From being right in the middle at the birth of US hardcore punk with DYS to creating the blueprint of melodic hardcore with Dag Nasty, from helping to invent pop punk as we know it with ALL to finding himself in the middle of the west coast punk explosion of the 90s with Down By Law: Dave Smalley was always on the forefront every time hardcore punk pushed its envelope. While others may use a legacy like that as an excuse to take it a little slower, Dave Smalley has no intention to rest on his laurels and keeps writing new music and releasing records.
When he founded Don’t Sleep with fellow East Coast punk rockers Garrett Rothman, Tony Bavaria, Jim Bedorf, and Tom McGrath in 2017, the world was more than excited about seeing him front a fast yet melodic hardcore band again. Being motivated by immensely positive feedback, Don’t Sleep was finally ready to release its debut album ‘Turn The Tide’ in 2020. And then the world came to a grinding halt. But after the dust settled, all five members decided that Don’t Sleep was too important to not overcome all obstacles thrown in their way.
The five-piece went back into the rehearsal room, finished 8 original songs, and added an amazing Tom Petty cover to the mix. The result is Don’t Sleep’s second full-length ‘See Change’ and it will see the light of day on Friday, June 2nd, 2023 worldwide via End Hits Records. It is a record that combines all elements you have liked about Dave Smalley’s music in the past while sounding incredibly contemporary in the here and now.
“Don’t Sleep is very much a combination of five distinct friends coming together and making a unique sound,” Smalley says. “It is a rare thing to have such cool synergy and energy and end up focused like a laser beam. It is powerful, melodic and purposeful. We respect and love the common roots we all grew up in and are coming together to make a sound with that as our foundation, but also looking to the future and growing.”
‘See Change’ tracklist:
Vinyl Version:
01. Harrisburg Graves
02. Promise Made
03. Dead On The Inside
04. Outside In
05. Runnin’ Down a Dream
06. 20.20
07. Generation
08. Love Is The Suture
09. Time To Fight
CD Version:
01. Harrisburg Graves
02. Promise Made
03. Dead On The Inside
04. Outside In
05. Runnin’ Down a Dream
06. 20.20
07. Generation
08. Love Is The Suture
09. Time To Fight
10. Bring The Light
11. Lazarus
12. Hypocrite
13. Arise
14. Reckoning
15. Jetstream Days
16. All The Way To Nowhere
17. Bloody But Unbroken
In addition to the album announcement, the band also released the first single ‘Promise Made.’ Of the track, Smalley says: “‘We believe in the promise made – keep in mind the promise made!’ This is a song about hardcore and growing up in this music, one that is much more than just notes — hardcore means taking care of each other, and trying to make things better, one day at a time, against all odds, starting with ourselves. As a line in the song says: ‘It shaped me, and it shaped you!’ Chances are if you are reading these words, you are a hardcore lifer. That is awesome! It doesn’t mean you have to listen to hc 24/7 – although that is certainly cool too – and there is huge value in other genres of music – metal, reggae and ska, jazz, you name it. But for sure, punk rock and hardcore refined us, from putty into steel. This song is sort of the grown-up continuation to that idea, which is: we’re still going. We believe in the promise made. In that way I guess it’s kind of a love song to hardcore.”
He adds, “The video for ‘Promise Made’ depicts a day in the life of a fictional young band called Fear of Failure getting ready to play a big show in their hometown. We follow the DIY band as they put up flyers around town (including handing out flyers in a cameo appearance to Don’t Sleep members Tony Bavaria and Garrett Rothman), rehearse their set, load equipment into the venue, and finally rock out on stage. The twist at the end of the video is one that anyone who’s ever started a band can relate to. The fictional band includes Evan McGrath on guitar, whose father Tom McGrath plays guitar in Don’t Sleep, Garrett Rothman’s son Theo on bass, and Izzy Howard on guitar, whose father Josh Howard plays bass in legendary punk band The Virus. The video was directed and edited by Josh Nesmith.”