"I just love making pop songs," says guitarist/singer Don Loughney. The four-piece Bethlehem band, Daytime Cleaners, has been an outlet for melodic garage rock for Don since 2014 when the band was briefly known as Plastic Fashion. The four members of the band, Don, Earl, Bill, and Ben, bonded over a shared love of Australian and New Zealand music from the 1980's. In particular, they cite Flying Nun Records as a big influence, the New Zealand label whose punk and post-punk bands became a staple of the emerging college rock genre in the 80's.
In 2014 when the band formed, the friends didn't see other bands creating this type of music in the Lehigh Valley. "Which is why we went in the direction we went in," explains fellow guitarist/singer Ben Strohler. "It was because it didn't seem like there was anybody really going for that kind of sound, so we gave it a shot."
Daytime Cleaners have since brought their sound to venues throughout the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia, released a demo EP, and are in the process of recording a full-length debut album. It helps that the new album is being recorded at Shards with Tape Swap's Matt Molchany. The band is intimately familiar with Shards although performing live in front of a small audience at the studio was certainly a new experience for them. The band joined us at Shards in May 2017.
SHOW #47
---------PART ONE---------
Daytime Cleaners: An Introduction (0:37)
Ramona Córdova - Secret Prayer (2:55)
Ramona Córdova Interview (8:00)
----> Lehigh Valley and Philly connections (8:10)
----> Growing up and moving across the U.S. (8:46)
----> Returning to the U.S. to record the new album (9:36)
----> Wheatie Mattiasich (11:08)
Wheatie Mattiasich - This Way (12:37)
Sarah M. - Control (15:03)
Ramona Córdova Interview (17:03)
----> Sarah M. (17:24)
---------PART TWO---------
Daytime Cleaners - Sleep Debt (19:56)
Daytime Cleaners - Bonnie Brown (23:31)
Daytime Cleaners Interview (26:38)
----> How long they've been playing (26:38)
----> The name of the band (27:12)
----> Musical influences (27:27)
----> Current demo EP and future release plans (28:07)
----> Lyrical approach (28:42)
----> Musical approach (29:07)
Daytime Cleaners - Limerance (29:59)
Daytime Cleaners - Fields (34:13)
Daytime Cleaners Interview (37:08)
----> The Lehigh Valley music scene (37:18)
----> Band pick (40: 22)
Honey Radar - Fort Wayne Mermaids (41:27)
---------PART THREE---------
Ramona Córdova Interview (44:54)
----> The new album, 'On Paper' (45:02)
----> Gaspar Claus (47:02)
Marion Cousin & Gaspar Claus -Madona De Sa Cabana (48:38)
Ramona Córdova Interview (49:51)
----> M.I.A. (50:14)
M.I.A. - Finally (51:24)
Ramona Córdova - Printemps (51:40)
Thanks to to the sponsors of this Shards Session:
Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations
Homebase Skateshop & 2nd Base Vintage