Past Tense of Never is a postprog industrial band from Greensboro, NC.

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

Courtney McMillan - vocals/strings ,Steven Meyers - guitar/soundscaper, Roger Whiston - bass, LC Fox - drums, vocals

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Past Tense of Never? How long has the band been around?

LC: I played guitar in Blackwater Drowning for a few months. Love those guys and gals to death.

Steven: I performed with Jessica is dangerous (vocals), Zincpitchnine (solo), Walter Prez & The Awesome (guitar) and Jesusweedcakes (vocals).

Courtney: I was lead singer for a hard rock cover band called Silex Asylum.

Roger: I played bass for Melancholy, Daze Dramatic Station Band and Seconds From Damnation.

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

Steven: I was approached by an Herbalife salesman who wanted me to join his pyramid scheme. Since I’ve watched John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight special on multilevel marketing, and plus I believe Herbalife is horrible, I said no thanks. His next remark was, well how could you not sign up today, it’s your future in the balance. I replied, I can put you in the past, the past tense of never. He just kinda stood there because it didn’t make sense to him. I don’t really know if it made sense to me, but it came out, and he walked away without a sale. I ended up writing that down and using it as the band name among other choices.

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?

LC: It's a largely collaborative effort; no single person is in charge of writing an entire song. We all do our part to contribute and the influence from all four of us is what truly brings the PTON sound.

Courtney: We all contribute. I mainly write lyrics, melody and harmony vocals, however each band mate writes their part.

LC: We tend to write on topics that are personal or poignant to us, from alcoholism to politics to relationship troubles. The themes are perpetually changing from song to song, so they will certainly continue to change over time.

Steven: All of us have experienced life in a manner that I think Christopher Titus, the comedian, who I absolutely adore. Follow him @TitusNation. I believe it was something like you have life, tragedy, life, tragedy, life, tragedy, death. I believe that it is our responsibility to help as musicians put those life experience and tragedies into a serious disturbance in air pressure caused by vibrations.

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

LC: I’m most heavily inspired by punk rock; my all time favorite band is Rise Against and they’re one of the bands who inspired me to write music in the first place, so I certainly emulate their style when I write. The time I spent in Blackwater Drowning was also a massive inspiration - I learned so much from Jeremy in a short time - and they heavily influenced the guitars I wrote for Searching For Extinction. Really any band that combines heavy and melodic can be considered an inspiration in my book.
Courtney: My love for music actually came from my parents. Both of them being musicians when they were younger really encouraged me creatively. Their love for music floated over into me. I got lost in lyrics and how they related to my life or life story. I wanted to write music that could potentially give someone what I received from music as a child.
Roger: Early on I got heavily into Primus and Megadeth. A few of the local bands in my area also set the bar pretty high. Chris Hathcock’s The Reticent and Undrask.
Steven: When I was nine years old, my church sent me to a sex education camp for kids. In no way shape or form am I making this up. My first experience there was an odd one, not even five minutes off of the bus, a girl named Katie walked up to me and licked my face. I had no idea what the hell she had just done, but I thought it was pretty awesome.
I had a Faith No More cassette tape, it was their third album, The Real Thing, Second with Mike Patton as vocalist. The tape stayed glued inside a Kool-Aid man Sony Walkman. A pastor named Greg Jenks caught me listening to the music, and took the Walkman from me to see what the tape was. When he saw it, I got a big lecture about Jesus. But after that, it was all about rock ‘n’ roll.
The biggest influence would have to be Faith No More. It was the first band that ever changed my life in such a manner where I felt that melodies would allow expression of emotion. Realizing that as such a young age brought me to the conclusion that there is no other band that could be my top influence.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
LC: I picked up a guitar and started writing music when I was about 15; my favorite bands throughout high school were Rise Against and Alexisonfire, and both bands definitely inspired me to start.

What do you to to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc.

LC: I do some light yoga - specifically a few sun salutations - to warm up my mind and body. I also make sure to stretch my legs, back, and arms. Vocal warmups in the car on the way to a show are absolutely key as well.

Roger: I have a series of stretches that I will do before the show. I also really enjoy listening to Parliament, Standing on the Verge is fucking awesome!!
Courtney: I drink a lot of water during the day and try not to over eat. I start to pace a lot before I go on to walk off my nervous energy.

Steven: That... that’s bait, haha. Instead let me tell you this. I think what gave me the courage to get on stage first was watching Nine Inch Nails perform on a VHS copy of Woodstock 94. The mud fights, the trashing of the instruments, how bad ass everything was, how much everybody in the crowd loved it, and the amazing brilliant music, all of it set the course for what I love within music today.

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

LC: Musically, the song I wrote for the band titled One for All. It was our first single that garnered a lot of success and has been a staple of our set. As far as shows go, the one we played last year with Al1CE and 11 Echoes was one of the most beautiful nights of my life.
Courtney: Having Matt McJunkins of A Perfect Circle and Poppy be a featured bassist on one of our 2020 upcoming releases. Following our Spotify would be the best idea so when it comes up in your Release Radar, you’ll see it right away.

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

LC: I love the idea of touring with bands who are not only huge influences, but are also friends. A tour with A Light Divided and wolves&wolves&wolves&wolves would be incredible. I love both bands as musicians and as people. An absolute dream come true would be to tour with La Dispute; words cannot express how much that band means to me. I could write a dissertation on how important they are and it wouldn't be enough.
Steven: Hands down it would be Faith No More, and my dear friends AL1CE, Brighter Than 1000 Suns, Venus Invictus, September Mourning and Stray Volts.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

LC: All I would like to say is keep an eye and an ear out for what we do in the future. We are constantly growing and evolving as a band, and I'm excited for what we will be able to bring to our listeners. I love and appreciate every one of y'all who have taken the time to give us a listen and I hope our future work is as exciting to you all as it is to us.

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/34RToLm
Apple Music: https://apple.co/2XWFBSh

Social Media Links:

Facebook: http://fb.me/pastttenseofnever

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ptonofficial

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ptonofficial

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3aosuvJ