After Midnight Project Interview
By: Matt Anaya |
Wednesday July 29, 2009 |
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Jason Evigan the lead singer - songwriter talks |
| Los Angeles based rock band After Midnight Project has been around for over a half decade and after nearly five years on the road the band is finally releasing their first studio album. In coordination with Universal Motown Records, AMP is scheduled to release Let’s Build Something to Break August 11th and needless to say the band is AMPed up! (Lame joke I know, but too easy to pass up.) Renowned producer and Goldfinger singer/songwriter John Feldmann helped tighten up AMP’s music and the band thinks he is a major reason why the album is their best. AMP is known for their tight vocals, high energy shows, and tweeting with their fans. The latest album’s first single “Take Me Home” can be heard on the radio all over the country is available for purchase on iTunes. An hour or so before After Midnight Project went on stage in Orlando for the Warped Tour I caught up with Jason Evigan the lead singer/songwriter for AMP and we talked about a wide variety of things including the weather, Twitter, the new album, and P. Diddy. We find out AMP is all about lots of love, lots of music, and lots of good times. I understand you are currently in Orlando for the Warped Tour, correct? We are in Orlando but from Los Angeles originally, we’re in Orlando right now and play at 4:45 later. Your myspace says you play at 10 AM, I thought that was a little early. Yeah, the doors open at 10 AM for Warped Tour. You have to follow us on Twitter (@ampla) to know when we play or come to the show and you see our times there. You guys are active on Twitter, is that just one person or is that the whole band? We collectively do it. I imagine it to be hot as hell in Orlando today, at least you guys get to play later. Dude, it’s a death box out here. I’ve lost like 30 pounds today. I’m in the back room just dripping. You guys are a high-energy band, do you maintain your high energy throughout the show? Our show on Warped Tour is really intense. For outlining shows, we will put a ballad in there and mix it up a little more but I do not jump off things or head bang all that much. Are you giving a lot of interviews to promote your album? We are doing a lot everyday, which is great; we’re trying to get the word out there. August 11th baby! How is the promotion going? Is it a lot of work? Nah, I love it, the more the merrier. I am a work-a-holic when it comes to music. I will do interviews all day and talk about the album. So you are pretty excited about this album? Yeah! August 11th baby! August 11th. Can you say this is your best work ever? Yeah this album is whatever, just kidding. This is definitely the best out of all the albums I have done, this is the best album I have been apart of. Tell me about working with producer John Feldman. John has been a mythical legend because he has worked with The Used, Story of the Year, and he is the singer of Goldfinger as well. He is a really talented individual and producer. He was not our number one choice at first but after meeting him and seeing what he’s all about and how he dealt with the project he was definitely our number one choice. How did he help you guys? He took what we had and basically trimmed the fat. He brought everything together and helped hone our sounds. He was our new fresh ear that we needed. We’ve been playing our same songs for so long and to have someone tell us this part is unnecessary and after awhile we’re like, “this guy is on to something.” Our songs are a lot stronger now and they sound even better. This is your first debut release? Yup, definitely. Is this the biggest moment of your musical career? When the album drops, it will definitely be the biggest moment of my career. You know getting on Warped Tour and these big tours (are big moments) but I think when that album comes out I think that will be the biggest moment for sure. Tell me about this funny or die video starring Bobby Lee … We have some ideas about doing videos with comedians and actors. We have different theories, every week we are going to put up different episodes with different actors and comedians. We love comedy, we love to act and have fun so we hooked up with some different people and made funny skits. So their fans can hear of us and our fans can hear of them. So you are all from LA? Actually, Christian (guitar) and I (Jason, lead singer) are the only ones from LA but we all met in LA. Spencer (guitar) and Danny (drums) are from Michigan and our bass player (T.J. Armstrong) is from Canada. I met T.J. through a producer that recommended him, Spencer and Danny knew each other, and I met Christian through a family member. Musical influences? For some band members it’s Radiohead, Rage, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, a lot of old blues, electronic. But for me it’s about Metallica, Pantera, Deftones, and The Used, I love The Used. Any specific cities or venues you guys like playing in? I think New York is kind of my favorite, we have a good fan base there and we do a lot of cool shows there. LA is my home and it is my spot though too. What inspires your music? Just waking up in the morning and going through life. I’m inspired by all the experiences I’ve had. It is very easy to get inspired on the road especially with all the stress and the good and bad times. What keeps you humble? What keeps you working hard? I think playing shows with new bands keeps us humble. I think every time I get on stage and I see other bands doing their thing. Kind of a weird answer but that is how I stay humble. Whenever it gets hard on the road and I start complaining I just look at the kids coming to Warped Tour, who would pretty much die to be in our position. What do you guys do to relax? I like to run. Me, Christian, and Spencer like to work out a lot. T.J. smokes tons of cigarettes and drinks coffee and Danny sleeps a lot and we drink a lot of water. What’s the future hold for AMP? The future is long and I don’t know at this point but it looks good. Lots of love, lots of music, and lots of good times. Tell me about this P. Diddy shout out on your Myspace. (Laughter) Yeah, P. Diddy is a fan of AMP. When he is not taking bubble baths or drinking champagne, he listens to After Midnight Project.
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