H E R E A F T E R
This interview was conducted with Justin, Sticky, and Sean of the St. Louis Hardcore band HEREAFTER by Tom Undermine via E Mail. Unfortunately, the band has since broken up, but Justin is now in another great hardcore band called
WAVING NOT DROWNING.
Anyway here's what was said....

TX: When did the band first come together and who are the original members?
STICKY: We're all original members. We first got together in 1995.
JUSTIN: Our members are Todd Finoch (vocals/guitar), Sean Drummond (drums/vocals), Sticky (bass), and I (Justin Mank) play guitar.

TX: How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn't heard you yet?
STICKY: Rock and Fuck'n Roll!
SEAN: Crazy.
JUSTIN: We're a cross between Hardcore, Emo, and Metal.

TX: Is there much of a Hardcore or Punk scene in your area?
JUSTIN: There is to an extent, but there is no "True" Hardcore scene in St. Louis. It's starting to grow. Who knows, it might be really cool out here in a year or two, but it pretty much bites right now.
STICKY: Hell no, but people think there is.
SEAN: Fuck no.

TX: Are there any socio political topics that you guys feel strongly about, or claim allegience to?
STICKY: We're not straightedge or vegan if that is what you mean. We try to stay as far away from hypocracy as possible.
JUSTIN: There are certain things we feel strongly about as an indivual, but we don't try to let that get wrapped up into our music.
SEAN: Yes, but I choose not to express them in our music.

TX: What types of topics do your lyrics discuss? Personal, Political...
STICKY: Sean, Todd, and I all write our lyrics. The things I write about deal with me or personal things going on around me like friends and personal issues. I stay away from political stuff. We all know that we're screwed.
SEAN: Most of my lyrics are based around personal issues.

TX: Any plans to tour this summer?
STICKY: Not really. Although I'd love to.
JUSTIN: We can't really afford to at the moment. I'm hoping that we can tour next summer. We now have enough contacts in the Midwest and East Coast that we could probably set up a tour. We might play a few shows this summer in places like Louisville, Kansas City, and Chicago, but nothing is for sure yet.

TX: What has the response been like to your past releases, demos CD's, 7"s and stuff?
JUSTIN: We haven't received really great responses from our older stuff, but our newer stuff seems to be going over really well. Our past releases really don't represent the band that we are now. We put a lot more time into writing songs now. Our true sound is captured in our new material. We haven't recorded much of the new stuff yet, but we should get around to recording again later on this year.
STICKY: We were pretty generic garagey sounding at first, then we dabbled in the more alternative punky bullshit for a while. When our next album comes out, that is truly our sound.

TX: Have you been in contact with any labels about releasing anything in the near future?
STICKY: Not really. We should probably do that before we get too old.
JUSTIN: Nope. We've just been releasing stuff on our own. We might look into some independent labels later on this year, but nothing for now.

TX: What was the best show you guys ever played?
STICKY: Probably our tape release show. The whole place was rockin' out.
JUSTIN: I'd have to agree with Sticky on that question. That was the release party for our tape "Somebody Screwed Up." The tape pretty much sucks, but the show kicked ass.

TX: Any comments on the state of the current DIY scene? Any bands that you think are deserving of honorable mention as of late?
STICKY: I wouldn't know much about the DIY scene because it is nothing like that out here. For me, Boy Sets Fire is a band that deserves a gold metal.
JUSTIN: DIY scene out here is kind of lame. A lot of the kids out here have attitudes. The bands out here worry too much about competing with other bands instead of building the scene together. I can't really think of any bands to mention off hand. I'm really into bands like Snapcase, Coalesce, and Enkindel. Those are some bands that I know have worked really hard to get where they are today.

TX: What's on the horizon for HEREAFTER? What are your Short Term Goals as a band?
JUSTIN: We're just mainly concentrating on writing new material and playing shows in the St. Louis area. Hopefully, we'll get around to recording again this year. I'd also really like to release a 7" sometime soon. Who knows, we have been considering doing a split 7" with a band from the Boston area, but nothing is set right now. Our next goal will be to play some shows outside of the St. Louis area.
SEAN: Touring and talking to some labels.
STICKY: I want to get the hell away from St. Louis and play shows with cool bands and in front of a lot of open minded individuals who know how to rock. That's about it for me.


HEREAFTER/ WAVING NOT DROWNING
1109 Madison
St. Charles, MO 63301
(314) 949-9840


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