Sunny Day Real Estate or SDRE was an Alternative Rock cross Emo band formed in Seattle, Washington. The band is credited for bringing emo subgenre from an underground musical phenomenon to the more popular sub-mainstream level.

History

Beginnings

The band formed in 1992, under the name Empty Set, fronted by Dan Hoerner (guitar, vocals), with Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums). They released a 7", Flatland Spider, before a period of musical chairs and name changes in which Mendel took a break to tour with another band, Hoerner took over the bass, and the group was joined by Jeremy Enigk, a high school friend of Goldsmith, who would go on to be the permanent frontman of the band. The band garnered attention when Enigk joined, whose high-pitched, constantly ascending voice complemented their melodic songs. When Mendel returned, the complete band settled on the name Sunny Day Real Estate. Shrouded in mystery from the get-go, they released only one picture to the press; conducted one interview; and, for still-unknown reasons, never played a show in the state of California with all four members. They released another 7",Thief, Steal Me A Peach in early 1994.

Success

With their debut album , Diary by Indie label Sub Pop in 1994, Sunny Day achieved newfound fame. At one time posing for an advertisement for department-store chain Nordstrom, while Enigk converted to Christianity.

Break-up

The band's second album Sunny Day Real Estate, was released before the band broke up in 1995, without cover art or liner notes, and was commonly known as LP2 for lack of any other title (it has also occasionally been referred to as "The Pink Album," a reference to its solid pink cover). There was much talk but little really known about the reasons for the break-up. While many fans focused on Enigk being a reborn Christian, Enigk and other band members later downplayed that aspect.

After breaking up, Enigk persued a solo career, Hoerner retreated to a farm in Washington while Mendel and Goldsmith then joined the much more widely known Foo Fighters, also of Seattle, fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Goldsmith later left the Foo Fighters.

Regroup

In 1997, after months of speculation, Sunny Day Real Estate reunited, except Mendel (who stayed with Foo Fighters and was replaced by former Mommyheads bassist Jeff Palmer, then by ex-Posie Joe Skyward) for the task of putting together a compilation of live tracks and previously unreleased recordings. The sessions blossomed into a full album's worth of material, and the band formally reuinited, without Mendel, to release their third album, How It Feels To Be Something On (1998).

How It Feels... was a triumphant return, as it was well received by critics and fans alike. The album was on par with the previous two in its quality, originality, and haunting power. A live album just titled Live was released a year later, which hinted fans that another studio album was coming up. The band went on to record a fourth album, The Rising Tide which wasn't released by Sub Pop, instead by Time Bomb in 2000.

Final break-up

Time Bomb's deal with Arista fell through, and Sunny Day were on the verge on entering the mainstream. However, external forces conspired against the band; signing with Arista made touring and promotion all but impossible. This and management difficulties made the band not to do a follow-up, and it was announced in June 2001 that Sunny Day Real Estate had disbanded.

Present

Enigk and Goldsmith formed a new band, The Fire Theft, and released a self-titled album in 2003. Mendel is still with Foo Fighters.

Discography

• Diary (1994)
• LP2 (1998)
• How It Feels To Be Something On (1998)
• Live (1999)
• The Rising Tide (2000)