Dayton band Dak Janiels and the Holy Smokes started off as friends on the playground, listening to Blink-182 and playing soccer. Years later they've started a band and have taken to the stage themselves.
Vocalist and guitarist Dak Janiels was given the final push to start a band by fellow Dayton musician Zach Sliver.
"After about a decade and a half of singing open mic nights, COVID happened and it kind of put a stop to my extracurricular activity. Zach from Yuppie told me if I would go record some of the songs that I was caterwauling at open mic night that he'd pay for the recording for a day. So after I bribed Danny with a new guitar, and Tim with unlimited hot dogs and pizza, we had a pretty fam damily going on."
The band are now working on recording an entire album and gigging around the region. Reflecting on taking the plunge into recording, Dak Janiels says he is grateful that Sliver encouraged him.
"It was like opening a whole new door for me musically. I had summed up my music career to being what I had already done. But once we started recording, I realized that I got very fortunate with Real Love Recording Co. in Dayton. Patrick Himes has produced all of our music and he is a wizard when it comes to production."
Stay up to date with Dak Janiels and the Holy Smokes by following them on instagram @dakjanielsaths.
