Welcome Each Passing Day

This Central Coast band sounds off about relationships

Each Passing Day—with a sound that resembles Iron and Wine, Damien Rice, and Death Cab for Cutie—explores relationships, both the bliss and the pain.

click to enlarge Welcome Each Passing Day
PHOTO COURTESY SUMMER SCHMITZ
AND THE DAYS GO BY: : Each Passing Day released Welcome Home in September.

But for lead singer Loren Radis, it was the pain that was the catalyst for motivation. A bad breakup prompted him to seek comfort in his music, and that music helped pull him through the rough patch. In a roundabout way, the rough patch also put him in touch with his music.

“Sometimes I’d just strum aimlessly,” he said about that time in his life. “It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The heartbreak was unbearable.”

Ultimately, Radis explained, it was the music that helped him cope. He emerged on the other side of the heartbreak with a myriad songs and a drive to bring focus to the hobby for which he felt so much passion.

Until that point, Radis’ music career was like his post-breakup guitar strumming: pretty aimless. He held onto music throughout high school and never really did anything with it, he admitted. He said that at first it was simply one of his hobbies. Then it became apparent that his interest in music was something more.

“All the other hobbies would fade away,” he said. “Music was always there. It was a passion.”

After his breakup, the self-proclaimed “severe introvert” forced himself to play on the beach in front of anyone who would listen to prepare himself for eventually playing concerts. His newfound direction led to regular gigs and, finally, a CD.

Each Passing Day released its first CD, Welcome Home, in September. Radis provides the vocals, and childhood friends play the rest: Matt Schimtz takes drums and Dan Schimtz is on bass. The Schimtz brothers also present three songs on the album, though Radis does most of the writing.

Matt has played drums for about 10 years, but he’s modest about his drum playing: “You don’t have to be great to make great music.”

Dan has been playing guitar for 14 years, but says he got into it by divine intervention. Prior to picking up a guitar, he had never had the desire to play music.

“In my life, if I could ever say I had the good Lord tell me to do something, it was play music,” he said. “So who was I to argue?”

Most of Radis’ music is still relationship centered, though most of his lyrics are happier these days.

“I find that is the only thing that inspires me,” he said.

Radis got the music bug from his dad, but he also suspects that it may run in the family. His mother is a singer and both siblings play musical instruments. He was first inspired to play guitar because he wanted to be like his dad. When Radis was 7 years old, he tried to pick up the instrument, but soon lost interest. Then, at 11 years old, he tried again. He asked his dad for a guitar. His dad made a deal with him: If he could show a continued interest, he would get his guitar. Radis stuck with it and got his guitar on his 12th birthday. He still plays it.

“My wildest dream would be to be the next John Lennon,” Radis said. “My realistic hope is to do this for a living and be famous. Then there’s my plan, which is nonexistent. I don’t know where to go from here. I have a lot of learning to do still.”

 

INFOBOX: Another day

Check out Each Passing Day’s music at eachpassingday.com or myspace.com/eachpassingday. The band will perform with Gary Foshee from 8 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 11 at Southside Coffee in Lompoc.


Who is Arts Editor Shelly Cone to argue? Contact her at [email protected].

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