LESTAT

Interview with David Knauer for Grey Daze Story is halfway done.

Chester in the studio with STP:
https://twitter.com/STPRobertDeLeo/status/565703316660060160/photo/1

It doesn't work for me. What's there?

Thank you.

Just finished the story. Everything that felt out of place in the previous one makes a lot of sense now. A lot of completely new info.

Not going to post it just yet, because there's still a possibility that I'll add at least one more interview to it.

And Mace said that he first met the band when they played covers during Electric Ballroom's After Hours nights and we know it means February 1995, in case it was the only month they played such shows.

Just to let everyone know, I'm working on the updated Grey Daze Story.

I'll rework the existing one and will add a lot of stuff. Some of it is already on this thread, but there's a pretty fucking interesting info I JUST got to know.

Sean just told me Grey Daze played all of the outside shows he mentioned before Mace joined the band. He also mentioned Whisky A Go Go as one of the places they played.

So I had a quick conversation with Mace. He told me that the show they opened for Michael Schenker Group was in Mesa Amphitheater and it was the Earth day. Can't find any Michael Schenker Group shows that fit.

Also, contrary to what Sean told me, Mace said there were no gigs outside Arizona, except for what it seems like the very last Grey Daze show ever that they played in Coconut Teaszer in LA. According to him, it was a label showcase and the label said "No", but this showcase was the reason Chester was later asked to audition for Hybrid Theory.

From the interview with Mace Beyers:

What was the biggest show Grey Daze every played ?
-There was a lot, we played at an ampithearter a can't remember the name now. We played with Michal Shanker Group, no doubt was the best by far.

Assuming that he's not talking about the same show in his first and second sentence, the show they played with Michael Schenker most likely was:

1996.11.09 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom
Source | Source | Source

 

Well, how can Chester be featured on ''Slip'' and ''Blue'' for example when they say ''Unreleased 1998 Demo''? Plus, the t-shirt that the band sold on the Honda Civic Tour said ''Los Angeles Est. 1998'' or something to that effect.

Mike admitted 1998 was incorrect.

I'm actually surprised it's that hard to look at the show dates by every pre-Linkin Park band to figure out everything you need to know.

Chester writing new material with STP again:
https://twitter.com/STPRobertDeLeo/status/553763934738477058

It think several Rockline CD's popped up on ebay over the years, and all they ever had were interviews, unless I mix it up with something else.

Here's STP performing on Rockline in 2000, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7N_zmeKGgk

EDIT:

http://websta.me/p/853071913793706294_49710597

I saw Hybrid Theory with Cypress Hill live when I was in 7th grade #old

It is possible that she's talking about PR2002 somehow, but who knows? I saw some people making this kind of mistakes before.

I believe some bands played short sets @ Rockline. As I said, I doubt the band played that day too, but if they did play, then this show is not on the guide. If the show played any portion of any other Linkin Park concert, then it means we are missing a source.

While I certainly won't spend as much time here as I'm spending in my "Unlisted Grey Daze Shows / Notes" thread, I think, this thread should exist. I would love someone to take over and find some previously unknown info on Xero/Hybrid Theory/Linkin Park shows. I'll just start with:

Currently not in the guide:

• The band's 42 label showcases
  
  
  

  https://web.archive.org/web/20031203144441/http://www.lptimes.com/bio/bio_band.html

  Executives at other record companies must be in tears. For three years, Linkin Park were rejected by every major label in the business and by a lot of indies, as well. Warner Bros. passed three times before finally signing the band in late '99. Blue, who gave the group a development deal in 1997 after seeing just one show, recalls a Xero club date in Los Angeles packed with A&R scouts. They had all fled by the third song. "The place was empty," says Blue, now a vice president of A&R at Warner Bros. and the executive producer of Hybrid Theory. "You could hear crickets." When Bennington arrived in 1999, the band played forty-two showcases for labels and, the singer says, "got turned down by everybody."

   

• Hybrid Theory performing with Cypress Hill?
  
  
  

  http://websta.me/p/853071913793706294_49710597

  I saw Hybrid Theory with Cypress Hill live when I was in 7th grade #old

  It is possible that she's talking about PR2002 somehow, but who knows? I saw some people making this kind of mistakes before.

   

• Unknown Linkin Park's 2001.02.12 Rockline appearance / source
  
  
  

  http://web.archive.org/web/20010518120908/www.efanguide.com/~linkinpark/news.html

  Linkin Park will be performing live at ROCKLINE at 8PM PST (11PM EST) today (February 12).

  It means 12.02.2001 and it's not in the guide. However, the Rockline website says "2/12/2001 Linkin Park, Static-X, and Orgy" and I think it's unlikely that all of them were in the same studio, so I assume the radio played a few segments from some show all these bands played on the same bill. Are there any shows that fall into this category?

   

Added shows:

• 1999.11.12 Fullerton, CA, The Backalley (Opening for Alien Ant Farm)
• 2000.02.24 Los Angeles, CA, HiFi Hollywood ("Lockout" Rehearsal)
• 1999.xx.xx Glendale, CA, 311 E. Stocker Ave
• 1999.xx.xx Los Angeles, CA, The Gig-Hollywood,"Mike Galaxy Presents" Indy Hits Showcase

-Grey Daze @ Guitar Center opening party

Jesus... I saw Grey Daze at the Guitar Center opening party when they first opened by Ghetro Center. Old school.

http://www.coachella.com/forum/showthread.php?10445-The-Phoenix-Thread!/page406

According to Guitar Center website, the above mentioned store was opened in 2000. So either it was the later incarnation of Grey Daze with Jodi on vocals or that guy confused this Guitar Center with the one in Tempe that was opened in 1998.

I emailed their local staff and here's the response:

I apologize, but we unfortunately have no information on whether Grey Daze had played at any of our store locations. We had nearly 70 store locations during the 1990s, and I know that we've held Battle of the Bands competitions as well, so they may have played at one of our locations at some point. I apologize for not having any further details.

 

Update:

After some research, I found out that the Guitar Center store in Phoenix was opened in 1998, then closed, then re-opened in 2000, but on a different spot of the same building. So for now the date looks like this:

1998.xx.xx Phoenix, AZ, Guitar Center, The Store's Opening Party

Added all of the other bands to the show pages and occasional notes. Updated the main post.

The Fat show would look like this:

1997.08.23 Tempe, AZ, Fender Showcase Room @ Electric Ballroom

Also, updated notes on Fender's Ballroom show page.

EDIT: Thanks, Jonas. Updated the main post.

Thank you. Updated the main post with new info and made it a lot more easier on the eyes.
AndOne is the one who usually adds new show pages for me to edit them, so I'm gonna wait for him to do his part.

EDIT:

Talk about doubling our guide...

New dates:

1995.01.11 Scottsdale, AZ, Thunder & Lightning Bar & Grill

"After Hours" 1-4AM: Pearl Jam, Candlebox, STP, The Cult & more performed by Grey Daze

1995.02.03 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.04 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.10 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.11 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.17 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.18 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.24 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night
1995.02.25 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, "After Hours" night

1995.03.09 Phoenix, AZ, Paradise Cove (with Kidd Nasty and Nuclear Opie)
1995.03.25 Phoenix, AZ, Paradise Cove (with Premonition, Feel, Explicit Noise and Ruben's Accomplice)

1995.05.07 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, AAA Local Rock Show (with Muckworm, Paydirt and Celophane)
1995.05.14 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, AAA Local Rock Show (with Side Effect, Nuclear Opie and Lemon Angst)
1995.05.21 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom, AAA Local Rock Show (with Monkey Boy, Honey Bucket and Contradiction)

1995.11.17 Tempe, AZ, The Big Fish Pub (with Liquid Fate and Twelve Inch Waste)

1996.02.10 Phoenix, AZ, Mason Jar (with Lemon Krayola)

1997.12.19 Tempe, AZ, The Bash On Ash @ McDuffy's (with Velvet Blue and Jan Zero)

Sources are in the attachments. There's also the "Wake Me" album review from local newspaper.
Big thanks to Chris Wright for finding and scanning all of these from his personal newspaper collection.

The first time I'm seeing this:

“On the album, the guitars were definitely heavier – there was a bit more grip to the record before and I think the label, when they heard the songs, were like “this could be all over the radio” and they wanted us to polish it up and make it shimmery.”

http://www.devilbearrock.com/2010/05/02/ryanshuckinterview/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edTDD7gCh4c

Skip to 1:08.

None of the band members are 100% correct. A lot of time has passed and there are always many sides to the stories.
I just never ever buying into any info when someone's trying to tell the exact numbers or dates.. It's ALWAYS incorrect. Even Linkin Park failed to realize how many times they played QWERTY in Japan: http://lplive.net/shows/db/2007/20070729 (See Show Notes). I also remember how Stone Temple Pilots performed Kitchenware & Candybars in 2000 saying that it's the first time ever they are performing this song, but there's a recording of them performing it in 1994. lol
However, I'd take Steve's word that he played at least a few shows with Chester since he obviously knows better if he played more than one.

EDIT: Here's the story of Electric ballroom losing it's alcohol license. It happened two days before the show.
http://web.archive.org/web/19991003203622/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996/101697/soundcheck1.html

EDIT:

New Shows!

1996.03.23 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom (with Bandit Queen and Van Gogh's Daughter)
http://web.archive.org/web/19991008020855/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996/032196/lmusic.html

1997.12.27 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom - it is 1996
(with Kicking Harold, Surf Ballistics, Elliot's Lochness, Aventin Hill, Echo Chamber and Odyssey)
http://web.archive.org/web/19970727103644/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1997/122696/lmusic.html

Confirmations for existing shows:
http://web.archive.org/web/19991009123627/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996/062796/lmusic.html
http://web.archive.org/web/19991003085822/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996/072596/lmusic.html

Holy Electric Ballroom overload.

Thank you!

On a side note, does anyone remember Dave Sardegna's part of Grey Daze story?

Once I joined Grey Daze we kept the name for about 6 months then changed it to Waterface with all new material written by myself, Jodi Wendt (singer) and original GD members Bobby Benish (guitar) and Sean Dowdell (drums).

Setlists were basically the No Sun Today record. The Down Syndrome and Anything Anything of course. Also did The Metro" by Berlin since we now had a female singer.

Sean: Dave Sardegna was never in Grey Daze. He was in Waterface. When I tried to keep Grey Daze together after Chester and I split we called it Grey Daze for less than 2 months and never played a show with him under Grey Daze.

Me: Dave Sardegna told me that the band kept the name for about six months and that it performed shows mainly consisted of No Sun Today tracks and also did The Metro by Berlin. Does it mean that he is incorrect or the band actually performed all of these under Waterface?

Sean: Yes, we never performed under Grey Daze.

______________________________________________________________________________

Posted by someone under the "Downtime" music video by the band called Fat on YouTube:

I saw them with Chindo Squad & Grey Daze (Chester Bennington) back in 1997 @ the Electric Ballroom in Tempe, AZ, and they kicked ass.

Fat Fender Showcase Room, Electric Ballroom, Tempe, Sat., Aug. 23, 9 p.m. (all ages).

Source: http://web.archive.org/web/19990826043237/http://phoenixnewtimes.com/1997/080797/music/coming_up.html

Does anyone think this info is good enough for the date to be added to the guide?

______________________________________________________________________________

Also, when I saw "Fender Showcase Room" it stroke me there's something familiar going on.

Dave Sardegna again:

I used to have a copy of a show with Chester at the Fenders Ballroom, but have since misplaced it.

It was at the Fenders Ballroom in Tempe, Arizona. The venue was referred to as "the Ballroom".

I remember trying to figure out what the Fender's Ballroom is and there was absolutely no info about it. I guess "Fender Showcase Room" in Electric Ballroom is what he was talking about. Asked Sean what the heck "Fender Showcase Room" is:

Sean: It was in the Electric Ballroom and I believe GD played it a couple times as a favor on off nights, but we usually played the grand ballroom and sold it out.

So I think we should rename

xxxx.xx.xx Tempe, AZ, Fender's Ballroom

to

xxxx.xx.xx Tempe, AZ, Fender Showcase Room @ Electric Ballroom

or delete the show, because there's a possibility that the recorded show is some other known show from the list. Or rename the venue and make a note that there's a possibility that this show is already on the list.

He means that Grey Daze was formed in 1993 - a year and a half (or almost two years) after Sean Dowdell and His Friends was formed (1991-1992).

Krause wasn't in SDAHF so he was talking about Grey Daze when he said that the band formed in 1993.

Thank you very much! Let's hope that we will be able to expand the page more and more with the same intensity. Also, there's still a huge possibility for a live video recording. The only thing that prevents it to be released is communication issue. I won't say anything for now, except that there's a progress. All we need is time and patience.

I'm working on adding every minor thing to the show pages. It will be added as well, of course.

EDIT:

http://lplive.net/shows/db/greydaze/19940910

Added/reworked a lot of stuff.

EDIT:

Was lucky to chat with Sean Dowdell for a bit:

Has Grey Daze ever played a show outside Arizona?

The band played all over the western US, LA, San Diego, Las Vegas, San Franciso, etc. I don't have any info on dates though.

Has "Sean Dowdell And His Friends" ever played live? Where there enough songs to play? There are 3 original songs on the tape, and I believe someone once said that the song Wake Me is also originated from SDAHF.

Yes we played for well over a year and a half around the Phx area, probably 50-70 shows.

Wake me did not originate from SDAHF. That was written by me, Chester and a guitar player named Jason Barnes.

Please, check out this picture: http://lplive.net/forum/uploads/gallery/album_829/gallery_55_829_11176.jpg

Is it Grey Daze or SDAHF? We figured out it's 1993 and it's Greenway High School. What are the other SDAHF songs the band played? Do you happen to remember any song titles?

It is SDAHF. I don't remember set lists like that. I'm sorry.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Sooooo, we can separate the two 1993 dates as "Sean Dowdell And His Friends Shows".

I just rechecked my message archive and we should also change the date of Silver Dollar show to 1992. I somehow missed the part where this person said "It was like 91-92 that they played the Silver Dollar. Yeah because I was a sophomore when I met Chester through my friend."

It's Mason Jar here: http://www.enjoyglu.com/god-lives-underwater-tour-dates/
The show was probably moved from Nita's to Mason Jar, because your second link looks like a tentative schedule.

EDIT:

1997.10.04 Tempe, AZ, Electric Ballroom (Opening for Faith No More)
http://web.archive.org/web/19991205030309/http://phoenixnewtimes.com/1996/092597/music/coming_up.html

The show was cancelled.
Sean Dowdell: We did not play that show as far as I can remember.
Updated the show page. How to make the show red on the list?

Messaged Mace to ask about this show. He should remember, because opening for / losing the spot to open for Faith No More is quite an event.

He saw my message, but didn't reply.

EDIT: Some of the bands Grey Daze opened for were pretty popular. Like God Lives Underwater.

We should search if there are any reviews of these specific shows for every band. Maybe Grey Daze were mentioned in some way. Would be interesting no matter how little info is out there.

Maybe some of this shows were recorded.
I also see that God Lives Underwater were touring with Flourescein around the US and Grey Daze opened for them on their AZ stop. I should add stuff like this to the show pages. That would make them a lot more interesting.

EDIT: There's a recording of both Sexpod and Powerman 5000 from 1997.05.06 gig:
http://www.angelfire.com/az/livevideo/list2.html
http://www.angelfire.com/az/livevideo/list3.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ks/ksvid/video2.html

Emails sent.