Posted on: February 11, 2016 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0
One of Us

Today, we are speaking with One of Us. Can you give us a little background information about yourself?One of Us

 

Well, let’s introduce ourselves.  Drew sings, most of the songs and plays guitar, Evan drums and sings, Austin plays lead guitar, and AJ plays bass.  Drew, Austin, and Evan met at a small college in Decorah, IA, and started out by playing open mics and talent shows around town.  We loved bringing new music out for shows as often as we could, so we’d often perform songs within the same week as we’d write them.  We split up for a while when the financial crisis of 2011 caused Drew to have to change schools, but we vowed to reunite one day.  That reunion happened in 2013 when we all moved to Cedar Falls, IA.  To fill out the lineup, Drew called up AJ, who he had once played with at a wedding (in high school), and One of Us as we know it was born.

 

Which artists are the greatest influences for you and your music? Is there a dream lineup of performers that you would like to set in if given the chance?

We all bring a lot of different influences to the table, and try and meld them all into something special.  Drew likes 90s alternative, like The Toadies or Hurt; Austin likes melodic punk, like Motion City Soundtrack; Evan comes from a little more metal style, like Mastadon or Porcupine Tree; AJ likes the Red Hot Chili Peppers and has a strong background in jazz.

A dream lineup would definitely include Weezer and Modest Mouse, because their dynamic and kind of playful style would fit right in with our stuff.

 

How has your style evolved and changed over the time since you first started playing?

As we’ve grown, our songs have become more complex.  When we started out, we wrote a lot of your standard ABABCB style songs.  In our newer music, we like to make you feel like you’ve listened to three songs in four minutes – it’s not uncommon for us to switch between grunge, jazz, and punk in the same song.

 

What story does your current album Deadlines and Zombie Nights tell? What successes and failures did you experience during the recording of the release?

It’s a lot about coming of age: pursuing and losing love, how things change as you grow older, and trying to hold it together through it all.

 

Which sort of social media website have you had the best successes with? What about these traditionally online services are different from the traditional face to face meeting that musicians utilize?

We’ve done well with the Empire that is Facebook.  It’s something that just about everyone has access to, and makes it easy to keep your fans updated on where you’re playing, what you’re up to, if you have new material, etc.

 

Face to face meetings still give the best feedback, and let you make the strongest connections with your fans and other musicians, but social media makes it easy to reach out and stay connected, especially with out-of-town friends and venues.

 

While 2016 has just started, what are your plans for the year and beyond? How can interested NeuFutur readers locate samples of your music?

Deadlines and Zombie Nights is available to stream on Bandcamp (oneofus.bandcamp.com).  We’re also planning on recording a second album this spring, which we hope to release in May.  Once it’s done, it will be on Bandcamp as well, and we plan on getting our stuff onto Spotify and itunes real soon.

 

 

Thank you so much for your time. Finally, do you have any additional thoughts about life and the universe for our readers?

If we’ve learned anything over the years it’s: Wherever you go, there you are.  You might as well be there.  Also, sometimes babies are horses.  Thanks for having us and for some great questions!

Leave a Comment