Diary

A passion to create uncommonly expressive rock and roll fueled Jeremy Enigk (guitar/vocals), Dan Hoerner (guitar/vocals), William Goldsmith (drums), and Nate Mendel (bass) from the earliest incarnations of Sunny Day Real Estate. It was quickly clear they’d all stumbled upon something new and exciting. Enigk’s yearning, high-register voice was a direct contrast to Hoerner’s primal delivery, imbuing the music with a previously unrealized level of emotion, and when Mendel returned from tour, it was decided Sunny Day would henceforth be a quartet, with Enigk on lead vocals. At the time, grunge had turned Seattle into the epicenter of the music industry, making worldwide superstars out of hometown heroes Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. But Sunny Day forged its own path, deriving a unique sound from its members’ collective talents. “It was guys that played hardcore experimenting with actually writing songs,” Goldsmith recalls of the band’s early days. “Hardcore is really fast and ou