“We were very aware of creating something that didn’t sound exactly like anybody else. Now, of course, it sounds like everyone else”: This cult Seattle band helped invent 90s emo. Then Dave Grohl poached two of their members for Foo Fighters

Sunny Day Real Estate posing for a photograph in the 1990s.

The story of Sunny Day Real Estate is one of serendipity and missed opportunities. In 1992, guitarist/singer Dan Hoerner, drummer William Goldsmith and bassist Nate Mendel were members of Seattle band Empty Set.

When Mendel’s services were required in Europe for one of his other bands, the remaining pair lucked out when they invited 18-year-old high-schooler Jeremy Enigk to jam with them. Quickly realising the talent they had unearthed, the trio soon became a quartet, changing their name and sound, and installing the precocious Enigk as their new frontman.