Countdown to the Telepathic Windows Festival 2026 Vol. 1 // An Interview with DAY & DREAM

• Thanks so much for the interview. Let’s trace your roots and story.
  

Two words started it all: vegan brunch. We met in NYC and played in separate rock bands. When our romantic relationship got more serious, we decided to move somewhere more affordable, and Asheville, NC hit a lot of desires for us. Along the way, we got married, bought a house, got a huge fluffy goldendoodle, and released a bunch of music. Our band name alludes to how opposite we are, Pete is a morning person, Abby is a night owl. Pete is from the NY, Abby is from CA, Pete is Italian/Ukrainian, Abby is Filipino American. Pete hated the band name at first, but I think it grew on him.

• What are your main influences and inspirations?

All sorts of things – the songs are super personal, little diary entries of our lives. Nature, memories, moving, sleep, and relationships are some topics. Our dog Zeppi inspired “Separation Anxiety”, “Rabbit Hole” is about our internet searches, “It’s All Over Now” alludes to the world ending, “A Study in the Pixels of Your Face” is about internet stalking.

• How would you describe your sound?

“Your favorite warm fuzzy blanket!” I guess we’re Indie Rock/Dreampop with Shoegaze and Neo-Psych elements. We’ve always wanted to be a much fuller band with more guitarists, but due to necessity, we’ve also tried to figure out how to play as a two-piece based on the logistics of a gig. We just love love love LIVE drums though, so that’s our first choice, but we just adapt to either play as a full band or do the intimate electronic/dreampop duo thing. The electronic drums have seeped into our actual songs now.

• What do the words ‘Shoegaze’ and ‘Dream Pop’ mean to you?”
  

Shoegaze – lots of pedals and effects, black clothes and stripes, shaggy hair, and people more shy and isolated who like to look down and close their eyes at shows. LOUD! Wear earplugs.

Dreampop – melodic hooks that have simple melodies and gentle singing, music you can make in your bedroom. 

Honestly, it’s more of a silly label to us. Sometimes we’re all over the place with the sounds we’re going for, and the labels could be varied. We’ve been told we remind people of The Marias, Khruangbin, Stereolab, Men I Trust, which is all really great to hear, but not anything we’re going for when we compose.

• Tell us a little about your recording process and how you create your songs.
  

It always starts with an idea for a song, a riff, some chords, and we bounce ideas off one another and flesh out parts to complete songs. We are really harsh critics of “music doodles” at this point. Abby will figure out a melody that seems catchy. We add demo drums and bass, and we hand it to a real drummer and bass player to write/add something better, and that’s worked well for us. Abby has a constant plethora of potential lyrics on napkins/journals and notes on her phone she’ll pull from. We don’t believe in AI-created music at all.

• Which song(s) are you most proud of and best represent your sound?
  

“Nightlights”, “Separation Anxiety”, “Paralysis by Analysis”, “Hidden Cinema”, “Rabbit Hole”, “Chrysalis”.

• What kind of old/new music are you listening to? Any bands or artists you are excited about at the moment?
  

Old: Radiohead, Television, The Police, MBV, King Krule, Reptaliens, Stereolab, Broadcast, Sweet Trip; Newish: Being Dead, Sea Lemon

I (Abby) am obsessed with pop music and beautiful female voices so I listen to lots of female vocalists: Claro, Feist, Jay Som, Rilo Kiley, Winter, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Yumi Zouma are on constant rotation. We have a lot of guilty pleasure music too, like 90s rock, 80s hits. We’re all over the place and always looking for new music to discover.

• Who would you most like to collaborate with?
  

Sean Lennon, Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils, Jay Som, Far Caspian, Lunar Vacation.

• What has been your best/worst gig so far (both as a performer and spectator)?

As a spectator: 

(BEST) Beach Fossils with Blonde Redhead at Irving Plaza New Year’s Eve, Radiohead at Outsides Lands. We’ve caught many great shows in Asheville, including The Beach Boys, Stereolab, and Slowdive.

(WORST) Hope Sandoval in San Francisco, I was a huge Mazzy Star fan, but I was so bored and sleepy at that show!

As performer:

(BEST) SXSW 2022 because of all the great bands that played that year. I can recall Wet Leg, Bodywash, Penelope Isles, even Dolly Parton. We saw Beck speak at a public panel and got super inspired. NY’s New Colossus 2023 was also an amazing experience and had a killer lineup, like The Depreciation Guild, Laveda, Blushing, Boy with Apple. We also played “Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn” with Kip Berman from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and that was a memorable show because we were back in Brooklyn and had a lot of friends and family that got to attend.

(WORST) – Hmmm? We did a winery gig because we got paid, but we definitely were not in our element having to play for three hours. We had to add a bunch of covers and were totally background lounge music. We got to drink some amazing free wine though, so it wasn’t that bad. There have also been some brewery shows we’ve played where the sound was horrendous.

• What are your expectations for the newcomer Telepathic Windows Fest, and what should the punters expect from your stripped-down performance, peppered with some anticipations from the new album?

Meeting lots of new faces, hearing new tunes and making new discoveries. We played with The Veldt once before in Winston Salem a few years ago. We have not been to DC in over 20 years, so we’re excited to spend one day exploring and eating. Really happy about this curated experience for all the bands to play together!

• What are your plans for the future?

We took a long break due to many intense life events, including the deaths of some close relatives. I (Abby) went through a car accident that nearly killed me, and then we dealt with Hurricane Helene, which destroyed Asheville. We’ve been processing and healing a lot, and trying to channel it into new music. We are working on our third album now, and then playing out a lot when that’s ready. We’ll be leaving Asheville in the fall and are playing a goodbye show at the Asheville Sounds Festival in August –  should be intense and bittersweet. Ironically, it falls on our 10th year wedding anniversary. We’ll be moving to the Raleigh Triangle Area and will be looking for more permanent bandmates there for live shows.

• Any parting words?
  

We’re finally pressing vinyl of our first two albums. They will be for sale later this fall on our Bandcamp along with new merch! Our third album should be out shortly. Thanks always for listening to us, it means a lot.