Velvet Daydream - Interview
“At first we wanted to go the traditional rock song route, but Jude thought it needed something more. Almost immediately he improvised the walking bass line that you hear open the jam, and from there we were off to the races” says Ryder King of Velvet Daydream, an up and coming rock force from Colorado, about the band’s upcoming track titled Leave You There/Blackberry Jam. The new song will be the fourth this year released by the band, following Sunflower Sky, Revolver, and What They Say.
The last 13 months has been a pivotal period of time for Velvet Daydream from their 2023 debut self-titled album to their increasing shows both inside and outside of their local Denver scene. The music of Velvet Daydream has spread far and wide across North America through their engaging Tiktok videos and Instagram reels that showcase the revelry of their live performances, their retro style, and a sound that many have been yearning for over the last two decades. They’re bound to grow and flourish and I thought so back before they had any music released, before they were even called Velvet Daydream. The four piece consisting of Ryder King (vox, guitar), Kaeden Keys (guitar/vox), Jude Pfanstiel (bass, vox), and Nick Schwartz (drums, vox) recently took a moment to answer some insightful questions regarding their upcoming single and the band at large – read it below.
Personally, I have been keeping up with you guys for many years and I believe I’ve seen you guys go through one or two other band names prior to the one you have now. What about Velvet Daydream clicked for you to choose that as a definitive name for the group?
Ryder: Velvet Daydream was the first name that felt right. As soon as we saw it spelled out for the first time it looked nice. It was also the first name that we all agreed on that wasn’t already being used by anybody else. Even our old names had been used by at least one other artist. There are no other bands called “Velvet Daydream,” there’s barely anything called “Velvet Daydream.” It means that we have a unique name and can’t ever be confused with anybody else.
On the band’s Tiktok page, there are several videos explaining that you do not like comparing yourselves to other bands both past and present – why is that?
Ryder: We feel that comparing ourselves to other artists will only limit what we are to people. We often see other artists saying “if you like so, and so, you will love us,” or “we are the next so and so”. While that may work, we think it would limit what we can do creatively. We want to give people something new that is inspired by an old style, but if we’re trying to sound like a specific band(s), there’s less room for growth. We don’t want to be the next Beatles, we’d rather be the first Velvet Daydream.
Which artists or genres have influenced your music the most, and in what ways?
Ryder: KISS, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and Babe Rainbow.
Kaeden: Alice In Chains, Thin Lizzy, and Pink Floyd
Jude: Steely Dan, America, Rolling Stones, Weather Report, and Charles Mingus
Nick: Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, (recently) Grateful Dead, Basically any outlaw country artist, Bruce Springsteen, America, ELO, Jim Croce, and Eagles.
Are there any newer artists or bands that you find particularly inspiring or exciting right now?
Ryder: Sweet Desire. They have such a raw blues sound, and we love the production of their songs.
Can you share the story behind your upcoming single, Leave You There/Blackberry Jam?
Ryder: Leave You There was initially started by me in my bedroom around January of 2024. Around that time I remember thinking I had written a lot of softer stuff lately, so I wanted to get back to my rock roots. I had been noodling around, and then somewhere in that I played the riff that opens the song. It was another instance of knowing I had something, and acting on it. I made an outline of a structure, then brought it to a jam. The overall structure was heavily written by Jude, Nick, and I. Kaeden may have been running late, but by the time he got to the jam we had the brunt of the song finished. Nick was the primary lyric writer of the verses. I think I heard the line “Ain’t gonna leave you there” in my head before the jam, and suggested it as the chorus lyric. The song's second half “Blackberry Jam” was created by Jude. At first we wanted to go the traditional rock song route, but Jude thought it needed something more. Almost immediately he improvised the walking bass line that you hear open the jam, and from there we were off to the races. In the studio we thought it would be fun to experiment with lots of different sounds. At some points you can hear a stylophone, and reverse guitar solos. The jam is out of left field, and I love that we were able to do that with this song.
How do you maintain the aggressive and powerful sound characteristic of hard rock while also exploring new directions?
Nick: I think that no matter what direction we go musically, we always somehow come back to the roots of it all, which is this high energy rock sound. Even when we were in our writing stage for the first album, we had a revolving door of ideas that were anything from blues to funk to folk, but what eventually was chosen was some good driving rock, while keeping it diverse with the more “out there” or artistic songs that were finished at the time. These days we have expanded our studio sound even further, but the songs that the crowd love whenever we play live are the ones with the thump and the speed and the grit that keeps the audience moving. For that reason, I don’t think that sound will ever fade from Velvet Daydream, it’s a good homebase to live in.
Can you describe your typical gear setup, including any effects pedals or amplifiers that are essential to your sound?
Ryder: In the studio I’ve been using a 1964 Gibson invader. I brought this out for the first time on our new singles, and I love the way it sounds on our songs. On our album I used a combination of my Marshall Origin 20, and some vintage Fender Bassmans that the studio owns. Live in concert I typically use an Orange Supercrush 100. I’ve been having a hard time with tube amps live, because oftentimes the sound guy will want me to turn it down, but with tubes all your tone comes from the volume of the amp. The Orange is a good compromise because it is a solid state head, but it acts a lot like a tube amp with the natural overdrive you may get at louder volumes, all while still maintaining the meat of my tone at lower volumes. I use a few different pedals, most notably an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a MXR Echoplex. The Tube Screamer I typically always have on to produce the grit in my tone. I also like having the Echoplex on at all times at a rather fast delay timing. It gives my tone a little bit of a cushion, instead of being extremely crisp. For solos I will sometimes use an EHX Big Muff, a Wah-Pedal, and a Behringer VD400 if I need a longer delay timing. That combo can specifically be heard in our song ‘Devil Woman’. Lately I’ve been experimenting with an MXR Uni-Vibe. You will hear it in our release 'Leave You There/Blackberry Jam’ which will proceed ‘What They Say’. I am a loyal humbucker player. I typically play an Epiphone Les Paul. It plays better than most of the Gibsons that I’ve played.
Kaeden: I love the look and sound of Vox amps, they have a specific bite to them that’s difficult to get out of any other amp. I have three AC30s, the main one I use is a 2010s-era tube C2 with greenback speakers, which is how it came when I bought it. I’ve been playing through that amp for as long as I’ve been playing live and it’s always been reliable. Other than the amp itself, my pedalboard is mainly cheap amazon garbage for stuff I don’t use in the studio and occasionally use live. The pedals that I use and love though are mainly the Ibanez TS9DX and the MXR Carbon Copy, I’ve been using the Xvive Golden Brownie as a lead boost for the past couple of years but have a hard time getting the right sound out of it whenever I use a guitar with humbuckers. There’s really only two guitars that I use, and it’s my 98’ Fender Telecaster and a Les Paul that my dad and I built from parts when I was a teenager. The only other secret ingredient is an amp that I only ever use in the studio. It’s a 1964 Magnatone M10 that I got from a small music store in my hometown, and I eyed it for years. It wasn’t until we were about to record our first album that on my way home from rehearsal I saw the store was going out of business, so I stopped in and decided that I’d finally buy it. I’m really glad I did, and it’s made its way on a few tracks like the intro to Monique and the clean rhythm guitar part of Sunflower Sky.
How do you approach soloing and improvisation in your music?
Ryder: I tend to sit down and write my solos. One of my biggest influences is Ace Frehley, and I’ve always loved how you can remember each note of his solos after one listen. There are no filler notes, every lick has a purpose. I take that basic principle, and then try to put my own spin on things. I do my best not to be confined to specific boxes, or scales. I like to try throwing in notes that your ears wouldn’t expect.If I am jamming or having to make stuff on the fly I think hard about the chords that are being played, and I try to highlight certain notes of the chords, while weaving in some licks within the key. For example, if it’s a major key I like to work the Major 3rd into my runs to really highlight the key center. On the contrary, sometimes it can be cool to play minor licks in a major key, or vice versa. It's hard to exactly explain, but oftentimes I can hear what I want to play in my head before I play it, and then I get a vague idea of how to make my fingers make the sound in my head. I also see certain colors, and sometimes numbers in my head that can influence the note choices that I make. Improvising is a tricky thing to put into words, and it is a skill that can only be developed through extremely devoted practice.
Which bassists have had the most significant impact on your playing, and how have they influenced your style?
Jude: Chuck Rainey taught me the value of high slides, and walking in the pocket around the changes, and how to tastefully add extended techniques, like slapping and harmonics, in a studio context. James Jamerson showed me how a busy bassline can fit into an ensemble texture, without making the bass stick out. His ramblings felt natural, and they always complement the song- so when I write busy lines, I imagine I’m James weaving through an Arethra Franklin arrangement. His simple precision bass tone is the tone I find myself chasing in recording environments. John Paul Jones exemplified power in his bass parts, in my “rhythm” bass parts I try to emulate him, with his busy, bluesy, and walking style. I remember what drove me to the bass in the first place was watching a double bassist walking his upright bass like a dog around the changes, and being mesmerized at how he remembered all those notes! I try to emulate that style with my electric bass playing somewhat subconsciously because I feel it gets us closer to that late 50s and 60s style rock and roll. Achieving that dated feel more earnestly, I feel, is my part in creating our own style of sound.
There is a wide–spread negative connotation about bassists in the music world, specifically just the fact that they are often overlooked. What is your take on this?
Jude: I feel like I’ve received disproportionate praise for my work as a bassist. Sure, there’s a stereotype of bassists being weird little nerds in the back- and some of that’s true for me! However, the band encourages me to continue making hyperactive bass parts that many people aren’t used to seeing live. So, I don’t feel overlooked.
How would you describe your drumming style, and what elements do you think distinguish it from other drummers?
Nick: I would describe my drumming style as something that fills in the gaps left by the rest of the band. My style really formed when the “band” was just me and Ryder playing in the basement. Since there was nobody else to fill in the pockets between what he played, I would throw in fills or different beats that played in between the riff or strumming pattern. I think the closest drummer to do this is John Bohnam of Led Zeppelin, he tends to follow what the guitar is doing rhythmically instead of just keeping time (Immigrant Song, The Ocean, The Wanton Song, and Out On The Tiles are all great examples of this style.) Sure, a drummer should help keep time in a song, but that should be everyone in the band’s responsibility as well. The drummer's job is to make the band and the audience feel a groove within that tempo that can’t be felt otherwise.
Are there any non-rock genres or musicians that have shaped your drumming techniques or style?
Nick: That depends what genres are considered “non-rock,” but yes, there are quite a few drummers that I identify with in my own playing. Karen Carpenter was an amazing singer and drummer, I would say she was one of the best, if not the best, to drum and sing with a group. Steve Gadd played so many of the most iconic drum parts of all time in many genres from rock to pop to jazz, definitely an inspiration. Buddy Rich may be the greatest drummer to ever live and to have the power and patience to learn to play like him is a massive feat I have attempted before. Fred White of “Earth Wind and Fire” is one of my favorite funk/disco drummers, his ability to fit within the song and make you want to move is unmatched. As for kinda-rock drummers, Jeff Porcaro (studio drummer, Toto) is a favorite that comes to mind. The “Rosanna Shuffle” is something I have yet to master. Stewart Copeland of “The Police” may be in what is debated as a rock band, but his drumming is heavily inspired by jazz, world percussion sounds, reggae, and his ability to never play the same beat for more than 5 seconds.
If you could be remembered for one particular song, album, or contribution to music, which would it be and why?
Nick: Now I don’t know that I can speak for all of us, but I feel that if I were to choose what we could be remembered for, I would choose to be remembered as the group that was at the forefront of a musical revolution. Similar to The Beatles in ‘64 or Nirvana in ‘91, someone who through raw creativity and energy grabbed the music industry and caused it to take a hard turn in a new direction. I feel that the music being made today by most major artists is losing that human touch with the popularity surrounding artificial music (A.I. music, computer created sounds, etc) and people are turning from what is deemed as “popular,” and are instead looking for that raw creative energy that is burning bright somewhere. People are hungry for it and sooner or later, the tide is going to turn and the music industry is going to flip. If we could be the spearhead that breaks the music industry into something full of creative power instead of corporate power, I would die happy.
Do you have a favorite story or memory from a tour or recording session that you haven’t shared before?
Ryder: When we were recording our latest batch of singles there was one morning where Jude broke a bass string, and Kaeden’s brakes had completely malfunctioned in his car. This was especially weird because it is nearly impossible to break a bass string. The fact that Kaeden’s brakes stopped working at the same time was very unusual. The odds of that happening on one of the only days we were in the studio felt funny. We like to laugh about it from time to time.
Leave You There/Blackberry Jam hits even harder after discussion with the masterminds themselves and it’s certainly a song you can’t miss.
Once it comes out, of course.
The song, due to hit streaming platforms some time in November/December of this year, holds a specific prowess that I personally haven’t heard in much music that has debuted in my lifetime (two decades, to paint a better picture). The first half of the song, Leave You There, comes straight out of a 1970s dive bar: it is bluesy, in-your-face, and birthed from the pure raw attitude that is rock n fucking roll. The lyrics themself are profoundly heartfelt and borderline romantic despite its rebellious grit, settling the members of Velvet Daydream as both distinguished rockers and sagacious wordsmiths. Leave You There immediately melts into its second half, Blackberry Jam, which is two minutes and forty six seconds of instrumentals that you won’t believe came out of the 21st century.
Though Velvet Daydream mentioned in their interview that they tend not to compare themselves to others, I couldn’t help but hear influences throughout this absolute explosion of a jam. The guitar and key contributions reek of the great Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek (The Doors) whereas the bass and drums ring with influence from John Paul Jones and John Bonham (Led Zeppelin), making for a piece that is quite literally a cocktail of my musical role models innovated to join the modern century. Leave You There/Blackberry Jam is a revitalizing track that delivers an electric blend of riffs and rhythms, creating an anthemic sound that resonates with the intense energy of rock n roll that we once had in mainstream music. As Nick said, people are starving for music that holds this authenticity and vitality and soon enough, the entire industry is going to flip back to its roots of genuineness and originality. With bands like Velvet Daydream at work, I am almost certain about this revolution.
Leave You There/Blackberry Jam releases on an undisclosed date this November/December and in the meantime, you can catch their upcoming shows at Surfside 7 in Fort Collins and the Fox Theatre in Boulder or enjoy their already-launched music - available anywhere you find music.