We were lucky to catch up with Riley Day recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Riley, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I began writing music from an early age. I’ve always enjoyed writing in sheet music because the language is detail-oriented and just looks so beautiful on the page. Throughout my early 20s I started writing specifically for a horn/funk band (5 horns, guitar, keyboard, bass, drums) because I knew several players on those specific instruments that could read and would be willing to give my music a try. By then I’d had enough exposure to big band ensembles to understand the components of jazz, but what really struck me in my formative years was playing in the double bass section of large orchestras. The through-composition, organic forms, and color combinations of the late 19th/early 20th century music was when I think music really broke free of its chains and took flight. I like to think that my project, Daydream, is inspired by American jazz and European Late-romantic music…with the occasional dubstep drop when no one’s looking…

Riley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Riley Day I am the bassist, bandleader, and composer for a 10-piece horn band called Daydream based out of Wichita, KS. I have been booking, recording, composing, marketing, and bookkeeping for this group since 2016 alongside being a 6-12th grade orchestra teacher and the guitar/double bass instructor at Emporia State University in Emporia, KS. While the members of Daydream have cycled many times over the 7 years, a good portion of us met through Wichita State University during my graduate studies. Everyone in the group felt it important to continue pursuing high-level music making despite whatever job we may land after school, which is why this continues to be a passion for everyone involved.

I am a firm believer that most people in society feel a general sense of patronization from the content they are exposed to on a daily basis. from advertisements to news to interactions with other people: we often accept a much lower baseline of communication in the efforts to be unoffensive or more clearly understood. I think music is far from an exception to that trend. Daydream is an outlet for people who don’t want to be given something easily digestible, who want to be stimulated, and want to communicate on a level that doesn’t feel condescending. Fans of the music oftentimes say that it’s a “breath of fresh air”. That makes me feel really good. Riding the line of making it stimulating but also fun is interesting to me and has helped us create a name for ourselves around the Wichita area.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Luckily, I have band members that share my mission statement and have since the beginning of the band: push this music as far as it will go then raise the bar and push it again. The group is not a full-time job (yet!), so we do live other lives that, for most of us, don’t involve taking an artistic idea and pushing it to its extreme boundaries. I, for example, teach middle school and high school kids. While I do love teaching and it brings my life a lot of joy, it doesn’t get quite as squiggly as Daydream does. The band is comprised of several people like me: they want something else to prevent their lives from becoming complacent or artistically unfulfilled. We can look back and say, “Holy shit we ACTUALLY pulled this off!” That gives us all a huge point of pride.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Originally, I started this band because I wanted to tour the country, headline festivals, play Red Rocks, etc. In the back of my mind I wouldn’t have really cared who was in the group, just as long as the music was getting played and that we were getting as much exposure as possible. But (in true cliche fashion) the years change you and you understand what the most important element of the band really is: Realizing that the people you play with are invaluable friends and that overcoming these challenges together has created a bond that we can take with us for the rest of our lives. We’ve also been around for long enough to see each other fall in and out of love, have kids, make big career changes, and move in and out of apartments/houses/tents/cardboard boxes (only a slight exaggeration). At the end of the day, that really is the most rewarding part. I’ll remember some of the gigs, but I’ll never forget the band members. **P.S. Red Rocks if you’re reading this we love you and we would play there at the drop of a hat please call us!**  

Contact Info:

• Website: daydreamwichita.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=daydream
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZlJ17azsdYtb4n5X1mACag
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Dl1CJRBaPVABkAmW6mSax?si=FKsgzpXUQo6KKNXlAYWn1A
• Bandcamp: daydream5.bandcamp.com