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Seasons After have returned with their first commercial release in four years and it is a bad ass album! Their album, Calamity, Scars and Memoirs features Tony Housh (vocals), Chris Dawson (guitar), Jim Beattie (lead guitar), Tim Rails (drums) and Jesse Saint (bass). This album features the strongest work to date for this band, truly exhibiting how they have grown, strengthened and evolved musically and personally. It is a bad ass album featuring fierce guitars, powerful vocals, emotionally driven lyrics and so much more. They have just released their new video for Lights Out and frontman Tony explains more about the song,

“’Lights Out’ was written as an expression of the discontentment toward a situation that we had no control over. Writing music is our way of visiting a shrink. We don’t take Prozac. We write a fucking song! We were venting I guess you could say. So as you can imagine when it became the song to roll out with it was a little surprising to us all. Now that we are back on the road, it is amazing to see a fan who lives so far away, that you have never spoken with, or met, standing there and singing the song back to us when we do it live. People really seem to be connecting to the lyrical content, as well as the heavy groove of the music. Maybe it’s because the song was written from such a vulnerable position, and maybe sometimes it is simply comforting to know that you’re not the only vulnerable person who deals with life’s struggles. Things always get better as long as you keep swinging..”

Check out the video here:

We had the chance to chat with guitarist, Dawson last year about the album and in case you missed it, check it out here:

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Music Junkie Press: Hi Dawson, Thanks for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. I have to tell you, we are very excited, it has been four years. And we are so excited that you guys are back. This album is truly making a statement, Seasons After have prevailed, they have overcome challenges and are here. So excited for you guys to be back.

Dawson: Thank you very much. We really, really, really appreciate that.

Music Junkie Press: How is it to finally see the release of the new music?

Dawson: It is so good. We worked so hard to get this point and words can’t even express how we are feeling right now. To just have it out there. So it is pretty amazing.

Music Junkie Press: Now the name Calamity Scars and Memoirs. Awesome title. Definitely share some insight to the overcoming of challenges and evolving. Can you tell us a little bit about what this album represents to you?

Dawson: Sure, it is basically a chronicle of the things we went through from the issues we were dealing with internally from the band’s perspective, and there is even songs in there that are personal reflections on what Tony would go through, or you know the members of the band with their families and what it did to people personally in their own personal lives. It is just basically just a story of the time that we were down.

Music Junkie Press: You guys definitely bring out emotionally driven, hard rockin tracks, but you really bring out a lot of truth and passion in your songs. Did you have a particular song writing process when you guys were writing this?

Dawson: Every song is a little bit different. There were some songs that would start with a lyric and a concept and a message and we would work to form the music to help tell the story. How it needed to be aggressive in parts and little more dramatic or mellow in areas and some of them were just music that when we were sitting around jamming it was like, “Ah this is a great piece of music” and it happened to work with the lyrical idea so we have no set formula on how we do things. We have many different processes that we go through to create music and I think it helps us to create music that is not the same from song to song. We don’t have or we would like to think we don’t, when we write a record, it is not something that like each song doesn’t sound the same or that song sounds like this one or is the same as that one or anything like that. They all have their own unique life and style and formula because they are all written differently and come from different places.

Music Junkie Press: Yes, you definitely feel that with each of your songs. They each bring out different moods, emotions and so much. We applaud you guys for doing that which is so hard to do these days and keeping the truth in the music.

Dawson: Thanks a lot.

Music Junkie Press: Now with the lyric video for My Last Words, it is getting a lot of great reception and well deserved attention. What about a little history for that track?

Dawson: That track is actually a bit of a personal track for our vocalist, Tony. I think he was trying to get across the passion for what we do and what we were trying to accomplish and we were unable to do in the downtown, and how kind of toxic I think it made him as a person, not being able to create his art, or release music or get anything out there. I think it just made him kind of toxic as a person and that is kind of the story you know in his personal relationships, he wanted to tell the people, that I do love, I am a mess right now, I can’t, I am toxic, I am ruining everything because of what were going through. It is just a story about that.

Music Junkie Press: It is a great track! Now you guys are out on tour right now. How is it finally get back on stage.

Dawson: It is awesome. I was definitely nervous about getting back out there and getting on the road and doing our thing. It is something that we pride ourselves on, the live show and what we bring to the stage, but with the downtime, it was like, man, I hope we still deliver like we did. But we were able to all get together and do a stretch of rehearsals before we went out and did any shows and it was like second nature. It felt like nothing changed, we didn’t even skip a beat and so getting back out there it was like nothing was lost. So we are super excited.

Music Junkie Press: Exactly and you guys have this great stage presence, great on stage energy, fierce adrenaline. Do you have any preshow rituals for that?

Dawson: I mean we, just have the common one, where everyone kind of gets ready with some stretches and stuff. We all kind of pow wow. Back in the day, we really didn’t have much of anything but now everything that we had to go through to get where we are, there is that definite kind of huddle before we walk on stage and there is that look in everybody’s eyes that is just that sparkle, Like, Holy Crap we did it! You know what I mean? It means a lot to us this time, we are not taking anything for granted and we are working ten times harder than we have ever worked. It is just a very special thing for us right now and we are really honored to be where we are and getting this out. It is gonna be a long road but we are taking it on every day.

Music Junkie Press: Now you guys are definitely taking full control. This is another album released independently, how has that been for you guys, challenges you guys face with that?

Dawson: It has been a little bit of a struggle trying to make the right decisions. There was a couple hurdles to go over. You know, none of us are label executives or anything like that so getting everything rolled out the way we needed to, the right way, it definitely took some planning and some advice from some friends that are in the business or whatever but I think we are doing it the right way. We still have some things that we need to put in place as far as trying to make it a release that people expect from a band that is on a label and what they are doing but we just couldn’t see ourselves doing it again. We feel like we are fully capable intelligent guys and there is no release in today’s climate that we couldn’t release this on our own and make it a success and do it our way.

Music Junkie Press: You guys also have a great fanbase that is right there to help spread the word for you and they are very excited to be part of it as well.

Dawson: Ya, we are happy that everyone has welcomed us back and are really supporting us and the album is getting really good reviews. So, we are just on cloud nine right now, we are very happy and very excited about what is to come.

Music Junkie Press: I have to tell you, on I’ll Be Here, smoking guitars on that one. Love that track. Tell me what is your gear rundown if we could put a spotlight on your gear?

Dawson: The gear, that is actually is something a little bit trippy that we are in the process of formulating right now. When we toured before we came out like some of the bigger bands with the road cases and the cabinets and the drum racks and when you pulled in, it was this big production and now we are wanting to streamline things as much as possible. With the invention of the Kemper profiling amp, we are able to take the tones that we use on the record and put them in there. Now, we almost don’t need a trailer anymore. We can fit all of our gear in such a small package and it really helps us streamline our process for set up and breakdowns and travelling and all that. I am sure as we grow, some of that gear will start to grow as well but right now we are just going out with the smallest package as we can to save money and save our backs and everything like that.

Music Junkie Press: Get you in and out there and to more shows! How about us West Coast, are there any shows coming up for us here in California?

Dawson: Our booking agency is working very hard right now to get us out and getting out everywhere we can as the album grows. But I think right now, just getting our feet wet back into touring, we are kind of staying in the Midwest market the first couple months and as soon as we get our plan together for selecting the single we are going to try and push out to radio and get that going, then we are going to spread our wings a little bit and get out there quite a bit farther. Tyr to hit the East Coast, West Coast, everywhere. Get back and see some of those fans that were able to connect with previously.

Music Junkie Press: We are excited about that. Now, with all the changes in the music industry in the last 15 to 20 years, what is something that you would like to see changed?

Dawson: That is a really tough question.

Music Junkie Press: I know that a lot of people are talking about the streaming, how artists don’t get paid for their music these days. Or also trying for us to get people out to live shows again. We see the rock radio stations closing up or changing formats from rock. We need our rock! What can we do or what can we change.

Dawson: Yes, it is really tough. It is obviously the way things move, I don’t feel that is something we can change as much as it is something we have to adapt to. And try to make it work for you. To be creative, to be innovative and think of things that a band can bring in a revenue and connect with their fans and still try to make it. It is definitely, you have to love playing music and doing this or you are just not going to make it because it is very hard out there right now. And you just have to love it and be creative and adapt with the way things are going. People still buy records, people still by singles, people still come to shows, you know you just have to make sure they are aware of it and make it easy for them to get it and people will still pick that stuff up. It is obviously not going to be like it was but there is still opportunities there and I guess we have to be thankful that there are still opportunities and try to make new ones.

Music Junkie Press: What is up ahead for you guys after this tour?

Dawson: For the next few months, we are going to be honing in the live show and getting all of our stuff together and just try to make an impact throughout what we consider our region, the Midwest, since we are Midwest guys. Then the first of the year, we are gonna take a single and go to radio again and spread out from there. We don’t have any hard fast plans or anything we have in place to really make anything happen, we are just keeping our stuff together and pushing through it one day at a time.

Music Junkie Press: We will be sharing the links with your fans and asking them to share as well all the news of Seasons After and tell everybody about Calamity, Scars and Memoirs. Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our audience and your fans?

Dawson: I want to thank everybody that has checked it out and has supported us in past and present. We really hope that everybody enjoys the record and that everything that we put into it and I hope that comes through. We just appreciate all the support and the welcoming back and all that. We can’t wait to see everybody on the road and come to a show and meet us, let’s hang out and have a drink, let’s do some partying.

Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much Dawson. We can’t wait to see you guys. Have safe travels and see you out on the road!

Dawson: Thank you so much.

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If you don’t already have their new album, make sure to pick it up. This is one of those albums that you can appreciate from start to finish, starting off with the with fierce rockin of Break To Survive to the last powerful song of My Last Words. You can pick up the abum on iTunes here. It is awesome to find a true hard rock album bringing the truth back into the music, both lyrically and musically Check out the guitars in So Long Goodbye and I’ll Be There. The reflective, slightly slower song, Weathered brings out such a rawness and vulnerability that captures your attention. Absolutely amazing!

Check the dates below and catch Seasons After for their energetic live performances!