I had a catch up with Surviving December where we talked about their upcoming album, song writing, signing with Regent Street Records and what they are up to in 2021.
Hi, hope you're doing well, how has your day been?
We are really good thank you! We have had a busy day of writing lyrics for the last track on the album.
How did you all come about to form Surviving December?
Surviving December used to be a band 15-16 years ago which included Mark, Jason and Chris. Unfortunately life got in the way and the band went on hiatus. During the first lockdown, whilst looking for a release from boredom, Mark bought an interface and started to record the old songs. He then shared the demos with Chris and Jason and a few other people including Gemma and Tom, who were fans of the band when they first started out. Gemma and Tom both wanted to join the project. And here we are!
I got a chance to listen to your latest single 'Again' and I must say I really enjoyed it. What was the inspiration behind it?
It has its roots in a song written 16 years ago which told the story of a repetitive argument. Mark liked it so much (the chord progression, the melody and the repetitiveness) that he decided to change the lyrics so that it suited our new album, The Narrative.
Out of all the singles you've released so far which would you say is your favourite?
Falling Apart. Simply because it is so relatable to everyone's situation right now in relation to the year from hell (Covid!). We love the drums, the riffs and think our producer, Josh Norton-Cox has done an amazing job on it. Also, if that song didn't exist we may not be as together as we are now! It is the first song our label, Regent Street Records, heard when it was played on Alyx Plays Punk radio show.
I saw that you guys recently signed with Regent Street Records, congratulations! How are you feeling about it?
Yes! We are so excited about it. We honestly weren't expecting it as it came out of nowhere! When we started recording the songs it was just kind of a bit of fun, a hobby! But then people started hearing our music and we started to grow. As I said earlier, Regent Street heard us on Alyx Plays Punk and they got in contact with us. Apparently it is not very common for this to happen, which is what makes it even more exciting!
Do you think it will be easier to get your music out there with the help of a label?
Yes. Regent Street know a lot of people in the industry and have a lot of connections. They also have a strong publishing arm to their company. They can definitely open doors for us that we would find hard to do on our own.
Now I've some more fun questions, if you could tour with any other artist who would you choose?
Oh definitely New Found Glory!
Out of the band who would be the last man standing in a horror movie?
Mark. Because no-one would want to go near him! Joking, we love him really!!
If you could've written any song what do you wish you had written?
That's a hard one. We are confident on our originality. We just want to write for us and not be in anyone else's shadow.
In your music I can definitely hear the nostalgic 2000's pop punk vibe, is this the type of sound you want to make with Surviving December?
Yes, definitely. We take a lot of influences from Blink 182, The Ataris and New Found Glory. However, when it comes to the album there are also influences from the 1970s - Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits.
Following on from the last question, do you find that you listen to a lot of music from that era and does it influence your music?
Yes, but we are not stuck there. We all have an eclectic taste in music which centres around the nostalgic 2000's pop punk vibe.
Can you tell us anything about what we can expect from Surviving December for the rest of 2021?
We are releasing our first album in the early Summer of this year, which will be released through our label. We are very excited about this as there will be a few songs on there that you wont have heard yet. We are headlining YDN Radio Brightons event at the Green Door Store in Brighton on 18 July which will be our first official gig with this line up! We are so thankful and appreciative that we can be a part of it. Then early next year we will be releasing an EP.
Before we finish up, I have a quick few this or that questions
Cooking at home or eating out?
Cooking at home
Concert or festival?
Festival
Winter or Summer?
Summer
Thank you very much for agreeing to do this. Is there anything you would like to add for the readers?
As mentioned earlier we are releasing our album early this Summer called The Narrative. It will follow a character on a journey where they decide what they want from life. We just want to say a massive thank you for everyone's support through our journey so far! We are pretty wide spread across the country so being able to write this album, record it and get it out there is quite a big accomplishment. Now that restrictions for Covid are being lifted we are able to meet up more regularly which is going to make it so much easier for us to create new music! We are looking forward to what the future holds for us as a band.
Interview by Kayleigh McKenzie
Check out Surviving December's latest single 'Again' HERE
Find Surviving December on social media