Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Sayak Das - vocals, rhythm guitar
Matt Bolton - lead guitar
Jake Sierzega - bass guitar
Josh Parra - drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Dreamer & Son? How long has the band been around?
Sayak - I’ve been in a couple different bands filling a variety of roles throughout my musical career. I played guitar in my first band, Blame It On Yesterday, as well as my pinnacle high school band, The Royal Thieves. Along with the Thieves, I fronted a metalcore outfit named Willowfoot during my senior year of high school. After high school, I drummed for an EDM project called Sleepcycle with a couple of college buddies of mine. Everything culminated with me founding and fronting Dreamer & Son at the end of my freshman year of college. The band has been around for almost 2 years since that date.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Sayak - Along with being an acronym for my last name, Dreamer & Son originated from a story that my father told me before I moved out for school. In it, he detailed the origin of my middle name. Apparently, I was named after a troupe of traveling actors headed by Uday Shankar (brother of the historically renown Ravi Shankar). Long story short, my dad gave me that name with the intentions that I become a performer. I am the “son”. Back when this group was just my solo project, I went under the moniker “Daughters & Son” as I had plans to bring my little sister into the project with me. However, as soon as this name was thought up, it stuck.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Sayak - I’ve been the head songwriter for the songs we’ve released up to date. The main topics range from destroyed relationships to dealing and conquering mental hurdles (depression, anxiety, etc). The topics may take a different face over time, but I see us staying within the same general ballpark.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Jake - Some of the bands that we really pull artistic influence from are The Killers, Tides of Man, and Young The Giant. Although from a business perspective, we’ve been keeping an eye on artists like Walk The Moon, The 1975, and DNCE.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Jake - I think our band really came together out of necessity.. Being an artist is a calling, and you have to feel that in your core. Otherwise, the constant struggle will eventually break you down. We’re a product of our environments, so it’s hard to hone in on just one group, place, or time. Literally though, the story goes that before we were a band, Sayak and Josh saw a post-rock group called I/O. We were all fresh into college and they were the upper classmen, so naturally they carried some weight. It was the come-to-jesus moment. Once we got started things just snowballed out of control, and here we are.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Jake - We typically head to whatever back room or hallway we can find in the venue about a half hour before load on. Josh spends most of the time stabbing his drum pad, Sayak and I do vocal warmups, and all of us do pretty extensive leg and back stretches. But once we’re on stage, the show can’t start until we have our huddle.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Jake - The release of our new single, “Cheat”, has been our biggest (and best) step forward. We were all confident in the song and video, but weren’t prepared for the amount of support we’d be blessed with. Our community really came out in full force, they’ve kept our hands full with this one.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jake - We would want to tour with Coldplay, Muse, or Nine Inch Nails. They’re the kind of artists that will stop at nothing to make something beautiful and immersive. They use every modern tool at their disposal to make something special, making their live shows just the right kind of magical.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Jake - First of all, thank you so much. We’re really grateful for the opportunity to open up like this. To everyone reading this, we can’t wait to meet you!