Second To Last has seen some recent change, but a new direction has not slowed the band down in the slightest. They've released new music for the fourth straight year, albeit slightly different from older material. I had the chance to ask Tyson Evans a few questions about his band, their new direction, and what we can expect from Second To Last during the remainder of 2013. Click the Read More… link to read the interview.
| You're from Lodi, California - what's Northern California like? Tyson: I love California. I'm from a pretty small conservative city south of Sacramento called Lodi. A lot of old people live here. Lots of churches. The "grow up playing sports and get a scholarship" kind of place. Overall I love California. I find myself getting away to Santa Cruz or San Luis Obispo every week or so. Personally I'm an avid baseball fan, do you follow the San Francisco Giants? If so what has it been like with their recent success? Tyson: Dude, I'm not a huge sports guy. I was really pumped on the 49ers, though. My Grandparents were huge fans of the team and I grew up going to the training camps in Stockton. I was never very good at sports but it was always a part of my growing up. Second To Last has been around a lot longer than most people realize. When did the band get started? Tyson: Well, I started the band with my friends Kyle and Mark when I was 15. The year was 2007. We started just like any other band. Playing small local shows every weekend or so. It wasn't until the summer of 2008 that we actually started "touring". Correct me if I'm wrong, but from my understanding the band has gone through some changes in recent years, what's the current line-up? Tyson: Since then the sound has changed, the other members have changed and I would say a lot in my personal life has changed. It's interesting when for most of the duration of STL we were in high school. After high school, everyone started to find themselves in different ways. Kyle went to school, Mark got engaged, Preston and Logan stuck around for a bit and later parted ways when Kris and I went to tour with Handguns. To be honest I am the only original member. My buddy Evan is banging the skins and Kyle has been playing bass in between class. Quite recently you guys teamed up with the Irish punk band Starters to put out a split titled Changing Tides. How exactly did this pairing come to be? Tyson: Ian from Starters hit me up on Instagram and just said "let's do a split!". I did some research and realized that he was the singer/bassist for Starters, which I had discovered through mutual friends in The Wonder Years and Such Gold. Those dudes write killer songs and I couldn't be happier to be pairing up for a split. The split was released by Quote Your Pulse Records in the US and Guys With Beards Records in Ireland, can we expect to see the band working with QYP in the future? Tyson: Yeah as of right now we are currently tracking for a full-length to be released later this summer. STL is still at a relatively small stage so Quote Your Pulse is a nice spot for the time being. Jon is a dude who just loves music. Every aspect of it. Neither of us have a ton of money or a huge name so it's cool to just develop together and work equally as hard at getting music released. The sound on the Changing Tides songs seem to be a little different from the general sound of the older songs. What do you attribute as being the main difference between the new songs and the ones from Vessel, Runaway, Waiting Game and Mark Approved EPs? Tyson: Most of the songs that we're written/recorded between 2009 and 2012 had a lot of influence from other band members. I was in a really weird position where I wanted nothing more than to write and play songs that I had written but couldn't really communicate that to the other members. The songs on the split and on the full-length are as singer/songwriter as it gets. They were basically written on an acoustic "shittar" in my parents basement and later translated to full-band versions. What influenced the songs on Changing Tides, where did your inspiration for writing those derive from? Tyson: Radiation is a song I wrote about the feeling of detachment from what is comfortable. Whether it be the loss of a loved one, a break-up, an addiction. It's the feeling of despair, ya know? Drugs is about apathy. It has a lot to do with my interaction with young adults involved in the rave culture. It probably comes off to people as a song about my habits when really it's on a much more generational level. You eluded to the fact that Second To Last is much more singer/songwriter than it ever was in the past. Will it stay this way for a while, or do you have plans to bring in others in the future? Tyson: I can't write without a second or third input. I mean I'll write a song in my room on my shittar and then show it to Evan and Kyle or I'll post it for them to listen to on SoundCloud since there is a distance between us. You've released a split already this year, can we expect some touring to go a long with it? Tyson: We will be doing three weeks in April with support from Stolas, Rookie Town and Souvenirs in their respective regions. Really pumped. Second To Last has never (to my knowledge) released a full-length album, can we expect to see one soon? Tyson: Hopefully it will be ready for an August release. It is my baby and I am so anxious to wrap it out and get it out to everyone's ears. Can we expect the upcoming album to be full of songs that are similar to the split? Tyson: I'm going to say yes in the sense that some songs are polar opposites. Drugs is more of a fun, nostalgic throwback. The lyrics have a message, though. Radiation is much darker, more personal and less focused on a social issue. Some songs are personal and reflect me as a human. Others are about what I see in the world and more removed from internal issues. Obviously over time the sound of Second To Last has altered, as you mentioned earlier it is a much more solo project than ever before. What bands/genres do you draw most influence from? Tyson: I honestly listen to the same bands I discovered when first listening to punk rock. Green Day, NOFX, Rancid, you know? But then I listen to bands like Third Eye Blind, Metric, The Cranberries. I have a lot of love for the 9'0s and it will probably shine through here and there on the record. The Internet has changed the way independent bands operate, do you think the impact of social media has been a positive one or negative? Tyson: It's definitely more negative. It's a broader topic than the music industry. It's our society in general. It existed before the Internet. It's music being exploited and turned into a fad. Bands become disposable. Like a lot of us at xEasycorex, I try to listen to as many bands as possible, and in doing so I inevitably miss some great bands. For me and anyone reading, what are some bands that we should set some time aside to listen to? Tyson: Oh man. Well I personally am in love with the new Broadway Calls. If anyone was disappointed by the recent Green Day releases, they should check out Comfort/Distraction to make up for that. As for bands that I'm listening to and digging right now, check out No Good News, Rookie Town, Souvenirs, Hear The Sirens, Civil War Rust, Indian Taker and My Iron Lung. All great dudes doing things right. Interview by Anthony Allegra Edited by Mario Parra   |
