When the band Dropping Daylight needed a new drummer, it looked no further than a friend of a friend, according to vocalist/pianist Sebastian Davin.
"We only knew Allen (Maier), our new drummer, for only a day before he joined the band," Davin said by phone from Tampa, Fla. "Allen was dating a girl who knew our bassist (Rob Burke). So when it came time for us to look for a drummer, she told us to call Allen."
Maier lived in Cleveland, Ohio, and flew to Dropping Daylight's hometown of Minneapolis, Minn., to audition. "He played a couple of songs and ended up staying in town because he fit," Davin said with a laugh.
So with Maier in the fold, the band — Davin, Burke and guitarist Seth Davin (Sebastian's brother) — Dropping Daylight was again ready to rock.
The band had been preparing to record its debut full-length album "Brace Yourself," which was released earlier this year. The recording of that album was a bit different than the band's extended-play release "Take a Photograph," back in 1995. "We recorded 'Take a Photograph' in our rehearsal space, and we all played live and then added vocals later.
"But with 'Brace Yourself,' we recorded all the songs track by track — drums, bass, guitar, piano and vocals — separately. We took our time to make sure the guitars dialed in right, things like that. It's amazing how long it can take to record a guitar. I mean one day it took 10 hours to record a guitar part. I don't know how that was possible, but it happened."
Still, the band knew the album had to be tight because it had signed to Epic Records (a division of the Sony/BMG label) a few months earlier. "It's funny how things can happen so fast and then take so long to come to a close," said Davin, who cited Weezer and Ben Folds Five as his major musical influences. "I mean one day we're a local band in Minneapolis doing fairly well. Two weeks later, we have a record label rep coming to our shows. And in 21 days we have a signed record contract.
"While that was a whirlwind, it took the label a long time to get us into the studio and get all the details wrapped up with our joining Sony. I've noticed that a lot of bands do the 'hurry-up-and-wait' thing once they've signed a contract."
However, Davin knows he can't complain too much. He's in a band on a major label, making music and going on tour, reaching out to new audiences. "When we started this tour with the other bands, we didn't know them. We didn't know if we'd get along with them or not, but they've all been cool. And we had a 10-hand poker game going last night."
If you go
What: Monty Are I, Dropping Daylight, The Summer Obsession, Permanent Me, The Outline
Where: Avalon, 3605 S. State
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
How much: $10
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com