Summer Break Series: Warped with After Midnight Project

After Midnight Project, an alternative-rock band from Los Angeles, are enjoying the last few dates of Warped Tour 2010. This has been their third time on the tour, and has been an excellent fan-building experience for the band, who released their now-platinum single “Take Me Home” in June of 2009, with their album Let’s Build Something to Break released the following August. The band played two weeks in 2008, then 80% of the tour the following year, with this year being their first time playing for the entire tour. For two members of the band, their bassist Travis and drummer Ryan Folden, it is the first Warped Tour, as they joined two weeks before the tour began.

Guitarist Spencer Bastian, who did most of the talking for the band, says that their success is due, in large part, to Capone of San Diego’s 91X. Bastian says that Capone was one of the first to play “Take Me Home” on 91X, leading to its enormous popularity in San Diego and Los Angeles. Bastian also credits Capone with helping the band to get signed.

According to Bastian, the band dates back to 2004, when singer Jason Evigan started writing and recording songs on his own, for a music project he had titled After Midnight Project. Evigan was later joined by Bastian, and then guitarist Christian Meadows, with former members Danny Morris and TJ Armstrong joining soon after. Bastian says that the sound they developed together is inspired by a lot of 90’s music, from artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, and Deftones.

As an alternative-rock band, After Midnight Project has stood out on Warped Tour year after year. Bastian says that it was daunting at first to play to crowds that are into heavier, hardcore-punk music, but that they have enjoyed the challenge of proving themselves. AMP, who are known for their high-energy shows, have had no problem attracting a crowd though. In fact, Bastian says that they read on Twitter the other day that one Warped Tour attendee claims that After Midnight Project was one of their two favorite shows of the day. Bastian says that the crowd has been very open to their music, and that they have been able to gather a large amount of fans from their performances on this year’s Warped Tour.

After Warped Tour, the band has no official tour plans, as they will begin working on their next record. According to Bastian, the band has a lot of material dating back to 2005 that they are eager to begin working with, as well as some fresh material being developed. So once finished with the tour they will enter the studio to start hashing out some songs for an upcoming record. Bastian says that they will also be playing a show on September 4th in their hometown of Los Angeles, where they continue to play local shows.

The band’s debut full-length album, Let’s Build Something to Break, is available now online and in stores, and updates on the band’s activities can be found on their myspace and twitter, as well as the band’s website, www.aftermidnightproject.com.