This past August, I had the honor of visiting the recording studio of Sunny Daze & The Weathermen, where I sat down with all six members of the band. We discussed their history, the origins of their unique sound, their touring experiences, and their interactions with the Pittsburgh scene. Our conversation showcased the band’s innovative spirit and offered a glimpse into the city’s music scene as a whole.
Sunny Daze’s story starts all the way back in 2020, before it was even a band. When asked when he decided to start one, Max Begler, the lead singer and frontman, said “I had wanted to start a band since probably like high school, but I couldn't play guitar well enough, and I could sing, but I was like a music theater kid, so it wasn't really the kind of singing of rock and roll.” However, in 2020, he started to play much more seriously with one of his friends, allowing him to develop his voice and guitar technique.
“[I] then finally decided to put a project together after seeing a show in Washington in 2021,” recalled Max. “It was Tough Cuffs’ first show, and my friends in the band Gater Shakes – who don’t play anymore – and Fortune Teller.”
“That turned into me starting a project, and getting a couple of band members together, and then that project kinda falling apart,” Max said. Though this initial attempt failed, it set the groundwork for what would become Sunny Daze as it is today. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Max worked on rebuilding the band and recruiting new members, with the first to join being drummer Dan Watts.
“The original guitar player, Kevin, left, and we added Nate [Ritz, guitar and vocals]. Nate brought Harry [Scarrott, percussion] with him. And then we found Jason [Kuehnle] while looking for keys,” explained Max. Finally, while looking for a saxophone player, Colin Gasman joined–but once their previous bassist left, “Colin stuck around and just hopped on bass instead.”
As a result of these constant lineup changes, Sunny Daze never really had a chance to settle. When asked when the band really began, Colin responded “I think it was really the summer of 2023 when it was us six primarily playing all the shows, where we started to kind of get a feeling like ok this is the sound, we can evolve from here. It was pretty stable at that point as far as the lineup goes.”
As for their first real show with the complete lineup, Max said it was “our show at the Black Lodge actually. That was the show that we kind of got the ball rolling and finally kicked everything into motion.”
Sunny Daze’s story starts all the way back in 2020, before it was even a band. When asked when he decided to start one, Max Begler, the lead singer and frontman, said “I had wanted to start a band since probably like high school, but I couldn't play guitar well enough, and I could sing, but I was like a music theater kid, so it wasn't really the kind of singing of rock and roll.” However, in 2020, he started to play much more seriously with one of his friends, allowing him to develop his voice and guitar technique.
“[I] then finally decided to put a project together after seeing a show in Washington in 2021,” recalled Max. “It was Tough Cuffs’ first show, and my friends in the band Gater Shakes – who don’t play anymore – and Fortune Teller.”
“That turned into me starting a project, and getting a couple of band members together, and then that project kinda falling apart,” Max said. Though this initial attempt failed, it set the groundwork for what would become Sunny Daze as it is today. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Max worked on rebuilding the band and recruiting new members, with the first to join being drummer Dan Watts.
“The original guitar player, Kevin, left, and we added Nate [Ritz, guitar and vocals]. Nate brought Harry [Scarrott, percussion] with him. And then we found Jason [Kuehnle] while looking for keys,” explained Max. Finally, while looking for a saxophone player, Colin Gasman joined–but once their previous bassist left, “Colin stuck around and just hopped on bass instead.”
As a result of these constant lineup changes, Sunny Daze never really had a chance to settle. When asked when the band really began, Colin responded “I think it was really the summer of 2023 when it was us six primarily playing all the shows, where we started to kind of get a feeling like ok this is the sound, we can evolve from here. It was pretty stable at that point as far as the lineup goes.”
As for their first real show with the complete lineup, Max said it was “our show at the Black Lodge actually. That was the show that we kind of got the ball rolling and finally kicked everything into motion.”
And once that ball was rolling, it never stopped. Sunny Daze was–and still is–a band unafraid to try new things and incorporate them into their sound. Drawing inspiration from every member’s unique interests, other local Pittsburgh bands, and even simply by experimenting with the music tech they have on hand, the group has created a sound that’s truly their own. However, before the band started to find its distinct identity, Max explained, “We started being a flower punk bank, which I think we are, where we are sort of 60s-influenced with a bunch of political messaging and with a lot of rock elements.”
As new members joined, each brought their own influence to the band’s sound. As Harry described, “Once you say ‘Hey, OK, I’ll join the band,’ you’re writing. There’s practices where we are trying to figure this part out, and anyone is free to be, ‘Well what about this?’ or we’ll go this way, and that has been really encouraging. Especially with six people, which I consider all talented people, and no one lets their ego get in the way, which is really nice for the creative process.”
This allows for a distinctive blend of sound, especially as each member comes from quite different projects. In Jason’s words, “we all bring our own kind of style, and it all meshes together.”
Outside of each member’s unique influences, playing with and around other bands in Pittsburgh has also shifted the band’s sound.
Dan explained, “There are bands like Tony from Bowling… [Max interjects, “Giovanni Orsini, Melt, Century 3 is the other one”]. All of these really cool local and regional contemporaries, in the harder psych rock or garage rock realm that I feel like we’ve found our place in. And then I think that’s kind of what we have been feeding off of.”
Following up Max explained, “It's a lot of seeing what people are doing… and then taking that inspiration and putting it into your own stuff.”
As new members joined, each brought their own influence to the band’s sound. As Harry described, “Once you say ‘Hey, OK, I’ll join the band,’ you’re writing. There’s practices where we are trying to figure this part out, and anyone is free to be, ‘Well what about this?’ or we’ll go this way, and that has been really encouraging. Especially with six people, which I consider all talented people, and no one lets their ego get in the way, which is really nice for the creative process.”
This allows for a distinctive blend of sound, especially as each member comes from quite different projects. In Jason’s words, “we all bring our own kind of style, and it all meshes together.”
Outside of each member’s unique influences, playing with and around other bands in Pittsburgh has also shifted the band’s sound.
Dan explained, “There are bands like Tony from Bowling… [Max interjects, “Giovanni Orsini, Melt, Century 3 is the other one”]. All of these really cool local and regional contemporaries, in the harder psych rock or garage rock realm that I feel like we’ve found our place in. And then I think that’s kind of what we have been feeding off of.”
Following up Max explained, “It's a lot of seeing what people are doing… and then taking that inspiration and putting it into your own stuff.”
Taking these influences, the band incorporates them not only into the new music they create but also into their older songs. When talking about their earliest material, Harry explained,
“There’s some songs that we were talking about now that we still do now, but they are completely different because we put them on the shelf for a bit. Now we’re taking them out and blowing the dust off and changing the whole shape of the song.”
Sunny Daze loves trying out new sounds and incorporating them into whatever they’re working on, giving them an experimental edge that few other bands have.
“I think that’s something that also makes us kind of unique,” said Max. “We really do some weird noises. I mean there are a lot of weird things you can do just with a guitar, but between the shit that Nate does on guitar, the shit Harry does on his sound Kaossilattor, Colin has a whole bass setup, a whole petal setup–I just make feedback sometimes. It’s cool.”
From my experience seeing the band live in October at Mr. Smalls, I can fully verify this. Max was able to create some remarkable sounds through just his voice and the mic–the most memorable one being this laser-gun “Bwowowowop” sound that he would throw into different songs. While many bands will vibrate their guitars at the end of a song for a cool fade-out effect, Max went a step further. At the end of Corporate Rot, one of their newest songs, he held out his guitar and then kicked it right in the back–something I have never seen before.
When asked what one of their favorite techniques is, Harry immediately lit up. “For me it’s (in) Action Required. We have a beat that's used at the beginning of Action Required.”
“It’s a Korg Kaossilator, my buddy Brian gave it to me in 2015,” adds Nate.
However, to actually get the sound you want out of the Kaossilator, Harry explains, “(you) use p95 at about a 180 tempo, hold your finger right in the center of it, and that will give you the drum beat that you want. Then Max picks up the song, and I stop and we go into tambourines, shakers, noise, and just a hell of a song. ”
This energy the band has for innovating, improving and changing doesn’t just stay in the recording studio–it follows them onto the stage, no matter the conditions. Harry described how the band’s intensity on stage is something unique to his experience with Sunny Daze. “I threw up after a show. I’ve never done that for any other band.”
This energy is even present in cramped venues, as Harry recalled, “Someone called me Mr. Maracas after a show just because I really had no space, but all I had was the maracas. I went 100% that night with the maracas and it earned me that nickname from that one person.”
In fact, Harry even said earlier that when touring, “I think personally the smallest stage we can get on the better, because that forces us to improvise in a way since we have so much gear to begin with.”
I can also confirm this energy, from seeing Max literally jump around, falling on his back while playing guitar, and overall just having a great time on stage. However, while not as extreme, the other members also displayed incredible energy. Throughout the set, Dan (who was dressed up as Brian, the dog from Family Guy) was going so hard that first his collar fell off, and then his drum kit partially fell apart mid-performance.
“There’s some songs that we were talking about now that we still do now, but they are completely different because we put them on the shelf for a bit. Now we’re taking them out and blowing the dust off and changing the whole shape of the song.”
Sunny Daze loves trying out new sounds and incorporating them into whatever they’re working on, giving them an experimental edge that few other bands have.
“I think that’s something that also makes us kind of unique,” said Max. “We really do some weird noises. I mean there are a lot of weird things you can do just with a guitar, but between the shit that Nate does on guitar, the shit Harry does on his sound Kaossilattor, Colin has a whole bass setup, a whole petal setup–I just make feedback sometimes. It’s cool.”
From my experience seeing the band live in October at Mr. Smalls, I can fully verify this. Max was able to create some remarkable sounds through just his voice and the mic–the most memorable one being this laser-gun “Bwowowowop” sound that he would throw into different songs. While many bands will vibrate their guitars at the end of a song for a cool fade-out effect, Max went a step further. At the end of Corporate Rot, one of their newest songs, he held out his guitar and then kicked it right in the back–something I have never seen before.
When asked what one of their favorite techniques is, Harry immediately lit up. “For me it’s (in) Action Required. We have a beat that's used at the beginning of Action Required.”
“It’s a Korg Kaossilator, my buddy Brian gave it to me in 2015,” adds Nate.
However, to actually get the sound you want out of the Kaossilator, Harry explains, “(you) use p95 at about a 180 tempo, hold your finger right in the center of it, and that will give you the drum beat that you want. Then Max picks up the song, and I stop and we go into tambourines, shakers, noise, and just a hell of a song. ”
This energy the band has for innovating, improving and changing doesn’t just stay in the recording studio–it follows them onto the stage, no matter the conditions. Harry described how the band’s intensity on stage is something unique to his experience with Sunny Daze. “I threw up after a show. I’ve never done that for any other band.”
This energy is even present in cramped venues, as Harry recalled, “Someone called me Mr. Maracas after a show just because I really had no space, but all I had was the maracas. I went 100% that night with the maracas and it earned me that nickname from that one person.”
In fact, Harry even said earlier that when touring, “I think personally the smallest stage we can get on the better, because that forces us to improvise in a way since we have so much gear to begin with.”
I can also confirm this energy, from seeing Max literally jump around, falling on his back while playing guitar, and overall just having a great time on stage. However, while not as extreme, the other members also displayed incredible energy. Throughout the set, Dan (who was dressed up as Brian, the dog from Family Guy) was going so hard that first his collar fell off, and then his drum kit partially fell apart mid-performance.
When I heard all of this back in August, I immediately turned to the band’s Instagram, scouring for a show I could catch. To my chagrin, just as the band has expanded its musical repertoire, it has also been expanding its physical reach, performing more and more shows in other cities as far as Virginia and NYC. I had to wait two months until the end of October to actually see them in Pittsburgh. Though it may be disappointing to me, it gave them a unique perspective on a huge number of different venues and what the scenes are like outside of Pittsburgh.
One show that the whole band agreed was one of the coolest they’ve played was at Farm Jamma Lamma 17, a small music festival based on a farm in rural PA. This was mostly because they got to perform one of their favorite songs, Action Required, as a massive bonfire blazed behind them. “During that fire, it can’t be stated enough that it was hot from 200 yards away. It was massive, the size of a house.” recalls Max.
“There were also people just shooting off random fireworks during the whole set,” Colin says.
Yet even out in the farmland, Harry explains, “this was the coolest barn, that has all the audio setup you will ever need,” meaning that band did not have to sacrifice quality of the performance for the spectacle of playing in front of a bonfire.
The band has received a lot of love in cities outside of Pittsburgh. One of Max’s favorite cities is Rochester, New York.
“It’s got a lot of similarities to Pittsburgh, in that it's a really tough town, you can see the hundred some years of industry that were there and left, then they all stood around and said what do we do now. And so as a result, just like Pittsburgh, there are several really cool bars there that we got to play at that are kind of staple pieces,” says Max.
New York City also stood out simply because there was a strong appreciation for smaller bands, even in such a large city. Max explained “New York was really cool for that, just people coming out to see shit… on a wednesday.”
“That was a great show for a first time in New York City. (We) played with Balaclava,” says Dan.
“-And Pop Music Fever Dream,” adds Max.
By playing in all of these different places, it means the band is able to meet lots of cool bands and people. Harry explains, “I think we make a friend per show. Like Will from Phil Spector’s Gun is a friend we’ve made on the road, like Mansion Before, Tony from Bowling…
Dan, Max, and Nate mention the bands Ma’am, Balaclava, and Hot Seat as well.
After meeting other bands, one of Max’s favorite things to do is talk to them about their local music scene. “It’s like meeting somebody from another school. This is someone else’s music scene, I wonder what they’re like, or what their music scene is like. You get to talk to them about what their city is like, and how their scene is, and they tell you what they think of your scene.”
However, these interactions are not ‘one and done.’ For instance with Tony from Bowling, they have become Sunny Daze’s go-to touring partner–going on tour together in October and planning another in December.
As for what makes a specific show good, Max described how important the enthusiasm of the crowd is. “We’ve found a lot of love in certain college scenes as well as a result of that. That is why I said Black Lodge is the place where it all started, because that was the first show we ever kinda played. We were all tight, and it was the only thing in the world happening that night to those people in that space.”
Also, certain venues have cultures that foster a fun atmosphere for performers. “A lot of places that you go to you kinda have to prove yourself a little bit; you kinda have to show up, you know–and what’s very cool about working at Haven specifically is that you can just show up and be there, and you can be a band and you can play. You can be a really good band or be an OK band, and really, it's nice that there are people not calloused by the world. Like everyone is just there for the love of it,” describes Max.
However, the audience’s energy and enjoyment is not the only thing that matters in determining if a show was good.
“We’ve played shows where, by all accounts, if you're in the audience, it was a great show–there was a good crowd, people enjoyed it, we played a great 40 minute set, whatever–but we maybe didn't have such a great time dealing with some of the people involved,” explains Dan, “It’s things like that where I would rather play a smaller show with the greatest people ever then have a larger crowd with people that are really, really difficult and being frustrating.”
One show that the whole band agreed was one of the coolest they’ve played was at Farm Jamma Lamma 17, a small music festival based on a farm in rural PA. This was mostly because they got to perform one of their favorite songs, Action Required, as a massive bonfire blazed behind them. “During that fire, it can’t be stated enough that it was hot from 200 yards away. It was massive, the size of a house.” recalls Max.
“There were also people just shooting off random fireworks during the whole set,” Colin says.
Yet even out in the farmland, Harry explains, “this was the coolest barn, that has all the audio setup you will ever need,” meaning that band did not have to sacrifice quality of the performance for the spectacle of playing in front of a bonfire.
The band has received a lot of love in cities outside of Pittsburgh. One of Max’s favorite cities is Rochester, New York.
“It’s got a lot of similarities to Pittsburgh, in that it's a really tough town, you can see the hundred some years of industry that were there and left, then they all stood around and said what do we do now. And so as a result, just like Pittsburgh, there are several really cool bars there that we got to play at that are kind of staple pieces,” says Max.
New York City also stood out simply because there was a strong appreciation for smaller bands, even in such a large city. Max explained “New York was really cool for that, just people coming out to see shit… on a wednesday.”
“That was a great show for a first time in New York City. (We) played with Balaclava,” says Dan.
“-And Pop Music Fever Dream,” adds Max.
By playing in all of these different places, it means the band is able to meet lots of cool bands and people. Harry explains, “I think we make a friend per show. Like Will from Phil Spector’s Gun is a friend we’ve made on the road, like Mansion Before, Tony from Bowling…
Dan, Max, and Nate mention the bands Ma’am, Balaclava, and Hot Seat as well.
After meeting other bands, one of Max’s favorite things to do is talk to them about their local music scene. “It’s like meeting somebody from another school. This is someone else’s music scene, I wonder what they’re like, or what their music scene is like. You get to talk to them about what their city is like, and how their scene is, and they tell you what they think of your scene.”
However, these interactions are not ‘one and done.’ For instance with Tony from Bowling, they have become Sunny Daze’s go-to touring partner–going on tour together in October and planning another in December.
As for what makes a specific show good, Max described how important the enthusiasm of the crowd is. “We’ve found a lot of love in certain college scenes as well as a result of that. That is why I said Black Lodge is the place where it all started, because that was the first show we ever kinda played. We were all tight, and it was the only thing in the world happening that night to those people in that space.”
Also, certain venues have cultures that foster a fun atmosphere for performers. “A lot of places that you go to you kinda have to prove yourself a little bit; you kinda have to show up, you know–and what’s very cool about working at Haven specifically is that you can just show up and be there, and you can be a band and you can play. You can be a really good band or be an OK band, and really, it's nice that there are people not calloused by the world. Like everyone is just there for the love of it,” describes Max.
However, the audience’s energy and enjoyment is not the only thing that matters in determining if a show was good.
“We’ve played shows where, by all accounts, if you're in the audience, it was a great show–there was a good crowd, people enjoyed it, we played a great 40 minute set, whatever–but we maybe didn't have such a great time dealing with some of the people involved,” explains Dan, “It’s things like that where I would rather play a smaller show with the greatest people ever then have a larger crowd with people that are really, really difficult and being frustrating.”
Though Sunny Daze has branched out, it is clear that the heart of the band remains in Pittsburgh. From getting local fill-ins to taking inspiration for their sound and energy, the band relies heavily on the local scene. However, this sort of community is only possible if every band gives back more than they take, and Sunny Daze most definitely does. Every band member has some sort of side project, plays with other bands, or generally volunteers and helps in the scene. Overall, this creates a strong network of support among bands, building up the community as a whole.
One of the most obvious ways the band’s members give back is by filling in for other bands, which means they replace someone in another band if that person is unable to play, or they join in if the band wants an extra musician to help with some songs. This gives a chance for them to branch out, and play cool different music.
For instance, Harry explained, “I've filled in for FOAMER and Beach Boise, and that’s influenced a lot of how I play music too, because I get to play with these different atmospheres and then bring it to Sunny Daze. I think we all do that to some degree; we all look at live performances and go, “What can we learn from this?”
Jason also talked briefly about his fill-in experience. “I fill in sometimes with Z-Nemo and the Big Slime, Funky Lamp, and the same thing as we were talking about, just everyone knows each other's music and it's fun to play with other people all the time.”
However, Sunny Daze, especially as a six person band, often needs fill-ins as well. Harry explains, “the amount of fills-ins we've had to use, we need a backup keyboardist, guitarist, bassists. We have pulled from the local scene very hard. It’s great, everyone kinda knows each other's music to a degree so there’s almost a familiarity with it that makes it so much easier then just contacting a random person, like hey can you learn these songs.”
“We’ve had so many different fill-ins that we can almost assemble a B-team of Sunny Daze,” says Colin.
These fill-ins are a great way to show how strong the connections are between different local bands. At the show I went to Zoltan Nemeth (aka Z-Nemo) filled-in on guitar. Zoltan helped run the Black Lodge, where Sunny Daze had their first “real” show with the modern cast. This support doesn’t just run one way, as Jason has also filled-in for Zoltan’s band Z-Nemo and the Big Slime, which has also played at Haven, the venue Jason and Max help run.
Many members are also full members of bands outside Sunny Daze. Harry drums for Garment District and Miracle Finds. Colin is in a blues-rock jam group called Coriney. Max just started a new band called The Elastics with his partner, and Jason plays keys with Wild Blue Yonder. However, interacting with the community goes past just playing together, and many members are involved in a ton of other ways.
“I think we try really hard to support locally, I mean Jason and I are actively involved in Haven. Harry’s in another band, Colin’s in another band. If we’re not playing out somewhere, we are helping or doing something. Dan is booking a tour for another band right now… just being involved in any way possible,” says Max.
Perhaps the simplest yet crucial way to give back is simply going to other local bands' shows.
“If there's a local music show there's probably a member of Sunny Daze and the Weatherman in the crowd supporting that show because Pittsburgh is very unique in its music scene right now where it feels like all of the bands are friends,” says Harry.
Overall, Sunny Daze has extremely strong connections with the community—playing with them, supporting them, and being supported by them. After meeting with Jason in August for this interview, I started seeing him everywhere. I saw him performing with his other band, Wild Blue Yonder, at the Oakland Block Party. Later, I ran into him doing a shift at Haven; initially working behind the scenes, but later getting on stage to play keys with the performing band 9FiftySeven. I even saw him in the audience of the recent Feeble Little Horse show at Mr. Smalls. Again, this is true for everyone in the community—not just Jason, Zoltan, and Sunny Daze—and it’s this network that allows the community to thrive and be in such a cool place right now.
After finishing up my questions and packing up to leave, I realized something; I had no idea who, or what Sunny Daze is. Upon asking the band of this, the room erupted. I heard talk of the Holy Trinity (The Sunny, The Daze and The Weatherman??), transcendental limitation, Hooti and the Blowfish, eventually culminating with the band planning to crucify Max. I left feeling more confused than when I had arrived. What I do understand is Sunny Daze–now in their third year since getting their full cast together–is not stopping any time soon. Looking towards the future, they are planning to go on a northeastern tour this December with Tony from Bowling, as mentioned prior, and are hoping to release a new LP this Spring. If you see Sunny Daze & The Weathermen on a bill in Pittsburgh or any other city, I would highly recommend checking them out. Even if you never go to one of their shows, if you’re in the scene long enough you’ll certainly run into all of them supporting the community.
One of the most obvious ways the band’s members give back is by filling in for other bands, which means they replace someone in another band if that person is unable to play, or they join in if the band wants an extra musician to help with some songs. This gives a chance for them to branch out, and play cool different music.
For instance, Harry explained, “I've filled in for FOAMER and Beach Boise, and that’s influenced a lot of how I play music too, because I get to play with these different atmospheres and then bring it to Sunny Daze. I think we all do that to some degree; we all look at live performances and go, “What can we learn from this?”
Jason also talked briefly about his fill-in experience. “I fill in sometimes with Z-Nemo and the Big Slime, Funky Lamp, and the same thing as we were talking about, just everyone knows each other's music and it's fun to play with other people all the time.”
However, Sunny Daze, especially as a six person band, often needs fill-ins as well. Harry explains, “the amount of fills-ins we've had to use, we need a backup keyboardist, guitarist, bassists. We have pulled from the local scene very hard. It’s great, everyone kinda knows each other's music to a degree so there’s almost a familiarity with it that makes it so much easier then just contacting a random person, like hey can you learn these songs.”
“We’ve had so many different fill-ins that we can almost assemble a B-team of Sunny Daze,” says Colin.
These fill-ins are a great way to show how strong the connections are between different local bands. At the show I went to Zoltan Nemeth (aka Z-Nemo) filled-in on guitar. Zoltan helped run the Black Lodge, where Sunny Daze had their first “real” show with the modern cast. This support doesn’t just run one way, as Jason has also filled-in for Zoltan’s band Z-Nemo and the Big Slime, which has also played at Haven, the venue Jason and Max help run.
Many members are also full members of bands outside Sunny Daze. Harry drums for Garment District and Miracle Finds. Colin is in a blues-rock jam group called Coriney. Max just started a new band called The Elastics with his partner, and Jason plays keys with Wild Blue Yonder. However, interacting with the community goes past just playing together, and many members are involved in a ton of other ways.
“I think we try really hard to support locally, I mean Jason and I are actively involved in Haven. Harry’s in another band, Colin’s in another band. If we’re not playing out somewhere, we are helping or doing something. Dan is booking a tour for another band right now… just being involved in any way possible,” says Max.
Perhaps the simplest yet crucial way to give back is simply going to other local bands' shows.
“If there's a local music show there's probably a member of Sunny Daze and the Weatherman in the crowd supporting that show because Pittsburgh is very unique in its music scene right now where it feels like all of the bands are friends,” says Harry.
Overall, Sunny Daze has extremely strong connections with the community—playing with them, supporting them, and being supported by them. After meeting with Jason in August for this interview, I started seeing him everywhere. I saw him performing with his other band, Wild Blue Yonder, at the Oakland Block Party. Later, I ran into him doing a shift at Haven; initially working behind the scenes, but later getting on stage to play keys with the performing band 9FiftySeven. I even saw him in the audience of the recent Feeble Little Horse show at Mr. Smalls. Again, this is true for everyone in the community—not just Jason, Zoltan, and Sunny Daze—and it’s this network that allows the community to thrive and be in such a cool place right now.
After finishing up my questions and packing up to leave, I realized something; I had no idea who, or what Sunny Daze is. Upon asking the band of this, the room erupted. I heard talk of the Holy Trinity (The Sunny, The Daze and The Weatherman??), transcendental limitation, Hooti and the Blowfish, eventually culminating with the band planning to crucify Max. I left feeling more confused than when I had arrived. What I do understand is Sunny Daze–now in their third year since getting their full cast together–is not stopping any time soon. Looking towards the future, they are planning to go on a northeastern tour this December with Tony from Bowling, as mentioned prior, and are hoping to release a new LP this Spring. If you see Sunny Daze & The Weathermen on a bill in Pittsburgh or any other city, I would highly recommend checking them out. Even if you never go to one of their shows, if you’re in the scene long enough you’ll certainly run into all of them supporting the community.