Alternative grunge garage rockers ANFANG just recently released a new EP and since they are always writing new songs, with a wide range of content coming throughout this year. Besides that they will be playing shows and doing lots of other fun activities as well. The band talks of these matters below.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Three of Anfang's current members, Andie Zaragoza (vocals/rhythm guitar), Mark Tonai, (lead guitar), and Christian Newman (bass/rhythm guitar) met while working on another project. In mid 2018 that project imploded in spectacular fashion. Nonetheless, Andie, Mark, and Christian wanted to continue making music together. Andie had been introduced to Nick Rissler through a mutual friend and invited him to try for the vacant drum spot. One jam session later and Anfang was born.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
Picking our name was not an easy task. Some of us wanted silly, irreverent names, while others wanted to take a more serious approach. We have been arguing for a while and going back and forth with some admittedly bad names when one of us, we forget who, brought up Anfang. The word Anfang is German for “beginning” and seemed apropos since we were starting a new band from the ashes of another and wanted a fresh start. None of us are German, nor do any of us speak German, but we thought it looked and sounded pretty cool which is everything we could ask for in a band name.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are based out of Chicago, IL and we think the music scene here is phenomenal! COVID naturally took its toll on the industry, but we are still fortunate enough to be somewhere with no shortage of rock clubs and dive bars with people eager to hear new music. We've also been lucky to play with some other great local acts such as Avantist, Blue Beam, and Melkbelly.
4. How would you describe your style?
With all members coming from different musical backgrounds, and sometimes different eras, our style has evolved into a grunge/garage/alt combination to assault your senses from across generations. Some of us pull inspiration from classic rock and grunge, while others get their style from prog and heavy metal. It took some time to get all those flavors of rock to coherently mesh together, but we're all extremely pleased with the outcome and are confident your face will be in a puddle after giving us a listen.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Last year we released a five song EP entitled Tunneler and more recently we've released two singles, Guerrilla Mitts and Legs. Tunneler was our first experience taking our time and recording songs the way we wanted to, as opposed to rushing through and cutting corners here and there to save time and money. Recording on your own is expensive! However, taking the time and having some patience definitely shows in the quality and the "polish" on the songs, and we've taken that same approach when recording our singles.
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
We are always writing new songs and have a healthy backlog of songs ready to be recorded. We plan on hitting the studio to start recording one of these songs, (In) Circles, in mid February, and plan on recording and releasing singles on a fairly regular schedule throughout all of 2022.
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Yes! We are finally getting back to playing live after taking a break due to the pandemic. We played our first show in a year and a half back in November and have a gig lined up at Sleeping Village in Chicago on 3/20. No solid plans yet for touring, but it's a common topic discussed amongst the band and we can't wait to tour sometime in the near future. More news on that to come.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
In the immediate future we'd like to record and release as much of our unreleased catalog as possible to get our music out there for everyone to hear... and also for our sanity. There are only so many killer songs we can sit on before we start losing our collective mind. We also cannot wait to start playing live regularly again (pandemic willing) since it's one of our favorite parts of being in a band together and is a fantastic way to continue building our fan base. We've talked about recording an album and touring further in the future, but we're taking things one step at a time. For now.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can listen to us on all major streaming services! Here are some links you can use to check us out;
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Cru2hmOpqR8bB6YWm7zcH?si=CPyqgUCERd-vGckATw-Vdg
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/artist/anfang/1464471165
Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/artists/B07S51FFTD/anfang?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_QjHD9RZhjdKRtABm0dyvB7n2X
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIYu8koC9kisA5E-4_d-elQ
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBrZMNnzM5RIF8f4MsauiMw
We're working on getting merch available on our website, but until then the best way to buy our stuff is to come out and see us play! We always have merch available at shows and are very pleasant people to talk to. We are as angst-y as we are polite.
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
When hearing us and our music for the first time, we'd like listeners to remember how it made them feel. It might not always make you feel warm and fuzzy, but we're confident it'll spark something. It might even melt your face off, who knows! Remember that feeling, and then reach out and tell us about it! We don't bite. :)
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