“ Pat comes out and I ’ m like here ’ s a guy who sings in my range !” said Daly who started out in bands simply for fun . His initial bands played lots of covers , but weren ’ t what you would normally think of as a cover band - partly because Daly wanted to do original music and partly because of his vocal range . When he first heard The Smithereens , everything changed for him . “ When you ’ re in cover bands , you go out and sing other people ’ s music and unless you

change the key , you ’ re generally singing in somebody else ’ s range ,” explained Daly . “ It ’ s not necessarily good for your voice and not good for the performance . So when I heard somebody come out that sounds like me with a deep voice - it was like I guess I ’ m not in a key that ’ s not commercial or that people don ’ t want to hear . That was a great thing . It inspired me to be able to write in my key and have it be accessible . He was definitely an inspiration for me .”

The Next Generation of Rock Radio Listen online at 90.5thenight . org Listen online at 90.5thenight . org