lounge: “After the show somehow I ended up in the girls bathroom with this chic and Jenine (who was standing in the corner). Trevor knocks on the door, ‘Are you guys OK?’ No one answers, so he opens the door. I had this girl on the sink and I was knelt down. “[That was] the first impression that Trevor had of the band.”

“We didn’t want him (Warnick) to go, but what are you gonna do?” Cali is openly sad and frustrated about the recent turn of events. “A lot of bands go through that.” Just last year Cano replaced previous drummer, Uffie, in the line up. His “straight forward” drumming is closer to the sound the band has been looking for. Cano says he’s been comfortable since the beginning, and that he has a freedom of expression that he’s never gotten while playing with bands previous to The Day After.
Preproduction for their second indie release, THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS, was completed back in October before there was serious talk about Warnick leaving. They finished recording in November of 2003, with the release date set for December. They had more money to put into the production of the new CD than for their debut, DO YOU FEEL BETTER NOW? They hadn’t anticipated “a little more” meaning a lot more time. “It really wasn’t our CD after awhile.” Cali recalls. “The people who were working on it were doing their own thing and trying to do too much with it…”, says Wells, “they just kind of wanted to make it this big ordeal and because of that it took months and months.”

THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS was released in April of this year. There isn’t much time between the older EP and the recent one. The sound is similar, but you can hear a maturity and the extra thought put into the newer music. “Play whatever you want cause we wrote a hit record,” Is how Wells sums up his feelings about letting radio stations choose which new songs to add to their rotation. KOMP 92.3 chose the song “One Armed Bandit” and 107.5 chose “Walking Backwards”.
“When we started making this record, it finally hit us to start getting serious about the band.” There has been interest from indie labels; though the band is not naming any names for fear they may jinx it. However, they will say the labels are located in Southern California, Texas, and Nashville. “That’s why Trevor quitting right now is like…dude really…you really want to?” says Wells.

It is true, Dougherty joined the band at a time when things are starting to become more exciting, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. His first shows with the band will be spent touring in Arizona and Utah with close friends and local band, Vandelay Industries. “We have no idea what people out of our little community think of us. That’s going to be a tell tale sign if whether this band is going to be successful.” When The Day After returns from their tour they will share a bill with national band Local H and try to work out sponsorship deals before going back on the road in Southern California.

Having been subjected to more than their fare share of setbacks, and not letting it squash their spirits, you get the feeling this band won’t settle for anything but success.
And even with the shifts of the tides, The Day After has managed to keep their hearts connected to their music- and now it looks like it’s finally going to pay off.