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

Drew Proto - Vocals
Angelo Graziano - Lead Guitar
Vinny Sacco - Bass
Packy Liuzzi – Drums

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

Collectively, Epoch Era is our very first and only project that we have seriously pursued. We formed in the summer of 2013, made a demo and began playing shows in our area, we went on a 2 year hiatus in 2014 after our drummer, John Liquori, suddenly passed away. Today, we all like to make other kinds of music for our own pleasure in our free time. Drew and Angelo actually love to rap and make beats. Drew and Vinny have also written other styles of indie and post-hardcore in their spare time. Pasquale, our current drummer, is also drumming for another local project here in Connecticut but collectively we prioritize our focus on Epoch Era. 

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

The name came to Angelo in a dream, he was 17 at the time and still in high school. In the dream, Angelo was on the beach when strange dark beings were flying through the sky, desperately trying to rip the moon apart. At that moment, an unknown entity turned to Angelo and said "You are now entering the Epoch Era". It’s a super-strange story but we definitely felt that after having such an insane experience and having been nameless band for months, Angelo’s dream was worthy of being the reason to call the band “Epoch Era”. 

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? 

Each of us are responsible for our own parts when writing songs. Angelo and Drew usually begin the writing process by crafting the guitar and vocal melody. We like to be very honest when writing. We like to write music that genuinely represents how we are feeling at the time the song is written. We like our themes to be ambiguous enough for them to apply to both ourselves and our listeners. We spend a lot of time making sure that our lyrics accurately represent a specific time and emotion that is significant to us during the time of a songs creation. I can’t foresee the content of our future lyrics, but as I said earlier Drew tends to focus more on writing lyrics that are genuine to him during the time the song is written.

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

We all listen to such diverse genres of music. We love rap, hardcore, emo, punk, indie, metal, the list goes on and on. As for the bands that are currently influencing us, we collectively draw from AFI but have also been listening to Touche Amore, Code Orange, Pianos Become the Teeth, Balance and Composure, Acres and Defeater… This list can probably go on for pages. 

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

Plain and simple….A.F.I.

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

Hmm, well Pasquale usually likes to flex in the mirror before our shows, but other than that we tend to keep it simple, rehearse, pack the van, stretch our bodies, practice our dance moves, wrap Angelo's Marshall in bubble wrap, etc. 

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

I think the biggest highlight of our journey so far has been giving the band a second-go. After john passed away in 2014 we didn’t think we would continue. So making it out of that lull period and starting from the ground up again has been the most challenging yet strengthening process for us thus far.

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

A.F. fucking I. Artistically, this band means everything to us and as we said earlier they inspired us to make music in the first place. Other than that we would love to tour in the future with Touché Amore. They have been super influential to us as a band. Other than that it would be really cool to do a tour with Code Orange someday. Drew is dying to meet the love of his life, Reba Meyers.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes, to anyone who has listened to our music, been to shows, or even just read this interview…thank you for caring