Atlantic Aftermath are a relatively new Pop Punk/Easycore band, who would seem as though they've been around for years. The band had been hard at work promoting their album non-stop, Come Hell Or High Water, which is now available on iTunes and the band's Storenvy page.
Let's start off easy - can you state your name and role in the band?
Josh: I'm Josh, I play guitar and do half the vocals for the band.
Now, you guys are one of those bands that rapidly gains an overwhelming amount of fans and hype before any music is even released. I have to ask, how do you think you achieved this? Did it.. just happen?
Josh: We were in the process of recording the album and putting a lot of time and money into when we realized, is anyone gonna give a shit about the release? So, we made it our goal to spread the word about it and build as much hype as possible. It still is a big goal of ours today to keep expanding and reach as many new people as possible.
On a similar note, you guys recently played a show supporting Four Year Strong in your hometown. What was this like? How did this come about?
Josh: Clearly, we were fucking stoked when we found out about it considering they are one of the most influential bands in this genre. The show was definitely fun as hell. It was our first show in awhile and the crowd was great. Basically, we just asked to be added to the show and got it. So, it was mostly luck.
So your slogan's Heartfelt Pop Punk. Now there's no debating this as it's clearly portrayed in the album's music and lyrics. What can you tell me about the inception of Come Hell Or High Water?
Josh: Originally, we were going to record an EP with about 7 or 8 songs. We decided that we might as well go all out and do an 11 song album. We wrote a lot of it in the studio as we went. It was summer time so we were able to write and record all day which was pretty sick. No one knew about us when we first had plans of writing an album and then we picked up some fans along the way which was cool. Their stokedness on the album got us more pumped on it as well. The heartfelt part comes from the fact that a lot of people associate Pop Punk with bands that just sing about girls and high school and play the same power chord riffs over and over. We wanted to distance ourselves from that association. Heartfelt Pop Punk is pretty much the same as Easycore.
The album only came out last month, but do you have any new music in the works?
Josh: As of now, we don't. We are currently working on making our live show as epic/entertaining as we possibly can. We stopped playing live for a good amount of time while we recorded so we need to get back in the groove with that.
I noticed that the single version of Ode To The Underclass is a little different to the album version. Was this intentional or more of a last-minute change?
Josh: We planned on changing it a little but not as much as we ended up changing it for the album. We accidentally recorded it 5 BPM faster then the original which we didn't realize until we started recording guitar for it. There weren't too many changes other than that and the removal of the screams. The new version matched the overall feel of the album a little better in the end.
It's not often that bands dive right into a full-length, and you guys formed in early 2010 - had you been working on the album since then or did it take some time to get everything together?
Josh: We actually got rid of most of our old material when we started writing this album. A lot of it we wrote as we went in the studio so that took made things go a little bit slower. I would definitely do a lot of things differently next time we record but I am more than happy with how this album came out.
Aside from releasing your debut full-length, putting out a good amount of merch, and playing some shows, do you have any other plans for the rest of the year?
Josh: Our goal as a band is to always keep growing. We try to reach out to new fans locally and nationally every day. As for our plans, we are going to start playing a lot of shows locally and possibly put together a small South West tour.
The biography on your social pages states that you made it a point to set yourselves apart from other Easycore bands. Is this because you're unhappy with the current scene? or because you wanted to do your own thing?
Josh: No, I love the scene. The problem is that too many great albums get dismissed because they sound like everyone else. We wanted a unique sound for ourselves. We tried covering a wide spectrum of the Easycore genre within different songs. For example, Johnny X-Treme is one of our poppier songs and How To Stop An Exploding Man covers the heavier end of the spectrum.
Who've been your favourite bands to play shows with, so far?
Josh: Obviously Four Year Strong was fun to play with. Locally, I like playing with the band A Step Ahead. They are another great Easycore band on our scene and a bunch of really chill dudes.
Did Chris join the band before or after recording the album? I noticed that he's not in any of the photos.
Josh: Yeah, Chris recently joined the band because we needed a second guitarist to make the album sound the same live. He is in a lot of our newer live photos and we will take a new promo soon.
Anything else you'd like to say? Once again, thanks guys.
Josh: Yeah, thank you guys for doing everything you do with the Easycore site! It really helps define an upcoming genre and spread the word to new fans.
Exclusive: Life On The Sideline EP announcement, music video premiere
Since releasing Honesty Is A Dying Breed two years ago, Life On The Sideline has remained active on the road and is now ready to unveil its upcoming EP, Never Settle. To kick things off, we're premiering the music video for the band's new single, "Echo", which tells the sad story of a young girl reminiscing times spent with her deceased partner. While not a pop punk song per se, it's as catchy as one with an infectious chorus that you'll inevitably get stuck in your head. The band's sound could be compared to that of Transit's and The Early November's. Fans can pre-order the EP on iTunes and CD here, before it's released on June 7th. […]
