Tym from Daytrader was kind enough to do an in-depth interview with PropertyOfZack just last week while being stranded by a snowstorm. Tym and I discussed the initial groundwork of Daytrader, the early response to Last Days Of Rome, a possible b-side release, their touring plans for 2011, and more. Read up and enjoy!

For the record, could you state your name and role in Daytrader?
Tym, and I sing in Daytrader.
 
The band played its first good string of tour dates at the end of 2010 with Such Gold and many other bands like The Wonder Years and Fireworks. How were fans responding to you guys in terms of the life show at that point considering there was not much material out there yet?
We were actually really surprised with how well it went for us. Like you said, all we had was like a demo. Even the demo 7”s weren’t out yet. It was just like three songs online basically. People were singing along at pretty much all of the shows and were into it and buying demo tapes and all of that. It was definitely better than we expected. It was cool.
 
The three-song demo was released via Bandcamp back in the early fall. Was the reception to those songs greater than you guys had hoped for?
Yeah, definitely. That demo was originally just going to be pre-production. We were recording a bunch of songs to see how they turned out and we were like, “Oh these sound pretty good. Let’s post them for free.” We were definitely psyched on how pumped kids were on it. Obviously we signed to Run For Cover and we posted that and had offers for touring and other things. It was definitely more than we expected. We were stoked.
 
It was announced that Daytrader had signed to Run For Cover Records at the same time as those demos were released. When did talks between the band and Jeff begin?
Gary has been friends with Jeff for a while because he worked with them for Crime In Stereo. When we finished this shit we figured he would want to hear it, so we showed him the tracks and he liked them and he was like, “Alright, let’s do a record.” It was pretty simple. It was not really business-y.
 
Is it nice just to be a part of that label now considering how great of a 2010 they had?
They’re definitely one of the best up-and-coming punk labels.
 
Will Daytrader stay on Run For Cover for its next releases as well, or was the EP just a one-time only thing?
I think only time will tell with that one. It’s definitely too early for us to make a decision or anything like that. We just are putting out this record. It’s coming out January 18^th and then we’re touring pretty much the rest of the year on it. That’s all we’re really planning on doing right now. A full-length probably in 2012.
 
Last Days Of Rome was put up for stream yesterday on Punk News. It’s been less than 24-hours at this point, but what are you guys seeing from fans in terms of feedback so far?
We’re definitely seeing that a lot of people are into it, which we’re really pumped on. There is a little bit of “the demo was better,” but you always expect that. It sounds different. We recorded it, not at some crazy studio, but the production was good. There’s more diversity to it. There’s a slow song and a few weird heavy parts. I think the reaction is good and we kind of expected some people to be bummed out that it wasn’t exactly the same as our demo. Whatever though.
 
There has been scattered news that the release of the EP, which was originally scheduled for January 18^th, has been pushed back to the 25^th. Is that true?
I don’t think that’s true. I’m not sure why that was posted really. I saw that and I was like, “Hm, is our record being pushed back?” I talked to Jeff and it’s not being pushed back. If you pre-ordered it, you should be getting the digital download on the 18^th and you’ll be able to get it on iTunes as well.
 
I think instant comparisons to the EP by fans can easily be made to early 2000’s emo, whether that’s a genre the band wants to be considered in it or not. But how was it working with the other guys to create this sound considering everyone had already been in a somewhat prominent band?
The demos were songs that Gary had written guitar parts for over the last couple years really. Just songs that he had lying around with no intention of a certain sound or what type of band he’d start. Me and him were working on them and we tried to start a band a few times and eventually got around to this. The songs just kind of came out how they came out. I don’t think any of us really thought that they sounded like what people are comparing us to, but we’re cool with it. We all like Saves The Day and The Get Up Kids and Further Seems Forever and all that stuff. It wasn’t intentional, but it’s for. For me it’s a good thing to be compared to. I think the EP is a little more rock than some of the emo stuff, but we definitely still have the vibe I guess.
POZ: The production standard on the demos might have really lent a hand in those comparisons.
Tym: Yeah, we recorded them in our friend’s apartment.

Has it been a refreshing sort of experience working with these new guys in terms of writing songs?
Yeah, it’s been cool for me especially because it’s my first time singing in a band. I mean, I do vocals in another band, but it’s kind of a metal/hardcore type band. The songwriting has been pretty fluid. I don’t know, I guess there’s not much to say. In terms of just for me vocally, it’s been cool to push myself. On the EP my vocals are more dynamic and they’re not all yelling, which is another thing that bugs people. It’s been cool. I think the newer songs allow for more diverse songwriting for me as a vocalist.
POZ: Is it a totally different experience during the live show as well?
Tym: Yeah, it’s been great. We played a show with Title Fight the other day and the reaction was crazy. It’s definitely been really fun so far.

Daytrader is heading out on a fantastic tour in just a week or so with different support coming from Into It. Over It., Transit, Go Rydell and more. How stoked are you for that? There are a lot of great different bands playing alongside you.
That tour should definitely be pretty sweet. I can’t say I’m super excited to be in Buffalo in late January because we might die, but if we don’t die I’ll be definitely stoked to be in Florida in the winter. The tour is definitely cool. Evan in Into It. Over It. is awesome. We played a show with his other band, Stay Ahead Of The Weather, and it was awesome. Obviously Transit is great; they’re a Run For Cover alum. There should be really good shows.
 
Will the band be playing songs that have yet to be released during the live show?
Our set is generally most of the stuff from the EP, the demo, and we do have more than a couple b-sides that we play one in a blue moon that will probably be surfacing at one point in the next few months.
POZ: Will those just be thrown up on Bandcamp?
Tym: Might be a split, might be a comp. Something like that. There are a couple things in the works.
 
Is the band continuing to work on new material?
We’re always writing. We wrote a song just the other day. We’re definitely continuing. We’re the type of band who can’t be in the studio for two months to do a new record or something like that, so we’re always just writing.
POZ: Is the newer stuff in the same vein as Last Days Of Rome, or is there a progression?
Tym: I think it’s too early to tell what it sounds like. It’s not drastically different, but we’re just in the beginning stages of writing more songs. I’d say it’s similar. The new stuff we’re working on is similar in that it’s as different from the EP as the EP is from the demo. We don’t ever want to repeat ourselves, but we’re also not going to become a jazz band.
 
This tour ends sometime in early February. Do you have more dates confirmed for the upcoming future as well yet?
We aren’t announcing anything yet, but we have a lot of stuff in the works. We’re definitely going to be doing a US tour in the earlier part of the year and will hopefully do Europe soon after.
POZ: When would you expect those tours, month wise, to kick off?
Tym: US tour probably in March, but we have to confirm things.
 
Is the plan to just tour as much as you can this year, or would you maybe like to hit the studio later in the year?
I would say we’ll be writing a lot this year, but we’re definitely going to be on tour as much as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if we played 200 shows this year.

Is there a possibility for a smaller release this year, or is a full-length this year kind of the game plan in terms of music?
It’s too early to tell whether there will be anything else. Those b-sides will definitely be released in some fashion at some point this year. We’ve been working on some acoustic stuff. It’s unclear if we’ll end of releasing it or not. There might be a couple little half releases. We’re going to be mainly focusing on the full-length though.
 
This is band is very much the start of a fresh chapter for everyone in it. What are you looking forward to taking away from it so far at this point?
I would say that recording the EP is definitely something really cool for us, and especially for me. I think we kind of pushed ourselves in terms of sound. I don’t really think it sounds like anything anyone has done before in their other bands. Touring and stuff is definitely going to be cool. We’re really excited to go to Europe and the UK. I am really excited to be travelling a lot and being on the road and not be working in finance anymore.
POZ: Is Europe and the UK an almost definite for this year?
Tym: Definitely. I would probably say that we’ll hit Europe and the UK in 2011.
 
Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add or that we should be on the lookout for?
I would like to add that our record release show is on January 28^th with Agent, Iron Chic, and Into It. Over It., so it should be really sweet so go to it.