It's only rock 'n' roll: The day after... transcends stereotypes of music and gender

BY PJ PEREZ

Running faster through the streets

Where we could lose ourselves in the headlights like stars

-- The day after..., "Headlights Like Stars"

Dynamic guitars. Driving rhythms. Melodic vocals. Poetic lyrics. Stage presence. All of the elements of a great rock 'n' roll band. Las Vegas' The day after... has garnered a lot of attention based on one element not mentioned above: a kick-ass female lead singer. But to focus on Jenine Cali's gender instead of the band's strength as a whole is unfair both to the group and to its fans, current or potential.

On April 17, The day after... debuts its new seven-song EP The Weight of All Things with a release party at Pink E's on West Flamingo at Valley View. KOMP 92.3-FM's Laurie Steele, whose weekly "Homegrown" radio program has helped dozens of new and unsigned artists get their music heard on the local airwaves, is hosting the show, which will start at 9:30 p.m.

The day after... has been seriously making its name and sound known in the Las Vegas scene for about two years, but the basis for the band formed in 1999 when Cali and bassist KC Wells began writing music together. They released an EP in 2001, and after recruiting lead guitarist Trevor Warnick and drummer Luis Cano, the band recorded another EP, Do You Feel Better Now?, a surprisingly well-produced and well-written effort given that the relatively young band recorded the album at its home studio.

On songs like "Burning Red" and "No Regrets," The day after... established a definitive sound, something familiar but original, and undeniably catchy. The new EP promises more of the same.

"Its pretty much the same formula," says Cali of The Weight of All Things. "The major difference between this record and the last one is that Do You Feel Better Now? was a mellower CD as a whole, whereas The Weight of All Things is high-energy from start to finish."

It has become par for the course in this society for female-fronted rock bands to fall under a certain amount of scrutiny, more than their all-male counterparts do. The day after... has not been immune to this phenomenon, though the band does not necessarily see the focus on Cali's gender as a negative issue.

"People don't expect a whole lot out of us when they see us for the first time," Cali says. "So it's cool if we get to surprise people. As for the press, it's really kind of helped actually. I think the press sees a girl playing guitar and fronting a rock band, and they're intrigued. So it has its advantages and disadvantages."

Pink E's, a bar known mainly for its wall-to-wall pool tables and cock-rock clientele, seems like an unlikely location for a band like The day after... to hold a CD-release party. Most of the band's shows are almost exclusively at 21-and-over locations, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by its members.

"There are some things about Las Vegas that aren't cool," Wells says, "namely the lack of things to do for the under-21 crowd. These all-ages venues come and go before you even get to go to them once."

The day after...