Galaxy Magazine May 2019: Stand Atlantic

May 2019

★ Waterparks ★ ONE OK ROCK ★ Bad Suns ★ Johnny Marr

★ Interview with Grayscale ★ Julia Michaels ★ SWMRS ★ The Maine + more!

Galaxy Magazine We're all stars that make up the galaxy

Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic by Yising Kao

Welcome to our May issue and thank you for your support! We believe in authenticity and expressing our passions, and we support all types of artists. Everyone shines uniquely in their own way. We hope you enjoy our magazine!

Executive Editor: Yising Kao Executive Editor: Photographers: Yising Kao, Sean Gardner, Caitlin Meaney, Lizzie Clark, Photographers: Sarah Rodriguez, Natalie Sparaccio, Chels Harrison Writers/Contributors: Sean Gardner, Yara Al-badri, Yising Kao, Kelsey Writers/Contributors: Hyde, Lizzie Clark, Kayla Ayala Outside Cover: Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic by Yising Kao, Graphics Outside Cover:

by Estefany Gallegos Inside Cover: David Potter of Stand Atlantic by Yising Kao, Cole Becker Inside Cover: of SWMRS by Sean Gardner Table of Contents: Collin Walsh of Grayscale by Caitlin Meaney Table of Contents:

Stay updated with us! www.galaxy-mag.com Twitter: @galaxy_mag Twitter: Instagram: @galaxymag Instagram:

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Table of Contents

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3 Playlist: WHAT TIME IS IT?? SUMMERTIME!!!!

3 4 Concert Review: SWMRS 4 6 Concert Review: Johnny Mar 6 8 Concert Review: Waterparks on ONE OK ROCK's Eye Of The 8 Storm Tour 10 Concert Review: ONE OK ROCK's Eye Of The Storm Tour 10 12 Julia Michaels: Changing the World One Lyric at a Time 12 14 A Day in the Life of Kelsey: The Maine's Album Release Show 14 18 Interview: Andrew Kyne of Grayscale 18 22 Artist Spotlight: Avery Kitchen 22 24 COVER Interview: Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic 24 28 Posters: Stand Atlantic 28 30-48 Concert Photos: Grayscale, State Champs, SWMRS, 30-48 Movements, Johnny Mar, Bad Suns, Against The Current, Chapel, Now Now, Daddy Issues, Foxing, The Maine, Julia Michaels, Waterparks, Stand Atlantic, ONE OK ROCK, Max Frost, Carlie Hanson

Playlist: WHAT TIME IS IT??

SUMMERTIME!!!!

by Kelsey Hyde & Yising Kao

★ Neon Summer by Twin XL ★ Spinning by With Confidence ★ Living Louder by The Cab ★ okay by LANY ★ Treacherous Doctor by Wallows ★ Simple Romance by COIN ★ Like We Did [Windowns Down] by The Maine ★ ME! by Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie ★ A Violet Ending by First and Forever ★ Lavender Bones by Stand Atlantic ★ Cool by the Jonas Brothers ★ Generation Why by Conan Gray ★ JT by Jon Bellion ★ Into You by Julia Michaels ★ Can't Help It by Anarbor

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Concert Review: SWMRS Review & Photo by Sean Gardner

On the April 11th 2019, I saw SWMRS at Brooklyn Steel on the Berkeley’s on Fire tour, and let me tell you, it was Brooklyn that was on fire that night, not Berkeley.

The energy at a SWMRS show is completely unlike any other; it's really like a spreading fire. For a majority of the show, the entire crowd was one giant mosh pit; from above in the mezzanine area, it looked like a sea of crashing waves.

The lights went out, and “Steve Got Robbed” began to play on a track recording, building the anticipation for the bands arrival to the stage. As the song came to a close on the stereo, the band appeared on stage, fronted by Cole, dressed up with my-chem-esque face make up and brandishing a punk rock acoustic guitar. They were met with a thunderous cheer from an already moshing crowd and opened the show up with “Trashbag Baby,” followed by “D’You Have a Car?,” “Berkeley’s On Fire”(which Cole declared to be called “Brooklyn’s On Fire” for that night only), and a setlist of a perfect mix of 2016’s “Drive North” and their latest release “Berkley’s On Fire.” With the way Cole Becker danced around on stage during the opening few songs, he set the threshold for the energy for the night, and it never dropped below that, even during slower acoustic songs like “Miley” and “Bad Allergies.”

After I got my shots, I coat checked my camera and entered the pits, because the the fire-like intensity of the crowd’s movements were too infectious not to join in, and that was hands down some of the most fun I've ever had moshing and dancing. Their crowd truly feels like a community where everyone is connected in that moment by the music.

SWMRS are a group of guys who are very conscious about why they’re making the music that they make, and that is very apparent in their live show. They are all about putting out positivity into the world and making a difference through their music, and that's part of what makes their shows so special; because their fans are on the exact same wavelength. Before playing the last couple of songs in the set, Cole Becker made an eloquently fervorous speech that just truly radiated the positivity that they strive to put out there. “The world is just f***in better when we are better to each other! We gotta be better to each other, and we get to decide that! Rock and roll is the vessel!” He cheered as the band went on to play “Palm Trees,” and then close the set out with “Lose it” and “Harry Dean.”

To reiterate, there's nothing quite like a SWMRS live show and I would absolutely recommend seeing them soon. In the meantime you can stream their brand new album Berkeley’s On Fire, now.

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Concert Review: Johnny Marr Review & Photo by Sean Gardner

On the first of May, Legendary Smiths’ guitarist, Johnny Marr, kicked off his Comet tour of the United States in Montclair, New Jersey, at The Wellmont Theater. According to Johnny, this tour got a delayed start, as it was meant to begin in Georgia on April 27th. “The man with the omelette on his head wouldn’t let us in,” he joked, blaming Trump for their difficulty entering the country from England.

Johnny Marr’s live shows are something like stepping into a time machine, and stepping out into 1980s Manchester, where The Smiths still top the charts. Marr includes a plethora of songs from his former band The Smiths in his current setlist, along with his solo music, and even a few tracks from his older side project with New Order singer, Electronic.

Johnny opened the set with The Tracers, off his latest record Call the Comet, followed by the first Smiths song of the night, “Bigmouth Strikes Again.” While Marr was not the original vocalist of The Smiths, in the context of a solo set, it is really something special; a unique voicing of classics that will leave any fan of the smiths dancing and smiling. The rest of the setlist included songs by Marr himself like “Easy Money” and “Hi Hello,” Smiths songs like “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” and “How Soon is Now?” And even Electronic’s “Getting Away With It.” At the end of his set, Johnny called upon the audience for requests, to which he was met with an uproar of Smiths titles, all muffled by others. Among them he picked out someone shouting “This Charming Man.” He began to pluck out the opening guitar riff, but then soon realized he did not remember how to play it. So he put his guitar down and finished the song, letting the band play it, while he solely sang the iconic “I would go out tonight, but I haven’t got a stitch to wear.”

Johnny closed out the night with an encore set which comprised of “Rise” and “Bug,” and two more Smiths songs, “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet Baby” and “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” which on the final chorus the band cut out, leaving only the audience to sing a repeated “To die by your side would be a heavenly way to die.” Singing the morbidly depressing, yet still somehow beautifully romantic lyrics, acapella in an echoey concert hall alongside hundreds of other Smiths fans was an incredible experience, and Johnny Marr brought that experience to a concert hall in New Jersey in 2019, all the way from England in the eighties, allowing fans who were too young to experience it back then to do so now, and allowing the older fans, to do so nostalgically.

Whether you know him from The Smiths, Electronic, or from his incredible solo records, Johnny Marr puts on an incredible live show, for fans of any generation. Catch him on the Call The Comet tour this spring, and listen to his latest album Call the Comet, available now.

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Concert Review: Waterparks on ONE OK ROCK's Eye Of The Storm Tour Review by Yara Al-badri ★ Review by Yara Al-badri ★ Photo by Yising Kao

Tour...possibly the best thing to happen to any fan/music geek. Recently, Waterparks had given their fans a taste of that excitement as they joined ONE OK ROCK on the Eye Of The Storm tour, the lineup consisting of Stand Atlantic, Waterparks and of course, ONE OK ROCK, an intriguing group to put together but we were all particularly excited to see how the different crowds mix. Waterparks jump-started their set with “Mad All The Time” off of their 2016 EP Cluster; Their set resulted in eleven songs total, a healthy mix of older songs from Cluster and their debut album Double Dare. Throwing in a good dose from their sophomore album Entertainment, they not only gave their fans a hint of nostalgia but also had the ability to expose a fanbase who may not have ever heard of Waterparks, a taste of what they have to offer. That exposure and difference in interests is what made this tour so special, bonding with ONE OK ROCK's fan base, especially with their older fans. There’s something special about pitting to “TANTRUM” with a couple older than your parents. This tour was definitely one to be remembered, especially with the fun debuts of new hair colors, samples of new songs, and incredible friends I met. With that, we closed the curtains to the Eye Of The Storm tour; Thank you to Stand Atlantic, Waterparks and ONE OK ROCK for the experience.

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Concert Review: ONE OK ROCK's Eye Of The Storm Tour with Waterparks & Stand Atlantic Review & Photos by Yising Kao

Takahiro Moriuchi of ONE OK ROCK In March, I attended a couple of dates of ONE OK ROCK’s Eye Of The Storm Tour with openers Waterparks and Stand Atlantic: Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with my friends. The Houston, Phoenix, and Las Vegas shows were during my week of spring break – shout out to fate for being on my side! I was really excited to see Stand Atlantic live for the first time and they gave such an energetic performance. Throughout the tour, Bonnie always hopped down from the stage and came over to the spot where my friends and I were because we were screaming the lyrics during Bullfrog!

They performed songs from their Sidewinder EP as well as their new album Skinny Dipping, and I had so much fun singing along and headbanging (plus, their Australian accents are great). My favorite songs to hear live were “Bullfrog” and “Lost My Cool.” I was ecstatic that I got the opportunity to interview Bonnie at the Houston show. I admire her songwriting and I loved hearing about her musical process and experiences. Australians are just the sweetest. They really balance out the scary animals Australia’s known for.

Waterparks are my favorite band, so I’m always hyped to see them. Their performances were amazing, and I admire their passion on stage. At the Vegas show, I tried crowd surfing during the buildup of "21 Questions," my favorite song by them (along with "Not Warriors"). Awsten yelled, “DON’T DROP HER” and I almost made it to the front, but the people up there dropped me. It’s the effort that counts though, right? That show was iconic because Awsten, Otto, Geoff, and Jawn (their photographer) all wore suits and looked pretty snazzy. Props to them for not passing out from their sweat on stage. At the Los Angeles show, during the VIP, Awsten had his usual purple hair and I noticed he changed his toe necklace to red plastic toes. But somehow, between the short period of time between the VIP and the show, he dyed his hair red and we all went crazy. HOW??

PERHAPS HE'S A WIZARD?? During "Plum Island," Awsten changed a lyric and said, “I couldn’t delete Friendly Reminder,” which was the rumored album title. So, that show marked the start of the new era, but eventually, Awsten tweeted that he deleted the album and wanted to release different songs, so I’m super excited to hear them, especially with all of Awsten’s teasing and cryptic messages on social media! I spontaneously went to the San Francisco show because my Bay Area friends convinced me to go and had an extra ticket. It didn’t take much for me to decide to skip class and drive 7 hours up there by myself! The venue was in a sketchy area and even though my friend and I had to suffer through the creeps and almost got run over, it was worth it of course. This show and Vegas were definitely my favorite shows from this tour!

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Before the tour, I searched up ONE OK ROCK’s music and I really love their song “Stand Out Fit In” because I can relate to it (the music video may or may not have made me sob). Their lyrics are incredible, and it was awesome seeing them perform.

As an Asian American, I love how they’re representing diversity in the music industry and spreading powerful messages through their music. I can’t wait to see them again at Warped Tour! I had the best time on this tour and I’m really happy I got to travel and see my concert and Twitter friends that I don’t get to see often, as well as make new friends. Also, I interviewed fans again for my recap video because I love hearing everyone’s stories and how music impacts them. I can’t say this enough – it’s magical how music brings people together and I’m thankful for it. HERE’S TO THE NEXT TOUR!!

Awsten Knight of Waterparks

Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic

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Julia Michaels: Changing the World One Lyric at a Time Review & Photos by Kelsey Hyde

At age 25, Julia Michaels has accomplished so much in her life as a young adult. The general public thinks Michaels has just come out of nowhere in 2017 with her hit single, Issues. What people don’t know is at age 14, Julia met a songwriter named Joleen Belle with whom she wrote the theme song to Disney Channel show Austin and Ally. Along with writing this, she has written some of the most popular songs on radio like “Sorry” (Justin Bieber), “Close” (Nick Jonas), and “Lie to Me” (5SOS), along with many more.

Julia Michaels is such a special songwriter because she writes from her heart. Every song she’s ever written is so emotional and honest that it relates to a big audience which has led to her success.

Enough backstory. On April 20th, I was lucky enough to see Julia Michaels perform at the San Diego House of Blues with my close friends Alyssa and Yising. We got in line at about 11:30am after walking around San Diego for about an hour. Not going to lie, this may not be the safest area, so i recommend traveling in groups or having pepper spray handy.

I was the first in line for VIP and was more nervous than ever to meet Julia. Julia has inspired me and has been one of the people I look up to the most for almost two years. At such a young age Julia Michaels has accomplished so much and made a name for herself in an industry that doesn’t allow women to advance much.

As a woman wanting to work in the music industry, she inspires me to go for my goals. I also relate to her songs, whether it’s for the best or the worst and her discussions about toxic relationships, anxiety and loss. She brings up topics in her music most people are afraid to nowadays. It is inspiring to have someone start the conversation about mental health or toxic relationships. She makes me want to be a better person.

Julia Michaels at San Diego House of Blues I think one of the greatest attractions to her music is how raw and honest she is. She isn’t afraid of what the world has to say about her honesty.

She writes music from the heart and isn’t afraid to show love.

Not going to lie, I cried when I hugged her for the first time. She is someone who has inspired me for so long and to know she is real and there, was comforting. I was going through a lot that week and I finally felt okay.

She really cares about every single one of her fans and has the bubbliest personalities. I am so lucky I had the opportunity to meet her.

During the actual show, she talks about how that venue at that time is a safe space. No other artist that I’ve ever seen has ever made sure of that. She united all 1,000 of us in that room and made us feel okay and at peace. She had us scream a cathartic scream to let out life’s frustration. She rapped/spoke a poem about the struggle of social media. She related to every single person in that room. I have honestly never felt as emotional at a show as I did that night and I’ve never been more thankful. I can’t count the amount of times I cried from happiness or even just crying because I can relate about loss and heartbreak.

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Guitar Pick from Julia’s Guitarist, Dan Kanter

During “Issues,� confetti bursts from the venue and everyone is smiling and singing our hearts out. I knew at that moment that this, this is what it meant to feel alive.

After the show, I found my friends and gave them a huge hug. I am so grateful for the feeling I got that night.

I am grateful for Julia Michaels and who she inspires all of us to be. I am grateful for her being a great role model for young women everywhere.

Julia Michaels and I during the Meet and Greet

My friends and I with the confetti after the show!

Julia Michaels at San Diego House of Blues

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A Day in the Life of Kelsey: The Maine's Album Release Show Review & Photos by Kelsey Hyde

“You Are OK” promotional posters

On April 14th, I went to the Pop-Rock band, The Maine’s album release show. The show took place at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles California.

If you know me, you know I don’t do the whole go-to-a- concert things the way the most people do. I made the decision when I bought the tickets that I would get to the concert early in the morning so I can get a spot on the barricade in front my favorite member, Kennedy Brock. The Maine is one of my top 3 favorite bands of all-time and this was my 9th time seeing them.

5:45am – Time to start getting ready for the adventure.

My alarm goes off and I know it is time to get ready. I put on my yellow “I Like a Band Called the Maine” shirt and put on eyeshadow to match the pigmented yellow shirt. It is supposed to be around 80 degrees in LA today, so decide to put on a pair of black shorts. I grab my pre-made lunch off the counter and head out the door to pick up my best friend up the street.

6:48am – Pick up a friend and head to LA. You can hear “Right Girl” blasting as we head from our home in Orange County to the venue and because we left so early, we manage to get to LA in about 40 minutes and park directly in front of the venue.

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7:45am- Make yourself comfortable, you’ll be here for a while.

We lay out the blankets I keep in the back of my car for shows. Today’s blankets include a 2009 Justin Bieber and a Hunger Games blanket. Luckily I get in my spot and end up as the 6th and 7th person in line. In front of us our friends of ours that we met in January at the Maine’s Festival in Arizona. They had a request show the day before the festival and we waited for 13 hours there as well. I met some great friends, and they helped make me feel more apart of the 8123 family (Thank you Bailey, Daisy, Jess, Natalie and Shaida).

The Marquee for the venue

One of my best friends and favorite concert buddy has come to join the fun and gets in line with us. We talk with all of our early morning crew and discuss our hatred of hearing “Count ’em One, Two, Three” live. As we sit in on our blanket we discuss some band history to catch me up on the tea involving the bands I love. Daisy, Yising and I belt out some Shawn Mendes tune and gawk over him as well as our love for him.

10:25am- Starbucks run.

A few of us make our way to the nearest Starbucks to get some food, caffeine and for arestroom. While waiting for 13 hours you have to assess the surrounding around you so find a close bathroom. Luckily this Starbucks as well as the Mayfair Hotel allowed us to use their restrooms free of charge.

2:30pm- Lunch time!

Yising and I head over to a Jersey Mike’s a mile away. On our way there we see a big tour bus go down the street and know the Maine have finally arrived.

3:03pm – Mini Birthday Party!

Daisy was an angel and bought Jess a birthday cake along with cute little hats for everyone to wear while celebrating Jess’ birthday from the day prior. (Daisy is easily one of the best people I’ve ever met and has the biggest heart.)

Yising and I

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6:03pm- Picture time!

We all have dressed up as well as putting last touches on our makeup to take a few group pictures as well as individuals to commemorate the special day.

7:03pm – Doors are open!

The doors are open, tickets scanned, and we claim our spot at barricade in front of where Kennedy Brock (king of back-up vocals) will be.

8:00pm -Twin XL hits the stage!

Alt-Pop band, Twin XL opens for the Maine as a special guest and plays their ep in full! Twin XL is composed of Cameron Walker, John Gomez, and Stephen Gomez.

They are a relatively new band and are a great addition to the Alt-Pop music scene (listen to "Neon Summer" by them and get the hype).

9:01pm – The Maine is on stage!

My favorite band is in front of my eyes and I have my best friends to my right and my left. The feeling you get when they come on stage is a sense of home. I felt complete for that one hour and and 45 minutes that they occupied the stage.

From Left to Right: Shaida, Bailey, Jess, Natalie, Me & Yising / Photo by Guadalupe Bustos

9:14pm- {IT HAPPENED} After the song “Right Girl,” I held up a sign that said “We Love Kennedy Brock” and he bent down and handed me a guitar pick and said “Thank you” and I freaked out (as expected). It means so much to me that he knows how much I care and a small thing like a guitar pick holds so much sentimental value to me.

10:25pm- The chords of “Another Night on Mars” fill the venue As the song plays through the venue I hug my friends tight and feel at home. I’m smiling so wide my cheeks hurt and feel at peace. This was one of the best shows I had ever been to. I grab a bouquet of yellow faux flowers I had bought for Kennedy the night before (every show I try to give him flowers) to show appreciation and how proud I am. He grabs them and thanks me many times. As he exits the stage he gives out picks and Yising manages to get one as well as a drum stick thrown

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Twin XL stage decor

11:00pm -Merch I manage to snag a shirt specific to the album release show as I head out.

11:11pm -I chat with Twin XL. I chat with the band and tell John and Stephen how I’ve been a fan of their previous bands as well as current band for almost 10 years and how proud I am. I also manage to get a picture with John and tell him how I will see them the following week at their show at the Troubadour on April 25th (buy tickets now *wink, wink*).

Guitar pick from Kennedy Brock 12:07am – The Maine I talk to Garrett with Yising, Bailey, and a few other friends about joining Garrett’s high heel club and riding Bird scooters through LA as we shop. I also snag a picture with all members except for Pat and got Kenny to write out some lyrics for “Forevermore” for me.

1:45 am- Home After a long day I manage to get back to my dorm room in one piece and reflect on one of the days that I could easily say was one of the best of my life.

Kennedy and I

Me in a shirt that was sold!

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Interview: Andrew Kyne of Grayscale

Interview by Lizzie Clark & Kayla Ayala ★ Interview by Lizzie Clark & Kayla Ayala ★ Photos by Lizzie Clark Grayscale is a Pop-punk band from Philadelphia, PA, formed in 2011. The band consists of Collin Walsh as lead vocals, Dallas Molster as rhythm guitarist and back-up vocals, Andrew Kyne as lead guitarist, Nick Ventimiglia as bassist, and Nick Veno on the drums. In 2017, Grayscale announced that Fearless Records had signed them and with that came their single and later music video for “Atlantic,” followed by the release of their third album Adornment in Spring 2017. We had the chance to chat with the lead guitarist Andrew Kyne in which we talked about tours, dogs, and everything in between.

Adornment came out almost two years ago, so what has Adornment came out almost two years ago, so what has been your favorite tour during the Adornment been your favorite tour during the Adornment era? era?

It’s gotta be Warped Tour, oh no! Warped Tour is incredible, but I think going overseas with As It Is was my favorite tour, hands down. Just never really expecting in my lifetime to actually go to Europe and see those things and having that opportunity; being with some of your best friends, just touring countless countries, and seeing amazing things I would have never expected to see is just an incredible time.

What bands would you say influenced each of your records?

I guess with What We're Missing, we were all really into bands like Transit, The Wonder Years and The Story So Far. I think that also kind of cycled into Adornment as well. Me personally, I always loved like funk and blues and R&B kind of stuff, so I would say those artists probably didn’t influence those records quite as much. But yeah, a bunch of like hometown bands.

What about your album Leaving What about your album Leaving? ?

Leaving was straight up pop-punk bands, all the pop punk bands you've ever heard. You’ve got like Man Overboard and The Story So Far, that was something we always listened to.

What made you want to start playing music in the first place?

I started with clarinet way back in the day. Moved onto saxophone; My uncle is a professional Jazz saxophonist and he got me my first saxophone. I played it all the time then eventually I put that down and my uncle introduced the guitar to me. I’m left handed and he actually got me a right-handed guitar. I was playing it upside down all wrong. I've always loved like Van Halen, I loved 80’s crazy hair metal and just seeing old videos of everyone shredding and being super cool on these huge stages always inspired me. Flames were going everywhere and the pyrotechnics were unbelievable and everyone's wearing these outrageous clothes, I just thought that was so cool.

What inspired the whole Nick Veno getting kicked out of the band aspect of the “If I Ever See You Again” music video?

It has been like two years since the record came out, so we were looking for something to bring in new faces, new kids and to spark the interest for the song again because it's been so long since we released it. We thought, “What could we do to really shake things up and get people to be really captured by this video, and we were like, “What if we just actually kicked Nick out of the band?” It just like spiraled out of control. We did it and all the sudden there were Alt Press articles, Rock Sound articles, we’re like “Oh shit everyone's catching hold of this.” And people were sending us crazy hate mail and people were upset.

A lot of people knew it was a joke though.

I think people who have met Nick, saw his response tweet, which was outrageous and so aggressive and were like, “There’s no way that could’ve been true.” So, I think some people kind of figured it out, but then after we had released the video part people were all like “Oh we knew it all along!” It was the same people sending us videos of them crying and were really upset. For us it was funny, we were just getting crazy messages. We were sitting in this Waffle House just laughing to ourselves because people were freaking out over Nick. It was just really something to bring a new spark to the song.

What are some difficulties you face as a band? Interpret that how you’d like.

I think for us right now is we’re driving ourselves on these tours. Even last night was a 9-10-hour drive through the night and getting here on time. It’s like you want to have so much fun, and be super social and hang out with everybody all night and do all these fun things. But the responsibility of everybody packing up and getting in the car, and knowing you have to get to the next location. It maybe isn't the most difficult thing, but it can be very stressful because if you're not getting proper sleep, the shows are going to suck, you're not

Stay updated with Grayscale! ★ www.grayscalepa.com ★ Twitter & Instagram: @grayscalepa Twitter & Instagram: 19

going to be energetic and it just shows.

What is your typical songwriting process?

I know a lot of bands do have a very specific process, but ours is more like, let's say Dallas (Molster) comes to us with an idea, he's very good at structuring and writing songs, he's super talented at that; then he would then send that idea to Nick to fill in the drum parts because he’s a great drummer. It's kind of like sending a file session around or like going to Nick’s house and recording, it's just everyone does their own part and comes up with their own part but with everyone else critiquing it. So, if everyone else doesn't like that part, we take it out or change it. It’s like a big collective creative thinking, it's not like there's a big formula to it it's just like us all coming together and putting all of our ideas down and seeing where we can go with it.

Is there any new music in the works or anything you'd like to share?

Not at liberty to say.

Rapid Fire Questions

What is your favorite song released before Adornment What is your favorite song released before Adornment? ?

“Midwest, oh no, rapid fire? I’m going so slow. Maybe “Change.”

What is your favorite venue to play?

So far, maybe Detroit, The Fillmore! Awesome, that was unreal. And maybe the KOKO in London, that was really cool too.

What is your favorite food to eat while on tour?

Tacos el Gordo.

Do you have any weird talents?

I can juggle pretty well, is that a weird talent? That's pretty normal.

What dog breed do you relate to most and why?

I have a dog, he's a yellow lab, and he just sits around the house on the couch all day. He’s moody and doesn’t do anything, I feel like I relate to him. His names murphy, murph, he’s a loaf.

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Photo: Collin Walsh of Grayscale

Artist Spotlight: Avery Kitchen Interview by Yising Kao

Meet Avery Kitchen, an amazing artist based in Toronto, ON! What inspired you to start creating art?

I’ve always loved drawing ever since I was little. My parents kind of kickstarted it seeing as they’re both artists, (my dad teaches animation and my mom illustrates children’s books) so I’ve always been exposed to that stuff. When I was young I used to draw a lot of comics or things based on books i read, but now I draw more based on music. I started drawing much more though over the past year when I found it was a good distraction, I felt really proud of myself whenever a piece would turn out the way I wanted it to, and I loved getting my thoughts out onto paper.

You practice different forms of art such as sketches, watercolor, and digital. What influences your choice of each art medium?

I’m a really visual person, so I usually think and develop concepts in my head, then depending on what emotions i wanna communicate and techniques I wanna use to do it I pick a medium that I thinks fits well! If it’s a fun, bubbly thing like my ‘Rainy Days in LA’ drawing, then i’ll tend to do digital because of the saturated colours and animated look I can give it. On the other hand i did a piece based on the song ‘90s Baby’ by MILKK and i found myself leaning towards watercolour when planning it because i wanted it to feel dark, gloomy, and have a washed out look.

What's your digital drawing process like?

I usually start out with a sketch on paper (whether it’s in my sketchbook or just a doodle on some leftover receipt roll that I did at work) and then I draw that in photoshop really rough, just mapping out where everything’s gonna go and organizing composition. From there I do another sketch layer to define everything more and then the final line art, if there is any. Once all the lines are done I start colouring, usually having a loose colour scheme in mind but most of it is figured out as I’m going. I start with the base colours and then gradually add shadows and other tones. Once I’m finished everything I’ll add the background and make some small adjustments, but that’s pretty much it.

What are some of your goals?

I’d love to do commissions or sell prints someday, once my art has improved of course. Being able to design merch for small bands has always seemed like such a cool thing to me as well, so if that ever happened in the future it’d be so sick. I’ve always admired people that do art within the music industry and I love seeing the artist behind album artwork, promo posters and pieces of merch so to be one of those people would be so fun. Overall being able to do freelance work with my art when i’m older is what i’m aiming for, but even if I don’t focus on it career wise I’d still want to do it on the side, whether I’m making money or just drawing for myself

Stay updated with Avery!

Twitter: @wwdforfun Twitter:

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90's Baby Based of the song "90's Baby" by MILKK

Awsten Knight & Elijah Daniels Based off of "Rainy Days in LA" by Adam & Steve ft. Waterparks

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Bonnie Fraser of

Stand Atlantic Interview & Photos by Yising Kao

Based in Sydney, Australia, and signed with Hopeless Records, Stand Atlantic is a pop-punk band consisting of vocalist/ guitarist Bonnie Fraser, guitarist David Potter, drummer Jonno Panichi, and touring bassist Miki Rich. In 2015, they released their independent EP A Place Apart, with their Sidewinder EP following it in 2017. Through Hopeless, Stand Atlantic released their debut album Skinny Dipping, a compilation of songs about being vulnerable and open about one’s raw emotions. The band recently opened for ONE OK ROCK’s Eye Of The Storm tour along with Waterparks, and have toured with artists such as With Confidence, As It Is, New Found Glory, and State Champs. Stand Atlantic are a fun and genuine band and I encourage everyone to check out their incredible music (and funny tweets that make no sense 90% of the time); Catch them at Sad Summer Fest this summer! I got the opportunity to interview Bonnie at ONE OK ROCK’s Houston show and we chatted about Skinny Dipping, music videos, and more.

First of all, how has tour been so far? ONE OK ROCK and Waterparks are such amazing bands!

The tour’s been really really cool, and I feel like everyone’s just so nice. Our bassist Miki speaks Japanese so he’s been communicating with ONE OK ROCK and they’ve just bonded over the fact that they’re all Japanese and stuff and it’s really cute.

And you can teach them Aussie slang!

Yeah exactly! And the Waterparks guys are super chill and fun.

It’s all good vibes.

The theme of skinning dipping is portrayed throughout your album, with the idea that it’s fun, but you’re also vulnerable and exposing yourself and your raw emotions, which is difficult to do.

Do you find it more challenging to perform these very personal songs or more cathartic, or both?

I think when we were recording them, it was really cathartic. Like with “Toothpick,” the slow song on the record, when I showed it to our producer and stuff, I was literally crying like playing it. But now, I thought that when we’d start playing it live, I’d cry, but I haven’t cried. It gets easier ‘cause you just play them every day.

You use a lot of creative metaphors in your lyrics, such as “Your spine is hollow as your ego” and “Feels like silver caught inside a toaster.” When I listen to your music, I’m always in awe of them. How do you usually come up with them? What’s the weirdest way you’ve thought of lyrics?

I can’t think of anything too weird, but most of the time, I’m just in my fucking underwear in my bedroom singing these songs. I think with my metaphors, a lot of it come from English class back at school. We used to analyze texts and stuff and I don’t know why but a lot of those things kind of stuck with me and I've always put that into my writing. And I think also at the same time, ‘cause I'm not very good at talking about my feelings, making other things like in place of that is kind of easy for me ‘cause I’m like admitting it without admitting it.

You’ve said that your band has progressed and matured from producing the Sidewinder producing the Sidewinder EP EP, and took inspiration from it. What are some ways you’ve challenged yourself musically and lyrically?

Lyrically, I was just like, “Do I even know enough words to fill an album? Probably not.” In terms of musically, we took what we liked about the EP and then brought that over to the album. But then we definitely wanted to push ourselves as much as we could, so I think we just experimented way more and like took a couple of more risks in terms of structure. With lyrics, I was just thinking of things to write about that aren’t just like my past relationships. I wanted to dig deep.

Hopeless Records’ artists not only make music, but they also each have something they stand for, whether it’s spreading positivity or awareness about important topics such as mental health. What message do you guys hope to convey as artists?

As a band, to be honest, we don’t really want to be a band that pushes a type of agenda or whatever. But at the end of the day, I think that what we all believe in just like in life, is kind of like showing what we’re doing instead of preaching about stuff; just go and do it. We’re very big advocates of just being who you are and being real, cut the shit, stop being a kiss ass. Just be a human being, so that’s basically what we stand for. But instead of preaching it, we just kind of do it.

Your music videos express your lyrics so well and the visuals are beautiful. I love how in the “Lost My Cool” video, you incorporated metaphors from the other songs, like throwing toothpicks and having a bullfrog sitting next to the bath tub.

What’s your collaborative process like when planning music videos? Also, Brandon Lung (their videographer/photographer) is amazing.

Yes, we did hide those like sneaky Easter eggs. Brandon is a legend and he’s one of my really close friends. When we’re working together, we have a good chemistry where we can bounce off of each other and stuff. With "Lost My Cool" for

Stay updated with Stand Atlantic! ★ www.standatlantic.com ★ Twitter & Instagram: @standatlantic Twitter & Instagram: 24

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example, I was literally just like, “For some reason I'm picturing it in a bath tub and he was like “Alright.” Then I found a couple of music videos that had bath tubs and he was like “What if we reference all the songs somehow? And I was like “Yeah.” So, it’s just that sort of thing, like it’s building blocks because you brainstorm things and one thing leads to another.

You guys have a great sense of humor and constantly make fun of yourselves on social media, like your one of your tweets was “We’re all just a bunch of flaming virgins.”

We literally are!

Your fans have caught onto that sense of humor, so what has been the funniest thing you’ve seen on Twitter?

This is the first thing that comes to my head. It’s probably not the funniest but I still do laugh about it to this day and I'm not just kissing ass ‘cause we’re on tour with them right now. But I remember this, and he got a lot of shit for it for some reason. I don’t know if you saw, but when Awsten posted that thing with the Lyft driver with his name Constantine, I lost my shit.

Yeah I saw that! It was so funny and everyone caused drama over it.

I was so angry that everyone was giving him shit for it. I was like, “Fuck off!” It’s so funny.

Right? Live your life!

Right? Live your life!

What's the funniest thing a fan has done? I know in one interview What's the funniest thing a fan has done? I know in one interview you’ve said before there was this Stand Atlantic account, but it was something different.

Hand Atlantic! It’s amazing. There was one that popped up today that was Stand AtLAMBtic, so it was just pictures of us as lambs. There are some funny ones and sometimes they literally make me laugh out loud.

Last band you crowd surfed to?

My own!

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS

Favorite and least favorite thing about America?

My least favorite is the fact that I could be walking down the street and anyone could have a gun. And If I do get shot I can’t afford to go to the doctor. But my favAt this moment, Awsten Knight of Waterparks walks by.

Yising: Hi Awsten!

Yising: Bonnie: I just talked about you and brought up the Constantine tweet.

Bonnie: Awsten: My what tweet?

Awsten: Yising: People were starting shit over your Lyft tweet, remember?

Yising: Awsten: Oh yeah, they were so mad at me!

Awsten: Bonnie: That was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Bonnie: Yising: It was hilarious.

Yising: Awsten: Thank you! Constantine’s my middle name.

Awsten: Bonnie: Is it really? I thought you were just making it up!

Bonnie: Awsten: I wasn’t even lying.

Awsten: Bonnie: What did he have against you?

Bonnie: Awsten: Nothing! I sent a picture and a name. That’s my fucking middle name! I'm super Greek.

Awsten:

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Bonnie: So, the best thing about America is, there’s a lot of things. I really like taco bell and things are cheap. I’m just going to say the Bonnie: food even though the food is shitty and bad for you, but so good, you know what I mean?

Yeah, I always wonder how people eat healthy on tour.

Well, I'm pescatarian, but every now and then I'll eat chicken. Basically, because I do generally eat like a vegetarian, it forces me to have the healthy option a lot of the time. The last time I was here, I know the guys just inhaled Taco Bell 24/7 and were like “I feel like shit” and I was like “I feel fine haha.”

Australia is infamous for its deadly animals. Have you ever encountered any of them or heard crazy stories about them?

Everyone has this misconception but if you're in the city you barely see like snakes or anything like that. But I've seen redback spiders which are really poisonous in my bin every now and again. Sometimes I'll wake up to like a massive huntsman spider this big on my wall. They're harmless but they're huge. And it’s worse when you're in the shower and you're already showering and you're naked and you're just like, "There’s a fucking spider in my shower and I can’t get out! I'm so vulnerable.”

Do you make someone kill them for you?

I get my mom!

Favorite song by your fellow Aussies, With Confidence?

Off their new album, Love and Loathing, “Spinning.”

I love that song! I’m trying to get them to play that.

It’s the fucking best. I don’t care what anyone else says. Off of Better Weather, I’d say ”Keys.” There a lot of good songs on that album.

If someone wanted to join your band, what would the initiation be?

Have you had sex ever? If not, great, you can join! As long as they're ok with making fun of themselves and letting us make fun of themselves as well. And if they can play, that’s great.

Thought on the Jonas Brothers reuniting?

I was happy about it, but Brandon and I were like, “The song’s not gonna be what we expect so let’s not get our hopes up. It’s not gonna be the same Jonas Brothers” and we were right. It's still an alright song, but nothing beats their old stuff.

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Grayscale

Lizzie Clark ★ Lizzie Clark ★ Sacramento, CA

LIVING PRO

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State Champs

Lizzie Clark ★ Lizzie Clark ★ Sacramento, CA

OOF TOUR

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SWMRS

Sean Gardner ★ Sean Gardner ★ Brooklyn, NY

BERKELEY' TO

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SWMRS

Caitlin Meaney ★ Caitlin Meaney ★ Cincinnati, OH

'S ON FIRE OUR

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Movements

Sean Gardner ★ Sean Gardner ★ Montclair, NJ

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Johnny Marr

Sean Gardner ★ Sean Gardner ★ Montclair, NJ

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Grayscale

Caitlin Meaney ★ Caitlin Meaney ★ Cincinnati, OH

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Bad Suns

Sarah Rodriguez ★ Sarah Rodriguez ★ Brooklyn, NY

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Against The Current

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ San Diego, CA

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Chapel

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ San Diego, CA

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Now Now & Daddy Issues

Natalie Sparaccio ★ Natalie Sparaccio ★ Brooklyn, NY

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Foxing

Natalie Sparaccio ★ Natalie Sparaccio ★ Brooklyn, NY

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The Maine

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ Los Angeles, CA

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Julia Michaels

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ San Diego, CA

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Waterparks

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ CA, TX, AZ

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Stand Atlantic

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ CA, TX, AZ

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ONE OK ROCK

Yising Kao ★ Yising Kao ★ CA, TX, AZ

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Max Frost

A$AP CHELS ★ A$AP CHELS ★ San Diego, CA

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Carlie Hanson

A$AP CHELS ★ A$AP CHELS ★ San Diego, CA

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