Column 3 Rough Draft

Waiting for the clock to strike Midnight: An After Midnight Project Review



“You will hear us on rock radio.”

Those were the words of Danny Morris, a drummer for a little known band called the After Midnight Project. AMP is a group that hails from Los Angeles and is on a hellbent path of destruction to future rock band stardom.

The After Midnight Project describes their music as catchy and edgy, using their lyrics to pull in the listener and never let them go, beating them over the head with hard rock riffs and screaming vocals but then bringing them back down to earth with melodic choruses and soothing verses. This creates a musical mix that gives them a sound all their own - and they know it.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel when we create music,” said lead singer Jason Evigan. “We combine all of these different elements to make the listener want more.”

On Saturday April 18, the After Midnight Project brought their high energy circus act to the Health and Sports Center to kick off the party in regards to the release of their new album, Let’s Build Something to Break, scheduled for release on July 14. It will be the band’s first album release with major label Universal records.

As an opening act, their name was nowhere to be found on the promotional items and was an underscore next to the two other groups set to perform that night. But being an underdog before has never stopped this band from living its dream of making music.

“We started as a band in 2004, and while there have been several reincarnations of the band, we have never lost sight of our main goal,” Evigan said. “And that goal is to keep making music as long as we can and enjoy every minute of it while doing it.”

After watching this band roll up to the venue in a van and U-haul, dwarfed in comparison to the extravagant and luxurious tour buses provided by the other acts, it was hard to tell what this group would bring to the table. But after interviewing them in their locker/dressing room, it was easy to tell that this group of five musicians had confidence - and a burning desire - to absolutely blow this crowd away.

The stage was set and floor was filled with students eager to hear great music, unaware that this little rock band was waiting in the back, ready to put their hearts on their sleeves and give it to the crowd. As the lights dimmed, the crowd erupted into a nervous cheer, not knowing what to expect of the band getting ready to take the stage.

Immediately the band opened up with a track off of their 2006 EP, titled “Digital Crush”, which featured edgy singing by Evigan, magnificent guitar playing by Spencer Bastian and Christian Meadows and hard hitting sets from drummer Danny Morris. Being next to the stage, you could see the determination and emotion in Evigan’s eyes, pouring everything he had into that microphone.

Song after song, the band threw curveballs that even threw me by surprise. Before the show, Bastian has told me that to “expect a show that would get the crowd flowing because we pride ourselves on having a high energy performance, something the audience will remember when they go home.”

Boy, did they get the crowd moving. Looking at the concert through my camera, I could see the impact these men were having on the Kearney faithful. The storms going on outside at the time could not compare to the electricity flowing through the crowd during the band’s entire performance.

The After Midnight Project did something that no other band did that night: they connected with the crowd on a personal level. The words that flowed from Evigan’s mouth to the notes being strummed by Meadows, all implanted into the ears of everyone in the crowd. Just like a fish on a string, they were reeled into world the band wanted to create for them.

“The songs - the music and the words - speak to a lot of people,” Bastian said. “I think that is what the fans get out of it the most.”

With word spreading quickly of the band’s performance, don’t be surprised to turn the dial and hear the After Midnight Project coming through your speakers. It’s only a matter of time before people from Kearney can watch MTV and say, “hey, I saw that band live!”