Sound of Success

A track on local band Days Before Tomorrow's latest CD features the lyrics "there is a chance in every age to dream higher... it's not too late." While the members of the band had weightier issues in mind, they may as well have been describing themselves.

Days Before Tomorrow, which features Wyckoff resident Scott Kahn on guitar, are on the verge of achieving their long-held dreams of success in the music industry, which is dominated all too often these days by disposable pop acts whose success is owed more to marketing than talent. Rather than focusing on their image, the six members of the progressive rock group have ignored industry trends in favor of solid musicianship and a commitment to crafting full albums in an iPod-dominated age.

"We don't accept mediocrity," Kahn said in his Pompton Lakes studio.

The band—Kahn, Eric Klein, vocals; Derek Davodowich, guitar; Paul O'Keefe, bass; Jason Gianni, drums; and Damon Fibraio, keyboards—are just back from a fruitful trip to Los Angeles, where they played the famed Whisky a Go-Go after winning the L.A. Music Awards Record of the Year award.

"It's what we've been shooting for. We walked around in a daze for a couple of days until it settled in," Davodowich said.

The album, "The Sky is Falling," is a concept album recorded and mixed locally that was produced by Ron Nevison, who has worked with such legends as The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker and many more.

"That opened up a world of new opportunities... creating a CD produced by the legendary Ron Nevison definitely opened doors for us," said Kahn, who works as a commercial photographer and edits www.musicplayers.com, a magazine for musicians.

Roots, sound

Days Before Tomorrow has only been together for a few years, although all of its members have extensive experience with other bands and as session players, producers, teachers, etc. Kahn said the band originally featured more of a modern rock sound "despite our love of progressive rock music.

"It was my vision from the beginning that sort of evolved as different people came into the fold," he said. Once the members enlisted Gianni on drums, they "embraced what we loved musically... more intricate progressive rock."

Days Before Tomorrow's sound isn't easy to pigeonhole. A heavy guitar sound makes the band palatable to the hard rock crowd, although acoustic melodies, prominent keyboards and Klein's soaring vocals make it plain that this isn't your average three-chord rock band. Time changes and complex instrumentation recall the progressive rock bands the members grew up loving, such as Rush, Styx, Yes and Genesis. 

However, Kahn knows that the "prog rock" label is a "very double-edged sword" that leads some to think of bloated '70s bands. It may be more accurate to describe Days Before Tomorrow as "melodic hard rock.

"We're very conscious of writing catchy melodies," Kahn said.

The diverse rock and pop sounds opens the band up to a wide audience. Kahn said that kids get into the sound because it's unlike what they hear on the radio or see on MTV, but older generations connect with a sound that recalls the favorite groups of their youth.

"This music has much more permanence than a simple pop song," Kahn said.

Days Before Tomorrow's commitment to songwriting has attracted industry attention. The band earned an honorable mention in Billboard magazine's 14th annual Songwriting Contest for the tune "Can't Do Anything," off their self-titled first release, which came out in 2006. Two years later, the band again received an honorable mention for the song "Sleepwalking." 

While the songs on "The Sky is Falling" can stand on their own, band members see it as a single piece of work inspired by global warming. Kahn said the concept essentially is that "an alien race comes to Earth and are planning to destroy all mankind and take this planet for themselves because we've done such a (bad) job caring for it."

Retail environment, future

Crafting a concept album in an environment where singles dominate online retailers such as iTunes may seem risky, but Days Before Tomorrow don't have interest in compromising their vision. In fact, they've used the Web to promote themselves, and in the process, chart their own course.

"The Sky is Falling" may have been made without label support, but the disc is available through such online retailers as CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes and Rhapsody.

"We've done all that for ourselves," Kahn said.

But, anyone with access to a computer can create a MySpace page featuring their music, regardless of talent.

"You're battling to fight through the noise just to be heard," he said. "You can be an independent artist and be successful but you need money to spend on the PR and marketing, and that's where a bigger label comes into play."

Days Before Tomorrow have attracted label interest but are being selective in taking the next step.

"We've had multiple record deals offered to us, but people don't realize that just because you're offered a record deal doesn't mean it's a good deal," Kahn said.

However, the Record of the Year award could open doors for the band, which hopes to land an opening spot on a larger act's concert tour. 

"The next big goal is to have large-scale physical distribution," the guitarist said.

Although the members all juggle day jobs and families, they're ready to put everything on hold to chase their dreams.

"We're willing to do what it takes when the opportunity presents itself," Kahn said.