4 unsigned bands you should check out in October
Welcome to the sixth installment of our new AP&R online series. Some of you may be thinking, “Wait. Isn’t this usually in the magazine?” Yes, it is, but we’re upping the ante with this section in our new issues by giving your favorite among our scouted unsigned artists an opportunity for a larger print feature in AP!
Check out our selections for this month and take our poll. Your votes determine which band is featured in AP Recommends! Be sure to comment with your favorite unsigned and independent artists. Who knows? They could be included next time!
DIVIDES
HQ: Glasgow, United Kingdom
NOW PLAYING: Anywhere & Nowhere EP
ROCKS LIKE: New Year’s Day, PVRIS, Flyleaf
U.K.-based alternative rock band, DIVIDES may have only been in the circuit since 2013, but the quintet already earned the Best Metal award from the Scottish Alternative Music Awards. Starting as four musicians jamming together, Colin Horn (guitar), David Lennon (guitar), Andy Cook (bass) and Dave Maxwell (drums) eventually found vocalist Tasha Cowie performing at another show and asked her to join the band. “With all of us having many different influences, it’s just this mixture that creates our sound,” says Horn. “We all relate to music in our own personal ways and with all of our different tastes in music, we just gel really well together.” For the rest of the year, DIVIDES have a few shows planned around the U.K. but plan to record their first full-length album next year.
THE WEEKEND CLASSIC
HQ: Madison, IN
NOW PLAYING: A Year of Growth EP
ROCKS LIKE: Knuckle Puck, Man Overboard, Major League
Midwestern pop-punkers the Weekend Classic officially formed in 2012 when neighbors Chris Webster (lead vocals, guitar) and Christian Richards (drums) recorded a few demos together, and soon after, filled the remaining spot with Ryan Wells (vocals, guitar). “We like to describe our sound as hard-hitting, yet sensitive and melodic, while keeping a raw punk sound,” explains Richards. “We just want to travel and be able to do what we love everyday in hopes of reaching people who enjoy music the way we do.” After winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands and performing on the Cincinnati date of Warped Tour, the Weekend Classic went from performing local shows to branching out into larger venues in Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis. Between shows, they’re working on a new EP to be released in 2016 followed by tours expanding from the Midwest into the east and west coasts.
HEAVY NEGATIVES
HQ: New York, NY
NOW PLAYING: Treat Yourself Well Live EP
ROCKS LIKE: Bikini Kill, Black Flag, Perfect Pussy
When Tex Buell (drums) and Trevor Riot (guitar) decided to start a band in 2013, they took to Craigslist, writing an ad for “a lady that can howl, singer wanted.” Vocalist Jahnny Vommit had been searching to join a band since her high school days even, she says “if it meant a not-so-safe or smart choice of meeting some dudes off Craigslist.” Vommit goes on to say, “I had always dreamed about making a gross little punk band with people from school or my neighborhood, but it didn’t really happen.” Adding their vocalist completed Burell’s drums and Riot’s guitar to create what they call a Craigslist-punk band—“a little bit scuzzy and grimy.” Heavy Negatives often play shows with the Brooklyn Trans Core—an organization that puts on all ages, LGBT-friendly shows around Brooklyn where people are able to enjoy music and feel comfortable in a safe space. As they are best known for their live performances, the latest release, Treat Yourself Well is fittingly a four song live EP recorded at ABC No Rio in New York comprising of three original tracks and a Selena cover with a Riot Grrrl vibe.
FORGET TOMORROW
HQ: Wolcott, Connecticut
NOW PLAYING: Identity EP
ROCKS LIKE: Norma Jean, Memphis May Fire, A Day to Remember
Hailing from Connecticut, Forget Tomorrow combine hip-hop hooks, catchy pop-influenced choruses and heavy vocals to create their unique style of post-hardcore. “We're not a group of guys who fell out from different bands and decided to join up. We are a group of best friends who just so happen to play music,” says clean vocalist Avery Taylor. Since 2009, Taylor (clean vocals), Brando Podlisny (screams), Brandon Bogush (guitar), Dustin Paolino (guitar), Brenton Champagne (drums) and Chris Carlson (bass) have been scrapping their way through the scene. Previously winning a Bruno Mars cover contest through RyanSeacrest.com, Forget Tomorrow have gone on to compete for New England’s “Best Metal Act of 2015” and have performed on multiple news casts. They recently added Identity, a six-song EP, to their discography and plan to release a new single next month. As Taylor says, the band “wants to put out as much music as possible, play as many shows as possible, and reach as many people as possible.”
