Velvet Daydream Is Bringing Back Classic Rock and '70s Vibes

The members of the Velvet Daydream could have stepped off a time machine fresh from 1970. Decked out in vintage patterned shirts and pants that border on bellbottoms, with headbang-worthy manes that might render Robert Plant green with envy, the quartet's entire look encapsulates the music that the Velvet Daydream is resurrecting through its own brand of classic rock.

"Back then, the music scene was about the art," says Nick Schwartz (drums/piano/vocals). "It wasn't about how much money you could make from the art. And while there was a lot of money going around it, it wasn't like today, where it's like, 'We have to make a chart-topping hit.' It was people sitting down in a studio and recording what they loved and what they really believed in, and that took off as a hit — as opposed to, 'These people look good. Let's have a team write them a song and then promote the hell out of it.'"

"It was new and exciting back then — not only the aesthetic of rock and roll, but the art itself was new. People hadn't heard things like what the Beatles put out on Abbey Road before that," adds Jude Pfanstiel (bass/vocals). "I feel like there's uncharted territory in making that kind of rock and roll our own thing, using aesthetics that we as a society have put behind us."

However, there are some good things about not being in the year 1970: The eighteen- and nineteen-year-old bandmates would probably have been drafted by now. Only one of the members, Schwartz, is currently in school; for the most part, the Velvet Daydream is everyone's main focus. And while both the band and its members are young, these guys have the chops to take it far, considering the passion, vision and talent evident in Schwartz, Pfanstiel, Ryder King (guitar/vocals) and Kaeden Keys (guitar/vocals).

Although the Broomfield psychedelic-rock band officially formed in February, Schwartz and King's music-making friendship dates back to middle school. The two would regularly jam together, and created a short-lived band with another friend. A couple of years later, they met Keys through mutual friends and invited him to jam. "We met right when COVID started," Keys recalls. "We were going to meet up at Ryder's house for our first-ever jam together. We were super excited, and then everything was shut down."

The three still met up, wearing masks and positioned six feet apart as they played. Despite the limitations, they quickly realized they were on to something; they just needed a bass player. "Jude, we didn't find him until last February," says King. "That was always missing; we could never find a good bass player."

"We had a few try out in the past, and we either just never quite agreed with them, or they just were not the greatest players," Schwartz explains.

"These guys sent me a DM on Instagram," Pfanstiel recalls. "I'd never met any of them."

But the organic exchange between the musicians when they started playing together was undeniable. They'd all grown up appreciating bands from the golden era of rock, from the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, War and the Rolling Stones to Black Sabbath, Kiss and Aerosmith. King and Schwartz already had a pile of songs they'd written together, something that comes naturally for them. "When we started," recalls King, "we weren't like, 'Let's write a song.'"

"I'll write a riff...," he begins.

"...and then I'll make a cool beat and then it comes together," finishes Schwartz. "And now it's all becoming an album."

So far, listeners have only been treated to the Velvet Daydream's new take on a classic sound through the band's live shows, at venues like the Black Buzzard at Oskar Blues or 100 Nickel at Chipper's Lanes, but the group is about to make its official debut with the release of its first album, The Velvet Daydream, on Friday, October 13. That's "also the day of the solar eclipse," says Schwartz. "We feel it's good luck."

But no luck should be needed to get this album the warm welcome it deserves. The opening track, "Monique," immediately pulls listeners in with a trickling, layered riff reminiscent of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever," signaling the beginning of a trippy, melodic journey lush with Beach Boys-esque harmonies and impassioned vocals.

The band teased the album in September by releasing the single "No Eyes," which it pulled together in just thirty minutes. They chose it as the first release because "it felt like it had potential to reach something," Keys explains. "I think all of our music can do that. But that one, I think, specifically, has that kind of charm."

"I think it's probably the catchiest song, and it's short, it's concise," King adds. "You don't want your first release to be seven minutes long, which some of the songs on our album are."

"Monique" is one of those longer songs, clocking in at six and a half minutes and allowing for the builds, guitar solos and abstracted movements that swirl toward the end of the track. By that time, it feels like you're in the afterglow of an LSD trip, but the band kicks listeners back into gear with "Purple Mountain Majesty," a folk-infused track that's more Crosby, Stills & Nash than White Album-era Beatles. Meanwhile, heavier tracks such as "Greed" hark back to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, with a touch of Pink Floyd. Even with the songs' different styles, the overall ’70s sound maintains the album's cohesion while showcasing the group's versatility.

"We're very ’70s-rock oriented. And when I say rock, it's not just that we are a rock band. There are so many subgenres of rock, and we kind of touch all the bases," says Keys. "There's so much good music from the ’70s. Why should we pick one little niche of the genre?

"It just seemed like a golden age of rock music, where anyone could listen to a rock song and have something about it speak to them," he continues. "Like if you're angry, you want to listen to Black Sabbath. Or if you want to listen to Fleetwood Mac, it's a little more mellow. That range of dynamics within that time period is so interesting to me."

"We want to make art in a way that is our style," adds Pfanstiel. "And [the album] uses ’70s aesthetics and elements and even production techniques, in that we recorded on tape."

The band recorded at Geoff Gray's Far & Away Studios in Boulder, which utilizes the old-school techniques that the Velvet Daydream was looking for — something audiophiles will especially appreciate when listening to the album, Pfanstiel notes. Gray "has the biggest collection of expensive vintage music equipment I think I've ever seen. It's a masterpiece in its own right," Schwartz says.

The Velvet Daydream planned to check out different studios before solidifying where it would record its album; Keys even made a list of places to tour. But after seeing Gray's spot, he crumpled up that list and threw it out. "We walked in, and my jaw just hit the floor and I was like, 'Oh, my God,'" Keys recalls.

"For our style of music, it was just the perfect combo," King adds. "Geoff knew exactly what we needed."

And the bandmates are thrilled with the result. "What I love about the album is you can play it start to finish and there's songs that flow together and it makes sense," says King. "Or you can play one song and it's still good."

"It's almost like a buffet or a charcuterie board," Schwartz explains. "There's something for everybody. If you like folk, we've got that. If you're a jazz fan, there's a bit that caters to that. You like heavier rock? We've got that on there. Or if you like blues, that's on there, too. It's really got all the pieces to the Velvet Daydream puzzle."

The band's moniker is also meant to reflect the overall psychedelic sonic labyrinth. "You can almost categorize our sounds into the 'velvet' and the 'daydream,'" Schwartz explains. "The velvet is the flashy clothes and the dark sunglasses, the bright lights and the crazy rock-and-roll riffs. But then the daydream...it's got that subtleness and that calmness to it. It flows out more."

Those dots are especially connected when the band plays live. "We like to keep it authentic," says Pfanstiel of on-stage performances.

"We have some staging antics, like I have a big smoking, squealing guitar I made that we end the show with every time," King notes. "Little things for people to remember us by is something that's always important, and you stack those together, and it makes this killer show."

"We really enjoy our live sets because it gives us the chance to be animated, to exaggerate the feeling of the rock and roll so people can feel it, and they feed off that," Pfanstiel adds. "And it really does feel like a purpose thing — that this is what we're meant to do."

"We're definitely doing what we're meant to do," Keys agrees with a grin. "It feels like our purpose."

The Velvet Daydream will be available on all streaming platforms Friday, October 13. Follow the Velvet Daydream on Instagram @thevelvetdaydream for concert updates.