“There is a huge legacy to this band,” admits Grey Daze frontman Cris Davis early on in our conversation ahead of the American alt-rockers making their first-ever visit to the UK in May 2024 (check out the announcement here).
It’s a story which starts in Phoenix, Arizona in 1993 when Grey Daze drummer and co-founder Sean Dowdell met a certain Chester Bennington through mutual friends while they were still in high school. What followed between 1994 and 1998 was the release of two hugely successful albums for the band.
While the next part of the Grey Daze story is cleared up by the drummer in our interview, Bennington’s journey into American rock superstardom as frontman of Linkin Park changed the history of rock music. It’s also one which ended in tragedy.
Having instigated the reformation of Grey Daze in 2016, with the band due to perform at Club Tattoo’s anniversary party in September 2017, Chester’s tragic and untimely passing on 20th July 2017 sent shockwaves around the world with the Grey Daze reunion show never happening.
After much soul-searching, the band completed the album they had been working on with Chester and, coupled with unearthed recordings of his original vocals, released the album as a celebration of his life and work with the band. In 2020, Amends was released on Loma Vista Recordings reaching #1 in the UK rock & metal album charts. The album featured guest appearances from members of Korn, POD, Bush, Breaking Benjamin and even featuring vocal performances from Chester’s family who were hugely involved in the project.
Fast forward and with vocalist Cris Davis now fronting the band, the alt-rockers hit the UK for the first time ever in May. TotalNtertainment chatted to both Sean and Cris recently to find out about what fans can expect from the UK shows, the future of the band, Chester’s legacy and much more.
UK TOUR 2024
Sun 12th May BRISTOL Thekla
Tue 14th May NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
Wed 15th May GLASGOW Cathouse
Thu 16th May MANCHESTER Rebellion
Fri 17th May WOLVERHAMPTON KK’s Steel Mill
Sat 18th May LONDON The Garage
For tickets and info on the tour, head over to www.greydazemusic.com.
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