Life After Liftoff

    Pop-punk band, Life After Liftoff's name came to vocalist/guitarist, Lee Weiss in the form of a dream. "I usually keep a notepad by my bed for lyrics and one night the name came to me. I spent the next day figuring out what "Life After Liftoff" was going to be." Says Weiss. Band bassist and back-up vocalist, Jason Sigritz adds,"Even though Lee originally came up with the band name, I think it has taken on a meaning of its own for the rest of us. I personally think of it, as simply being a statement from someone that has made it through something traumatic in their lives only to discover that there is infinitely more out there."
    The music scene in Dayton, Ohio is home to the band and is filled with indie, metal, and hardcore bands. "We are definitely the odd ones in the area. Though I think that is refreshing to people in the area and that is part of why we have started to gain a foothold here. I would say we are very active in the local music scene, participating in festivals, contests and playing a local show at least once or twice a month." Says Sigritz. "We like to bring everyone together and really feed off the energy of great bands. We also like to incorporate belly dancing and cirque du soleil into our shows Jason and I are really flexible." Says Weiss.

    After Weiss thought up the band, he still had to form it into a real-life functioning band capable of realizing his vision. In late 2008, he posted up a flyer in the creative arts center of his college, Wright State University. Ryan Chatterton (guitar/back-up vocals/keyboard) answered to the flyer and brought along his friend, Dan Malloy on bass. Dan soon switched to drums after their original drummer quit and so the band brought in Jason on bass.
    The band has strong influences in pop-punk bands like Blink 182 and new Found Glory. "I would say the biggest influences to the bands are the members. You can hear what we are all inspired by come through in the music; the overall band sound can be derived from all the different bands we enjoy." Says Sigritz. The band mixes pop-punk, pop-rock, and arena rock to create their poppy, energetic sound. "Our message is positive and encouraging, and like most other pop/rock bands, we sing songs about love and relationships." Says Malloy.

    The band was able to play the Cincinnati date of the 2011 Van's Warped Tour alongside several national acts, including A Day to Remember, Relient K, Jack's Mannequin and many more. "It was a childhood dream come true! I have seen so many of my favorite bands play Warped that it was so surreal knowing our band was fortunate enough to be able to play alongside those bands and people really got into us!" Says Weiss. "It was incredible to be alongside a lot of the bands we grew up idolizing and imitating. I know it was a huge thrill to get to be backstage or on stage with bands like Relient K, Jack's Mannequin and so many others. It was also ridiculously hot that day, and I'm pretty sure most of us almost passed out from heat exhaustion." Added Malloy.
    On May 6th, 2011, the band released their EP, Memory of You, which was produced by Tyler Smith. "The EP is actually a small part of our final record; the idea was just to create great songs. I feel the EP is really upbeat and talks about the one thing that every human needs as a basic necessity which is Love, the link to human interaction and growth. Tyler Smith has become a really close friend of mine he is such an amazing songwriter/producer and just over all AMAZING person! Growing up in the Dayton music scene together and then coming together like we did was beyond anything I could have dreamt years ago." Says Weiss.

(Photo: Buckeye Music Magazine)

    For the band's next release, they hope to directly continue the story and themes from the first EP. "We're working with Tyler again, and branching out into new areas of our bands sound. I think with the success we've seen from the “Memory of You” EP, we know we have to really step up to take our second release to the next level." Says Malloy. The band will be releasing the new EP in the winter of 2012.
    So what's next for the band? The band will be doing lots of touring and hope to film a music videos. "We've got a lot of bigger shows and great opportunities coming up between now and 2012. We've got shows in New York, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Kentucky planned for October through December, including shows with, Yellowcard and Every Avenue! From the new year on you should expect to see us on the road more, and working our way up to being the first band on the moon." Says Malloy. Be sure to like the band on Facebook for tour updates and more!

Through The Static

    Through The Static is an all-female (almost) pop-punk band out of Long Island, NY. The band came together in October 2007 and got their name at random, through a band vote.
    After deciding on the name, the band tok time to figure out why it was a good fit for the band. "Static is pertaining to a fixed or stationary condition or showing little or no change. If you are through the static, you are vulnerable to change. The daily grind or a routine everyone goes through on a day to day basis can be described as static, if you break this cycle, you become through the static. It also is a statement against the media and technology's firm grip on society today. Don't listen to or watch the static on the TV and turn into a drone, break through the static and explore the world around you. Ask questions and discover the truth and yourself in the process.
Through the Static means you are breaking the status quo and doing the unexpected. By being an all girl band, we are breaking the status quo and doing the unexpected."

    According to the girls, Long Island has a generally good scene for lots of genres, frm hardcore to pop-punk. "long island has a generally good music scene for every genre, you just gotta know where to look. There many great bands that have came and continue to come out of long island: Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Patent Pending, The Movielife, Soldiers, This is Hell, Bomb the Music Industry etc. etc. The one scene that I think is struggling here is Ska."
    The band plays local shows at The Wave in Patchogue where the band actually started. They even play a few hardcore shows at Sinclair's Pub. "We play all over the island, as much as possible."

(Photo: Brianna Perciallia)

    Originally, the band was more of a cover band and consisted of comopletely different members with the only common demoninator being Jess Fresh, the band's songwriter, guitarist and vocalist.
    After several member changes and a debut EP, the band is still incomplete. Although the band has a fantastic fill-in drummer, Anthony Corso, whose only fault is being male. The band hopes to find another female guitarist as well as a female drummer. The current line-up consists of Jess Fresh, Amie Bernstein (vocals/songwriter), Kashmir Manas (Bass), and fill-in Anthony Corso.
    The band very much enjoys playing all kinds of shows. "We book wherever and whenever we possibly can. We love playing shows and try to play as much as possible to get people to listen to our songs. We try to give a lot of energy at our shows. A good time should always be expected at one of our gigs. We dance, jump and f*ck around a lot. Guarantee we will make you laugh with us or at me." Says Jess.

(Photo: Brianna Perciallia)

    The conception of the band's debut EP, We Can Do It!, was far from smooth. The girls were ripped off by someone who was supposed to be their friend. The band recorded three songs and the band was charged $10/hour and was charged a ridiculous amount for mixing, which they were not present for. "We ended up paying for two songs and self-produced one of the tracks ourselves. We ended up sending him a professional letter basically explaining that he did a sh*t job and that if this is what he wants to do with his life, he shouldn't produce sub-par work and then put his name on it. Needless to say, my friend doesn't talk to me anymore, and he's still recording bands."
    The band picked the three songs, "Chestnut Ave.", "S.G.R." & "Mars", specifically because they were the first three songs they had written together as a band. "All of the tracks on the E.P. all stand out from each other. One is very upbeat, catchy & straightforward, the other is more hardcore influenced with a breakdown, and the last track is a very downbeat, slow, & alternative-stadium rock like. The overall sound probably shows our major influences all sliced up into three different songs. You throw that all together in a blender, you get Through the Static."

    According to the band, WCDI! was a sort of sampler of what the band could do as well as a call to arms to female musicians. "'We Can Do It!' was a quote used on a Rosie the Riveter poster, and that's where the idea was inspired from." After the EP's release in early April 2011, it received decent feedback in it's first weeks. It would again resurface after being featured on the blog, Idle & The Bear during the summer.
    The girls hope to record a full-length in the near future and also hope to solidify their line-up. "There are 16 songs written. I know our fans have been dying for some new music from us and I apologize - you can expect some self-produced tracks up soon. We have been spending time redoing our studio room and have been slacking on the music. You can be sure that our full length will be out before the end of the year. I'm going to shoot for spring, if not earlier. We are also being featured on a local TV station. We hope to record a music video once the album comes out, and tour during the summer!"

Chasing Morgan

    After playing a few shows in the summer of 2010, the Bel Air pop-punk band Breaking The Silence changed their name to Chasing Morgan. "We decided on Chasing Morgan because it was original and unique and also because it has some meaning to us – a meaning that we keep a secret between the band."
    The Bel Air music scene isn't very exciting according to the band. The band puts it bluntly. "There are lots of great talented bands in the area, but not many kids come out to shows. That’s why we tend to play down in Baltimore, the scene there is a bit better. There are lots of people trying to keep the Bel Air music scene alive, but it’s still nothing compared to what it was 2005-2007. Back then there was a HUGE scene here, All Time Low, American Diary, Dropout Year, Sorry for the Silence - a bunch of larger bands came out of that scene."

    A majority of the band has been jamming together since middle school. Darin Reagan(lead guitar), Steve Cross(bass) and Kevin Ambrosich(rhythm guitar) have been playing music together since about the 7th grade. In late 2009, the band was contacted by Mark Weider via Facebook about filling in the vocalist position. The band agreed and soon afterwards, they asked their friend, Brian Lindsey, to play drums. By the summer of 2010, the band was playing shows and taking things seriously.
    The band played the Ernie Ball stage this summer at the Maryland stop of the Van's Warped Tour. "We entered an online contest to play the Ernie Ball stage. People would vote for the bands online, then all the bands with the top 100 votes for each date would get reviewed by judges and 4 out of the 100 were chosen to play. By July we had the 4th most votes in Maryland and a few weeks before the show we were chosen to play. Playing Warped Tour was such an awesome experience for all of us, we got to promote a ton, see a bunch of our favorite bands play and the show went really well. We definitely hope to play warped tour again, hopefully more than just one date next time."

    This November, the band will be opening for legendary punk band, The Misfits, at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD. The band has played with several national acts such as Hawthorne Heights, Vains of Jenna, I Call Fives and more, but have never shared the stage with a band as influential as The Misfits. "We are super stoked for the show especially since we’re taking a small break from shows due to college and to writing new songs, so this show is the next one we have booked. It should be an awesome show!"
    The band has appeared on 98Rock, a local baltimore radio station, on two seperate occasions, both in the summer of 2010 and again in the summer of 2011. "The station has an awesome program called Noise In The Basement where every Sunday they have a few local bands come in and get interviewed and have one of their songs spun on the air. Then the next day those bands play a show at the Quarter in Baltimore."

    During the spring/summer of 2010, the band released several of their early songs in the form of their EP, The Breakfast Special EP. The band admits that the EP lacked direction and that it was mostly immature and simple, but that it was fun, light-hearted pop-punk music. "We wrote a lot of the songs while we were still in high school and before we started playing shows. We recorded it in the winter of 2010 at Orca Sound Studio and we are really happy with how the songs turned out, Our Producer Kevin Johnston did an awesome job and it was a lot of fun to record."
    The band has moved on from high school and have been playing shows for a bit now, they have grown mature so it's only natural to wonder when to expect an album. Although there is no set date, the album will be coming. "Over the past year we have all grown a lot as musicians and song writers. This album will be more mature lyrically and musically. Its going to be a bit more punk then the EP was; more intense, in-your-face punk rock. Right now we have about 4 songs completely written and another 10 or so that we are working on. We will be recording up in New Jersey starting in late November. We are really stoked for this album and we cant wait to record it and get it out there to everyone!"

    This winter, the band is going to be touring the east coast with the band, Random Holiday. "The tour will be called the 'Grandmother got ran over by our van tour' and will start right after Christmas on the 26th in PA then we'll go up north to the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts area then come back to MD to spend the new years at home. The we'll be playing in Maryland on the 1st and in Virginia on the 2nd."
    Like the band on Facebook to get updates on the tour schedule and all your other update needs!

Up In Arms

      Up In Arms, the melodic punk band from Dover, NH dislikes long stupid band names with weird punctuation. The band believes that their short and simple name suits them because they like to think thier music speaks for itself.
      When the band talks about the local scene, they describe it as plentiful with hardcore bands with a good amount of "crust" punk and terrible "butt-rock". "The most active of local venues is a place called The Brick House where bands from all genres and levels of popularity play shows. Everything ranging from the super-underground stuff to the slightly bigger punk acts (Agnostic Front, Off With Their Heads). We're usually more of the basement show type, but we will play literally anywhere we can. Most of our friends are in the Keene, NH area (Duncan and Eric are students at Keene State College) so you'd be most likely to catch us playing in that area."

      The members have been friends since high school and have all been active musicians, so it just made sense to get together and write some music. The band consists of Curtis Charles (bass/vocals), Chris Milton (guitar/vocals), Duncan Garnett (drums), and Eric Milller (guitar).
      The band comes from many backgrounds and has many influences including, but not limited to punk bands and pop-punk bands like Saves The Day, New Found Glory, Kid Dynamite and NOFX. "We try to offer something a little unique in terms of our overall style. We stay away from that cookie-cutter, breakdown-packed brand of pop-punk that's been so trendy lately and focus more on writing catchy melodies and interesting lyrics."

      In October 2010, the band released The Lions Inside Us EP, which lyrically talked about the loss of good friends, falling in love, accountability in military and government, and riding horses. "'Fuck Your Army, I'm Joining Starfleet' was directly inspired by the 'Collateral Murder' video that was leaked onto the internet a while back. Seeing that was a gut-wrenching experience for me that made me extremely tense and angry for days, and the only way I could realease that tension was to write a really spiteful protest song. Aside from 'Starfleet,' which is a bit on the heavier side, there's an overall pop-punk sound to the album. Our singer at the time, Tim, added a hardcore edge to the vocals. He was previously singing for a thrash band called The Nasty, who have a pretty big following around here. "Emergency Breakdown" was the first song we wrote together. The basis of that song was a falling out I had with my best friend since elementary school, who basically dropped off the face of the earth when he started dating this harpy who subsequently devoured his soul."
      Sometime in 2012, the band hopes to release their next EP that follows the traditional pop-punk sound with cleaner vocals and less screaming and shouting. "It's going to be a longer EP. Right now we're looking at about six tracks. Due to all the changes we've had to make to the lineup, it sounds a bit different than "The Lions Inside Us." (we) think that our sound is catchier and more memorable because it allows us to be more melodic overall."

      You can catch the band playing basements and houses around the area. "We're all at that awkward point in our lives where we have a ton of time-consuming shit going on, like finishing college, working, and being grown-ups, so it's hard to coordinate any shows or tours of a larger scale. When it happens, you'll know by the riots we incite that we finally had the chance to travel as a band. I can only wish we were that intense."
      A music video is also in the works, but other than that, the band will be busy working on new material and finding time to perform.

City At Dawn

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      In the fall of 2010, the garage band This Hero, A Legend decided to change their name to City At Dawn. "Overtime, as members changed, the direction and overall sound of the band changed. The group came together and started to develop what we all thought of as 'our sound'.  When Jamie joined the band, (our) sound and identity changed. We decided it was time for a change in name." says the band.
      The pop-punk outfit from Yorktown Heights, NY formed in early 2009. They released a four song demo in August of that year. One of their two singers decided to depart from the band to pursue schooling in Florida and in July of 2010, their second vocalist also left. Through Craigslist, the band came across Jamie Stoffa, who would turn out to be a "perfect fit" as the band's new vocalist. That fall and winter, the band put all of it's efforts into writing new material and perfecting their new sound.

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      About 5 days before the band was to play alongside Just Surrender in April 2011, their bassist informed the rest of the group that he would be unable to play due to a very important job interview. Jamie turned to his friend, Rafael Miranda, for help. Rafael learned all of the band's song just in time to play the show. "It was probably one of our best shows as a band.  We were tight, the crowd was awesome, and it was just an overall amazing experience for all of us"
      The current line-up consists of Alex Richardson (lead guitar), Christian Ference-Gray (rhythm guitar), Bobby Brace (drums), Jamie Stoffa (vocals) and Rafael Miranda (bass).

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      The best way to describe the band's interesting style of pop/punk is to say that the band sounds like A Day to Remember with less screaming vocals plus 90's influences like Blink 182. Imagine a collision between late 90's alternative rock and moden post-hardcore. Their sound includes aggressive guitar riffs, powerful drum beats, and catchy lyrics. "While we tend to have a heavy edge to our sound, it's a style that's a sound that virtually anyone can get into."
      Every performance deserves 110%, that's the bands mindset. "We go into every show  trying to make friends and have as much fun as we possibly can each and every time we step onto the stage.  It's hard to say what to really expect from our performance, because we're constantly working to improve and enhance it in any way we can.  Just like our sound, our performance has gone through a lot of changes over the years, so the best way to describe it I suppose would be to say when you come out to expect to have a good time and be ready enjoy what we're doing almost as much as we enjoy doing it."

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      The band plays shows in Poughkeepsie, NY and Danbury, CT due to the lack of local venues. "We're surrounded by plenty of music scenes we seem to go over well in and we're always looking to expand into new areas and be heard by as many people as possible.  With that in mind we are about to leave on our first tour ever on August 4th, going down the entire east coast down to Florida then back home via the parallel states.  Fifteen days on the road with the band Shake That Bear from NJ, and we could not be more excited.  Hopefully this is the start of many more tours to come in the future."
      As far as bragging rights go, the band has already accumulated a few impressive feats. The band was interviewed and guest hosted "The Local Lockdown" radio show on WRRV 92.7/96.9 FM. "Probably the best part of the whole experience was that it was a prerecorded show, so we got to actually listen to ourselves on the radio when it aired.  From beginning to end we extremely excited and proud of what we had accomplished." 

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      The band also had a live interview on WSPC's Indie Rebellion Radio Show on July 14. "On that show we guest dj-ed and the host Garvey asked us a ton of questions that we had to answer on the spot as best we could.  We also debuted our newest single, The Message, live on the air plus we got to play an entire acoustic version of our song 'The More You Know' which was a lot of fun as well.  To help rally some attention, we brought a pair of tickets to the New Jersey show of our August tour and offered them to listeners and we actually had a few people call in which just topped off the night.  The biggest part of the show for us was the pure fact that were live on the air on a station in a different state. All of these things have made us the most motivated than ever and cannot wait to see whatever lies ahead of us."
      The band hopes to release their full-length album in December 2011. "Our upcoming album is going to be nothing like our first demo. Our sound is a lot catchier with a fuller, well-produced sound.  Our first demo had 2 singers, lots of screaming and what someone once called 'constant build-ups to nothing'.  Since then we have found the kind of sound we're going for. So far, four of the songs on the album have been finished and recorded and we all think that the album is sounding amazing thus far!  The rest of the album is written and just needs to be fine tuned and when we get back home from tour we plan on getting the rest of the songs finished off and recorded."