AWmusic

Anyway, I wrote these questions from 3-4 AM on Thursday. Maybe not the best questions but Anthem In (they didn’t mind my dumb qs I guess lol) was nice enough to be prompt and overall they seem to be awesome.

They have a CD release party on June 20th with Baby Teardrops and Daniel Maher at the Galapagos in Williamsburg. Here’s what Ashley Proffitt said of the show:

It’s an early show (doors are at 7:00), and we go on at 9:15. We have a few things planned for the show to make it a very memorable night. Also after the show we are having an after-party at Supreme Trading (also in Williamsburg), where Paul and I will be DJing. It should be a very fun night!

Also look out for exclusives on their music video for “Down” on Loudersoft and on this site. I’m excited!

Without any further rambling here is the Q&A:

I recently saw a MySpace bulletin with your band looking for a lead guitarist, how did that search go? (I just noticed a change in the lineup)

Ashley: It went so well. Rob was the very first person we saw! The day Allen made the post about our search, we met Rob at Max Fish for a beer. He’s an amazing guitarist and the best guy ever, so we just fell in love with him.

What were the circumstances around Matt Dunehoo leaving the band?
Ashley: Matthew has his own band called Baby Teardrops. He actually came to be our guitar player in the first place because Allen and I saw his band and thought he was great. Baby Teardrops’ debut album has just come out, so with both bands needing to spend a great deal of time on their own thing, it would have been too much to ask Matthew to continue on with us.

Allen: Matthew is an amazing guitarist and we consider Baby Teardrops our sister band. They’re actually playing with us next week at our CD release party.

Is it weird for the new guitarist (Rob) to join a band with an album already recorded?
Ashley: I don’t think so. Allen did all of the guitar work on the album before Matthew was in the band. So really it’s the same for Rob as it was for Matthew.

How are you feeling for the upcoming release of your record? Excited? Scared? Anxious? All three?

Ashley: We are so excited! This album has been a labor of love and the release is the beginning of a new chapter for us. Allen started making this record a year and a half ago, and the life of the band so far has been very private. Now we are ready for people to hear what we’ve been up to for all this time.

Allen: So far it’s been well received, so that’s really exciting for me.

What expectations do you have for Anthem In?

Ashley: We hope people like the music and we are looking forward to doing a tour in the fall and making some new friends!

Allen: We’ve really been focused on the album release and playing shows in New York up to this point. But we’ll definitely be heading out to tour this fall. That’s going to be our main focus over the next year. We’ll see where it goes from there.

What are some of your hobbies?
Ashley: Allen got a Wii for Christmas, and that has pretty much replaced all hobbies, but I write a column for a music magazine and I paint. We also have a ghost dog that we talk to a lot. His name is Pele.

Allen: I love to cook, that’s probably one of my biggest hobbies. Other than that, Wii Bowling, Guitar Hero and ordering pizza to an excessive degree.

Ashley, how does it feel to be the only female in the band?

Ashley: It’s the best! It’s kind of like having 4 brothers. I love them all so much. Besides, it only takes one girl to balance out four boys.

Both your website and Will Joines’s has a note that you’ve been working on a music video for “Down”. When can we expect that video to be finalized?

Allen: Actually it will be finished this week. Will is an amazing director. We fell in love with the video that he did for Tycho and approached him about directing the video for Down. It was a lot of fun, but an incredibly demanding shoot that was packed into two very full days. It’s going to be a really bright, fun video. Will did an amazing job.

Your biography makes your band sound like it came together both by chance and from all over the place, how is the chemistry between band members?

Allen: There was definitely some chance involved. Ashley and I met 8 years ago in Atlanta and then re-connected in New York last year. Since then everything has totally fallen into place. It’s been quite amazing. The band chemistry is great. We’re all really good friends and I think that shows when you see us together.

Ashley: I would say it was more kismet than chance.

Before partaking a career in music, what were you doing beforehand?

Allen: I’m a graphic designer. It’s been a lot of fun working on design for Anthem In.

Ashley: Actually Allen, Paul and I are all graphic designers.

What made you decide that being a musician was the right thing to do?

Allen: It’s always been something that I’ve done, and now is the perfect time in my life to make it my priority. It’s been a great emotional release. I needed that.

Ashley: We’ve all been playing music forever.

Sorry…can’t provide an mp3 on a bad computer and providing 4 on the review…seems like more then enough.