Awake At Last is an act like many others, whose troubles have overcome them, But those times have past and they have surpassed it all, moving forward with being the band that they are now. Six years in and counting, Awake At Last has released a couple of EP's including most recent "Life/Death/Rebirth". So much more is in-store for these guys,including touring, shows, with lots of promotion! The band got together to talk all about the EP, it's concept, and its appeal to their fans!
1. First of all, please introduce your band and band members to our readers.
The band is called Awake At Last! Vincent Torres (Vocals), Eric Blackway (Guitar), Imran Xhelili (Guitar), Jon Finney (Drums), and Tyler (Bass).
2. Is there any special reason for choosing your music conception?
When we formed the band we wanted to make music and try to inspire other musicians and artists to also pursue their dreams. After six years our goal is still to elevate and encourage other artists to follow the path.
3. How do you guys manage to create music at all? What challenges do you face when writing and recording an EP or album?
There are all sorts of challenges we face as musicians we always try to find the time to play together as much as possible in between jobs, or tours, etc. It usually starts in a circle around a fire with some acoustics and we take it from there to flesh out the songs. Scheduling can be hard and that makes it difficult to hold down normal jobs, and we do have a member who lives pretty far away, but these are all just minor obstacles in the path.
4. So your previous singles "Never Be A Memory" and "Questions" were not included on this EP "Life/Death/Rebirth", why not?
The concept of Life.Death.Rebirth didn't necessarily mesh with those two songs. This new EP is sort-of became an actual rebirth for the band, and those two songs represented the past. We wanted the concept to be complete and those songs didn't necessarily fit.
5. Why did you go the concept route on the new EP?
I think the idea behind all of our releases were pretty conceptual I've always liked telling stories, but life death rebirth was the first completed concept. I wrote it during some dark times and I wanted to tell a story to the fans about the human consciousness through the eyes of a dying soul as he tries to find meaning in it all while he's continuing along his path. I feel like people are becoming detached from our human side in some ways with all the technology and stuff so I wanted to bring everyone back.
6. How did you challenge yourself sound wise to fit this concept? The new sound came together pretty well actually we wanted to get a little heavier in order to embody the darker emotions associated with death in the concept and even though the process was long it was surprisingly painless as we were on the same page during the creative process. It also helped that we got a chance to do pre-production before we ever took it into the studio.
7. Is the concept of the EP going to develop into any other mediums like film or graphic novels?
Those are huge long term goals that I would love to explore eventually, but as of right now we haven't entered the development phases of those outlets.
8. Did you get the EP you wanted? Is everything on there or were there some things that were just impossible to pull off?
We were all really excited with the outcome and it was a great time for it because we were able to showcase new songs to our fans and friends and family. If we had a bit more time I might've gone a little more dramatic with the theatrics and built up the story a bit more but I kind of like that you have to really listen to pick up on the little details. Overall I would say we were all happy with the result.
9. Why did you want to take your theatrical rock approach and add a heavier edge to it, what difference does it make, would you say makes Awake At Last stand out more so now than before?
We mainly went with the heavier edge to create the emotions we were trying to portray. Purgatorium is supposed to be the introduction to the afterlife for the character, and Analysis paralysis is about the fear that surrounds humans when it comes to facing their mortality. It was no surprised that those came out heavier, and then we take a lighter approach when we move into the lighter elements associated with love and then a more rock vibe for dealing with betrayal. By the time you make it to Constellations it's still a bit heavy but it's more of a rallying call. Reflections has a more direct rock approach.
10. You got to work with producer Andrew Baylis, why him in particular? Do you see working with him again in the future as a stable producer of choice or will you go off with other producers or whatever happens?
Andrew Baylis is a friend of ours and I think he does great work so I could definitely see us working with him again. But until we move into the next phase of recording our primary focus is on Life.Death.Rebirth and promoting it to our fans. Andrew is a remarkable musician and he has a great ear for producing records and I'd suggest him to anyone.
11. What is the difference between your latest EP and the very first EP? How would you say they both compare to one another?
The quality is much better on the new EP, and the concept is much better put together. The band has changed a lot of members from the first EP as well so there are a lot of different musical elements that have changed over the years. I think that both of them still spread positivity as that's always been the goal and sometimes they kind of tag on each other. It's almost like the first EP predicted a lot of what we've been doing now even though I wrote the songs on the premise of dreams. They are night and day in comparison but I think we've maintained the sound.
12. Are you working on any music videos, might it be videoclip or lyric video?
Yes we have all kinds of surprises and ideas for videos in the future and we can't wait to show you guys!
13. How often does the band practice and work on new material?
We try to get together as much as possible, but we've been on the road so much lately that when we come home we all immediately have to work so it's been a bit difficult but we always take at least 2 to 4 days a week to work on the band in all the aspects we can.
14. Are you all supported by your relatives towards your devotion to music?
All of our families have played supportive roles in different ways, some more than others. But we are happy to say that no ones family stands against it.
15. Do you have any other hobby beside music?
We all like to do different things, fitness, drawing, different musical projects, etc. I think it's important to have outlets that are personal on top of being musicians.
16. What does the rest of this year hold for you guys?
We have set a lot of goals for this year and we will be primarily focusing on pushing this new record and continuing to push the brand and prospect for new fans using all of the amazing social media platforms available to us. 17. How about plans in terms of shows and touring?
We have tours booked for the next few months definitely and I'm sure more and more opportunities will arise as we continue to push the record. Everything that we do will be highly promoted and I hope that we get a chance to see and interact with all of our fans and friends! :)
18. Thanks a lot for your time! It's really nice to know more about you. Would you like to say anything to your fans and our readers?
I just want to let them know that after doing this for 6 years we've all faced many obstacles and we've had to learn to overcome them, but without them continuing to support us and come to shows we wouldn't be able to do this. So I'd really just like to thank them and let them know that we are available to them and we know how difficult it can be to deal with the darker emotions associated with human consciousness and I hope they find strength in the words and message of Life.Death.Rebirth and that we love them!!!!
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