The Symbolism of Sasquatch: An Interview with The Second After
In Greensboro, North Carolina, Rob Endling’s Bloodstone
Studios has seen nationally signed recording artists to local musicians and
everything in between. For pop-punk band The Second After, their time working
with Endling resulted in an EP that is chock-full of positivity.
Treadmills at the
Finish Line took a little over two weeks to track. They were able to fully
immerse themselves in the process by essentially living at the studio, working
all day every day on each song.
“These songs are a collection of the first few songs we
wrote together as this current line-up and to us, it represents the process of
discovering what ‘our sound’ actually means,” the band said. “Hammering away at
our writing process, refining it and discovering what is fun for us to create,
and to play live.”
Each member’s creative influence is taken into account on
each song, and this six-track EP was no exception. “Super Soaker Showdown”, “Craigslist
Missed Connections” and “Slow Motion Roadrunner” all started as demos written
by vocalist Michael Greason while “Homewreck Sick” and “Wish You Well” was
written by guitarist Jeremiah Greason. The third track, “Before I Lose”, was
originally released in 2017 and reworked into a full-band version specifically
for this EP. Bassist Nolan Shambley, guitarist/vocalist Alfred Williamson and
drummer Ryan McDonald equally played a part in the creative process and worked
together with the Greasons to perfect
their sound.
The main theme they had going into the recording process was
the Sasquatch album cover, believe it or not. To them he is a symbolic representation
of their inner selves and they use him to represent the visual aspect of a
person’s inner turmoil.
“Treadmill at the
Finish Line is an analogy of sorts,” they said. “It basically represents
the struggle of feeling like you’re putting all of the effort that you can
muster toward a particular life situation, obstacle or goal you’re trying to
accomplish, and although you have the sensation of making progress, it seems
like you’re never going to get there. The ironic reality of this situation is
most times, you’re much closer to getting through it than you realize, and all
you really need to do is keep your head up.”
The EP is meant to convey a sense of fun and positivity, and
if someone listening to it can smile and head band along in order to get
through a particularly bad day, then The Second After has completely succeeded
in their mission.
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