ACL Preview: DAIISTAR’s Austin-Bred Good Time

Though restrained by lockdown following their spring 2020 formation, Austin psych rockers DAIISTAR hit the ground running after releasing Good Time, their debut LP, in 2023.

The quartet – featuring singer/guitarist Alex Capistran, drummer Nick Cornetti, bassist Misti Hamrick, and keyboardist Derek Strahan – have already showcased at SXSW, performed at the coveted Seattle radio station KEXP, and, in what the band calls a highlight of the year, toured with the Black Angels, the Dandy Warhols, and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Austin Chronicle: What does “psych rock” mean to you guys in 2024? Does that genre tag resonate with you personally?

Alex Capistran: I’m pretty accepting of whatever people want to identify us as. I think that just means that we appeal to different crowds. We’ve been called shoegaze and indie and psych, and I think that’s a good thing. Psych rock has been around for a long time, and it comes in waves, and I think we just hit another wave recently. I think it’s a genre that will be pretty consistent throughout time.

AC: As longtime Austinites, how do you feel about playing ACL?

Nick Cornetti: My first concert when I was 13 or 14 was Blink-182, so I’m excited to see Blink-182 again, 20 years later. I forgot they were playing … I got stoked.

Alex Capistran: It’s a milestone to play ACL, and it’s another milestone to headline ACL, so hopefully we’ll get there someday.

AC: You’ve released one new single since the album came out. Are you already working on the next DAIISTAR project?

Alex Capistran: We are writing the next record right now. We’ll probably start demoing soon. I’m doing my own demos here at home – just gathering ideas and bringing it to the band, and together we come up with a way to make the song united as a band.

Nick Cornetti: We’ve had a couple cool remixes come out too. The [“Parallel”] Immersion remix just came out. Colin [Newman] from Wire [and Immersion] did a remix. It’s pretty interesting. He changed it up quite a bit. And then Sonic Boom did one [“Velvet Reality”] … that we put a 7-inch out of. That one’s pretty awesome too.

AC: Is there anything you heard in the remixes that made you listen to your songs differently?

Nick Cornetti: The Immersion remix is very different from the original song. He changed the drums completely; he took the keys out. It’s so different and really cool. He slowed the beat down. It’s a lot different than the album version. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Alex Capistran: We met him at Brighton Psych Fest and we talked to him for a little while, and I was just telling him, “Why didn’t I think of that?” I liked his version so much. I wish I had thought of these things when we recorded the song.

Sunday 13 (Weekend 2 only), 12:10pm, Miller Lite Stage

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