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The Upside Interview


The Upside Interview

Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)

PD. What type of artist are you?

TU. We are a self-labeled Christian alternative pop-punkcore band!

 

PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.

TU. The Upside began as an idea of songs by guitarist Derrick Schmidt. The songs were written through times of weakness and had a lot of meaning at that time. Cody Thompson came into the mix and started jamming out on drums which led to the realization that this could be something. After trying out multiple people, they finally landed vocalist David Perry and soon after guitarist David Newman. Greg Holcomb was recently brought in as the final member to complete the groups and lay the smackdown on the bass. Currently, The Upside is finishing their EP Perspectives which is expected to be released by the end of August 2018.

 

PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

TU. Derrick – Coheed and Cambria, Twenty-One Pilots, Four Year Strong, faith in Jesus, my old worship pastor Dan Wigglem, my family, wife and child.
Cody – Artifex Pereo (Especially Cory), Steve Harvey
David Peery – Relient K, Anberlin, Jesus
David Newman – August Burns Red (Chugga Chugga), Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sum 41, my worship team, Jesus, mom and dad, girlfriend, and that random guy that said I need to play guitar cause I was too ugly to get a girlfriend
Greg Holcomb – Dustin from August Burns Red

 

PD. What are your dreams and goals?

TU. To have the opportunity to tour and spread the gospel to as many people as possible. To serve the community around us and around the places we play and be a light in these present times.

 

PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?

TU. Derrick Schmidt writes a lot of the main song structure on guitar while David Perry pretty much handles the vocals and individual melodies with input and influence from the band. David Newman puts a lot of input on the music, but he can’t be trusted to remember anything he writes…

 

PD. How do you promote your band and shows?

TU. We strive to push our shows as much as possible on social media and personal networks. Not just for us, but to help our fellow bands enjoy a good crowd and get some of the greatest fans in the world!

 

PD. What do you think about downloading music online?

TU. Overall we think that the music industry is in a very bad state for musicians due to the illegal downloading of music. We have no quarrels with properly purchased music and encourage our fans to buy ours online if they wish! Most of the band enjoys physical copies, but we understand the world is in a different place now and are trying to market ourselves accordingly.

 

PD. What song do you wish you’d written and why?

TU. Collectively/Overall – Africa by Toto
Derrick – Dark Side of Me by Coheed and Cambria
Cody – Any song by Artifex Pereo because their lyrics are beyond amazing
David Peery – Glass House by Hands Like Houses
David Newman – Lenny by Stevie Ray Vaughan. I wish I could write something as beautiful for the person I love.
Greg Holcomb – It may seem cheesy, but White Washed by August Burns Red

 

PD. What are some of your pet peeves?

TU. Derrick – Gossiping
Cody – When someone says they’re broke but buys cigarettes
David Peery – Someone shaking up my soda
David Newman – When someone asks for advice with no intent of hearing it
Greg Holcomb – Someone who is messy and a slob

 

PD. What is your proudest moment in music?

TU. Playing Hallelujahfest 2018! It came together so well and the other bands were quite amazing! Shout out to Hush Harbor, Jonath

 

PD. So what are you working on at the moment?

TU. The band is finishing up vocals for the upcoming EP Perspectives and beginning to work on our next album. As we have just become a complete band, we are working on our synergy together and writing. We are desiring to build our fan base in the meantime and get as many shows as possible!

 

PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

TU. …To be continued… however some reasons to have us at your shows are we are high-energy and a blast to work with. We come early, we stay late. We’re there for the fans and we love to go enjoy the show after we play!

The Upside links:

Band location – Louisville Kentucky

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