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| Spotlight:
April sixth
April
Sixth
In Memory
Christopher Wade – Vocals
Robert Geiser – Guitar
Brian Marquez – Guitar
Scott Sorenson – Bass
Matt Conley – Drums
For
most bands, choosing the perfect name is a decision
that is agonized over and endlessly dissected.
It has to be something that is original, memorable,
agreed upon by everyone in the band and, more
importantly, a name that no other band has.
Some
bands choose great names; others—like the
Southern California quintet April Sixth—have
great names chosen for them. For April Sixth,
the date of their first big show was a date with
destiny. “We needed to print up flyers for
our show, but we didn’t have a name yet,”
explains songwriter and singer Christopher Wade.
“Instead of coming up with something at
the last second that we would regret, we just
wrote down the date of the show. The name April
Sixth stuck—fate I guess—so we decided
to keep it.”
But
nothing was left to chance on the band’s
debut — IN MEMORY. Recorded in Los Angeles
last fall and produced by Howard Benson (Hoobastank,
My Chemical Romance), the album forges a meticulously
crafted mix of progressive and melodic rock sound.
The
band—Wade, co-songwriter and guitarist Robert
Geiser, guitarist Brian Marquez, bassist Scott
Sorenson and drummer Matt Conley — credits
Benson with helping expand their sound. “When
we started recording this album, all we wanted
to do was dial in the meanest guitar tones, rock
out and call it a day. Howard showed us a different
way to make music. We stayed true to our original
ideas for the songs, but Howard helped us make
a more dynamic record by adding different elements
to each song.”
The
adrenaline rush of “Livin’ a Lie,”
“Roses,” and “Bring Me Down”
prove April Sixth can write tightly-wound guitar
rockers reinforced with soaring melodic choruses,
while restrained acoustic moments like “Foster”
and “Dear Angel” reveal the band’s
introspective side.
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The first single,
“Dear Angel” manages to bring all
of the band’s diverse musical styles into
sharp focus. “If you want to know what
we are all about, this is the song to hear,”
says Geiser. “All the different places
we go musically on this album creep into this
song. This is who we are.”
For Wade—who
wrote the song when he was a teenager—the
song represents both beginnings and endings.
“Brian, Robert and I started the band
right after they heard me play this song at
a coffee shop,” he explains. “It’s
kind of funny, I wrote this song as a way of
getting some closure on an intense relationship
that ended badly, but I’m still playing
the song. It’s lasted longer than the
relationship.”
While many of the
lyrics on IN MEMORY describe people dealing
with and overcoming adversity, no song does
so as poignantly as “Foster.” Inspired
by a fan Wade befriended on the road, the song
talks about a girl struggling to fit in with
her foster parents. “I had these really
intense conversations with this girl about her
life that really effected me,” Wade says.
“I put myself in her shoes to write this
particular song, but I think a lot of the songs
on this album, in one way or another, are about
how we all struggle against pain and insanity
to find hope and peace.”
For the members
of April Sixth, the album’s title represents
a turning point. “We wanted to dedicate
this album to all of the steps we took to get
where we are,” Wade explains. “We
wanted to dedicate this album in memory to all
of the good times and bad times, the years of
hard work, the things we gave up and struggles
we overcame. It’s about honoring the past,
and moving forward.”
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*All
songs on Artist Site. |
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Tracks
from "April Sixth" |
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April
Sixth |
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April
Sixth |
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| This
month, April Sixth. |
Why don't we start with you introducing yourselves to our Bandnation.com
readers ? |
Hey, I'm Christopher Wade, lead singer of April Sixth. |
So how did you guys get together?
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Brian and Robert had a fight with this
chick, whom they were driving with and they said, "Forget this." and
started walking home. Low and behold, as fate would have it, they passed
by the coffee house where I was in the middle of my TWO AND A HALF HOUR
SET!! That's right, I had to fill up 2 1/2 hours of acoustic covers and
originals. Before a break, I played one last song, called "Dear Angel" I
guess it sparked something with Robert and Brian because afterwards they
came up to me and asked me if I was looking to start a band. Since
they didn't have a ride home, so I gave them one and they in turn gave me a
couple guitar players! :) |
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The story behind the name is kind of interesting. How did you come up with your name ?
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There was this show that was on Saturday, April
Sixth. So in order to promote the gig we were
making up fliers. Since
we didn't like our name at the time (which was
Cornerstone) we just merely
put "Saturday, April Sixth at Fairmount
Park." Everyone took it
as, "Saturday, 'the band' April Sixth at
Fairmount Park". So from then on
everyone called us April Sixth and it stuck
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