Interview: Golden Days is Getting Naked on Stage — Why?

The Central Texas based band speaks on their upcoming album, their DIY punk-rock origins, and what it takes to make a name for themselves in Austin’s over-saturated indie music scene.

Written by Maci Jean

Photo by Maci Jean

The self-described “jangle-rock” five piece band Golden Days is a breath of fresh air in  Austin’s underground music scene. Originally from Eagle Pass, Texas, lead singer/songwriter Dalton Hausman started Golden Days in an attempt to fuse different bits and pieces of alternative sounds he liked together. After finishing his first album, Hausman joined forces with drummer John Cazares, bassist John Pedraza, guitarist Jack Ryon, and guitarist/tambourinist Jake Magee. Together, they bring Hausman’s bubbling, dynamic vision to life through song and dance, captivating even the most fastidious listener.

Afterglow: I’d like to start by saying thank you, guys, for meeting with me! I caught your set at Hole In the Wall and was totally blown away!

Dalton: Oh of course, we were so excited you reached out. 

Right off the bat, Jake, that tambourine playing at the Hole in the Wall was mind-boggling! I’ve been itching to open up that can of worms. 

Jake: Well, I usually play the guitar. I was playing it at that show, but for that song I played the tambourine too. It’s a fun song to play, but it makes me really tired every time. 

Dalton: Jake’s kind of like… guitar and auxiliary I suppose, for that one. For future songs, he’s kind of just whatever needs to be done. He’s on it. 

Afterglow: And what song is that again? 

Jake: It’s “Margerine!”

That’s right, I was listening to it on the way here. The Spotify version is mixed really well. So, how did you guys end up in this band?

Dalton: Yeah, I was in a different band called Where's Molly? when I was in high school. It was the first music thing I ever did That's how I met drum John…he played drums. I started Golden Days after I moved out here.

Y’all are playing some bigger venues now. How has it been moving from house shows to more official gigs? 

Dalton: We’ve played at Mohawk once before. We’ve played at Empire. 

Jake: They’re very different spaces, different vibes. We don’t really do a lot of house shows anymore — 

Jack:  unless you count that graduation party. We do the odd show at places like Spider House. We like the Co-op shows.

Dalton: We were just talking about that the other day. It’s weird…the point we’re at as a band. People don’t necessarily want to buy tickets to see us yet, but when they see us at shows they have a really good time. So it's weird. If we're playing at a venue it's always a toss up as to whether or not people are gonna be there. We’re always a little weary to play. 

I’ve got a bit of a hard hitting question…there are a lot of bands in the Austin music scene. What would you say sets you apart? What draws a crowd? 

Dalton: It seems like we don’t really care! 

Jake: We try to look like we don’t care, while caring way too much. 

Dalton: No, honestly, a lot of indie influence, I really like to write catchy hooks. I try to write poppy stuff that feels different. 

Different sonically or performance wise? 

Dalton: Both!

Photo courtesy of Bailey Evertson

Watching y’all was really entertaining… and not just because you took your clothes off. 

Dalton: That was a first for me, I’d never lost my shirt before that.

Jake: It’s really only fair to attribute the music being different to Dalton. Performance wise, being in shitty garage bands in high school…the whole point is to do the most ridiculous things possible. We were entertaining ourselves. We care a lot about live performances. It’s really easy to get a big head about live shows —

Dalton:  That's something we noticed about indie bands early on. We wanted to avoid that. We try really hard to make the songs good, but we also try really hard to make them good for a live setup. 

I think it does make a noticeable difference. 

Dalton: Well, we have a lot of influence from other music. I’m really into jazz. It’s challenging, I try to incorporate some interesting jazzy elements. I just have no formal music training or theory knowledge. John went to school for music! 

John: I did! I went to UNT for Saxophone. Got two and a half years in. I literally don’t use it. Forgetting about all that theory has made it more fun. 

Dalton: Jack was a school of rock kid, too. Drum John and I are self taught. I taught myself all the production stuff. 

Speaking of production, some of your published songs on Spotify have thousands of streams. “Margarine” has 9,735 streams as of today. 

Dalton: There’s a lack-luster reason: it’s just because of playlisting. That album got put out in 2021, we’re trying to generate some buzz for our next release. 

What’s next for Golden Days? 

Dalton: It’s gonna be pretty different. A little more processed. We want it to sound different [with] more LoFi. It’s not going to sound anything like the first album. 

I’m excited. Thanks guys! Any closing statements? Any more words of wisdom, Jake? 

Jake: Unfortunately, I’m tapped. 

You can follow  Golden Days on Instagram, and stream their newest EP on Spotify and Apple Music. 

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.