Sunny Day Real Estate

Formed in Seattle, USA, during 1992, this ill-fated quartet was yet another excellent hopeful from a fertile area of the west coast. Sunny Day Real Estate was formed by Dan Hoerner (b. 13 May 1969, Seattle, Washington, USA; guitar/vocals), Jeremy Enigk (b. 16 July 1974, Seattle, Washington, USA; guitar/vocals), Nate Mendel (b. 2 December 1968, Seattle, Washington, USA; bass), and William Goldsmith (b. 4 July 1972, Seattle, Washington, USA; drums). They financed a debut single, "Song Number 8/Song Number 9", on their own One Day I Stopped Breathing label and eventually signed with Sub Pop Records in 1994. Their debut, Diary, was locally acclaimed but shortly after its release Mendel and Goldsmith defected to form the Foo Fighters and the band effectively collapsed. In October 1995, a self-titled belated second album was released with a minimalist cover design that seemed to deliberately discourage any sales. The ghastly plain pink cover had the band's name printed in minuscule type. Inside, apart from the track listing, was a small picture of a fly. The music, however, was quite excellent, blending Seattle grunge with melodic pop and helping set a blueprint for the nascent emo (emotional hardcore) scene. Enigk released his solo debut, Return Of The Frog Queen, the following year. In 1997, Goldsmith returned to the re-formed Sunny Day Real Estate, with Mendel replaced by Jeff Palmer. The rejuvenated band carried on where they left off with the passionate How It Feels To Be Something On. A further album for the Time Bomb label proved to be their last as, beset by problems with record promotion and their management, the band called it a day in June 2001. Enigk and Goldsmith reunited with Mendel in the Fire Theft.