So Daly joined the workforce,
but he never left music. In fact,
he spent many years working for
The Aquarian Weekly - a popular
music newspaper. One might
think this would have been an
advantage for a musician, but ev-
eryone working there knew they
had to separate their own musi-
cal aspirations from the job. Daly
still works in community papers,
writing human interest stories,
but music is returning to focus.
His band, Mike Daly & The Plan-
ets, includes Daly (lead vocals,
guitar), Jim Van Sickle (bass),
Jim “Smitty” Smith (drums), and
John Reynolds (lead guitar). The
band’s debut album took so long
to create and be released that it
contains songs on it which were
originally recorded 7 to 8 years
ago. Daly says life simply got in
the way for the members of the
band who had jobs, families, and
young children that took prec-
edent over music. Now that the
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 48
children are a bit older, the band
members have more free time.
“Our schedules have opened up
a bit,” explained Daly. “So, that
kind of enables us to act like kids
again!” Daly says the band might
even have new music released
before the end of the year.
The influence of DiNizio can
be heard in the music and lyrics
found on the self-titled debut al-
bum by Mike Daly & The Planets.
Released last year, many of the
songs feature the same type of
power pop vibe (something akin
to a mix of 60s British Invasion
and Jersey rock) made famous
by The Smithereens. It features
songs that should appeal to
fans of that band as well as art-
ists like Marshall Crenshaw and
Fountains of Wayne. Some of
my favorite songs on the album
include “Hero’s Trial,” “Never
Too Late”, “Mikey’s Lament,” and
“Letter From The Front.” The lat-
ter was inspired by watching war
INDEX
NEXT ARTICLE
55