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

  Tyson Zarria - Bass guitar, vocals 

  Ethan Schrupp - Guitar, vocals

  Kera Krause - lead vocals, electric ukulele 

  Zach Melvin - Drums

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

Currently, Ethan and Zach have a project called Hamartia and Ethan used to be in      Psychonaut. Tyson is in Southpaw Sonata as well. Before the band, Kera self produced a lot of solo music. We played our first show in October 2016, so we probably formed around August or September of that year. 

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

When we first decided to start the band, Zach and Kera got together one day and basically wrote a bunch of words they liked on sticky notes and then scattered them around. We had a few options but After Aristotle Was pretty unanimously voted the winner. Plus, the era after Aristotle is actually recognized as this historical period of enlightenment and thinking outside of the self. So it ended up having a lot of meaning and influence on our subject matter for writing. 

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

We all help write the songs. Usually someone comes up with  the main structure or an idea and then we all offer what we can and work it out. A few of our songs really  came during jam sessions when we’d have a cool idea and just record it on our phones. Generally Kera is in charge of lyrics/vocals, but we all have the chance to be as involved as we want to. Our songs focus a lot on self improvement and self awareness. We hope to grow together musically and personally, but our songs will always address the need for honesty and compassion for ourselves as well as society. 

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

The Greeting Committee, Varsity, Dinosaur Jr, Dear and the Headlights, Mom Jeans, Remo Drive, Steely Dan and toms of others. 

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

Kera: I grew up wanting to be just like Avril Lavigne, and then started getting into more emo/indie stuff like The Used and The Killers. My first concert was actually Blue October and their singer has incredible stage presence so I took a lot of inspiration from seeing them live.

Ethan: I was inspired a lot by The Offspring and Sum 41 as I was growing up and that definitely influenced my playing.

Zach:  Bands like My Chemical Romance and Green Day. Blink -182 was actually the first band I ever got into. 

Tyson: I was (still am) inspired by so many bands, but I have a vivid memory of listening to the black parade album from MCR and deciding at 11/12 that I wanted to be a bassist. 

What do you to prepare for a show? 

Kera: I always drink a ton of water and make sure I do some yoga the day of a show, plus extra stretching and breathing warm ups backstage.

Tyson: Yerba Mate, stretching, meditating and vocal warm ups. 

Ethan: I like to be relaxed as possible before playing, so I typically stretch, eat a good lunch/dinner then read a dozen pages of whatever book I’m working on before running through some guitar scales.

 Zach: We get loosey goosey.

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

Playing At Stubb’s was really exciting and we’ve also had the opportunity to play at Mohawk a few times, which is a venue we love. We also got to play with this band called One-Eyed Doll at Dirty Dog and it was a pretty good show with a pretty big, energetic crowd. That was actually Ethan’s first show with us too, so it’s pretty memorable because he became such an incredible addition to our lineup. 

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

We’d love to go on tour with The Greeting Committee, Jetty Bones, or this awesome Austin band called Kidlat. Going out or having the opportunity to play with Hikes or Mom Jeans would be incredible. In the past, we would have liked to tour with My Chemical Romance, The Replacements or A Lot Like Birds maybe. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We just spent some time in the studio recording a new record, so we’re really excited to be releasing that later this year. Blackroom Studios in Georgetown is awesome, we definitely would recommend them! For the record Zach likes his pizza with pepperoni, black olive and mushrooms. Tyson HATES black olives.