Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Jon Benjamin - Vocals

Chris Petrof - Guitar/Vocals

Kyle Whittaker - Guitar

Nick Chiudioni - Drums

Seth Holt - Bass

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to A Sense of Purpose? How long has the band been around?

Seth: Chris, Jon, and Kyle are the original, founding members of A Sense of Purpose. Prior to joining ASOP, Nick and I were seeking a band to play in, and neither of us had significant experience playing with a full band. I had a brief stint playing guitar in a melodic death metal band called Esther Hale from Wellsville, Ohio years before joining ASOP – quite the contrast from what I am now a part of, musically.

Chris: ASOP was first formed in 2013, but we weren’t able to play shows until 2015 when we found Nick and Seth. Before that, Jon, Kyle, myself, and Tyler Valendza (ex-Red Sun Rising, guitar) recorded and self-produced our first EP Become One in 2014.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Kyle: The band name is a lyric in one of our songs off our first EP called “Of Faults and Failures” and was originally the name of that song as well - when we were trying to decide what to name the band that was one of the lines that resonated with us the most and we decided to adopt it as the band name.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Chris: The main lyrical themes of the new EP tend to revolve around depression and anxiety, but also putting a positive spin on those feelings with ideas of self-empowerment, and also addressing our generation's overall apathy.

Seth: Lyrics I’ve been writing for future material tend to focus on the concept of existentialism, and how people develop anxiety over their lack of definite meaning in life rather than feeling empowered.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Chris: Collectively we draw from a lot of different influences, but I’ve always been inspired by Periphery, and most recently Erra and their new album.

Seth: My most recent inspirations have been After the Burial and Opeth.

Jon: For my vocals, I take a lot of inspiration from Architects and Silent Planet.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Seth: A real sick Smash Mouth concert.

Chris: Honestly? Seeing Bullet For My Valentine when I was like 14, and seeing hundreds of people go crazy for one band. That and School of Rock.

Nick: The band that made me want to be in a band is Linkin Park - I was in first grade when I heard their album Hybrid Theory and it was my first exposure to what was modern day "rock." Even though I wasn't a musician at the time I still always dreamed of being in a band ever since.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …

Kyle: Shots of fireball. We’re a classy band.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Nick: Honestly all of this is a highlight for me, I've never been in a band that's done this much, and I feel like we're going to keep doing bigger and bigger things so I'm just excited for it all. Also I've gotten like, 20 friend requests on Facebook because of this band so I'm basically a celebrity now.

Chris: Yeah, I would have to say everything related to making this EP happen, from writing it to the actual recording process.

Kyle: For me it would be the shows that we have been a part of, from playing a date on the Texas In July farewell tour, to an intimate small venue with Silent Planet.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Seth:  Right now, Silent Planet again- after watching them play live, I became immersed in the atmosphere and mood that their performance and presence creates - I'd like to be a part of that every night on tour.

Nick: I would want to tour with Underoath because from middle school through high school they were my favorite band, I was obsessed with them. And after seeing their live performance I think every show with them would be packed, the exposure would be huge.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Kyle: Just that we’re really excited to debut our new EP Zoetic on May 6th and to play our EP Release Show on May 7th, and for all the opportunities that will bring us. We’re looking forward already to some pretty crazy shows we’ve booked for this summer and we can’t wait to finally get to play out of state to some wider regional audience. And thanks for having us do this interview!