All For Nothing are a pop punk band from Macon, GA. They recently caught my eye when they opened for Chiodos and covered A Day to Remember's "Right Back At It Again". I'd figured I'd relaunch this feature and put them in the Unsigned Spotlight.
RIYL (Recommended if you like): ADTR, New Found Glory, easycore
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Jeffrey-lead vocals, bass guitar
Richard-lead guitar, backing vocals
Keli-rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Bradley-drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to All For Nothing? How long has the band been around?
This is actually my first band. I think the only one of us who played in a band before All For Nothing was Keli, who was in a band called Barely Hanging On. I knew Bradley from high school and we met Richard and just kind of clicked from day one. That was back in the summer of 2010 when we got started. We played as a three piece for years, and just added Keli about a year ago.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
It's kind of a weird story. We had gone through tons of potential band names when we were getting started, and one night Bradley and I were playing Xbox with our friend Troy, who mentioned that all of this effort coming up with a band name was all for nothing. It just kind of stuck.
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?
I normally write all of the lyrics, and the music is always a group effort. Most of the time, Richard will have a guitar part written and a general idea for what the other instruments will be doing, and we'll all put our own spin on our individual parts.
As far as themes go, we just try to keep it real. I write about real-life situations and try to be as sincere as possible. I write a lot about girls haha. Girls, being in a band, and being a screwup. Those are probably the most common themes in our songs.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Personally, I've been really inspired by more aggressive music lately. Our roots are really in the poppier side of pop-punk, but we love breakdowns, and I think our music in general has been getting faster and harder lately. I've been listening to a lot of ADTR, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, and City Lights, but also a ton of The Story So Far and Neck Deep. I like to think we blend a lot of different influences into something unique and interesting.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Our drummer Bradley and I went to see Fall Out Boy on their last pre-hiatus headliner, and literally the day after the show I think we decided that we wanted to start a band. It took a while to figure out the logistics of it, but that was what started it all. we actually reference that show in the last track on our new album.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
I think we all have our own thing that we do. I personally never like to eat before a show. I only drink water, and try not to use my voice too much. Other than that, I think we all stretch a little, but that's about it. Nothing too crazy
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened on stage during one of your shows?
I don't know if anything extremely crazy has happened, but one time we played a show with Blood On the Dance Floor (how very pop-punk of us) and before we could even finish sound checking, people were yelling at us to take our pants off. It happened a few more times and we just thought it was hilarious. They yelled the same thing to Dahvie while BOTDF was playing, and he actually did it so that was fun haha
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
That's a tough question. The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy for us. Last week we opened for Chiodos, and that was the biggest crowd we've ever had. Then just a couple of days ago, we played a show in Lawrenceville where the crowd was absolutely bonkers. People were right in our faces the whole time, yelling the words to all of our songs. The craziness of those two shows paired with the fact that our new album should be coming out any day now (hopefully sooner rather than later) is awesome. I think we're the best we've ever been right now and there's nowhere to go but up.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
There are so many bands we'd love to tour with, but if I had to narrow it down, I'd probably say All Time Low, ADTR, and The Story so Far. All Time Low because they've been my favorite band for years now, and they were on that Fall Out Boy show that really inspired us to start a band. A Day To Remember because it would be huge and I just think we'd fit right in with them. And The Story So Far because they're one of my favorite bands and their crowds are just wild. Nothing makes me happier than a crazy show.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I just want to let everyone know that despite countless delays which were entirely out of our control, our new album IS a thing. It's called "When Never Becomes Now" for those who don't know, and as soon as we get some minor details worked out, it will be on Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify, and all the other places people go to download music. We'll also have physical copies printed and available at every show, along with some new merch! You're gonna hear a lot more from us in the new year.
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