We recently talked to the Phoenix based rock band After The Calm as we discussed their new song and video "Stuck On Repeat" among other topics - READ IT HERE

Rising from the southwest desert heat and blazing across the globe, After The Calm is sending out their latest single/video "Stuck ON Repeat 

Micheale Janson: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us. Please start by introducing yourselves. 

David Nunez - “My name is David Nunez and I play lead guitar. I also do most of the design work for the band.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “I am Jonathan or Jon, and I play guitar in After the Calm. I enjoy going out to shows and hanging out with friends.”

Logan Miracle - “Logan and I sing.”

Henry Cota- “Hi I'm Henry, bassist and somewhat of a background vocalist.”

Kody Rattler - “My name is Kody, I play the drums.”

MJ: What is the music scene like there in Phoenix?

David Nunez - “It’s been blossoming. There have been new music venues popping up like crazy. The talent here is crazy so expect great things from Phoenix, AZ.”

Henry Cota- Compared to years ago, the scene has really come together. In the past, it was the wild west, everyone out for themselves. Currently, there are so many talented bands and we all network in some capacity makes playing gigs really enjoyable.”

Logan Miracle - “I really enjoy a lot of the people I've met over the few years we've been playing. Obviously, there is a bad apple in every bunch. But a lot of bands here are very supportive of one another.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “It is great! We have made some great band friends and the past few years more bands have been supporting each other instead of just looking out for themselves.”

Kody Rattler - “How I imagine every scene is: People are all looking for the same thing; some are more supportive than others. Being genuine to yourself and others is the best thing you can do.”

MJ: Do you get a sense that the social and economic climate drives the music being created everywhere?

Henry Cota- “Some bands yes, they write music solely with the purpose of sharing their message about the climate. Dont hear too much from artist recently, not much Rage Against The Machine bands anymore.”


David Nunez - “I think it’s a huge factor. So many hits throughout the years are because people needed a common voice and music gave it to them. We write from the heart and the experiences we’ve gone through. Being poor, rich, depressed, or happy create a ripple effect which is felt in every note.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “Every band writes for different reasons and are motivated by different things. A lot of bands to write based on politics and take stances.”

Logan Miracle - “Music is an art. Art is for you as the artist to create what you feel right then. You capture it, and hopefully one person can see it and appreciate it.”

Kody Rattler - “Music is a way to express yourself and there’s a lot of people who gravitate towards that outlet.”

It takes a great deal of practice to become an excellent musician. How many hours a week do each of you put into your instruments?

Henry Cota- “We meet up twice a week 5 hours total, more if we have something huge coming up. Personally I play my bass in between practices because I just need to be playing, not everyday but a few times a week.”

David Nunez - “I like to play every morning before work on my acoustic. Mostly just mess around with notes and record an idea on my phone. Every phone I've had has hundreds of ideas throughout the years. One goal I had was make a riff a day.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “We practice as a band around 5 hours a week split between 2 practices a week. Some practice by themselves more than others but we all are usually very busy with families and full time jobs so it is hard to practice as much as we all would like to.”

Kody Rattler - “Typically meet twice a week, though schedules can often conflict.”

Logan Miracle - “Practice twice a week. But I'm always singing in my off time or when I'm driving.”

MJ: The song "Stuck On Repeat" really peels back the skin of truth.  Does the music you create tend to be based on real-life experiences?

Henry Cota- “ Every song so far has a personal experience one of us has gone through.”

David Nunez - “Yeah it’s hard to write about anything that’s not personal I think. We are all made up of our experiences.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “Yes, almost all of our music is written from personal real-life experiences.”

Logan Miracle - “Every one of our songs come from real life experiences or how we were feeling at that time.”

Kody Rattler - “I often write in the moment. Outside that, most of the lyrics come from Logan’s life experiences.”

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What process did you all go through to create the song from beginning to end?

Henry Cota- “Starts off with either a lyric or riff that's brought in, or just a jam session. From there we record what we have on our phones and use that as a template, continue till we have a song. Eventually get it professionally recorded and sent to the masses.”

Logan Miracle - “Wrote the entire structure of the song in 30 minutes right at the end of practice. Made our like tweaks and changes. And we were very lucky enough to have Matt Good record the song.”

David Nunez - “This song is an interesting one. We had a little over half an hour left in practice and decided to try to write something before we had to go. This song was literally written within half an hour and carried the title “30min or Less” until we picked “Stuck On Repeat”. When I say written I mean it had a beginning, middle, and end. Overall it was maybe 75% complete. It’s funny how songs made in a quick moment end up being some of the best songs.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “It was a very long but gratifying process. First, we wrote the song which I believe came from a riff David made during practice. From there we created the whole song and made tweaks to perfect everything. When we thought it was at a good spot we recorded a cheap demo with our friend Aaron to be able to hear it and make any additional tweaks. Then we professionally recorded it with Matt Good to really make it shine and have the highest sound quality possible.”

Kody Rattler - “We wrote the song one practice, continued to refine it and eventually cut a demo. Took a while to finalize the lyrics and then the name, as we had quite a few options up in the air. Once we recorded, we brainstormed ideas on the music video and later executed.”

Where did the filming of the video happen?

Jonathan Habermacher - “All the inside shots were in the house I recently moved into over in Chandler. The outside shots were just a few miles away where a week before filming we found some alleyways and a shop to film at.”

Kody Rattler - “Various locations, mostly house shots and alleyways.”

Of course, After The Calm does other types of genres, as a matter of fact, seems something was stated that ATC kind of pride themselves on not fitting into an exact category. What do you say?

Henry Cota- “We have the ability to play Warped Tour or Ozzfest type of events (both are gone now RIP). Not too many can say that. Bigger reach for fans.”

David Nunez - “It definitely lends itself to help make us stand out. How many bands out there have music to play with As I Lay Dying one day and then Taking Back Sunday the next? ”

Jonathan Habermacher - “We all have different styles of music that we enjoy so we usually write different styles of music. This is why some songs sound so different. This gives us the ability to play at almost any show and fit in with the headliners genre.”

Logan Miracle - “I think we've always just wanted to write what we enjoy. And we like so many different genres. But recently I've seen us start to try to hone in on our sound. I'm excited for when we start writing new stuff.”

Kody Rattler - “I think we find reasons to make it work, such as being able to play different types of shows. I’d like to see a more refined sound as we go; that’s one of the reasons we chose to release three unique songs.”

MJ: What vibe would you say your music puts out to the scene?

Henry Cota- “I believe we give out the vibe to others in the scene that we are fun and easy going, but at the same time we mean business.”

David Nunez - “We bring a lot of energy to our shows. So vibe wise I would say it’s positive and welcoming. In the end we are just some dudes that love to play music.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “Hard to say since we can’t look at it from an outsider’s perspective but I hope people see the personal experiences that we talk about and it is written to help others through hard times in their life.”

Logan Miracle - “We're just five friends that love playing music and want to connect with fans.”

Kody Rattler - “Vibe? I have no idea.. We have fun on stage and people enjoy the shows. I hope we inspire those around us to be true to themselves.”

MJ: Looking back at your accomplishments this year- anything stand out to each band member as to what you have done musically?

Henry Cota- “Playing the big venue The Marquee Theater in our town was on my bucket list and now I can check it off.”

David Nunez - “Warped Tour will always stand out as an accomplishment that I can die happy with lol.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “Warped tour is probably the biggest accomplishment we have done. Everything we have done led up to getting a spot and performing at one of the biggest music festivals. Not only that but so many people visited our merch tent and bought stuff so that tells me that people really enjoyed us when they could have bought merch from so many other bands.”

Logan Miracle - “I think having us put together our 3rd Annual Fundraiser for the Arizona Humane Society. The past 2 years we've done car washes and even did a video tour of the location here in Phoenix. Now we're having a benefit concert with all proceeds going to the AHS.”

Kody Rattler - “We played the last Warped Tour, which was an honor. Other highlights include releasing three singles and hosting our first benefit show.”

MJ: What is in store for ATC, short and long-term goals?

Henry Cota- “Short term, play more shows outside of Arizona. Long term, quit our day jobs and do music full time.”David Nunez - “Short term would be to Tour. Long term has to be an albums worth of music ready to go.”

Logan Miracle - “Short term, tour. Long term, put out a debut full length.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “In the short term I want to be able to start touring as much as possible. In the long term I want the band to be able to support all 5 of us as a full time career.”

Kody Rattler - “Hopefully an LP long term.”

MJ: When we are traveling ever out west... where is the best place to get tacos?

Henry Cota- “We have a hidden gem here in Phoenix called Taco Bell, there is dish on the secret menu called a chalupa.

David Nunez - “La Frontera food truck has the best tacos in town. 3501 W Lincoln St
Phoenix, AZ  85009 United States.”

Logan Miracle - “In my opinion, the best tacos come from pop up tents or food trucks. But I'd say if you need good ol’ reliable, go to Federico's. Spelled exactly like that. There are so many knock off restaurants.”

Jonathan Habermacher - “Wow, that’s extremely hard cause there are so many amazing taco places in AZ. For cheap tacos, most place has Taco Tuesday’s for $1 but if money isn’t an issue I have really enjoyed Joyride tacos. You can also find some amazing food at random food trucks around the city.”

Kody Rattler - “I’m a fan of a lot of mexican food places, so it really depends on your level of quality. Abuelo’s is one of the better mexican restaurants out here.”