Thursday, July 03, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Music: Just a grrl

The Day After thrives in a male-dominated local scene

By Brock Radke

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse: Jenine Cali, frontwoman for local band The Day After, says she's sick of audiences assuming her band will be like No Doubt when it takes the stage, and that she will be like Gwen Stefani. The comparison still comes up, even though The Day After's emo-groove rock has little to do with punk or ska, Cali has shorter brunette hair and dresses pretty casually.

"But now I've been called Kelly Osbourne a lot lately," Cali says, slightly dismayed. "That's kind of a strange thing for some guy to hell at you. But people can talk if they want to talk."

That comparison makes even less sense, as all signs point to the fact that Cali is a pretty talented chick. Rocker grrls may have a strong presence in the local music scene, but few have a woman up front. Cali doubles up her contributions to the band, adding some guitar and providing most of the lyrics to The Day After's thoughtful but still rock-edged tunes.

"It's kind of a shock to people if they've never seen us play before," says bassist K.C. Wells of the female front. "I don't think I could be in an all-guy band now, though. Too much testosterone. Plus, I think [Cali] gives us a little intrigue. I mean, she's attractive, but she can sing her ass off, too."

The band was formed a couple of years ago when Cali and Wells, friends since sixth grade, were playing drums and bass, respectively, in a run-of-the-mill pop punk group. Cali took up the guitar so she could work out some of the song ideas in her head.

"Everything has changed a lot from when we started," she says. "We get called called emo a lot, but I don't know what that is, although I do listen to bands like Face to Face and Sunny Day Real Estate. I just wanted to write music. I don't think of writing sad songs, but I guess they come out that way."

The band released its Scared of Dolls EP in 2001, and guitarist Trevor Warnick joined the group last year. Proving to be consistent, The Day After put out another EP, Do You Feel Better Now?, earlier this year. Since then Luis Cano has replaced original drummer Uffe Moller, and the group plans to put out another release by year's end.

"Jenine was writing songs in our old band but no one was paying attention," says Wells, who is known for some hyperactivity during shows. "The sound just kind of evolved into what it is now. We just try to play what we would listen to. We're very focused on connecting the melodies and her vocals."

Although The Day After doesn't always bring in giant crowds, the band is unusual among locals in that it hasn't staked out any particular venue as its main gig. It's pretty much played everywhere at least once, and has no problem continuing to make the rounds.

"It's been a struggle," Cali says. "It's a fickle town, but we've made progress. We played the Castle when it opened, but now it's gone. We'd like to get into the Huntridge again, but we might be cursed with that one. But we like most of the venues around town."

For being a fairly young band, The Day After doesn't necessarily gravitate toward the all-ages crowd. Songs about relationships and disappointments might fit in with the city's few admitted emo kids, but the melodic grooves of Wells and Warnick don't match the thrash set's desires.

"We're more conscious of influences now, but we like what we like and we're not going to shy away from something just because it's called something," Wells says. "We're definitely not a traditional emo band, but we'll incorporate any style."

The ultimate goals, of course, are to put out a full-length release, perhaps get out of Vegas a little bit and attract the attention of some label folks.

"We used to have rules, like trying to play only two or three times a month," Wells says. "We thought if you play all the time it's hard to draw crowds. But now, it's like, any show helps. We're getting a lot more opportunities now."