interview with Today's Last Tragedy
Have any of you played in other bands? T.J., Brandon, Hunter, and Ethan all played in different bands before we joined together as TLT.
How is it that you started playing music? Growing up, we were always inspired by the music people were creating. I guess deep.dowm we just wanted to be a part of that.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Vocals - T.J. Sajna (20)
Vocals - Ryan Spragen (21)
Guitar - Carmen Belperio (21)
Guitar - Brandon Feldkamp (18)
Bass - Ethan Middendorf (21)
Drums - Hunter Kohls (21)
Have you had other previous members? No. We built this band on friendships we've had since middle school.
Did you make music even when you were young? We like to think we still are young, but yes. I remember as a child there was this Disney music app on my grandparents computer that I would always make songs on. It eventually evolved into creating entire songs on Garage Band, FL Studio, and beyond.
Where are you from? We are from Cincinnati, Ohio. Otherwise known as The Queen City.
What year did the band form?In 2012 Ryan and T.J. started writing music until finalizing a lineup in 2014.
What's your style of genre? This question made us all laugh. We have a hard time answering this because we take inspiration from so many different genres. The best way we can describe it is "Progressive Deathcore" or "Post-Metalcore".
What inspires you? We try to give off good vibes with our music. The metal scene is awesome.
How often and where do you reherse? We practice one or two times a week at very inconvienient places such as Ethan's kitchen and T.J.'s basement.
How have you developed since you started with the music? For me the first few years we were new to the scene and didn't know how anything worked. We watched and learned for years while preparing to release our debut album entitled "Years" in 2016. Now we're on our first U.S. tour in 2017 and have a lot further to go.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Rough question, we just got scammed by our manager so we aren't very trusting. However, we would love to have a trustworthy booking agent. We have big plans for touring in the future.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? As far as a label goes, we are very specific. We are willing to go DIY until we get an attractive offer from a reputable label.
What made you decide to make this music? Breakdowns. Nothing is better than a good mosh pit and a hard hitting bass drop.
What are your songs about? We try to write our lyrics about the things we all go through in life. Keep a positive outlook on things, it can't rain forever.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Ryan and T.J. create all the demos and fit the lyrics to the music. The rest of the band come in and change individual parts until the song sounds completely different than the original.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? It depends on the song, sometimes it's both at the same time. It jusrmt depends on what inspired us to write it to begin with.
Have you done any covers live? We release a Deathcore cover of a "Mac Miller" song called "Donald Trump". Which you should all check out. Every time we play this song live it gets people paying attention.
What language do you sing in? English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? We've played to audiences of all sizes from 5 to 500.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Most people that listen to us are between ages 15 to 30.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We try to change our set up if we're playing in the same town alot. As of right now we can play every song we've released.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Our favorite local venue is "The Thompson House" in Newport, Kentucky. We play there most of the time and it's great every time. There's never a shortage of metal shows around here.
What was your first gig like? Our first gig was at a block party. The stage was set up on top of a mountain overlooking the city. It was cool because there was an annual fireworks show that started when our set was over.
What was your latest gig? Right now we're sitting in our tour van in Rochester, NY waiting to hit the stage. Our last show was at a rave in Kittaning, PA.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Only once, we canceled a multi-genre battle of the bands because our bassist cut off his finger.
Where have you played live this year? So far in 2017 we've played Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and many more to come in the next 5 weeks!
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We want to make it to the west coast of the United States on our next tour. It would also be really cool to make it over to Europe.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We've sold merch since our first show. We started out with simple t-shirts and have expanded to CDs, stickers, posters, hats, and pins. From now until the end of tour we will be selling our album online for just $1 due to management complications. It has songs featuring the vocalists of The Browning, For All I Am, and more.
Where can people buy your merchandise? Check out our online merch store at todayslasttragedy.bigcartel.com
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Technology changes with time. I don't think there's anything wrong with downloading music, however, m you should support bands that you enjoy listening by buying their albums.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? With the advent of YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming services, finding new music is now easier than ever. Bands and record companies are taking notice of this and adapting. I think music is in a sort of state of revolution right now.
What do you think of my work? It's great that you're getting tbe word out. We appreciate you reaching out to us.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? It's not about gaining business, it's about raising awareness. Big name bands can't get away with scamming people.
Do you have any role models or people that you look up to? We have people that we like, but not really any role models. We think it's better to just be yourself. Hold yourself to a higher standard.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? A little bit of both. Older bands are often idolized for paving the way, but 50 years from now the bands from this era are going to be looked up to the same exact way. I do gotta give them credit for making such great music without all this modern technology that we take for granted today.
What have been your biggest obstacles? We're in the middle of our biggest obstacle right now with our previous manager "Erik McKay" of "It Lies Within" and "Rebirth Management". He pocketed the money for our next batch of CD's and press releases for this tour. I think we're handling it pretty well with selling our digital album for $1 online. It's always best to try and stay positive even in the most negative of situations.
How do you get psyched for a gig? Observing the other bands pumps us up. It makes us strive to be better and go that extra mile. Once we get on stage adrenaline starts pumping and it all comes naturally.
Do you have any new material? We release our newest song "Blackened Skies" back in November and we're in the process of recording our sophmore album.
What are your web sites? todayslasttragedy.com
How can people reach you? Anyone can message us on Facebook or Twitter, or email us at [email protected].
What are your plans for the future? We are releasing our album next Fall and will be touring shortly afterwards. Record, play, tour, repeat.
Do you have something to add? Follow your dreams, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That's the key to happiness.
How is it that you started playing music? Growing up, we were always inspired by the music people were creating. I guess deep.dowm we just wanted to be a part of that.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
Vocals - T.J. Sajna (20)
Vocals - Ryan Spragen (21)
Guitar - Carmen Belperio (21)
Guitar - Brandon Feldkamp (18)
Bass - Ethan Middendorf (21)
Drums - Hunter Kohls (21)
Have you had other previous members? No. We built this band on friendships we've had since middle school.
Did you make music even when you were young? We like to think we still are young, but yes. I remember as a child there was this Disney music app on my grandparents computer that I would always make songs on. It eventually evolved into creating entire songs on Garage Band, FL Studio, and beyond.
Where are you from? We are from Cincinnati, Ohio. Otherwise known as The Queen City.
What year did the band form?In 2012 Ryan and T.J. started writing music until finalizing a lineup in 2014.
What's your style of genre? This question made us all laugh. We have a hard time answering this because we take inspiration from so many different genres. The best way we can describe it is "Progressive Deathcore" or "Post-Metalcore".
What inspires you? We try to give off good vibes with our music. The metal scene is awesome.
How often and where do you reherse? We practice one or two times a week at very inconvienient places such as Ethan's kitchen and T.J.'s basement.
How have you developed since you started with the music? For me the first few years we were new to the scene and didn't know how anything worked. We watched and learned for years while preparing to release our debut album entitled "Years" in 2016. Now we're on our first U.S. tour in 2017 and have a lot further to go.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Rough question, we just got scammed by our manager so we aren't very trusting. However, we would love to have a trustworthy booking agent. We have big plans for touring in the future.
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? As far as a label goes, we are very specific. We are willing to go DIY until we get an attractive offer from a reputable label.
What made you decide to make this music? Breakdowns. Nothing is better than a good mosh pit and a hard hitting bass drop.
What are your songs about? We try to write our lyrics about the things we all go through in life. Keep a positive outlook on things, it can't rain forever.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Ryan and T.J. create all the demos and fit the lyrics to the music. The rest of the band come in and change individual parts until the song sounds completely different than the original.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? It depends on the song, sometimes it's both at the same time. It jusrmt depends on what inspired us to write it to begin with.
Have you done any covers live? We release a Deathcore cover of a "Mac Miller" song called "Donald Trump". Which you should all check out. Every time we play this song live it gets people paying attention.
What language do you sing in? English
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? We've played to audiences of all sizes from 5 to 500.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Most people that listen to us are between ages 15 to 30.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We try to change our set up if we're playing in the same town alot. As of right now we can play every song we've released.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? Our favorite local venue is "The Thompson House" in Newport, Kentucky. We play there most of the time and it's great every time. There's never a shortage of metal shows around here.
What was your first gig like? Our first gig was at a block party. The stage was set up on top of a mountain overlooking the city. It was cool because there was an annual fireworks show that started when our set was over.
What was your latest gig? Right now we're sitting in our tour van in Rochester, NY waiting to hit the stage. Our last show was at a rave in Kittaning, PA.
Have you had to cancel a gig? Only once, we canceled a multi-genre battle of the bands because our bassist cut off his finger.
Where have you played live this year? So far in 2017 we've played Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and many more to come in the next 5 weeks!
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We want to make it to the west coast of the United States on our next tour. It would also be really cool to make it over to Europe.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We've sold merch since our first show. We started out with simple t-shirts and have expanded to CDs, stickers, posters, hats, and pins. From now until the end of tour we will be selling our album online for just $1 due to management complications. It has songs featuring the vocalists of The Browning, For All I Am, and more.
Where can people buy your merchandise? Check out our online merch store at todayslasttragedy.bigcartel.com
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Technology changes with time. I don't think there's anything wrong with downloading music, however, m you should support bands that you enjoy listening by buying their albums.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? With the advent of YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming services, finding new music is now easier than ever. Bands and record companies are taking notice of this and adapting. I think music is in a sort of state of revolution right now.
What do you think of my work? It's great that you're getting tbe word out. We appreciate you reaching out to us.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? It's not about gaining business, it's about raising awareness. Big name bands can't get away with scamming people.
Do you have any role models or people that you look up to? We have people that we like, but not really any role models. We think it's better to just be yourself. Hold yourself to a higher standard.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? A little bit of both. Older bands are often idolized for paving the way, but 50 years from now the bands from this era are going to be looked up to the same exact way. I do gotta give them credit for making such great music without all this modern technology that we take for granted today.
What have been your biggest obstacles? We're in the middle of our biggest obstacle right now with our previous manager "Erik McKay" of "It Lies Within" and "Rebirth Management". He pocketed the money for our next batch of CD's and press releases for this tour. I think we're handling it pretty well with selling our digital album for $1 online. It's always best to try and stay positive even in the most negative of situations.
How do you get psyched for a gig? Observing the other bands pumps us up. It makes us strive to be better and go that extra mile. Once we get on stage adrenaline starts pumping and it all comes naturally.
Do you have any new material? We release our newest song "Blackened Skies" back in November and we're in the process of recording our sophmore album.
What are your web sites? todayslasttragedy.com
How can people reach you? Anyone can message us on Facebook or Twitter, or email us at [email protected].
What are your plans for the future? We are releasing our album next Fall and will be touring shortly afterwards. Record, play, tour, repeat.
Do you have something to add? Follow your dreams, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That's the key to happiness.