Da Da's first record - the "clean," melodic, hook-filled, pop-friendly, Puzzle - burst onto the music scene just as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, STP and "grunge" took over the airwaves and the MTV Buzz Bin back in 1992.
Despite being slightly out of sync with the flannel shirts, unchecked anger and heart-on-sleeve angst that was suddenly a hot musical commodity, Puzzle yielded three relatively successful hits ("Dim," "Dizz Knee Land" and "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow") for the young band.
"We were in a van outside of Reading, Calif. on our very first tour when we heard "Dizz Knee Land" on the radio for the first time," recalls drummer/vocalist Phil Leavitt fondly. "The station was playing a block of songs and we came on after a Led Zeppelin tune. We had to pull the van over to the side of the road. We just flipped out!"
The album went on to sell an impressive 300,000 copies and Da Da spent most of the year "alternative" began to morph into "mainstream" experiencing America from a cramped van.
The seemingly never-ending Puzzle support tour exposed the group's surprisingly intense live show and stunning harmonies to the scattered beginnings of what would, over time, grow into a cult of devoted Da Da fans packing clubs regardless of the band's current chart position.
The group's second effort, American Highway Flower, was released just as Green Day-fueled punk rocketed its way up the charts in 1994. The new album found Da Da, once again, concentrating on creating great pop songs with deep lyrics, moody dynamics, endearing vocals, catchy choruses and ear-grabbing hooks.
Although they enjoyed a bit of minor success with "All I Am," Da Da was completely out-of-sync with the three-chord, green-haired, make-believe punk being crammed down the throats of consumers - and American Highway Flower languished briefly at the lower end of the charts before vanishing.
"We didn't get much press for the second record," laments bassist/vocalist Joie Calio. "We're not part of the 'thing' that's been generating for the last few years, the big Rolling Stone/Spin/MTV pyramid. We don't have one identifiable sound and we're kind of an eclectic band. So, I guess, that's made it hard for people to 'set' us anywhere. It makes it hard to pigeonhole us as any one thing."
"We're cult favorites," deadpans Leavitt.
"Yeah!" laughs lead singer Michael Gurley. "But, at least we won't get that 'quick burn' thing that happens with those poor guys that get too much press," he says semi-sarcastically.
In spite of the somewhat disappointing CMJ and Billboard showing of American Highway Flower, fans who'd caught the band in concert during the first tour turned out in droves to cheer them on during their latest unending trek across the country. And, being true Da Da fans and confirmed converts, they brought some friends along with 'em.
The tour was eventually deemed a success by label accountants, which encouraged IRS to give the group a thumbs-up for a third album. The three musicians quickly disappeared into the studio with producers/pals Adam Weiner and Scott Gordon and mixer-to-the-stars Tom Lord-Alge (Live, Oasis, Dave Matthews Band) for six months to work on what would become El Subliminoso.
Taking the time to grow with their new songs, the band relaxed, experimented and discovered that, according to Calio, "The fact that we took our time making the album gave us a chance to sit back and breathe. The melding of the two elements of Da Da - the song and the sound - finally came together."
A 12-song treat, El Subliminoso covers a broad range of emotions and musical styles while encompassing influences that include The Beatles, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, jazz, funk, soul, metal, pop, grunge and early-Rolling Stones - with just enough hooks, jangle and sweet, three-part harmonies thrown in to keep things constantly hummable.
"We all started listening to music early, when we were around four or five," Gurley says by way of explaining the group's eclectic sound. "We're all big Beatles fans and we all seemed to start playing our instruments when we were, like, six or seven. So, I think we also have that strength, as well as a history of influences behind our sound."
"On El Sublimonoso, we were pretty much left alone and worked on our own schedule," laughs Calio, "so the studio turned into, like, our clubhouse. The result is that there are a lot of great songs on the new album, such as "Time Is Your Friend," "No One," "Rise," "I Get High," and "The Spirit Of 2009."
"That song", interjects Gurley, "I'm definitely afraid of the Republican right wing. It seemed like they were picking up a lot of steam there for awhile, you know, the religious right - guys like Newt, Rush Limbaugh, Dole and Buchanan, and I got to thinking, 'well, what if the nation really does go way to the right here? How would things go? What's a 15-year-old's life gonna be like in the year 2009?' "
"The vision I had really scared me," he shudders, "and I thought that alone was reason enough for me to write a song."
