Start At The End is back again this month at NYC’s oldest rock club The Bitter End in New York City on May 25. The bands chosen to play are local ones that deserve a chance at creating more buzz and getting their names out there. This month’s lineup is made up of Wyland, Experiment 34, Rob Jennings, Above The Moon, and Jared Dylan.
We recently caught up with Experiment 34 to talk about their background, sound, latest release, and more! Check it out below:
How long have you been a band and how did you get started?
Kevin: First Matt and I met through a music dating site, I mean a music matchmaking site, called bandmix.com. Our bios matched up perfectly and we wrote a bunch of songs within a few weeks.
Matt: Well we started out as “The Strangers.” We played a couple of acoustic sets and recorded “Deep Blue,” our first single.
Johnny: I heard “Deep Blue” on social media and asked them if they needed a bassist as soon as I heard it.
Matt: However, we quickly found out that “The Strangers” wasn’t a usable name.
Jack: With the current lineup, we’ve been together a little over a year.
Kevin: But we’ve been jamming these songs for almost two.
Why did you choose your band name?
Matt: The first 33 experiments didn’t really work out… Try, try again, right?
Johnny: We feel we really hit our stride after Experiment 34.
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard you before?
Matt: Manic with a bit of innocence.
Kevin: We recently came out with an EP called Charismanic which is a word we coined that we think fits us perfectly.
What was your latest release of music and can you talk about that a bit?
Jack: Well the Charismanic EP was released on March 17 of this year. We recorded it at Lakehouse Studios, so big shout out to them.
Johnny: They really made us feel at home. We absolutely love going to Asbury Park. Every time we come down here, playing music just feels right.
Kevin: You can find our EP on iTunes, Bandcamp, Spotify… all that good stuff.
Does one person write the lyrics or is it a collective effort?
Kevin: Matt handles the lyrics for the most part, sometimes we’ll chip in but the words are usually his doing.
Matt: There’s a definite inspiration that comes from hearing the music these guys come up with. Johnny will play a bassline or Kevin will start out with a riff, Jack hits the beat, I think of that as the backbone to all of our songs. I’ll close my eyes and let something come to me, get myself a little lost in the music. Losing myself usually allows me to get on track.
What is your recording process like?
Jack: We had Tim Pannella in the studio over at Lakehouse and he was right on point. We had a rehearsal to go over all the songs with him ahead of time and he just worked his magic with us. We were really happy with how it came out.
What are current projects you are working on? (Tour plans? New music?)
Matt: Huge news, we recently got a spot at the Rock ‘N Derby Festival in Schaghticoke, New York, through a competition-based showcase called The Crusade at Gamechanger World.
Kevin: Yeah, that was a success. We had a lot of support from our fans, friends and family come out for that. The festival will be May 20-22 and we’ll be playing on the 21st.
Johnny: It really is a cool feeling, knowing we’ll be playing on the same stage as some bands we really respect like Clutch, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember, Coheed And Cambria, Wolfmother, Shinedown, Collective Soul, Halestorm, Trivium and Chevy Metal.
What are your thoughts about this Start At The End event?
Jack: I think it’s absolutely fantastic!
Matt: We’re really excited to play at The Bitter End. New York is a really cool place to be and we’ve played with Wyland before at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick and The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park and they’re great. Very cool to play with such a talented band so often.
Kevin: It happens to be Matt’s birthday that day and Johnny’s is right after, so we have some serious celebrating to do while we’re there on the 25th.
What are your goals for the future as a band?
Jack: We all went in on a trailer that sleeps us and then some so Experiment 34 is now mobile!
Matt: Yeah, it has actually turned out to be a great acoustic practice setting and we’ve been putting up some videos of us playing in the trailer called “Trailer Sessions.”
Johnny: We strongly urge you to go check them out at www.facebook.com/experiment34. They’ve really come out well. We’re pretty proud of them and think they’re something any listener can enjoy.
Kevin: Basically we want to continue playing… forever.
Matt: Spread our sounds as far as we can, get our expression out far and wide.
Experiment 34 will be appearing at this month’s Start At The End showcase in New York City on May 25. They’ll play prior to that at the Rock ‘N Derby on May 21. For more on the band, go to www.facebook.com/experiment34, and for more on the event, go to facebook.com/startattheend.
