Off the Record

Plover 0:00
What's good everyone, you're listening to WKNC 8.1 FM HD one Raleigh, we are a student run nonprofit radio station based outside of North Carolina State University. I'm plover and this is off the record. Here with me today is Atticus from Charlotte, Seneca burns. How're you doing today?

Atticus 0:15
I'm doing really well, we actually just got a bunch of good news. I may talk a little bit about it as the questions come in. But uh, yeah, it's been really refreshing. It's been an up and down year. And so like to get something that is pretty concrete and pretty solid is is really refreshing.

Plover 0:32
For sure. I'm, I'm excited to hear about that as this goes on. So just do you want to tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you? What do you do? Yeah,

Atticus 0:41
me personally, my name is Atticus lane. I'm an independent musician from Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm 26 years old. I've been doing this for a good amount of time now. But I really didn't sort of discover myself and who I was until about 2018 2019 I really met some of the people that I think will be with me until the day that I die. Truthfully, and it was all in the music scene. And it's kind of just been a slippery slope ever since then, of course, you know, COVID decided it was going to steal a lot of time from all of us, but tried to make the most of it. And we in the band, you know, sort of came together during COVID. So I don't want to say it was a blessing in disguise or anything like that. But I'm certainly grateful for the time that I had to really find myself and find the people that I care about most.

Plover 1:34
For sure. Um, so there was a very specific reason you want to do this interview? Oh, you have a show coming up this Friday, I might.

Atticus 1:41
On Friday, April 14, Seneca burns, along with other Charlotte act American theory, they're really good. They're much better than us, come out and see American theory, but also the second after who if you've had any connection to the music scene in eastern part of North Carolina for any amount of time, you know, the second after is they're just an incredible, incredible pop punk band. They've been on so many good tours, I actually had some free time and I was going through their past events on Facebook. And like, they're just overdue. They are they are about to blow up. They are so cool. And they've done so many cool things and played with some I mean, they play with hot Mulligan, you know what I mean? Like do homologated play with the home team play with Hawthorne Heights. Like they're just an incredible band, as well as the Bronze Age, which they have slowly since last April become, you know, part of my own little family. I'd like to say they're such incredible people. And I can't wait to play another show with them. It's gonna be fun. It's awesome.

Plover 2:41
Um, so you mentioned some pop punk stuff is that kind of your lane as either yourself or Seneca burn?

Atticus 2:49
Pretty much. We've got a wide array of influences, but it all basically boils down to you know, like a very rooted in pop punk, lot of EMO, you know, a lot of alternative rock in there. Basically, if you played video games, in, you know, the early to mid 2000s, just the 2000s. In general, if you're listening to a soundtrack, like you're probably going to find a band that we were really, really influenced by on that soundtrack. I'm a big Tony Hawk's Pro Skater guy. So we really really grew up with all those soundtracks and it it really kind of formulates I think we have our own little vibe. You know, I'm a really big blink fan. And I know the guys are as well but we all come from like Christian is big on like a day to remember and Linkin Park. John the bass player is he's very proggy Devin Townsend. And then he gets into the fun like Ninja sex party, twerp things like that. And then Matt is just he's just your standard like punk emo like just comes from the roots kind of guy super great. Super you know diverse

Plover 3:58
with Yeah, yeah, I guess I'm sorry websites that pixelated pop punk was that kind of like the video game kind of vibe there.

Atticus 4:07
So funny story that actually has a specific origin. We have these stickers. See that have a stack of them right here. Hopefully I can find one. So we have these stickers. And we've been putting them around.

Plover 4:23
Hopefully it'll show Yes. Yeah.

Atticus 4:26
And no matter how many of them we get, they're always like the same design. But the little slogan on top changes and on these right here it says pixelated pop punk. Yeah, when we released Do you know how bright you burn? There was Do you know Seneca burns at the top and our first song or our second song that we released was called What the hell do I have left to give? They said what the hell on top and so you know it kind of changes. It's one of those like, it's the same thing every time but a little bit different. You collectible whatever.

Plover 4:58
Just kind of like a philosophy We have like,

Atticus 5:01
kind of pretty much whatever we're we're kind of like harping on at that moment whether it's a song or anything like that. And this band from Chicago called good hangs they have a series on tick tock called what is this garbage? And they reviewed our song do you know how bright you burn and absolutely tore it to shreds? They just made fun of us and you know all kinds of just put us in the ground. It was all in good fun, it was a roast but they thought it would be funny to they they pulled up our Spotify and had our picture and they zoomed in on it they're like look there Spotify picture is like it's even like super pixelated like Hello. And I was like you know every band especially like the pop punk bands like Blink 182 has like crappy punk rock and all this I'm like, what if we were What if our slogan was pixelated pop punk? And so I I decided it would be funny to take them ribbing on us and send them a shirt.

Plover 6:09
That merch line Wow.

Atticus 6:11
It's like a whole merch line for us. Like I'm very grateful that they decided to do that because I think pixelated pop punk is just a catchy you know fun slogan. We're pop punk music a little rough around the edges like like a pixelated,

Plover 6:27
jagged on the edge. Okay,

Atticus 6:28
so I'm very grateful for the fact that they said that and that it came out the way that it did because I've gotten pretty good reviews on the pixelated pop punk slogans. Yeah, it's it's

Plover 6:39
definitely catchy. Um, so you you came from Charlotte, what's it like, like, I don't know, coming up in like a short music scene like Charlotte specifically like Charlotte, you know, it's sort of a reputation of being like a concrete kind of business city is there like a lane for music there.

Atticus 6:58
So it's kind of weird. There was there was a pretty big scene back in the day, way before I got involved in you know, we could talk for hours on the business and the politics behind it. But basically, Charlotte as a music community, in my personal opinion kind of degenerated going into COVID, like it was on the downswing. And not that we have any, like big part in it or anything like that. But when we came out of COVID, a lot of people really were kind of like, you know, we don't know when we're going to be able to do this. Again, we don't know if things are ever going to shut down again. We just have to make the most of it. And there was a lot of successful shows, but there was one band that really stood out from the rest and they were called tetanus. And a couple of my really, really close friends were in tetanus. And we pierce specifically the bassist and I used to spend hours on the phone and just talk about he would talk about how tetanus is growing. I will talk about how Seneca is growing because we both started during COVID started our bands. And, you know, he kind of his band came out before us and they were just all cylinders. They were having great shows they were having great crowds. I remember the first Seneca show, I was so jealous because the first Seneca show was the last Atticus Lane show, I used to have a solo career. Yeah. And I did a Haida show. And that was the debut of the band. And we sold out the milestone, like first show, where the only local band sold out headliner was very proud of it. And one week later, piers and tetanus at snug Harbor, sold out and had it lined around the block at snug Harbor. And I was like man other one up you like, exactly, exactly. But, you know, tetanus, they kept going, they released some music and they had just they kept having these killer shows like selling a bunch of tickets. They still even though they've been kind of dormant for probably about a year now. They they still have, you know, like 2000 monthly listeners on Spotify. And they're all they never did, like any playlisting or marketing. It was all natural. And I modeled myself after that band. And I kind of took what they did. And then you know, we we would have a bunch of really successful shows in the city. And people would ask me, like, what are we doing, and I would say X, Y, and Z and they would apply that and then everybody else is having these really successful shows. And it's like, ever since COVID. You know, there's been this like rejuvenation of arts and music, and everything like that within the city and we're trying to keep it going, you know, it's something that can very easily, you know, be lost with, you know, letting your foot off the gas a little bit, but we're really, really passionate about trying to keep it going. And so, you know, it's been weird. It's been a weird journey. You know, tying it back to your question. It's been a weird journey. blossoming and Charlotte and having all these awesome opportunities because you don't think of punk punk rock music when you think of Charlotte, North Carolina, you think of you think of all the people that have migrated down from Pittsburgh. You think of the banks, you think of things like that. It's like you said, a business city. But you know, there there's something here. And I was on the phone today when I was talking about the good news that we got, I was on the phone today with a close comrade of mine. And we were just like, there's there's a nuke about to go off in the city as far as arts and bands and culture and everything like that. We don't know what it is, like, whether it's us, whether it's the band way steroid, or whether it's, you know, any of like, the Hardcore scene, that's, that's always been prevalent, and then in the Carolinas, and it's really, really starting to make its own comeback, like, I don't know what it's going to be. But it is going to be something that's gonna be really, really cool when it happens. And we're all just kind of getting ready for it.

Plover 10:57
That's exciting. That was that, like the exact words like there's something there's like a follow up article, okay?

Atticus 11:01
That's literally, literally because it's one of the things that you don't know what is coming when you have no idea. But truthfully, like, humans have this like intuition for, like, you know, I don't know if you've ever been through it, but like, you go through life and like you feel like you're about to hit like a crossroads, or a metamorphosis, or a change or something like that. And you can feel it coming. It's whether you want it or not, it's just like, Ah, I can feel it, you know, and I really do feel that right now. And I know, a lot of people that we work with, and have been close with, especially within Charlotte, we can feel something something special. So that's, that's magical.

Plover 11:39
When you when you feel that and like, I guess is it like, you know, talking about the urgency of keeping it a visit? Like, you didn't know what you had before? COVID Lacking like, wow, I really missed playing live and I can't never not play live again.

Atticus 11:54
Absolutely. I really, you know, I said I was 26 years old, and I, I started out predominantly rapping and I put guitar in it and you know, did everything like that, but I didn't get a real opportunity to appreciate like punk rock music and all the different derivatives until I joined a band called Duck beak. And I was given an opportunity by a friend of mine, they kind of needed to fill in, and I was trying to get my foot in the door. And it was kind of like, you know, that first nuclear bomb of like, oh, this is the thing, like, I can join bands, and I can meet people and I can, you know, come together. And I was in the band for years. And we you know, amicably split and went our separate ways. And you know, Mike, the frontman of duck bake, he's got a thing right now called demon teeth, which is really cool. We're doing the Seneca thing, which is really cool. It's just like, you know, you really did nobody knew what what they had. Nobody knew how, how precious, you know, getting to perform, getting to see people, like getting to connect with people. And I think that's the biggest thing I think, you know, live entertainment was, it wasn't like going away, like, people still go to football games and basketball games and concerts and things like that. But it was just like, on the community level, it was kind of on the downswing and when we started getting to do stuff again, it was like a new gratitude for for getting to meet people getting to see the community and get like all the same people that I see it shows like I'm very grateful that I've met them and gotten to contact them

Plover 13:30
for sure, so like how were you able to like form a band under COVID I didn't leave my house under COVID i That's really impressive. You're able to kind of meet I guess meet people and make that connection.

Atticus 13:40
So the way that Seneca formed was kind of a unique thing there's a record label out of I think it's close to out towards Raleigh might not be Raleigh specifically but I won't name drop them because we're not on them. But no bad blood or and I just don't want to you know imply anything. I sent them the first Seneca up Seneca burns up and it was they were demos. They weren't there was no banter was nothing. It was just Atticus Lane music at the time. And I this was probably June of 2021. Maybe Yeah, it was it was early June of 2021. And this label was like we love it. Absolutely love it. We don't love you. They're like an ad alternative label stuff like that. And they saw the rap stuff. And I did you know, the rap stuff that I did. There was a little bit of a hybrid element towards the end but it was a lot of, you know, like, your classic underground 90s Feeling independent hip hop like a big fan of atmosphere. Big fan of brother Ali, all the rappers on the Rhymesayers label And it was kind of in that vein, and they were like, You're so different from what we have. It's just stylistically, it's not a good fit. But this EP that you have is like a pop punk thing. We really like it, put a band together, and then we'll talk. And so I called the Avengers. And I was like, Christian, I need you, John, I need you, Matt. I need you. They had all heard the songs and we're excited about them. And I was like, Okay, what if we did a band thing. And so, you know, like, this being like June of 2021, we had all been, you know, sent out on our jobs at this point, COVID, but a year and a half in. But we're still not playing shows yet. So we did decide to link up. And we all learned the songs and jammed them. And it was like, okay, something's here. It's not perfect. It's not great, but something's here. And so that really is the Genesis I know that once we got everything recorded exactly the way we wanted it. And we knew when we were going to debut the band, you know, for the first show, because shows came. So shortly after that. We knew how everything was going to play out. We just spent four months like hyping up the highest show debut show. And ever since then, it's just been, you know, the gas pedal has been all the way to the floor, and we're trying not to stop. It's been really fun. It's been a great ride so far. Yeah,

Plover 16:23
sounds like that's totally an incredible journey. So you like, these are people you like kind of knew before? COVID You were like, John, bring the vendors together. Yeah,

Atticus 16:30
yeah. So John, I went to high school. I went to elementary school, John. Yeah. So there's, and I knew back in high school and into college, it was like, once we started to figure out like, Okay, we we got a connection here, musically, and friendship wise that we really bonded over video games, like different RPGs, like Dark Souls, Final Fantasy and stuff like that. Tony Hawk, like I said, I knew that there was going to be something there with John at some point. And John actually joined Duckburg, for a short period of time to get his foot in the door and get used to playing in bands. So there was that Christian was in a band, or he is in a band called home for the day, and I've gotten really close to home for the day, over the last few years, I'm featured on a couple of their songs. They're incredible dudes, they have pretty much a house that they run house shows out of, they stream the performances, and it's very high fidelity for being in a basement, and they do it all for charity. And they're trying to get a proper nonprofit started up so that, you know, they really take it seriously. And it's kind of amazing what they do. I mean, we went and spent I got to spend $1,500 on Toys for Tots during Christmas this past year. Like that was just an experience that, you know, I didn't have stuff like that as a kid. You know, not that I had like, the worst life ever. But like, I didn't really have like crazy Christmases, you know, doing like kind of crazy stuff. And so getting to like, live that and then give that to other people. I don't know who it's going to, I just know that, like, somebody got taken care of on Christmas. And that just, that is so cool. That feeling is so cool. Knowing that, you know, maybe I can write a wrong, if you will, in my past and try to do it better on the back end. But yeah, Christian plays in that band, and they're super cool. And they do a lot of crazy, crazy cool things. And they've got a pretty decent following as well. And Matt is like a journeyman of the Charlotte music community. He started out in a band called something slick. And he was a drummer in that band. And then he picked up guitar and he played in this band called no rope. And no rope was incredible. Like they have a song called cargo shorts. And it's just like, they were somewhat broken up before COVID. And so when we got back from COVID they got back together, but never forget, like actually getting to see them and it's my friend like they're not like celebrities, but it felt like watching like this band that I absolutely loved. Never been able to see and watch them play their whole set and they played cargo shorts and like this pit in my stomach of like, Oh my god. So cool. I really admire Matt. He's such a fantastic dude. And he's such an incredible incredible guitar player, songwriter, you know, singer everything. And, you know, it's weird because, you know, you have conversations with you know, the homies and everything like that, and it's just like, I don't if you couldn't do this anymore, I wouldn't want to replace you. Like nobody, just like nobody wants to replace me. Nobody wants replacement. Nobody wants to replace John. Nobody wants to replace Christian. Even if we had to. It's like I would rather just do it with one of my arms tied behind my back then you No, try to fit something on there. I just, I think the guys that we got are the guys that are supposed to be. I think we got it right the first time. And I'm very, very grateful to know all the boys. They're awesome. They're fantastic.

Plover 20:13
It's a real sign of a great band lineup. Yeah, it's like, I couldn't imagine not having that.

Atticus 20:20
That's really cool.

Plover 20:21
Yeah, you mentioned the milestone. Well, I've never been the milestone, but I've heard many tale about it. How has that been for for just your growth and performances in general,

Atticus 20:31
it's great to have a place to call home book that runs the milestone. Getting to deal with him, you know, every other month basically, is so cool, because he's such a wonderful dude. And he. I mean, this in the most loving and caring way, like he bites off so much more than any other person could chew. But somehow, he chews it down and swallows it. Like he has shouldered the load at that place. And I gotta be honest with you, I really, it feels like the city like the suits in the city don't like the place and the fact that he has stood there, steadfast, headstrong, you know, and weathered that load and and protected that place and kept it running and kept it successful and everything like that. It's just a testament to his character. And truly, that character rubs off on the milestone itself. When you walk into the milestone, I really recommend going to the milestone. We actually are a big part of a Festival on June 30. I don't know what you're doing this summer. But if you have if you want to come to the milestone, I really recommend it. I think it's for being such 170 capacity dive really is a life changing experience. I really mean to check it out. Yeah, you can really feel the history within there. I mean, you know, everybody's heard that nirvana is played there. And it but all the bands, you know, there's a Big Bad Brains graffiti that it has a empty picture frame around it. So like don't touch the Bad Brains graffiti. You and so many people have played there, I went on setlist.fm One day and just looked at the sets that were uploaded, you know, from the 80s, and stuff like that, like, so many bands have played there. And it's really interesting and cool to know that, you know, no matter where we are, and no matter where we go, when it's all said and done. Like we were a part of this community, too. We were a part of this history, we were a part of this legacy. And that that means a lot. Milestone is definitely a home of sorts.

Plover 22:40
There are definitely made your stamp. I know you also have like toured like you meant, like the northeast, like how is that kind of, I guess, difference between Charlotte or the South in general? Um,

Atticus 22:52
have you ever watched a movie, especially with your friend? Yes, I

Plover 22:56
have watched a movie.

Atticus 22:58
But especially with your friends, where you're like, it happens a lot when you're in school, you know, when they put a movie on at school and you just sit there. But you're always like, oh, that's that's you that is you compare each other to everyone in the movie, you end up finding that in all these other towns like the bug jar, and Rochester is just like the milestone, it's not like it's a bug themed bar. But it's really cool rooms. And it's weird, like it's two rooms, and there's bugs everywhere in the bar room. But the dance floor and stage area is like covered in stickers and graffiti and it's got that dark vibe and it's a similar sound. The main difference from the milestone is you look up on the ceiling and it's a kitchen but it's on the ceiling. It's upside down it's like you're on the roof and the end the floor the kitchen is but it's

Plover 23:54
it's weird, but it seems like like chairs and stuff like on

Atticus 23:57
chairs and Rawlings stove and a sink and all this evidence on the ceiling. You know, God forbid any of that comes down during the show. But But it's so cool. And that's just Rochester New York. And that's just one. Yeah, you know, there's a medieval music hall in Amityville, New York on Long Island, like, thinking about like that A Day to Remember song where they talk about playing, you know, their first show in New York and Amityville. It's like, they're just, you find all these places, and you liken them to places at home because no matter how far apart we are, as people and you know, our cultures and everything like that, at the end of the day, we all have the same emotions, we all have the same, you know, like interpersonal languages of understanding one another. And I think that bleeds into the culture. And that's why no matter where we go, no matter who you meet, you find people that are similar to people, you know, because at the end of the day, we all talk the same language and communication, you know, especially with me Music Music is a universal universal language.

Plover 25:02
Of course. You also sent a song it was recently is that part of like a larger release that y'all are doing?

Atticus 25:09
Yes. So we're releasing things in singles because it just tends to do better in the streaming climate, for sure. But to give ourselves a more unified discography, hopefully later, as it gets bigger. We're culminating every three or four of these singles into an EP, that it's all one package. So the first one we released, it's not the end, not even close in February. In March, we released What the hell do I have left to give? And then in August, we came out with Do you know how bright you burn. And that was the whole EP of burn. Wheedle came out on our one year anniversary on February 4, we have another song, it was the first song we wrote together as the band, it's called Jadid, we'll be finishing it up and hopefully releasing it pretty soon. And then another song, we've started playing live called point of view. And I believe those three songs, possibly the addition of a really fast, really short song, as well, but those three or four songs will be in an EP called all all things considered. So yeah, I mean, it's it is part of a slightly bigger, you know, all encompassing release. But all of those songs will come out as singles, and they will have their own little moment to shine. Because we're at a point right now, where we don't want to with the way streaming is, you know, you release a whole album and tracks seventh and eighth. They just don't get the same kind of love as the first couple, you know. So, that's kind of where we're at on it.

Plover 26:40
Yeah. Um, was there anything else you wanted to plug here?

Atticus 26:45
You're not 100%? Sure. I know. We may be playing local 506 and Durham soon. I don't. Yeah, I don't have the details on that. But I would, I would absolutely send them to you when we get them.

Plover 26:56
I really love that place.

Atticus 26:59
I haven't played it yet. I've heard a lot of great things. But ya know, on Friday, April 14, we're playing at the poor house in Raleigh with the Bronze Age second after and American theory. And if anybody wants to come out and drive and see a two day festival of like some of the best like punk pop punk emo alternative rock everything in the Carolinas, bar down break fest. The second year of it is happening at the milestone on June 30. And July 1, Seneca Burns will be headlining the first night. We're very, very excited about that. And yeah, we're just gearing up for the road. We've got a we've got a half a week tour, little weekend or next week on the 20th through the 23rd. We've got a week planned in July, and we just kind of verbally confirmed. We're joining a band from Minneapolis, Minnesota for a three week tour in October, which will be the longest that any of us have been on the road and we're just absolutely stoked for it.

Plover 28:09
Is that going to be in that like Minneapolis like area?

Atticus 28:12
It'll start in Indianapolis and sort of loop around to some of the places that we've been before. And once we get down to the Carolinas it'll loop back up and head towards Minneapolis. I have a feeling we'll probably fly into Indianapolis, do the run and fly out of Minneapolis. But it is cool because it is centered around Welcome to The Family Fest which is another festival at the milestone club in Charlotte. That will happen in October. And so we'll be passing through and we'll have basically two days off at home. So yeah, really, really sort of cool break in between. But yeah, now we're Seneca burns. And we're playing on Friday at the poor house. And we've got a song out right now called Wheedle, and we're almost at 15,000 streams, and really excited about it and really grateful for you for having me on. On behalf of the guys.

Plover 29:01
Of course. Yeah. Thank you so much for coming through. I really love the song and we'd love to hear any of the the other songs are released. Absolutely. I'll be in touch. I appreciate you all tuning in. And you can check out all the interviews I and everyone here does at wknc.org/podcast and kick off the record. I'm DJ plover and I've been here with Atticus from Seneca burns on WKNC 8.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh

Transcribed by https://otter.ai