Through Stormy Weather - The Story of Grey Daze
Once an artist becomes a voice for a generation, that voice never truly leaves you – even when the artist themselves is no longer here to continue their legacy. I’m talking about Chester Bennington. Before reigning the rock airwaves of the noughties and beyond with Linkin Park, Chester drove headlong as the frontman for Grey Daze in the nineties.
It’s that band now that are sharing the torch of Chester’s legacy, bringing their music to new fans around the world with their updated sound and their first live show since the late 1990’s on May 6th at UFest. We’re honoured that drummer, co-writer and Chester’s business partner of many years Sean Dowdell provides exclusive commentary to Moths and Giraffes, helping to tell the story of the band’s resurrection.
Grey Daze. From top left: Mace Beyers, Cristin Davis, Chester Bennington and Sean Dowdell. Image Courtesy of Sean Dowdell.
Sean Dowdell first formed a band with Chester Bennington when he was 17 and Chester was 15 years of age. Sean approached Bennington’s father to ask his permission for his son to front their band, following a successful audition of Pearl Jam covers. This pre-Grey Daze collective was called ‘Sean Dowdell and His Friends?’, who released a self-titled demo tape featuring three songs, with guitarist Chris Goad and Jason Cekoric on bass.
Rough transfers of the cassette release, originally manufactured at 100-200 copies, exist on the internet in varying quality. This marks the earliest audio document of Bennington’s career and bears a strong indication of the vocalist he would become. With the 2020’s resurgence of Grey Daze, including re-releases of their 90’s material and its prior re-recording, we asked Sean if this demo tape could make it out too.
His response was simply, ‘Possibly.’
Though the band played some live dates in spring and summer of 1993 around their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, this early ensemble would have a short shelf-life due to a lack of punctuality on Chester’s part during rehearsals. This, coupled with being grounded after issues with drugs at school, forced the band to audition another singer. Sean Dowdell and His Friends? soon dissolved, with Goad and Cekoric focusing on their other project Genocide, while Dowdell sought to form a new band. Chris Goad passed away in February 2018.
Grey Daze, 1994 - First Line-up. From left to right: Steve Mitchell, Jonathan Krause, Chester Bennington and Sean Dowdell.
Going back to the drawing board, Dowdell teamed up with bassist Jonathan Krause, who then added guitarist Steve Mitchell to their line-up. It was Mitchell who suggested bringing Bennington back for the new band, titled ‘Gray Daze’ before settling on their preferred spelling. Though Steve participated in early performances and a session with the band, it was guitarist Jason Barnes who appeared on their debut album ‘Wake Me’, released in 1994.
This record would feature Grey Daze staples such as opener ‘What’s In The Eye’ and fan-favourite ‘Sometimes’. ‘Wake Me’ was recorded and mixed by David Knauer and produced together with Grey Daze.
The band’s musical style in this era is characterised by the popular grunge sound of the time, though Grey Daze incorporated acoustic elements into their music, such as the introduction to ‘What’s In The Eye’ as heard above. The music of the band is noted to have been created collectively, with some compositions even dating back to the Sean Dowdell and His Friends? era, whilst lyrics are credited to both Dowdell and Chester Bennington.
‘What’s In The Eye’ is a good example of this, with Sean having brought the song to practice and Chester writing his own chorus. ‘Don’t go too fast, my friend, or you’ll lose control,’ relates to a friend Bennington recently lost in a car accident, altering the meaning of Sean’s verses, which were retained in the song.
Grey Daze, 1994. From top left: Jonathan Krause, Chester Bennington, Jason Barnes and Sean Dowdell.
Despite grunge being central to their sound, in an interview with KEDG The Edge, Chester would identify the music of the 1960’s as his big influence. This included Jimi Hendrix, The Doors (of which Bennington had a particularly profound connection with), The Mamas & the Papas and more 70’s leaning artists like Led Zeppelin and Iron Butterfly.
Though Sean Dowdell enjoyed the early metal scene, the arrival of techno drastically changed his listening habits to English bands such as Depeche Mode and Pop Will Eat Itself. Jason Barnes was also loyal to the English sound, describing himself as a ‘diehard Beatle fan’, though in the interview he also mentions Santana and Metallica as strong influences.
This interview, recorded in early 1995 at The Saltmine Studio would be interspersed on the band’s ‘Amends…Stripped’ vinyl EP, released in 2021. Interviewer Gregg Paul would later go on to co-present the evening celebrating Chester Bennington’s life in September 2017, along with members of Grey Daze and Chester’s third project Dead By Sunrise.
If you were to visit the official Grey Daze website, you’d see this statement:
‘A percentage of ALL proceeds goes to A New Leaf Foundation, to help support our Arizona community in need.’
This isn’t a recent venture for Grey Daze, they’ve believed in this foundation for some time:
‘We have supported this organisation since 1995. It is a great cause for domestic violence sufferers that actually have a real-world solution in helping the victims. It isn’t a run of the mill charity that talks about awareness and actually does nothing for the victims. A New Leaf puts nearly 95% of every dollar into literally pulling domestic violence abuse sufferers out of the harmful conditions they had been living in and starting a new life.’ – Sean Dowdell
A New Leaf also provides housing and shelter services, health and wellness, financial empowerment, education, family support and foster care. With locations in and around Phoenix, as well as southern Arizona, you can read more about the work they do on their official website.
Grey Daze, live in 1998. From left to right: Chester Bennington, Sean Dowdell, Mace Beyers and Bobby Benish. Image Courtesy of Sean Dowdell.
1995 was significant for Grey Daze in more ways than one. It was also the year where the band continued to change. Following the departure of Jonathan Krause, current bassist Mace Beyers strengthened the line-up with his extroverted playing style. Jason Barnes left the band shortly after, to be replaced by guitarist Bobby Benish. This line-up would remain together until the dissolution of Grey Daze in 1998.
It was during this period when Grey Daze began gaining substantial regional media coverage, regularly playing 500+ capacity shows and supporting touring bands Suicidal Tendencies, Bush and No Doubt. With bootleg material available of the band’s performances on the internet, we asked Sean if any Grey Daze shows had been recorded from the soundboard:
‘I wish but I don’t think so.’
The band had interest from label Real Records, and after an ill-fated attempt at recording their second album, eventually retreated to the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences with producer Michael Jones in 1996. Grey Daze had planned to record again with David Knauer together with Jones, but a bad car accident and the recovery time required prevented Knauer’s involvement. The band’s follow-up to ‘Wake Me’ entitled ‘…no sun today’ was released in 1997.
This album featured reworkings of earlier Grey Daze material, with new recordings of ‘What’s In The Eye’, ‘Hole’ and ‘Sometimes’. Even though Jason Barnes had made his exit from the band, he is still listed as having contributed graphics and layouts as he had on ‘Wake Me’, and is thanked by the band in the liner notes.
‘I’m a whore, and I’m feeling sorry for myself.’
‘Sickness’ particularly highlights how tight the new line-up had become, showing restraint in the verses, especially from Dowdell while Mace Beyers provides constant bass accompaniment. Bobby Benish proved to be an excellent match for Grey Daze, playing two opposing lead guitar parts in this track that are both essential from the start. Chester had also climbed to new heights vocally, strengthening his delivery in the chorus, ‘I need more, can you help me? Feed my sins, come and kill me, it’s calling me.’
But the momentum of Grey Daze was halted when the band played their final show in 1998. A fight broke out during their performance at The Big Fish Pub involving Mace Beyers, spiralling out of control which ended their set early and brought the end of the band that same evening.
Bobby Benish, 1998.
Losing touch following the separation, Sean Dowdell and Chester Bennington rekindled their friendship upon discovering Bobby Benish’s diagnosis of a brain tumour in the early noughties. In September 2002, Grey Daze sought to play a benefit show for Benish and his family. The line-up for this version of the band would’ve featured Jason Barnes on guitar and Mace Beyers on bass guitar. Unfortunately, due to contractual obligations of Linkin Park recording their second album ‘Meteora’, the planned gig did not go ahead. Bobby Benish passed away on September 28th, 2004.
Meanwhile, in 2003 Dowdell and Bennington became business partners when Chester invested in Sean’s business Club Tattoo. In the mid-noughties, the pair began putting on Club Tattoo anniversary shows, forming a covers band called Bucket Of Weenies for the events in 2005 and 2006, who also featured Ryan Shuck of Dead By Sunrise. Their setlists included music by The Cure, Misfits, David Bowie and even a rendition of Grey Daze cover-song ‘Anything, Anything’ by Dramarama.
It was for one of these anniversary shows where Bennington suggested to Sean Dowdell about reforming Grey Daze in 2017. The line-up would be the same as the planned 2002 Bobby Benish benefit, but Dowdell suggested bolstering their guitar sound with a second guitarist. Cristin Davis was Sean’s first choice and Chester agreed, making Davis an official member rather than just a performing guitarist.
July 15th, 2017 rehearsal. From left to right: Cristin Davis, Mace Beyers and Jason Barnes. Image Credit: Sean Dowdell.
At Dowdell’s suggestion, the band also made plans to re-track some of the music on ‘…no sun today’ in between Linkin Park’s tour for their seventh album ‘One More Light’. Sylvia Massy was the producer on the early form of the project, which also included Jason Barnes.
Grey Daze reunion concert poster for September 23rd, 2017.
But with the passing of Chester Bennington on July 20th, the planned show in September 2017 never happened, and the re-recordings were put on hold.
‘Amends’ art direction and design by Mike Lythgoe.
With the permission of Chester’s widow Talinda, and the band asking Bennington’s parents as Sean did in the early 90’s, the work on re-recording the music of Grey Daze resumed in 2018. This was following the discovery of Chester’s vocal masters from the ‘Wake Me’ sessions. While searching for a lightbulb in his garage attic space, Jason Barnes came across the complete set of ADAT tape recordings.
‘He had stored them perfectly and no issues at all. They were in prime condition. We were all so excited when he found those to be honest.’ – Sean Dowdell
The sessions for ‘Wake Me’ were recorded on two 16-track tape machines, with mixes bounced down to the ADAT tapes, on which David Knauer then recorded Bennington’s vocals. The discovery of these tapes was crucial to the re-recording process, giving the band and their producers more of Chester Bennington’s voice to work with. Some of those recordings would’ve included vocal takes of ‘Sometimes’.
The new twenty-first century Grey Daze album, titled ‘Amends’, was finally released in June 2020. Ultimately, the album did not feature performances from Jason Barnes and Grey Daze pushed forward as a four-piece once more, retaining Cristin Davis as guitarist. Containing eleven re-recorded tracks with Chester’s original vocals, ‘Sometimes’ is a personal favourite Grey Daze song, faithfully recreated here from its 1990’s arrangement.
“Chester wrote the lyrics to that song and it is one of my personal favorites as well. He is speaking of hope and letting you know that it is ‘Ok’ if things don’t always turn out the way you had expected or hoped, it will be alright in the end. I love that message.” – Sean Dowdell
‘Amends’ was a team effort, with multiple producers and outside musicians. It was largely recorded at NRG Studios in Los Angeles, where Bennington had made the bulk of his work with Linkin Park. Here, ‘Sometimes’ is produced by Chris Traynor (of Bush) and Kyle Hoffmann, the same team that produced the new version of ‘What’s In The Eye’. Traynor adds guitars to ‘Sometimes’ while Jamie Muhoberac plays keyboard.
It’s hard not to be swept up in ‘Sometimes’, with Chester’s soaring voice in the chorus, ‘I don’t know what to think anymore, maybe things will get better, maybe things will look brighter, maybe.’ Heightened still when Bennington takes his vocal up a notch in the final moments of the song, it is one of several goosebump-inducing moments on this album.
‘In Time’ is another highlight on ‘Amends’, but this track is radically different from its source material on ‘…no sun today’. The original featured prominent bass playing from Mace Beyers, and melodic guitar by Bobby Benish, building up into a heavier chorus to match the intensity of Bennington’s voice. Part of this chorus would be removed from the re-recording, to be utilised for later.
This version on ‘Amends’ is produced by Lucio Rubino and features guitar contributions from Ryan Shuck. The band elements in the verses are exchanged for a soundtrack of piano and keyboard, a ticking clock substituting for percussion. This arrangement lays Chester’s vocal bare and serves to highlight his softer vocal nuance and control, often overlooked in favour of his more powerful performances.
‘And everything told, must come true, pretending to be real, forgetting who you are.’
The early choruses, which before went straight to distorted guitar, are now reserved for piano and the introduction of programmed drums, the latter an instrument not used on Grey Daze recordings before. This increases the impact of the full band, which coincides with Chester’s drawn-out, ‘Pain, so much pain.’ When writing the song, Dowdell intended for the line to be softer, but Bennington’s interpretation of the lyric becomes a defining moment both in the original and on this remake. ‘In Time’ is a reminder that arrangement and production can make or break a song, and this version on ‘Amends’ makes this composition ten times better.
‘B12’ is another track taken from ‘…no sun today’. That album opener became a single for ‘Amends’, the video bringing together Cristin Davis, Mace Beyers and Sean Dowdell in a performance video for the first time. One of the more chaotic tracks re-recorded for ‘Amends’, Beyers’ slap bass and harmonised guitars from Bobby Benish are exchanged in the verses for more atmospheric textures. We asked Sean if it was sometimes difficult to reimagine these songs when the old arrangements felt familiar:
‘Each track was different and some came easier than others. The journey to redo the music was difficult at times but in all honesty it was worth it. Sometimes working through things that are difficult can be therapeutic and was definitely that way for all of us.’
The message of ‘B12’ is by no means compromised in the re-recording. The verses read like a modern take on The Temptations’ ‘Ball Of Confusion’, Chester reeling off issues in America at the time before sarcastically singing ‘Hooray, hurrah’ in celebration:
‘Ku Klux Klan makes a plan, to destroy the black man, air pollution, no solution, what is causing this confusion? Anarchism, satanism, Anti-Christ, socialism, a man’s brain is deranged, so we think he’s insane.’
Produced by Alex Aldi, ‘B12’ has the distinction of featuring Korn guitarists James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch (who also played on ‘She Shines’) bringing that huge sound in the chorus. Two of Dowdell’s sons drum on ‘Amends’, with Brennen Brochard playing on ‘B12’ and Carston Dowdell performing on ‘The Syndrome’. This would not be the only time family members of Grey Daze would be involved in the band’s re-recordings.
‘We gave Jaime a few choices for tracks to sing on and Soul Song is the one he resonated with. He sings backing vocals with Chester on that song and seemed to fit the song really well. We are all proud of the work he did on it with us.’ – Sean Dowdell
The re-recording of ‘Soul Song’, originally from ‘…no sun today’, is significant for containing a performance from Chester’s oldest son Jaime, both vocally and as part of the music video. Bennington directs and stars in the video, seeking to convey his spiritual feeling towards his father in the aftermath of his death.
‘I will be waiting, with a song in my soul, a fortunate weakling, which I have foretold. He raises his arms tied, above the oppressed, singing his sweet song, his melody opens up the sun.’
This song is rare in that the re-recording is heavier than the original, the 1997 release being an almost entirely acoustic affair that maintains the same musical dynamic even when Chester pushes his voice. Jaime’s meditative music video suits the lyric well, ‘Freedom reign, God has come, the rivers of blood, pushed back in my veins.’
‘Soul Song’ is another good example of an ensemble bringing this piece to life. Chris Traynor adds guitar to ‘Soul Song’, while Jean-Yves D’Angelo plays piano and Heidi Gadd performs the string parts. This was all brought together by the producing team of Esjay Jones and Lucas D’Angelo, who had the most credits on ‘Amends’, also producing ‘She Shines’, ‘The Syndrome’, ‘Just Like Heroin’ (with Chris Traynor) and ‘Morei Sky’.
‘I’ve lived through things I cannot say, back then we dreamt of yesterday, it seemed as if the only way, and now we look for hope and pray.’
One of the most emotional songs on ‘Amends’, this track originally from ‘Wake Me’ resonated deeply with the band during the album’s making and the fans upon its release. It’s ‘Morei Sky’ that gives the name ‘Amends’ to this collection, the chorus lyric that means so much to so many, ‘If I had a second chance, I’d make amends.’ Cristin Davis suggested the album title after hearing the lyric, and Sean Dowdell agreed, believing that Bennington regretted his decision to end his life the moment he did it, and would’ve changed his mind given another chance.
‘It came up from the deepest sea, God gave it life and reason to be. His shadow rose above the highest tree, and still his face we could not see.’
The original with Jonathan Krause and Jason Barnes has an air of mystery in the introduction and verses, creating a piece of music that has merit even without Bennington’s vocal. This soon lifts into a familiar heavier chorus, but with ‘Amends’, the band took a different approach.
With piano once more from Jean-Yves D’Angelo, recorded in a studio in Paris, this is the anchor in this version of ‘Morei Sky’. Sean Dowdell adds drums which are pulled back for the first chorus in favour of programmed percussion. The first hints of Heidi Gadd’s string performances can be heard here, but would have greater impact in the climactic moment in the song. Listen closely, and you’ll hear one of Dowdell’s fills thrown in that so define his original performance.
‘Morei Sky’ is a song that stays with the listener long after Chester’s heart-stopping final chorus and lyric, ‘Losing, losing…’ Leaving the listener in a state of emotional paralysis, it’s mindblowing to think this prophetic track was written more than twenty years before losing his battle with depression. It’s a mark of Chester Bennington’s character that at the conclusion of one of his most powerful and moving Grey Daze performances, you can hear him asking ‘Wake Me’ producer David Knauer:
‘What do you think, Dave?’
‘Silent criminals analysed through psychic waving tears, superstitious minds collide as silence fills the hall…’
‘Amends’ is concluded by the same final song on ‘Wake Me’ – ‘Shouting Out’. Produced by Cass Dillon, the original featured the vocal talents of Kimberly Rogers. A similar vocal part in this version is fulfilled by American vocalist LP (Laura Pergolizzi), harmonising with Chester throughout. Though LP never met Bennington, she was an artist whose music Chester had a keen interest in during his final years. It was for this reason LP was brought onto the ‘Amends’ project.
Another song with lyrics that have a startling new meaning following Bennington’s death, ‘Shouting Out’ has a complexity in the verses, ‘Silence moving proclamations, this silence proving lies, speechless cries, emotions dull.’ It’s unclear what the division of labour is between every Dowdell/Bennington lyric, but there is a clear difference between this and the chorus:
‘Didn’t mean to let you down, I’m Shouting Out, so ashamed, didn’t mean to run from you, I didn’t mean to, Shouting Out, I’m Shouting Out.’
It’s this lyric that jumps out at the listener when reaching the end of the album, the song a more subtle production of programmed drums and atmospheric keyboards. The simplicity of, ‘La de dum, la de dum dum’ sounds like a phrase a person would hum to themselves alone, but it doesn’t feel melancholic either. ‘Amends’ can be summed up well with ‘Shouting Out’, and even finishes with one more surprise. We asked Sean about the origin of Bennington’s final word on the album:
“That was a voicemail Chester had left on our friend Rene Mata’s phone. When we heard the message, the entire band was like, ‘We should pull that and use it somewhere on the album.’ It was simply a feel-good moment for everyone involved and a great way to finish the record.”
A cathartic listening experience for any fan mourning the loss of Chester Bennington can be felt by listening to Linkin Park’s final album ‘One More Light’, followed by Mike Shinoda’s grief-stricken ‘Post Traumatic’, and finishing with ‘Amends’ from Grey Daze. It combines the concluding moments from Bennington’s career, the conflicting emotions in the aftermath of his death and an overall feeling of understanding that depression is a constant battle. Some fight that battle their entire lives, trying their very best to make the most of the good days, and it’s in those good days that the person they most want to be, is the person we all fall in love with. No one person is two dimensional, and the story of Chester Bennington is an excellent example of human complexity.
Luckily for Chester’s fans, Grey Daze continued their work after the release of ‘Amends’. With some alternate vocal performances left to utilise, the band put them to good use with ‘Amends…Stripped’, an EP of acoustic tracks, beginning where the album left off with ‘Shouting Out’. This gives fans a chance to hear this song without the vocal harmony, in its most simplistic form. ‘Soul Song’ actually adds harmonies, with all members of Grey Daze involved in the vocal session. The fourth released version of ‘Sometimes’ still manages to capture an intensity even with the arrangement stripped down.
As previously mentioned, the vinyl release of the EP includes the band’s 1995 interview with Gregg Paul and Jason Barnes, interspersed between each track. But the final song on the EP is special for a different reason.
‘Amends…Stripped’ package design by Carrie Smith.
‘The Syndrome’ is a complete recording, one take recorded as a two-track mix that locks in the performance, meaning each musical element cannot be separated as the band have done previously. It’s the slight imperfections on this recording that make it so real. Originally titled ‘The Down Syndrome’ when released on ‘…no sun today’ in 1997, this unique version was a hidden track at the end of that album and features Sean Dowdell on piano and Bobby Benish on acoustic guitar.
‘We had played it a few times together in our rehearsal studio and during the recording process we just decided to throw it on as an afterthought. It was fun and wasn’t taken too seriously at the time. But looking back, it was a special moment and I love listening to the raw emotional Chester in that song, it gives me chills to this day.’ – Sean Dowdell
‘The Phoenix’ cover photo by Jim Louvau. Package design by Carrie Smith.
It’s a Wednesday night on the 2nd of October 1996. Guests at Phoenix, Arizona’s The Mason Jar (now The Rebel Lounge) see the next band on the bill soundchecking on a night headlined by The Melvins. Their dreadlocked singer thanked the opening support band, and begins walking away from the microphone, when an audience member asks a friend:
‘Ask him if he’s the Lizard King.’
In relative audience silence, the crowd member heckles, ‘Are you the Lizard King!?’ This title refers to a nickname of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors. The singer of the band walks back to the microphone unphased to address the man.
‘Yeah, I’m not the Lizard King. But, I am, I- I am the King.’
Moments later, Grey Daze would launch into a performance of the title track from their debut album, ‘Wake Me’. But on their second album of re-recorded music, this brief exchange introduces the thundering, devastatingly huge sound of ‘Saturation (Strange Love)’. Their 2020 album having been received so well, Grey Daze headed back into the studio to record their follow-up.
This time, they chose a different approach. Whilst ‘Amends’ was largely an ensemble piece involving family, friends, colleagues and varying producers, for their 2022 album, titled ‘The Phoenix’, Grey Daze went back to basics. Most of the performances are solely from the core band, and this time they had only one producer. Esjay Jones returned to work on the project and we asked Sean how that went down:
‘It was easier to manage and keep a unified direction. We had a great time writing the music and recording everything at one studio, at one time.’
Originally just titled ‘Saturation’, the closing track on ‘…no sun today’ has all its acoustic elements stripped out, and this new version on ‘The Phoenix’ lays out the blueprint for the rest of the album. Ahead of its release, the band assured fans that, ‘If you love Chester’s scream, you’ll love this record.’
Pre-production for ‘The Phoenix’ occurred in Arizona, Grey Daze flying Esjay Jones out for three days at a time to re-write the songs. The resulting new compositions are credited to Chester, Dowdell, Mace Beyers, Cristin Davis and Jones. When they were ready, they went into Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, the same space Bennington’s beloved Doors had recorded in.
‘How high can we go?’
‘Starting To Fly’ gets a new lease of life on ‘The Phoenix’ using vocal tracks from ‘Wake Me’, combined with new vocals recorded by Sean Dowdell that keep the momentum going and the energy flowing. This is an example of how some of the repurposing of Bennington’s vocal parts were greater on this album. In its re-writing, ‘Here, Nearby’ from ‘Wake Me’ was renamed ‘Be Your Man’ for this record, giving that song a more central lyrical focus. With new parts written for old vocals, we were curious as to what Sean was playing along to when recording:
‘I play to a click track and have the other guys’ scratch tracks in my headset.’
Playing to a click track is essential for most modern records, but even more important in the case of these re-recordings as Chester’s vocals had to stay in time with the new parts. Scratch tracks refer to rough parts laid down by the band. In this instance, having the illusion of playing along to a band would inspire a better performance from a drummer like Dowdell, rather than playing to dead air. Once Sean laid down the drums, the rest of the team replaced their scratch tracks with more honed performances, focusing especially on the kinds of guitar tones they wanted. Or in the case of some songs, they made room for someone extra special.
‘Endless hopes, well, that’s too bad. Smile happy, enjoy my pain.’
‘The Phoenix’ had fewer special guests than ‘Amends’, but when the song required, they went all out. Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers adds lead guitar to ‘Holding You’. The re-recording of the ‘Wake Me’ track has less of the funk sound of the original, but retains every bit of the groove it had, particularly in the Mace Beyers distorted bass part.
Chester’s lyric, ‘Stop me, stop me if you can’ was originally only a single line that featured on ‘Wake Me’. Here, it’s used to create an anthemic chorus that live audiences could bounce to. An instrumental break creatively makes way for a blistering solo from Navarro, continuing on even after Chester is brought back in for another chorus.
Grey Daze during the recording of ‘Holding You’. From left to right: Mace Beyers, Sean Dowdell, Dave Navarro, Cristin Davis and Esjay Jones. Image Courtesy of Sean Dowdell.
On ‘Believe Me’, Heidi Gadd returns to lay down some electric violin. That track is also bolstered by a second lead vocalist in Filter and Nine Inch Nails’ Richard Patrick. In this song, he performs brand-new parts written by the band, creating a chorus that didn’t exist before on ‘Wake Me’. We asked Sean how it felt to see such revered players adding parts to the band’s songs:
‘Always great to play with other musicians that we admire, but more importantly that fit the song’s intentions and understand what we are trying to do. We could have added a lot more musicians to the album but wanted to keep it tight and with people that knew and loved Chester and the music. Dave and Richard were great to work with and both were humbled and honored to be included.’
Grey Daze continued to make room for other vocalists on ‘The Phoenix’, giving Chester’s children another opportunity to sing with their Dad. This time it would be his youngest, twin girls Lily and Lila who were only nine when they recorded their voices for the ‘Wake Me’ track ‘Hole’. The band took Chester’s opening line and turned it into a nursery rhyme for the girls to sing:
‘I would have sailed away, if I’d known that nothing would change.’
Having already been through two iterations in the 1990’s, the softer edge of ‘Hole’ is minimised for ‘The Phoenix’, maintaining the grit of its preceding tracks. The resulting recording is closer to the heavier version on ‘…no sun today’ on which Chester’s vocal seems to originate. Lily and Lila’s voices can also be heard accompanying Chester’s when Grey Daze breaks the song down, stripping everything out but the drums and the vocals for a later chorus. We asked Sean whose idea it was to bring in the twins for ‘Hole’:
‘This was my idea and I wrote the parts with Esjay for the girls and had them come in and rehearse it a few times before tracking. They were awesome to work with and I know their Dad was smiling the whole time.’
‘Okay, what is it tonight? Please just tell me what the hell is wrong. Do you wanna eat? Do you wanna sleep? Do you wanna shout?’
A highlight on ‘The Phoenix’ is the resurrection of popular Grey Daze cover song ‘Anything, Anything’ by Dramarama. Prior to the release of the album, a different, faster and heavier take of the song was put out by the band to accompany DC's Dark Nights: Death Metal comic series. Pressed on a 7” flexi disc, the dedicated comic book shows the members of Grey Daze realised in illustrated form.
‘Well, I’ll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills, I’ll give you anything you want, hundred-dollar bills. And I’ll even let you watch the shows you wanna see, I’ll do Anything, Anything.’
The album version fits in better with the sound on the rest of ‘The Phoenix’, featuring less crunchy guitar tones than the comic book variant. Being a cover, its lyrical content is unlike anything else in the Grey Daze catalogue. Devoid of the existentialism of the usual Dowdell/Bennington lyrics, ‘Anything, Anything’ instead focuses on the simplicity of a relationship breakdown, which somehow is on the lighter end of the lyrical spectrum. ‘Anything, Anything’ even manages to bring a sense of fun to the seriousness of Grey Daze and ‘The Phoenix’ and is a popular track with fans.
‘Could this all just be a dream?’
The final track on ‘The Phoenix’ is the title track from ‘Wake Me’, which for the most part follows the path of the original. It’s here where the band took the previously removed vocals from ‘In Time’, utilising them as a new verse for ‘Wake Me’, extending the song by another thirty seconds – ‘What’s in me, is in you, what’s got me, has got you.’
‘The Phoenix’ is ten songs of aggression, leaning on the band’s heavier tendencies in drums, guitars and vocals. There is less of the reflective musing present on ‘Amends’. But like ‘Shouting Out’, the concluding track on this album feels more like a parting message from Chester, carefully chosen by the band. The chorus reads:
‘If I should fall to stormy weather, Wake Me, Wake Me.’
And that’s exactly what Grey Daze have done with these re-recordings. They’ve shone a light on a catalogue of music that’s been forgotten for far too long. In doing so, they’ve maximised the potential of these songs, which now sit in equal stead with the rest of the work of Chester Bennington.
And now Grey Daze are continuing to bring back the band in a big way, by playing their first live show since 1998. With offers flooding in to the band since the release of ‘Amends’, we asked Sean what made them say ‘Yes’ to playing live on May 6th at Phoenix, Arizona’s UFest:
‘We had to find a way to bring in another front man/singer that could not only perform the music but was still on board to honor Chester and his importance to the band and music. It took a few years to figure out a live show that made sense and still allowed us to keep Chester involved.’
Grey Daze, live line-up, March 2023. From left to right: Cristin Davis, Mace Beyers, Cris Hodges and Sean Dowdell. Image Courtesy of Sean Dowdell.
That singer is Cris Hodges. Hailing from Texas and residing in Los Angeles, Hodges fronts hard rock band Pistols At Dawn, who are currently on tour supporting Ugly Kid Joe across the United States. He released his debut solo album in 2022 called ‘Black Hole Magic’ and also fronts Linkin Park cover band In The End. As his day job, the genre-hopping vocalist is a multi-instrumentalist who writes music for film and TV, having worked with Nickelodeon, Sony and Paramount Pictures. We asked Sean how Cris got the gig with Grey Daze:
‘We had lots of singers ask to sing for the band, Cris actually didn’t ask and was supportive of the project. We actually reached out to him and shared our concept of what we had in mind and asked if he would consider it. He loved the idea and felt honored to be included. So far it is working out great.’
On a day off from the Ugly Kid Joe tour, Cris Hodges will join Mace Beyers, Sean Dowdell and Cristin Davis for their first gig together at the Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona. UFest is headlined by Godsmack and will feature support from I Prevail, Nothing More, Fozzy (who are also on the Ugly Kid Joe tour), The Warning and The Black Moods.
Since the announcement of their participation in UFest, Grey Daze have revealed they are performing two headlining gigs together in August at The Canyon in Agoura Hills and Montclair, California. These smaller shows will be closer to the kinds of venues Grey Daze were playing in the 90s. When asked if playing UFest could mean more gigs, or even a tour, Sean had just this to say:
‘Yes, most likely.’
Grey Daze. From left to right: Chester Bennington, Steve Mitchell, Jonathan Krause, Jason Barnes, Sean Dowdell, Bobby Benish, Mace Beyers, Cristin Davis and Cris Hodges.
Nobody ever said being in a band was easy. But through years of hard work, of line-up changes, painful losses and cathartic re-recordings, Grey Daze are finally getting the recognition they deserved in the nineties.
And now their live show can celebrate that legacy in 2023, a year that also sees ‘Wake Me’ and ‘…no sun today’ being reissued on CD, vinyl and streaming platforms. This preserves the work of all those that came before, from Jonathan Krause and Jason Barnes, to Mace Beyers, Bobby Benish and Cristin Davis, ensuring fans can hear the best of both worlds. But most importantly, it charts the spiritual progression of Sean Dowdell and Chester Bennington, of co-writers, business partners and bandmates. It’s a reminder that our time on Earth together may be fleeting, but music is forever.
In one final question, we asked Sean Dowdell about the possibility of a third twenty-first century Grey Daze record, to which he had just this to say:
‘Possibly, you will have to wait and see 😊’
#MakeChesterProud
Chester Bennington. Image Credit: Tom Preston.
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For more information about Grey Daze, including where to find their music, visit their official website.
Purchase tickets for upcoming Grey Daze shows here.
Visit the official Grey Daze store for CDs, vinyl, t-shirts and more.
A portion of the proceeds Grey Daze make go to A New Leaf Foundation. Read more about their work here.
Follow Chester Bennington on Instagram and Twitter @chesterbe.
Follow Sean Dowdell on Instagram @sean_dowdell.
Follow Mace Beyers on Instagram @greysquirrel65 and on Twitter @BeyersMace.
Follow Cristin Davis on Instagram @cristindavisofficial.
Follow Cris Hodges on Facebook and TikTok @crishodgesmusic, and on Instagram @hodgesofficial.
Follow Grey Daze on Facebook @realgreydaze, Instagram and TikTok @greydazeofficial and on Twitter @therealgreydaze.
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