The 21st century has seen an explosion of post-hardcore bands. A niche genre just eight years ago, post hardcore has nearly hit the mainstream, as thousands of post-hardcore outfits have found themselves tearing up the stages of Vans Warped Tour and prominent clubs throughout the country.
The recent upsurge has led to incredible albums and memorable tours, but post-hardcore’s popularity has created a saturation of the genre, as countless new bands are playing the same chords and singing the same lyrics that made post-hardcore popular several years ago. There is an element of artificiality in the genre now – bands both big and small have become carbon copies of each other, and the music has lost its organic creation.
Enter My Latest Fashion. The Augusta, Georgia-based four piece is anything but a frontrunner band. In fact, the name My Latest Fashion is rather ironic as the group is perhaps the most organic sounding band within the genre.
To know My Latest Fashion is to understand the struggle of young bands in today’s scene. In 2009, drummer Eddie Gleason and bassist Clay Veal were unhappy with the lack of commitment and constant member changes in their pop-punk band Avaria, so they took to the Internet to find equally dedicated members.
“We spent a lot of time looking for musicians in Augusta, we never thought to look out of the city, or even the state,” said Veal.
They ultimately came across Jared Graap, a Knoxville-based guitarist who was ready for a new chapter in his life and music career. Graap made the decision to move to Augusta and pursue music full-time through Avaria. Only now he would make the switch from guitarist to frontman, a role he had been coveting for quite some time.
But as Graap was set to make the move, he received news that Avaria‘s guitarist had parted ways with the band. The dream team Graap was ready to form was falling apart, and he had yet to even find housing in Augusta.
“That was discouraging for me,” said Graap. “I had no intention of joining a band that didn’t have a committed, full lineup.”
But Graap wasn’t ready to let the opportunity slip away. During one of his last shifts at a Knoxville restaurant, Graap told co-worker and fellow guitarist Kevin Armstrong about his planned move to Augusta. And as a shot-in-the-dark idea, Graap asked Armstrong if he wanted to make the move with him to round out Avaria.
“He accepted without hesitation,” said Graap.
So just months after meeting Gleason and Veal online, Graap and Armstrong packed up their belongings and hit the road to Augusta, intent on joining forces with musicians with the same talent and determination. The chemistry was instant upon arriving.
“I just picked up my guitar and we started writing together,” said Armstrong. “We all just clicked.”
Clicked, that is, in a way the band did not expect. Instead of churning out the pop-punk anthems Avaria was known for, the four-piece began taking a completely different sound, swapping power chords and cheery vocals for a heavier, more ambient direction. The band scratched all of their old material, began writing new songs, and decided a name change was in order. My Latest Fashion was born.
“We never really sat down and decided what kind of sound we wanted,” said Graap. “We started writing together and it all just came out. It was the kind of band I had always wanted to be in, and I know the other guys felt the same way.”
The band began backing up the hard work they had promised each other by driving to Ocala, Florida to record their debut EP “This is Romance” with former A Day To Remember guitarist Tom Denne. Sleeping in tents at night, the band’s members came together as they recorded one of post-hardcore’s most powerful EPs in years.
“We all grew even closer on that trip and really honed in on what our band was made of,” said Armstrong. “It’s a time we’ll never forget.”
As an unbreakable unit, My Latest Fashion spent the next year gigging locally and steadily gaining an online following. And within the past month, the group’s hard work has started showing dividends, as the band inked a management deal with Horgan Entertainment, earned a slot on the Atlanta date of this summer’s Vans Warped Tour by winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands, and landed an endorsement deal with upstart clothing line Electrikk Clothing.
The recent success is only the beginning of what’s to come for My Latest Fashion, as the band’s talent, drive, and solidarity will undoubtedly take them to the top. My Latest Fashion is currently seeking a respected booking agent to put them on the road, where they can play their brand of organic post hardcore to a different city every night. The band is confident that the heart in their music will make it stand out from the pack.
“Nothing is original anymore,” said Graap. “Every note and every chord has already been played. We hope to accomplish with our music a sound that makes people want to go back and listen to it again and again. Catchy, but not mainstream. Lyrics that make you think, verses that are punchy, and choruses that soar. Something that stays stuck in your head all day. If we could be to someone what our favorite bands are to us, then we have succeeded.”
Visit My Latest Fashion on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mylatestfashion. Listen to “This is Romance” at http://www.reverbnation.com/mylatestfashion.
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