Anyone Anyway is an Alternative/Emo Rock band with touches of Post-Rock and Post-Hardcore from Rhode Island. Mainly influenced by bands like Thrice, and Microwave, they bring out an interesting mix of emotion, heavy sounding guitars, and catchy vocals in their songs. On top of that mix, their energetic live shows match the emotion and passion behind every song, leaving viewers and listeners alike to be in touch with their feelings.

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

Nick “Nicky” McCarty: vocalist, Max Couto: drummer, Colin Peck: guitar, Nick Almeida: guitar (we’re between bass players at the moment).

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

Anyone Anyway has been a real band for 5 years now, however Nicky and Max started writing music together for fun in 2012. Nicky used to play bass for local singer songwriter, Collington, and started an indie rock band called Chasing Windmills with other friends of ours. Max has played drums in many prog rock, metal, and rock bands prior to dedicating his full time to Anyone Anyway. Colin has filled in for other bands a few times in the past and had a high school band however Anyone Anyway has been his only main project. Nick used to play with Max in an emotional hardcore band from MA called Pathfinder, and also has some small solo side projects. Overall, the band is a collection of very different musicians with very different backgrounds with varying levels of experience.

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

We’re called Anyone Anyway because we truly believe that anyone should be loved anyway they are. This is definitely something we all believe in and it shows in our lyrics and music. Nicky makes it a point to communicate this to every single crowd or group of people we play to. Many people feel unloved for being who they are in this day and age, and we take a stand against that. Anyone should be loved and accepted any way they choose to be.

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?

For the most part, Colin and Nick write songs and bring them to Max who adjusts structure slightly for rhythmic purposes. Nicky writes all lyrics and vocals which leaves bass duties to Colin and Nick. We’re currently between bassists. The main theme in our music is certainly love and the emotions surrounding love whether it’s loving yourself or someone else but I think there’s certainly room to talk about something else in our music. We’ll grow and have more to say including other topics. 

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

We’ve always been majorly influenced by three bands: Underoath, Thrice, and As Cities Burn. We also like to take inspiration from bands like Microwave, Taking Back Sunday, and heavier creative bands like Loathe and The Chariot. Post-Hardcore and mid 2000s Emo rock are at the center of what inspires us, genre-wise. The long list of bands that we love and listen to is endless.

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

When Colin was 5, his dad had showed him some Kiss songs which got him wanting to start playing guitar. Being in a band just kind of comes with the territory of being a rock guitarist but after seeing Kiss live and watching School of Rock so many times as a 7 year old, it became the dream. Anyone Anyway started out as a fun thing to do between Max and Nicky who met in middle/high school.

After having written and recorded a few songs in Max’s basement, it was decided that a guitarist was needed and Colin was found through social media and some family friends. Once the trio was established, the writing process became accelerated and a year or two later we were playing shows. It was a very slow and laborious start to a project we originally thought would never go anywhere. 

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

Nicky consistently listens to a playlist of songs to warm his vocals up, which he does with Colin before every show. Other than that, depending on the show, there’s a certain amount of mental preparation but for the most part, we perform with very little immediate preparation. We practice once a week and have done so for years so that keeps us in check.

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

The biggest highlight of the band’s career would be our collective experience in Canada. In April 2017 we went to record our latest EP in Ottawa, Ontario with Cory Bergeron of Safe To Say and through that recording experience, we’ve met so many friends. Through those friends we’ve been able to go back and play in Canada and we also shot our first music video in London, ON. If it weren’t for the seven days spent recording with Cory, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It was so much more than a recording experience.

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

We’d want to tour with our influences like Underoath, Thrice and Taking Back Sunday only because we idolize their music so much. Other than those big ones, it would be cool to tour with Microwave, Greyhaven, or Safe to Say. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Please give our new album a listen! We worked so hard for two years to self release these five songs with no help from a label, agent, or manager. It means the world to us for anyone to have any interest in what we do, so thank you!