A Brisbane-Meanjin indie rock band exploring a sonic palette stretching from grunge to reggae, Later Daze are still in their infancy.
The five-piece – Lennon Madgwick (rhythm guitar), Luka Manitta (drums), Corey Truss (bass), Rocco Manitta (lead guitar) and Jafeth Scanlan (lead vocal) – hail from Sunnybank and have been jamming together since their high school days, but took it more seriously in 2023.Early next month they'll make their festival debut at Stones Corner Festival, where they'll be promoting new music. "FESTIVAL DEBUT! Catch us Stones Corner Festival May 5th! Free entry and heaps of fun. We've got some more news coming very shortly that we know you'll love."
Since that post, the band have released their new single, 'Rebel Dive'. "Lots of love and passion went into this tune, we can't wait to share more with you. Produced by the wizard himself Joel Myles and recorded Hunting Ground Studios."
Who is Later Daze... We basically started in high school during 2023, with the addition of an older brother on drums and his favourite bassist. Thus was the formation of the soon-to-be legendary Brisbane-based indie rock band Later Daze.
We sound like... Our sound is a mixing pot of all our influences and tastes, ranging from '90s grunge to reggae. That tends to land us somewhere in the indie rock realm, taking inspiration from bands like Arctic Monkeys, Ocean Alley, and Lime Cordiale.
Our first gig was... At our own high-school formal at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Real grassroots stuff, but it was super motivating to get support from people that some of us had known for years.
When did you settle on the group's name, and was it a unanimous decision... It was revealed in a dream to our guitarist Rocco. We had no choice but to accept what the cosmos had offered us, so it was a pretty easy decision all things considered.
In the studio we usually... We recently recorded our first few songs in a bona-fide studio environment (our first single was made in our high school studio). We went into it with an attitude of efficiency, but definitely kept open minds.
Recording with Joel Myles (from Hunting Ground Studios) was an eye-opening experience. His priceless input and knowledge just took us to the next level, and we feel like we left the studio with a producer plugin newly installed in our brains.
If we could tour with anyone... Taylor Swift. Can you even imagine what that would be like? Humans weren't even meant to see that many other human beings at the same time.
Social media is... A great tool. We love sharing what we do every day and getting the opportunity to connect with people who want to hear our stuff. It's a necessity in the music industry these days – some artists might hate it, but we love how it makes getting yourself out there as an artist so accessible.
My favourite app at the moment is... Flappy Bird. Our drummer has an iPad mini from 2013 that still has it installed (before it was removed from the app store). Each member takes turns with custody of it. It's our most valued treasure; our guitarist Lennon has a crippling addiction to Clash Royale.
To date, our most embarrassing moment was the time... When our bassist Corey said "Let me hop on vocals real quick," in the studio. It was. . . poor.
Life on the road can be... Non-existent (at the moment). By that, we mean we haven't been on tour yet, but we're hoping to make our debut as soon as we can.
If you'll have us on your bill, all we ask is that our rider contains... KFC. Heaps of KFC. More KFC than you would think.
The most scary scenario we've found ourselves in, was... Probably a house party we played in 2023. The police had already been called by the time we showed up, so we set up as quickly as we could and smashed out the best four songs of our lives to about 200 people before the party was shut down for good. Definitely exciting, but prepping for a set while people tried to push down the gate was a little nerve-wracking.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band... Albert Einstein, so he can mathematically explain why everyone should pre-save our next single.
If you had to live in a city abroad, where would you choose and why? Salt Lake City, Utah, where Colonel Harland Sanders opened the world's first KFC in the year of 1952. We'd kill to play a Sunday sesh at the origin of our favourite franchise.
Three people you'd like to invite around for a dinner party... Joe Rogan for the bear noises. Bob Marley and Snoop Dogg for other reasons.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? We would order you KFC. See a few questions down for the details of the order.
When it comes to pets are you a lover or hater of our furry friends? We love pets! Everyone in the band has dogs, except Corey. He's got that dawg in him anyway though, so it's chill.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier. Seriously, German beer is great. Alternatively, KFC.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... Today. Stay grinding.
What's the one chore you dislike the most? Packing up drums. So many bits.
Do you have any phobias... Breaking a string onstage. It's happened at every single one of our gigs so far. . . exposure therapy?
Would you ever partake in a reality show? 'Naked And Afraid'. . . exposure therapy?
If you could prank any of your friends, who's your target, and how are you bringing them down? We wouldn't. We love our friends and that's mean. Unless the prank is giving them free KFC, in which case we would love to do that to all of our friends.
Best local takeaway joint for a midnight feed that will leave you with a food coma? Order the following at KFC: Kentucky Snack Pack (check the secret menu); Zinger Double Stacker box, but replace the potato and gravy with an extra box of chips; six-piece chicken bucket; ten nuggets (if you're feeling a bit peckish).
Which fictional character best describes your personality? Batman, because the city needs us. Brisbane City, and it needs us to play our music.
Last show you binge-watched? Our guitarist Rocco has been binging 'Gilmore Girls' lately. He's not exactly sure why, but he is exactly sure that he will keep watching it.
Stones Corner Festival 2024 Line-up
The PotbelleezScreamfeeder
Never Ending 80s
Vixens Of Fall
Lontano
Later Daze
John Hanley with Don't Shoot The Hurricane
