APRIL SIXTH
by Christine Natanael /photos by Kevin Estrada

LINKS:
aprilsixth.net

So this advance came skidding across my desk a while ago…a 6-song EP with just a white insert with printed song titles (which in itself is advantageous because it keeps me from having any kind of pre-conceived notions due to the visuals of the cover art). With just those six songs, April Sixth managed to run the rainbow range of dynamics musically with a simultaneous catharsis emotionally.

Vocalist Chistopher “Snaps” Wade, guitarists Robert Geiser and Brian Marquez, bassist Joey Caligiuri, and drummer Evan Kilbourne list influences as ranging as Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Bush, Led Zeppelin, Silverchair, The Used, and Thrice. But what came barreling out of my speakers was somewhere between Hoobastank, Trapt, Smile Empty Soul, and Yellowcard.The lyrical content is often times as inspirational as it is situational. The name of that EP was Mariposa Ave. and if you didn’t get to hear it, then by all means, you need to get it.

These guys worked on building their fan base the old-fashioned way…through do-it-yourself grit. They would play a show, then hand out free CD demos, stickers, buttons, kind words of appreciation to their fans, whatever it took…and six months later, all this self-promo finally paid off.

 

April Sixth got their break when Dan Estrin of Hoobastank passed a CD along to Howard Benson, producer extraordinaire and all-important A&R dude over at Elektra Records. Right now, they’re in the studio with Benson working on the follow-up to that EP, which will be their first full-length release for the label. (And many thanks to Howard for e-mailing me over the shots of Chris tracking his vocals that accompany this article.)

 

Having just finished tracking his drums, Evan Kilbourne, who has chaired the drum stool for bands as diverse as the metallic called Mind Rot and ska favorites Save Ferris, was back home in Riverside, California and available to get on the phone with me for a little chat.

 

Christine Natanael: So you just finished in the studio, right?

Evan Kilbourne:: Well I just finished, and the last time I was up there was a few days ago. They were almost done with guitars so I think we just have to do vocals and then mix it. That’s about it.

CN: So, April Sixth is a very interesting name for a band. What does the name mean?

EK: I’ve heard a lot of them now, I actually just heard today, a friend of mine told me that April Sixth is a huge protest that Gandhi led, like a peace protest where nobody in the country did anything for the whole day. And he was asking me if that’s why I called the band that and I said, no. Actually, there’s just so many different references, but I guess the guys in the band, probably where they came up with the name is, it was the day they were supposed to be playing a show and it didn’t happen. But for some reason, when they said the name it had a good ring to it, and I guess it just kind of stuck. I mean, I don’t know, there’s no real significance behind it although a lot of people asked us if it has anything to do with like the religious reference, you know?

CN: Well yeah, that’s an easy correlation to make, seeing as the majority of your lyrics are pretty inspirational.

EK: Yeah, I thought it was cool. Now that we’ve heard so many things that actually happened on that day, now I can tell people whatever I want.

CN: It’s true, just pick one, you know?

EK: Yeah, pick a different one every time.

CN: It’ll be a controversy like how Pink got her name: Pink.

EK: Yeah, there’ll be fighting over it.

CN: So, um, you, when did you join the band because you weren’t the original drummer.

EK: No, I just joined. It’s been, I think, just over a year. I think I joined last December.

CN: Do you still hand out the CDs free at gigs, I mean were you in the band then?

EK: No, well we did. We gave out some free stuff. We had some demos and stuff that we gave out. I don’t know how much stuff they gave out before I was actually in the band, but we did give out the demos and stuff like that when I first joined. It got pretty much to the point where we recorded the EP, and then we started selling the EP at our shows. So, yeah we did give out some free stuff, like right when I first joined.

CN: And at what point did Dan Estrin of Hoobastank turn you onto Elektra? I mean did they re-release the EP, or how did that go?

EK: I was in the band like, two months and then we got our other bass player, Joey. And then it was probably only like four or five months before we heard. So, at some point in-between there. I mean, within a three-month period or something, I guess he just got a hold of it and gave it to somebody. And then he actually showed up to one of our shows one night too, and a couple of their friends. After that it seemed like it just happened so fast, like you said, you know? He said, yeah, we’ll check it out. Next thing we knew, we’re eating with them and doing showcases for them and stuff. So.

CN: And, you recorded the EP for them, or it was already recorded and they just re-released it?

EK: We were kinda in the process of already doing it…

CN: Uh huh.

EA: Initially we hadn’t really intended to put out an EP, and then they decided that we should do it to drum up some interest, since we don’t have a very recognizable name yet. We played them that stuff that we had just done, and they said, “Aw, just do that, put that out on the EP.” So they went ahead and put it out.

CN: Right.

EK: And then, that was that. We toured a little bit to support that and then just came home and started doing the full-length.
 

 

CN: There you go. So, how do you like recording with Howard [Benson]?

EK: Oh, it was great. I have mad respect for the guy as a producer, you know? I’ve been in the studio enough times to where I’m comfortable with it, and I’m comfortable working with producers and hearing their input and their criticism, you know? So I was excited to work with him ‘cuz I knew anything that he would tell me to do would only make it better, you know? Me and my stuff went by real fast anyways so… we did my tracks really quick and he seemed to be really happy with them too.

CN: That’s good.

EK: Yeah, I was stoked.

 

 

CN: So, tell me about the subject matter of your songs on the new record. Is it still gonna be as religious or is it gonna be more secular.

EK: Um, it’s kinda hard for me to say, since I don’t really write any of the lyrics, but I’m pretty familiar with Chris’s style. I know it’s pretty much that, well, he’s a very religious guy so a lot of that comes through in most of his lyrics, you know?

CN: Uh huh.

EK: And he seems to write stuff, I mean, I could be, I could be wrong, but he seems to write stuff that is from personal situations but that everyone can relate to, you know?

CN: True, ‘cuz sometimes, even though you can interpret it with a religious reference, you can interpret it as an interpersonal reference as well on some of the songs.

EK: Right. I think he’s good at expressing emotion in a way that doesn’t come across as negative, you know? It comes across in a positive way, which is what I really like. And there’s so many bands out there nowadays that are just like distorting guitars and going “aaaaaa, I hate myself, aaaaaa, I hate my life.” It’s a really weird industry. You kinda gotta make yourself universal, you know? If you want people to enjoy it, you want as wide a spectrum to enjoy it as possible, and you want as many people to feel the way you feel, like you kinda have to keep it simple, you know?

 

CN: Right.

EK: I don’t know, as a songwriter, myself, I have songs that I would have to release myself to make them the way that I would want. I’m just really particular, and I don’t know that I would be happy with the way that indie bands would come across, you know?

CN: So, what are your shows like?

EK: Our shows are awesome. I think, as much as I love being in the studio, the live aspect is definitely my element. I think the rest of the guys probably feel the same way. Not that they’ve had a lot of time just to be in the studio, but I mean they’ve done a lot more live stuff than studio stuff, and I know that they love playing live. To hear our CD is one thing, but if you don’t see us live, I don’t know that you can see the justice being done, you know?

CN: Right.

EK: I like to think that we’re just as good live, if not better than our CD, which is not true for a lot of bands, which reallyfor me personally, kills it--if you go see a band that has a great CD and you see them live and they just sound like crap, you know?

CN: Um hm.

EK: So, I take a lot of pride in my live shows, and there’s just tons of energy. It’s always very energetic, everybody’s always giving 110%. I mean that. I think that even if you weren’t into our genre of music, you couldn’t help but at least be entertained by watching us, you know?

CN: How old are you guys?

EK: Two, guys are 19, I believe. Two guys are 20. Um, (laughs) bit hard for me to say who’s, I think Joey, Joey’s 20, and Chris the singer is 20, and then I believe Brian and Robert are both 19, and I’m 29.

CN: You’re the old man of the group, huh?

EK: Yeah, I’m the Grandpa.