Thanks to Jenz
Sunny Day Real Estate Biography
by Brian Raftery
Considering their relatively brief existence, Sunny
Day Real Estate racked up enough dramatic twists and turns to rank with
some of the great rock soap operas. Their key members engaged in just
about every rock cliché imaginable, including finding religion, refusing
to work with the media, breaking up, joining a big-name group, and even
recording an ambitious full-orchestra pop album -- all before reuniting
in 1997.
Although formed in 1992 amid the burgeoning hard
rock scene in Seattle (and later signed to Northwest power label Sub
Pop), the band could not have been more different from its flannel-clad
contemporaries. Originally conceived as a three-piece
(guitarist/vocalist Dan Hoerner, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer William Goldsmith), Sunny Day Real Estate garnered attention when they added enigmatic lead singer Jeremy Enigk,
whose high-pitched, continually ascending voice complemented their
melodic songs. Shrouded in mystery from the get-go, the group released
only one picture to the press, conducted one interview, and never played
a show in the state of California with all four members.
With the release of their 1994 debut album, Diary, Sunny Day achieved newfound fame (at one time posing for an ad by department-store chain Nordstrom), while Enigk converted to Christianity. In 1995, the group broke up, but not before releasing that year's LP2 (which, because of its single-hue design, is usually referred to as "The Pink Album") and prompting speculation as to whether Enigk's born-again status was behind the breakup. Goldsmith and Mendel quickly found work with Foo Fighters, while Hoerner retreated to a farm in Washington. One year after the breakup, Enigk released Return of the Frog Queen,
a set of acoustic songs recorded with a 21-piece orchestra. In the
meantime, the band maintained a steady Internet fan base, and continued
to sell copies of its first two albums.
A How It Feels to Be Something On
B Bucket of Chicken
