Scroll through the “In Your Backyard N.C.” playlist on Spotify, and you’ll eventually come across a few songs by the largely unknown band Pajama Day. However, this isn’t your typical beer-slinging, backyard BBQ performing dad rock band. This is a band of three local high schoolers recording EPs and playing their own gigs.
The band, consisting of East junior Louis Van Houtven and Chapel Hill juniors Ali Gotelli and Milo Vaisey, has been together since fall of 2018. Gotelli and Van Houtven have been long-term friends and always knew they wanted to make a band together. Combined with Vaisey’s talent on the drums, this dream turned into a reality.
“It started off as us just getting together and playing music,” said vocalist and guitarist Van Houtven. “But probably around seventh or eighth grade we were like, ‘We want to make this more of a thing.’”
Gotelli credits Chapel Hill High’s music department, in part, with bringing the band together. The three of them participate in the school’s marching band, with Van Houtven driving over from East for practice. The three, beyond being bandmates, are close friends.
“We think of ourselves as kind of like a fun band,” said Gotelli. “‘Pajama Day’ harkens back to elementary school. We’ve performed in pajamas before, actually. We try not to take ourselves too seriously.”
Most notably, they have released a five-song EP called “The Taste” on all streaming platforms. In addition, they’ve performed at the Be Loud! Sophie showcase and Battle of the Bands at Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill High’s Junior Follies and alongside other local bands at house shows.
They hope to expand to playing at more venues, like they did at the restaurant Imbibe in February. However, it can be difficult for youth bands to play at bars that want to sell drinks, because their audience is primarily teenagers.
Funding can also be challenging for teen bands. Their main source of income comes from the merch they sell at shows. Often designed by Vaisey, these shirts are either screen-printed at home or professionally printed. They will also get a cut of the door at shows, and sometimes a portion of food sales from that night.
“It’s actually kind of surprising how little we think about the money,” said drummer Vaisey. “Because besides saving up to record in a studio, there’s really not too many other things that we have to worry about buying at this point.”
Performing is often impeded by school, but there are some benefits of also being a student. One is having a consistent audience of close friends who know all the words and have built their own traditions, like waving their phone flashlights during their most popular track, “Ocean Song.”
“It’s nice because I usually have an audience of people who know me personally,” said bassist Gotelli. “They’re always really great and super into it, which makes playing shows way more fun.”
Of course, all great bands come from humble practice spaces. For Pajama Day, Van Houtven’s basement and Vaisey’s garage became those spaces. Their families enjoy live practices, while friends resort to tuning in through Instagram streams of rehearsals. Their 700 followers flit in and out of the livestreams, leaving supportive comments and enjoying glimpses of the band in action.
“I’m always surprised that they want me to keep making stuff and they want me to play more shows,” said Van Houtven about support from friends and family. “I’m like, ‘I thought you’d want me to shut up,’ you know?”
Their collaborative songwriting process, usually started from lyrics and a melody by Van Houtven, isn’t always easy, but all three members work to balance each other out. The inspiration from any one song can come from a variety of sources, but Van Houtven usually draws on one of three things: “girls, sleep, or being really sad.”
“We take influence from stuff as diverse as funk, and soul, and rap to like, jazz, to straight-up pop,” said Gotelli. “One of the songs that we don’t play, because Louis forgot how to play it—it was called ‘Berry’—that was just ripped off of a Billie Eilish song. Which is probably why we don’t play it.”
Songs can take a few practices to polish, but once they’re ready, they’re recorded at local studios and shared with the world.
“It’s just a way of expressing myself that feels right to me,” said Gotelli. “I think there’s a way for everyone to express themselves through some type of art or physical expression or whatever you choose, and music is just what that is for me. It’s a way to get my emotions out into the world.”
By Eva Buckner & Katie Clark
Pajama Day’s next show is 8 p.m. on April 4th at Second Wind. Their music can be streamed on most major platforms. / Instagram: @pajamadaync
