Introducing
Down Again
After releasing an evocative new record dripping with the post-hardcore sentiment of the bands they take their inspiration from, Down Again took some time out to chat to us about beginnings, The Devil is a Gentleman and dream collaborations – all while curating a god-tier playlist.
Interview
Tell us a little about yourself. Where the name came from, how long you’ve been going for and anything else new fans would want to know.
Down Again consists of Lenny Costa, Lucas Garcia and Alex Wechter, and we are a post-hardcore trio from the San Francisco Bay Area. The three of us have been best friends for the last eight years or so and music has always been at the center of our friendship, but a few years ago we decided we wanted to start a new project with just the three of us.
We had already finished recording our album The Devil Is A Gentleman with Nick Loiacono at Fang Studio and we hadn’t come up with a band name yet. After listening back to the album and throwing around a couple ideas, Down Again was suggested and it just resonated with all of us. We really felt like it captured the emotion that we brought to our music. Outside of music our passions include skateboarding, surfing, and really anything that involves getting outside.
Can you share your very first memory of music?
My first memory with music is honestly dancing around in my living room while my parents blasted Journey throughout the house, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. But my first experience with actually making music goes back to my 8th birthday, my grandma bought me a Flying V electric guitar. After learning how to play a couple chords I was instantly writing songs and just never really stopped.
“Down Again deserve props for the undeniable commitment to the musicianship and emotion rooted within their intense sound.”
v13.net
Who are some of the bands or artists that you’d love to collaborate with and/or open for on tour?
As far as collaborations go it would be an absolute dream to work with Darius Tehrani from Spite or Mike Hranica from The Devil Wears Prada, they both have absolutely incredible screams and it would add such a cool change of pace for some of our heavy parts. We also wouldn’t mind opening for either of them! Our shortlist of dream bands to open for includes Emery, Thrice, Can’t Swim, or Bring Me The Horizon.
You’ve released your debut album, The Devil Is A Gentleman – congratulations! What were some of the most fun and also the most challenging aspects of recording this album?
Recording with Nick Loiacono was absolutely a dream. The most fun part of the process was him listening to our demos and helping bring them to life, he had invaluable input that really took our album to the next level. The biggest challenge was honestly narrowing down which songs weren’t going to make the cut, because we had another eight or so tracks that we really loved but just didn’t fit on The Devil Is A Gentleman as well as the 13 we ended up rolling with.
You’ve cited Underoath, Thrice and a bunch of other bands we love as major influences, how do you think they helped shape your sound?
Listening to those bands growing up really played a huge role in shaping us as people. As a kid I wanted to look like Underoath, sound like Underoath and be Underoath, and same for all the other huge bands like Thrice, blessthefall, Saosin, or Brand New. It’s very cool for me to look back and say that at 27 I released an album that 12-year-old me would have thought was sick. This is my first time writing in this post-hardcore genre so it was a long time coming.
Settle an argument for us (and the rest of the world) pineapple on pizza?
Pineapple is a god-tier pizza topping, never not in the mood for some Hawaiian pizza.
Music
Inspiration
Rising to the challenge, Down Again have put together an electrifying collection of songs that best encapsulates the artists and music that inspire them as a band.
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