After The Fall
The name After The Fall may be familiar to you, but it's likely you may be thinking of the other one. This After The Fall was stablished in 2003, and play melodic hardcore in the vein of Bad Religion, Paint It Black, NOFX, Propaghandi and Kill Your Idols to name a few. The band's latest record "Eradication" is out now through Mightier Than Sword Records, and the band will be making the trip to Australia for the very first time in November, touring alongside of Melbourne's Anchors. We caught up with the band's vocalist and guitarist Mike Moak to discuss the upcoming tour, as well as what the band has in store for their future.
The name After The Fall may be familiar to you, but it's likely you may be thinking of the other one. This After The Fall was stablished in 2003, and play melodic hardcore in the vein of Bad Religion, Paint It Black, NOFX, Propaghandi and Kill Your Idols to name a few. The band's latest record "Eradication" is out now through Mightier Than Sword Records, and the band will be making the trip to Australia for the very first time in November, touring alongside of Melbourne's Anchors. We caught up with the band's vocalist and guitarist Mike Moak to discuss the upcoming tour, as well as what the band has in store for their future.
Start off by stating your name, your role in After The Fall and your favourite guitar riff of all time?
Hey, I'm Mike Moak, I sing and play guitar for ATF, I'd have to say one of my favorite guitar riffs of all time would be Propagandhi - Purina Hall Of Fame, but if we're talking all time, maybe Black Sabbath - Paranoid, that was one of the first records I ever owned.
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First things first, the band announced last week that you will be making the trip to Australia for the first time in November, how are excited are you for these shows?
We are beyond excited, we have always wanted to tour in Australia, and now that we have the tickets and tour booked, we are all so stoked!
Is coming to Australia something that the band has planned to do for a while now?
Yes since the beginning of our band we wanted to tour Australia, maybe meet the other ATF along the way!
The tour is with Anchors, who have been killing it this year, are you looking forward to doing the tour with them?
We are super stoked to tour with Anchors, they are very active, and very talented, they blend technical parts in their music that reminds me of Strung Out at times which is a good thing!
Do you have anything in mind that you want to do or see when you get to Australia?
We just like to make new friends, see new cities and try new food and beer, I am excited to see all the bands we play with and it would be pretty cool to see some wildlife, of course we all would like to see Kangaroos, Koalas, and Dingos haha. We planned to visit some beaches and try surfing again, last year we rented surfboards in Costa Rica and had a blast. Other than playing good shows and surfing, we just want to meet new friends, play rad shows, and have a good time!
Have you been checking out many other Australian bands in preparation for when you’re here?
Well Anchors and Lungs are two of our favorites, I grew up listening to Frenzal Rhomb, I saw them open for NOFX in NYC when I was 16, I'll never forget that. I also listen to Straight Jacket Nation, and Extortion.
Before you leave to come to Australia, you will be playing at the Fest 10 in Gainesville. What is your favourite part about playing at the Fest?
Favorite part about playing at Fest is getting to see all your band friends in the same place at the same time, it truly is a 3 day party and so many good bands and good people are involved, this is our 4th year in a row playing the fest, and we're just as stoked as we were in 2008.
Do you have any memories that stand out from when you played the Fest in previous years?
One memory was the warehouse show with No Trigger and Smartbomb, we covered NOFX "Green Corn" and it was awesome!
Your latest album “Eradication” has been out for a while now, what has the overall reaction to the record been like?
The reaction has been good, people seem to dig the record, it is a nice follow up to 2009's "Fort Orange" and I hope it leaves people wanting to hear more. We have been lucky enough to have our records pressed in North America, Europe/UK, and Japan, and it's a great feeling to know other people care as much as we do.
The record was released once again through Mightier Than Sword Records, what has it been like working with RJ at the label?
It was great working with RJ and MTS records on Eradication, he was very supportive and helped us out a ton!
Has the band been working on many new songs as of late? Can we expect to see you release something new in the near future?
We have 2 new songs and a Descendents cover that we just recorded, the cover is for a tribute album coming out next year on Either/Or Records, and we did 2 new songs as well, I can't tell you how soon they will be out or what they will come out on because we aren't sure yet. But we've been writing a lot for a new full length, and we hope to record 12 to 14 songs this winter!
You also made the trip over to Europe and the UK in June with Smartbomb. What were those shows like for the band?
That was our 2nd Euro tour and things were great. We had headlined some amazing shows in the UK, Belgium, and Berlin that were amazing. And seeing some familiar faces come see us again was great, and making our way to the UK and Scotland for the first time was amazing, the shows we're great, we had an awesome time.
How did you find the shows were in Europe and the UK compared to back home?
People are more excited to see bands & shows, In NY people are spoiled with a show every week or sometimes everyday, I think that's the difference is that we always can go see US bands, and sometimes we get bored, when people overseas really appreciate US bands coming over and playing shows, because shows just don't happen as often for them.
The band seems to be quite fond of vinyl releases. Do you feel vinyl is the best way to be releasing music in 2011?
I do, I think for people who support bands or collect music, vinyl is the way to go. Digital is ok, but not as personal as holding that 12x12 LP in your hands, reading the lyrics and having the artwork. When I started playing music, we still made demo tapes, and "7 inches, CD-R's we're not the popular format, and I'm kinda glad that burning CD's trend has passed.
You even found a guy on the tour that has an After The Fall tattoo. What was it like to know that someone was willing to get something to do with your band tattooed on him?
Amazing, his tattoo read "Make Music, Not War" which is a song / lyric I wrote in high school, and it means a lot to see that type of dedication.
As you may or may not already know, there is another mildly successful band here in Australia called After The Fall, have you found that many people have gotten you confused with that band?
Yeah, when we hung out with Strike Anywhere in Albany they told me about how they toured with the other ATF, and I've noticed their shows & records over the years, but honestly I think our styles are way different, and since they haven't come to the USA, people over here know who we are and don't confuse us much, I think we may confuse a lot of people in Australia, hopefully they don't get upset, we didn't steal the name, it just happened that way.
Who are some bands that you have heard lately that have impressed you that we should be checking out?
Thieves and Assassins, The Stereo State, Coughing Fit, Tightrope, and Brain Candy!
Do you have any goals that you would like to achieve with this band?
Well it would be rad to tour Japan one day, but we've already achieved so much, and traveled so far, we just want to keep going and see what happens.
What are the band’s plans for the rest of 2011 after the Australian tour?
Well we have US / Canada show planned, and we'll be writing & recording a new record, and planning on going back to Europe.
Thanks for doing the interview, any last words for those who will be coming to see you play when you get here?
Thank You, we hope you are as excited as we are!
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