Unsigned Spotlight: Years Down
Denver, Colorado quintet Years Down have emerged from the pandemic wielding an energy that they want their fans to harness.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Griffin Mather - Vocals
Dylan Beresford - Guitar
Rob Cornell - Guitar
Sterling Swanson - Bass
Ben Gonzalez - Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Years Down? How long has the band been around?
Griffin: Years Down is actually my first real band, I had been jamming with a couple guys before but it never really formed up into anything serious. As far as the band's history is concerned it was started up in 2019, by Ben, myself and a few other dudes that are no longer a part of the band (some who are missed and others definitely not so much).
After releasing “better off” and right before the band was set to do our first ever tour, we ran into the usual litany of band hiccups unsupportive partners/spouses, substance abuse issues, problems with work ethic, etc which resulted in two of the founding members quitting/being kick out.
It was during that Hail Mary scramble I found Dylan and Sterling, both the boys vibes were phenomenal and they ended up being a perfect fit. Rob was the last and newest addition to the line up joining up spring/summer of ‘21, truly help us round out the gang and firmly establish our sound.
Dylan: I have been playing in bands since high school. Hilariously, we started out as a Blink-182 cover band. Eventually we started writing our own stuff, and we won battle of the bands which was pretty sweet. I also released a solo post-rock album back in 2020.
Sterling: I studied trombone all throughout middle and high school as well as majored in it through college and played jazz/classical academically but starting a gigging ska band in college is what really sparked my flame for performing. I’ve played in countless ska/pop/brass bands since (most of which are long dead now) but continue to play trombone in a ska band out of Fort Collins comically named The Swashbuckling Doctors for the last 5+ years. I picked up bass in college for fun and played in a few punk bands but didn’t really get serious until a few years ago during COVID.
Rob: I was in a band in Virginia called Boxford. We actually got to play our local date of the last Warped Tour in 2018 which was an awesome experience.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Griffin: the name has always sorta stuck, it was originally Bens idea. I believe his intention was to convey this sorta expression of melancholic optimism, like yes we are all a little older but that doesnt mean our ending is written in stone.
Dylan: I like to think of it as it alluding to being depressed or struggling with mental health for years, we’ve been down, but hey, we’re still here and that’s something. A lot of our music centers around mental health struggles so I think it fits.
Sterling: I had no part in naming the band but I think that we all kind of formed our own thoughts on the meaning behind it. For me, it means putting the work in, however long it takes, to get where we want to be musically. I know we all aspire to make this our career and are willing to work hard to make that dream become reality.
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?
Griffin: Instrumentals are usually handled by either Rob or Dylan with ben, sterling or myself adding our opinions and flourish here and there. Most of the lyrics for current/newest songs are entirely handled by me, with some of the older tracks being more of a collaborative effort between ben and myself because I was (and still am) very unsure and self-conscious about what I write, this all still feels very raw, exposing and new for me. So that being said lyrical content can be all over the place, some songs might be an amalgamation of several different life experiences or emotions.
But overall my wheelhouse is mostly thematically negative (depression, Suicide, anxiety, etc), unfortunately, I regularly struggled with a cocktail of mental illnesses since I was a kid (and still do) so I’ve got about two plus decades' worth of mental trauma to work through haha, so can’t really say if our subject matter will change anytime soon…hopefully, eventually though… it would be so cool to write a happy or love song.
Sterling: It depends. We have music coming from almost everyone. Most of the time we will have a full song outline written by any one of the instrumentalists and brought to practice. Everyone takes a listen and will kind of add their own flair to it. Griff will then write some catchy melody for his lyrics to be put to.
We have also had lyrics written by Dylan or Ben and Griff toys with those as needed. As mentioned previously, we tend to focus on the mental health aspect of life. We are a self-proclaimed “sad boy band” that likes to channel that into thought-provoking lyrics and heavy-feeling breakdowns.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Griffin: I’ve been bumping a pretty eclectic variety of genres (I mainly fuck with Midwest emo, post hardcore, emo, easycore, pop punk) and a mixture of super new bands, like three singles or less, and more established ones sooooo; Belmont, four year strong, alpine loop, bury Mia, Krustsox, Arcadia grey, hot mully, stand Atlantic, meet me @ the alter, new found glory, the story so far, action/adventure, microwave, wastebasket, goalkeeper, driveways, mom jeans, vrsty
Dylan: Belmont fs, the wonder years, knuckle puck, movements, hot mulligan, pretty much all of the new gen and early 00s pop punk.
Rob: in her own words, the wonder years, tssf, Belmont, state champs, neck deep, nothing nowhere, arms length, Sadeyes, days to waste.
Sterling: It’s really cool because we’re all fans of pop punk music, but each of us learns toward a facet within the genre. Dylan is a big fan of Belmont, and they’re a big influence on his writing style. He likes how they put a more technical spin on pop punk. Rob is a big Four Year Strong guy, he even has the beard to match it. He’s a fan of the intricate rhythms they use. In addition to his Ska roots, Sterling also loves the skate punk side of music coming from bands like NOFX and old blink-182.
Ben: Metallica, Disturbed, Green day, Rise Against, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mozart
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Griffin: for me it was actually three music videos because the middle of nowhere town I grew up in didn’t really ever have live music, I saw the new found glory “my friends over your”, fall out boy “dead on arrival” (the live/tour footage version), good Charlotte “the anthem”, from the music to the atmosphere, I was instantly hooked, and knew exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I actually didn’t get to go see my first real concert until I was about 17? Which was adtr, under oath, the word alive and close your eyes at hanger 5 in Louisville ky, SUCH AN AWESOME FIRST SHOW.
Sterling: I’ve seen Streetlight Manifesto countless times live but the first time I experienced their live show at Ogden Theatre in Denver and saw what their music did for people of all types, I knew I wanted to do the same.
Rob: I wanted to be just like my big brother when I was younger and the first show I went to was Thursday, Thrice and Coheed. Him and his friends would play covers from Thursday and it made me want to be a musician watching them practice at our house.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …
Griffin: I feel like if I had started doing this early twenties there would be pretty much no prep but at this point preparing for a show is it’s whole own process lmao. I’m usually hydrating like crazy the day before and day of, doing few vocal warm ups throughout the day, take some slippery elm lozenges, do a few easy stretches and then it’s time to head up.
Sterling; Well Griffin has a ritual that he performs before every show. We’re pretty damn active on stage, and Dylan and Griff have a thing for jumping off the stage despite the fact that we never stretch beforehand. Considering we’re all 30 or older, maybe we SHOULD start stretching…
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Griffin: tough call, all of this has been a movie, s2g. I legit had pretty much given up the dream of playing music, in any sort of capacity, a while ago. It honestly felt so out of reach and I didn’t even know where to start. So; from people responding so well to “better off” (first thing I’d ever written and published) to the two tours over the past two yrs, all the way to earlier last summer when we opened for adtr/the maine/Jimmy eat world/girlfriends, everything has been staggering and exhilarating.
But if I was to pick a most recent milestone it’s a tie between having steel city studios, the same studio bmth produced and record “sempiternal”, reach out to us to do a track and having Casey of the wonder years follow our ig account.
Sterling: Although the two tours we’ve had definitely made it onto this list, we’d have to say the biggest highlight so far was our opening at Fiddler’s Green for Channel 93.3’s Big Gig. One of our singles, Better Off, won a contest and scored us that spot. It was a B stage, to be fair, but it was awesome because some of the artists performing Big Gig that day were Jimmy Eat World, A Day To Remember, The Maine, Silversun Pickups, and girlfriends. We also played with a few other great local bands. It was a day to remember.. See what I did there?
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Griffin: I mean obvi hitting the road with nfg, fob or good Charlotte would be a fuckin dream seeing as their material is sorta what set me on this path. It would also be legit af to tour with adtr or neck deep or state champs, tbh working with any of my hero’s and influencers would be beyond cool. So much of my life has been shaped and soundtracked by this music it would just be incredibly surreal to meet the artists that were behind that.
Dylan: Belmont.. If you’re listening.. Kidding, sort of, but I would love to tour with them. They’re a big influence and have been my favorite for awhile, plus they just look like a lot of fun.
Sterling: Probably Neck Deep. I love the meanings behind their songs, and their stuff is all so catchy. Plus they seem like really rad dudes.
Rob: The Wonder Years!! They are my favorite band hands down and I even have a hank the pigeon tattoo.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Dylan: Yes! Thanks so much for the interview, we appreciate it. Our debut EP is coming out in the next few months, and we’re really excited to share it with everyone. Follow us on Spotify so you’re notified when it drops!