Quiet Game Starting Now are a Pop Punk/Easycore band out of the California Bay Area. You may be familiar with their first EP we posted a while back, otherwise, make sure to check them out and consider grabbing their new full-length, The Rising. The band will also be touring very soon
First things first, let's start with introductions
Blake: Well first things first, we are a Pop Punk band from the California Bay Area. We have been a band for 2 years. The band consists of Blake Rosier - Vocals, Tyler Barber - Guitar & Vocals, Erik Larsen - Guitar, Pierce Wright - Keytar, Weston Thompson - Drums, and we have a temporary fill in basist Adam Daitch. We have released an EP and a full-length album. We have all been friends since High School and the band developed from strong friendship.
So where does the name Quiet Game Starting Now come from? Is it a reference to anything?
Blake: Quiet Game Starting Now is a nostalgic term to all of us in the band. It is in reference to the announcement someone makes when starting the quiet game. Just remember the days of long drives and your parents wanting you to shut up and exclaiming, "Quiet Game Starting Now". We love the name 'cause it is super catchy and people are always interested to hear how we came up with the name.
Back in 2009 you guys put out the What's Rightfully Ours EP and now your full-length [The Rising] has recently been released. How do you guys feel about yourselves right now? Did you see yourselves here 2 years ago?
Blake: I would have to say that we feel extremely accomplished with what we have done with our music. We have always strived to do everything ourselves to the best of our ability and we can definitely say we have done so. Self recording both our EP and album, booking our own tour through California and designing all of our own merchandise and logos is definitely a feat that we are proud to call our own. We we we so excited to have our album out and the depth and quality exceeded our expectations. 2 years ago we were just starting the band and we had no clue what to expect. We are so happy with our success thus far.
How did you guys decide which songs would be re-recorded from the EP to the album? Did you always know you would re-record songs from the EP?
Blake: The songs we did not re-record eventually fell out of our playlist. As we began to write new material we realized that we had grown as musicians and the new songs showed our newly found musical ability. For those old songs that did not make it on to the record, we dropped those because we truly want to bring all of our fans the best music we could possibly make.
Did you guys always know you were gonna do an album after the EP? It's not often that younger bands aim for an album early on, kudos for that.
Blake: Well thank you for the kudos! We did not really have the idea of doing an album at first because we did not think we had enough material we really loved for a full-length. After writing more and fine tuning all the kinks putting together the album was so exciting especially because we had so much more knowledge on recording and wanted to show how much we had grown all around.
The album sounds a lot more polished out and less raw than the EP, definite improvement. In regards to recording, what was the difference between the EP and album?
Blake: Erik Larsen our guitarist recorded the whole album and he really grew as a producer. With practice and experience from the EP, and other projects, he developed better mixes for the instruments and vocals putting out a very professional record.
How would you summarise the album, in regards to lyrics, choosing names for the songs/album, and the artwork?
Blake: The album in summary shows the dynamic of movement. The Rising to us means never being stagnant, constantly changing, always having a positive attitude towards what we are doing and continuing our success. We never want to be staying in one place, we want to move forward, and progress onwards and upwards. The album artwork shows a vast, open, and flowing scene. It helps portray our message of movement and constant success through positivity. As far as the song names they all have separate interesting meanings and stories that range from comedic play on words to deep raw honesty.
Though the band incorporates most of the usual Easycore elements, you still have a unique sound going on - musically, what's influenced and helped define your sound?
Blake: We love heavy music a lot, but we wanted to have the widest spectrum of fans that we could, so we mix heaviness of our music with very catchy melody, synth and lyrics that will stay with you. Some bands that we love listening to are Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, A Day To Remember, Attack Attack!, and more but we definitely have a different sound unlike anyone.
Being out of the California Bay Area, you guys have a solid scene going on with bands like Worthwhile, The Story So Far, and Second To Last. Do you guys think that this has helped jumpstart the band in any way?
Blake: Well we do really love those bands but we still don't really fit with that scene. Those guys are super talented and we would love to play with them more but we have a completely different sound than really anyone local. They have definitely set a standard in our area and set energies high and we respect that a lot. We feel proud to be a part of the same area as all those dudes!
You guys are gonna be heading out on tour with Captain! Captain! and Arms Length Away in July - have you guys always been friends or did you meet being in bands?
How did the tour come about?
Blake: We were contacted by the manager of Captain! Captain! and he asked us and Arms Length Away if we would want to do a tour. We are always super down to tour and meet new people so we obviously agreed. We don't personally know either of the bands but that will soon change. No doubt in my mind! We cannot wait to get on the road and meet them and play for new audiences. Get ready!
Speaking of shows, what was your album release show like? I imagine that would've been a notable milestone for you guys.
Blake: It was super awesome!!! People were stage diving like mad and everyone had a blast! We played at the Redhouse in Walnut Creek, our local venue, and we seriously have never seen that place this ridiculously crazy! The show was sold out, we sold a ton of albums and merchandise, and us alone drew 140 people altogether. It was most definitely a major milestone in Quiet Game Starting Now's history. A night we will never forget.
Do a lot of you have many other commitments outside the band? With 6 dudes in the band, I imagine organising and planning everything could get a little stressful, or does it only make things easier?
Blake: The interesting thing is everyone has their own passion outside the band and their all drastically different! We all have other hobbies and jobs. I'm an actor, Weston works at an engineering company, and Pierce is a graphic designer. But all of us find time to put extra efforts into Quiet Game Starting Now. The love we have for the band and the music is so awesome and though organizing is difficult sometimes we always make it work.
What does the future hold for the band? More tours? Were many songs left off from the album that could be used for other releases?
Blake: No songs were left off of the album but we have new stuff that is really sounding sick! Since the release we have been writing and planning some really amazing shows. We really want to set up another tour this summer so any bands that are interested should hit us up. We are working on a cover song at the moment and will release that soon along with an original we know you guys will really love!
Thanks for your time, Blake. Any last words?
Blake: Thank you so much Easycore, we love everything you do for music! You guys help so many people and bands and we thank you for interviewing us! Love, Quiet Game Starting Now.
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. […]
