Austin noise-pop/shoegaze outfit DAIISTAR apparently have a lot of phriends in common with PHILTHY MAG. In 2023 the quartet toured with The Dandy Warhols (keep checking the site for my recent chat with Dandys guitarist Peter Holmström, ahead of their May 14th show at Ardmore Music Hall), last year our new phriends Immersion remixed their “Parallel” (off of 2023 debut LP, Good Time), and DAIISTAR are currently on the road with our longtime buddies L.A. Witch, for whom they’ll be providing direct support tomorrow, May 10th, at Johnny Brenda’s. The other day I got a chance to chat with DAIISTAR vocalist and guitarist Alex Capistran about the band’s latest music; their time on the road with L.A. Witch, The Dandy Warhols, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre; and a few of their favorite things (which include The Velvet Underground, Trainspotting, and Anthony Bourdain).
Izzy Cihak: You’ve been on the road for a few weeks now. How have the dates been going so far? Any particular highlights?
Alex Capistran: The shows have been great. A number of the venues have sold out on this tour. Seattle is always a highlight in my opinion. Everyone knows how to show up and have a good time there, but honestly there’s something special about everywhere we go and that’s kind of the beauty of tour. I think that in itself is the biggest highlight.
Izzy: What are some of your favorite things either about being on the road or to do on the road when you’re not actually playing shows?
Alex: We like to treat ourselves a little. It’s like an episode of No Reservations every time we’re in a new city. It’s really fun to explore the local cuisine, especially in Europe. So, if we’re not playing or busy with soundcheck, we’re definitely out to find the best food. We also love thrifting. I found a pretty sick jacket today that I’ll be wearing the rest of tour.
Izzy: I know you’re currently [mostly] touring with L.A. Witch, who are also so amazing. What are your thoughts on them, both their music and as tourmates?
Alex: They’re awesome and their new record, DOGGOD, is so good. They’ve been really chill and so nice to us on this tour and it’s cool to see a band like that so down to earth. We’ve known Ellie for a while, and she’s played percussion with us out in LA a few times, so I think maybe us coming on as support kind of happened naturally that way. We’re happy that we’re here because they’re really great.
Izzy: What can be expected of your live show on this run? It’s been a while since you’ve released a ton of new music, so is it safe to assume that there’ll be some unreleased stuff? I heard more music will be dropping in 2025…
Alex: We have a live album coming out very soon that we recorded on a boat in London through Fuzz Club Records. It captures the raw energy that you get at a DAIISTAR show. As for the new songs, we played one live recently and the crowd responded really well to it. That moment confirmed we’re on the right track.
Izzy: What directions do your latest sounds seem to be heading? Is [most recent single] “Clear” any sort of an indicator or preview?
Alex: You can expect it to be faster and more rhythm driven with one or two slower jams that could be siblings to “Clear.” I can’t really say too much about it at the moment.
Izzy: I know that last year you dropped a “Parallel” remix courtesy of Immersion, who I actually got to know earlier this year and played a really stellar show at Johnny Brenda’s just a few weeks ago. How was it working with them and getting to know them? They told me they totally love discovering and meeting artists through their radio show.
Alex: They are amazing. We actually got to meet them when we played Brighton Psych Fest last year. They came out to the show and we got to sit down and talk a little about the remix they did for us. They were really cool and I hope we get to hangout again soon.
Izzy: You’ve done a bunch of cool music videos, which all look like they could’ve premiered on 120 Minutes (which I think is kind of intended…) What kinds of things most inspire the visual elements of the band?
Alex: Spacemen 3, The Velvet Underground, Stone Roses, Trainspotting, 24 Hour Party People, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Anthony Bourdain, vintage clothes, sandy beaches, and tacos. I’m pretty sure anyone who listens to “Good Time” can pick up on the essence of that, especially now after reading this.
Izzy: This is a really big question, but I just realized you’ve officially been together for half a decade now, so I’m curious what have been some of the personal highlights of the band over the past five years?
Alex: I think one of biggest highlights for us was touring with The Dandy Warhols and then The Brian Jonestown Massacre. It’s funny, Anton from BJM didn’t talk to me for the whole tour till the last night and decided to give me some feedback on my voice. He said, “Your voice, your voice is a castle…” I was like oh that’s nice, I wasn’t expecting that, then he yelled, “People tear down castles!!!” It stuck with me, I knew what he meant, and you just can’t get that kind of shit sitting around at home. They’re legends and it was cool they invited us out on the road. We love touring and meeting people and we’re very lucky to be doing this.
Izzy: It’s funny, The Dandy Warhols are actually currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut LP and going to be in town next week, and I was just talking to Pete from the band about all of it, and I was curious if you had any favorite works of theirs or memories related to them?
Alex: I don’t have their poster on my wall or anything, but I’ve always loved the Dandys and Dandys Rule OK has a cozy home in my heart. It’s just crazy having seen them on the Dig! doc ages ago and then there we were getting ready to tour with them. I just had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We ended up partying with them a few times and had a great time on the road… it was Dig! light. They’re absolutely wonderful and I’d tour with them again if our stars ever re-aligned.
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