Pop punk band HYPERSPACE formed back in 2011 being together for 11 years now, releasing a handful of album's, with new music currently in the works as well. The band is also planning well into the next year wit lots of shows and of course more music. The band chats about their music, it's scene of where they come from and much else planned ahead.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Hyperspace is Jason Kochis on guitar/vocals, Ryan Paul on drums/vocals, and Kayvan Sarikhani on bass.
The band was formed back in 2011 after Jason and Ryan connected through an ad placement on Craigslist; afterwards they met David Tock who joined as the original bass player. A little while later, David moved to second guitar and the band recruited Todd Ennsworth on bass. Flash forward a few years and the band settled into a three piece; eventually Kayvan joined on bass and we haven't been able to get rid of him yet.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
When the original members Jason, Ryan, and David first got together, the general intent was to choose a new name and not recycle prior band names from the members. Jason had always wanted a band name relating to Star Wars, so the band wrote down a ton of possible names (this list is actually in the book that Hyperspace released). After some debate, Hyperspace was the winner.
In Star Wars, and many forms of sci-fi, the term hyperspace is the fictional reference to faster than light travel. It's also cool because it doesn't necessarily have to be that and could have other meanings.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there?
We're based out of the Atlanta Metro area. At one time the scene had a lot of variety; one could find everything from punk to metal to goth to jazz to electronic to hip hop and so on. We're not really sure what happened over the years, but it seems like Atlanta fell victim to the winds of change. The ATL may not be the ideal city for our genre, but we don't mind being underdogs and appreciate playing to any size crowd.
4. Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Lots. There's a ton of super cool bands in the Atlanta area. We recommend checking out Breaux, Pretty Please, Swingset, The Warm Fuzzies, Television Sick, Taj Motel Trio, Motorloaf, 2DN, Play Center, Seagulls, Shehehe, Brawful, and Horrible Idea. I'm sure we're probably forgetting a few (sorry!).
5. How would you describe your style?
The band always kind of went with a "geek rock" description, but it's really pop punk with nerdy references. It's always difficult to describe our songs to people who aren't musicians, so we typically say it's a blend of Green Day and Weezer. Or at least it was in the beginning. Sometimes we play pretty fast and heavy punk rock and other times we might come off an indie rock sound. Everyone in the band brings their own style and has their own influences, so naturally the sound progresses over time.
6. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Hyperspace has been a thing for 11 years; throughout that time, we've released four studio albums and most recently a vinyl/cassette/digital record titled Retrograde. Retrograde is really a celebration of each era of the band and it's previous members; the record is a collection of favorite songs from each of the previous released but completely remixed and remastered. We joke that it's our greatest hits record, but really it serves as a great "first date" with the band!
We've also released several videos, a high quality book about the band, a comic, and so on.
7. Do you have any new music in the works?
Oh yes. At the moment we have about 7 or 8 songs that we've been working on; some are already pretty complete while others still need some refinement. We actually road tested four of the new songs on our recent Southeast tour, so it was nice to hear the response to them. While there's nothing definitively planned yet, we do hope to record everything at some point in 2023.
8. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We never stop playing shows! Right now, we're currently booking and scheduling shows for 2023. We recently did a small Southeastern tour this year and met a lot of great bands along the way; it would be great if we could play out of town with them again. Please come check our website for the latest dates: http://www.hyperspaceband.com/.
9. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Some new things, some old things. We're always going to continue to make music, release records, and play shows; that being said, we're also exploring other opportunities such as maybe having our songs in a video game or some kind of film. It also might be fun to try to have an 8-bit chiptune remix of some of our songs. One priority right now is seeing what labels are out there and what they might have to offer.
10. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Our physical media like records, cassettes, and t-shirts are available through our Bandcamp page:
https://hyperspaceband.bandcamp.com/merch
Our music is available on all the major streaming platforms:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/hyperspace/410240148
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0GxwtmgKkTFsexJAA0lfnw
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4F5GV6X/ref=dm_rwp_pur_lnd_preo_unrg
https://soundcloud.com/hyperspaceband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpDAmsieCWiy3LUbuDJa3w
11. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Well, we would always hope for a listener to remember the smile on their face and how the song made them feel; it would be fantastic for someone to find that same level of connection and joy in our music in the same way we felt when making it. That being said, we would be happy if they had fun and came back for another listen sometime.
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