We had the good fortune of connecting with Against The Sun and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Against The Sun, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This band has existed for seven years. It started when our singer, Brad West, was in high school as a way to showcase some of the music he had written over the years. We have gone through several lineup changes over the years and our members had periods where other parts of their lives had to take over. For many of these years, we were kids. We didn’t know what we were doing, never thinking too far ahead. Still, we made a name for ourselves in the local scene, performing at Knotfest 2019, headlining Chain Reaction, and selling out the House of Blues in Anaheim. Then, of course, the pandemic happened. COVID-19 put everything on hold for us. If there was ever a time to tell ourselves that it wasn’t meant to be or that there was no opportunities for us to grow, this would have been the time. Instead, we did just the opposite. We focused on writing new material, perfecting the songs we already had, and we took a critical look at the way we ran our band. We embraced the circumstances we were under and dove deeper into social media, marketing, and branding than we ever had before. As it stands, we made more progress during the pandemic than at any point that this band has ever existed. With the most recent introduction of our new drummer Conner Eddy, we are better than ever. Our Against The Sun family may be small, but the reaction we’ve received from our music has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve been able to change people’s lives, inspiring fans to pick up an instrument for the first time. Our fans tell us that we are their shoulder to cry on, that our music got them through difficult times in their lives. That means the world to us and we will never abandon our fans. Ultimately, our drive to create is what pushes us forward. The friends and memories we have made over the years help make it all the more sweeter.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Each one of us came from a different background. Our singer Brad West started singing in choir when he was 9 years old, did musical theatre and classical voice throughout high school, and started playing in bands when he was 16. Our guitarist Brad Mitchell studies piano, guitar, and drums at a young age, performing in bands throughout his teens and came to Against The Sun because he loved the music. Our bassist Alex Galusha has a background in punk and pop punk, playing in bands with his friends and gaining a love for the local scene. Our newest member, Conner Eddy, started playing drums young and has years of experience in the studio and on tour. We all made sacrifices to walk the path we’ve chosen but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Thankfully, we have made a lot of friends over the years and we definitely would not be here without them. We absolutely want to shout out John Safari and all of the amazing people at the Orange County Music League (OCML). Most gigs we were offered in the early days were what is called “pay to play.” It’s a bogus business practice where they coax young naive bands into having to sell a ton of tickets to a show and pay the difference if you didn’t sell enough. Most of the time, no bands ever saw any financial reward for their hard work. OCML was created to help kill pay to play. We got our very first paid gigs through OCML and to date, they helped us book our biggest shows. More than that though, they instilled a culture in us, a standard that we hold ourselves to and those around us to. You show up for every band on the ticket, you support all the other bands that you are playing with that night, and you get your fans to stick around and see the other bands you’re playing with. The local music scene is a collaboration. We’re all here to help each other out and enjoy each other’s music. OCML helped us create that mindset that we will always have.

Website: https://againstthesunband.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/against_thesun/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/againstthesunband

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-pt_wdmJNatMqqE0Bc5OHA

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2bB6IfDkor17WjWsVSuLpz

Image Credits
Kerrigan Productions

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