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The Chorus.fm creator on emo's mainstream resurgence, creating meaningful online communities, and the biggest question still facing the scen
Really enjoyed this interview with Jason Tate, founder of seminal emo site AbsolutePunk.net (may it rest in peace)!!
AbsolutePunk talks with Jack of All Time Low before the release of 'Dirty Work.'
AbsolutePunk talks with Jack of All Time Low before the release of 'Dirty Work.'
AbsolutePunk talks with Alex of All Time Low back in 2006.
Farewell to AbsolutePunk by Bradley Christensen
The first album that I ever remember picking up was The All-American Rejects’ sophomore LP, 2005’s Move Along, but I think I picked it up a year or two after it came out; I don’t remember picking it right when it came out, but I did get into music a couple of years after that. The moment I fell in love with music was when I listened to Fall Out Boy’s third LP, 2007’s Infinity On High. I might have picked up Move Along first, and maybe a couple of other albums, but the moment I heard Infinity On High, that’s when I fell in love with music. That’s when I became a music fan. It all started with that one album, and I’ve been a “music fan” for the last nine years now. It’s been rather hard to believe for the first few months of 2016, because it’s been so, so long. I mean, it’s not like I’ve been writing reviews for that long (I’ve been writing since 2011, but I was writing off and on for the next year or two, ultimately writing a lot more in 2013 and 2014), but I’ve been listening to music for much, much longer. I can look back on how my music taste has evolved over the years, and think about how a certain kind of music, or even a certain band / artist, really encapsulated that point in time. Because of that, it’s always been amazing to me how powerful music can be when it comes to your memory. I mean, you can hear a song, or just see a picture of an album, and instantly be taken back to a point in time when you first heard it, or a certain memory that you might have, regardless of what it is.
I didn’t just discover a lot of stuff on my own, especially back then, when I didn’t have any experience, or really even know what was out there. Nowadays, I can rely mostly on myself to listen to certain things, but I had no idea of how to even look for stuff that I might enjoy. Well, that’s where two certain publications came into play – Alternative Press and AbsolutePunk, both having the initials “AP,” weirdly enough. Both of these publications are quite different, the former being a magazine and the latter being a website, but it goes beyond the format of where I read them. It’s also about their content, too, because both of them talk about different kinds of music (all within the same scene). I’d honestly credit Alternative Press for helping me get into “core music,” because that’s mainly what they used to talk about. I mean, they talk about punk, hardcore, and stuff like that, but it’s mainly what was popular, and at the time I started reading the magazine (about 2007 / 2008), bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, The Devil Wears Prada, Saosin, Underoath, and all of these bands were popular. I got into a lot of good stuff from this magazine, and it really helped to shape my music taste, but I’ve grown out of favor with this magazine within the last four or five years. It’s turned from being about a lot of different kinds of music, even if it did focus on a few certain kinds, to being about where’s solely popular, especially for the 14-year-old Warped Tour fangirl attendee. I hate to say that, but that’s what they pander to nowadays, and it’s not exactly a magazine that a grown man like me should be reading, so I stopped reading it a long time ago.
AbsolutePunk, on the other hand, I’ve been reading almost every day for the last nine years. Heck, I even posted my reviews there for a long time, before I joined Concert Junkies, as well as started up my own blog (this one, actually, so I could post reviews on older albums), and even though I didn’t comment on the site very much, or do much of anything there, I really enjoyed looking at the threads, reading about music news, as well as reading reviews of albums that I may or may not have heard of. It’s a website that I have very fond memories of, and this post has been in the works for the last week, after I noticed that the founder, Jason Tate, shut down the site to form a new music site, entitled Chorus FM. This isn’t going to be a post that shuns the new site, or even expresses sadness over the fact that AbsolutePunk is no more. It’s bittersweet, definitely, but I just wanted to say thanks to every staff member that was on there, and might still possibly be with Chorus FM. I always looked forward to reading the site, even if there wasn’t much news posted that day. I still looked at it, and that’s how I got a lot of my music news, so you bet I’m still going to be looking at Chorus FM every day, and just checking out what’s going on in the music. I can thank AbsolutePunk for getting me into the music I love today, mainly through indirect means, as the staff members, or other users, would post about certain things, and me being the curious guy I am, I’d take a listen.
I’m not surprised that the site would shut down eventually; I mean, come on, its logo was straight out of 2005, and its name was that of an angsty middle schooler that just discovered Green Day for the first time, but it was a site that I, along with many others, held very dear. I’m not going to write an entire eulogy, because everything has its time, and everything dies. It’s time to move on, but it was fun while it lasted. I just wanted to say that AbsolutePunk really helped me to become a better music fan, a more diverse music fan, and even a better writer, whether it was certain staff members helping me out, and giving me advice, or reading their own reviews, just to get some inspiration from them. My own style has changed a lot over the last couple of years, and I have to thank AbsolutePunk for really being a reliable, intelligent, exciting, and enjoyable place to read about music, write about music, and just be a music fan, especially of more “alternative” kinds of music. In high school, I always felt like an outcast, because of how I never played sports, and how I was into poetry, writing, and music, but different kinds of music that a lot of other people didn’t listen to, or care about. AbsolutePunk was a place where people like me got together to discuss these bands, these albums, and just the scene in general. It was a place where I felt like I belonged. It’s bittersweet to see it go, even though it’s just going under a new name, and a new design, which I really like, by the way. Music mends broken hearts, and you bet AbsolutePunk stitched mine back together, so if anyone from the site is reading this, thanks for the memories, even if they weren’t so great.
Next Move
Perhaps you may have heard, but AbsolutePunk is done as a publication. Go ahead, soak that news up…I’ll wait. You done? Good.
Jason has bought back the rights to AbsolutePunk and as a result has decided to move forward with his new website, Chorus.fm (which is now live). For a much more in-depth look at what that’s going to look like, go ahead and visit the new website, as he lays everything you need to know clearly. I know many of you are disappointed to see AbsolutePunk leave, but I think Jason’s going to do something neat with Chorus, and I recommend that everyone gives it a shot. There’s a lot of similarities between the two websites.
After a couple days, It’s still a little bizarre thinking about the fact that a website that’s been a big part of my life for so long is gone. Like many people, I lurked for awhile but eventually signed up for an account once I realized all the cool ways to participate. It was on the 4th of July in 2008 when I really wanted to participate in a band chat and pulled the trigger on registration - I think it was Hawthorne Heights…sounds about right. But there was something so neat about being able to engage with a community that was passionate for music (for better or for worse), that I never left.
A couple years later, I was presented with a really memorable opportunity that ended up being a major event in my life. I really can’t remember what prompted me to do so, but I submitted an email to Adam Pfleider to interview bands on the 2010 Warped Tour. Luckily enough, he responded with the go-ahead and I got the chance to show up in Hillsboro at the end of the tour and interview those who were available (and open) to sitting down with me. I was incredibly green and nervous as hell, but I had the opportunity to speak with Andrew W.K. and Giuseppe of Haste The Day. I learned a lot from the experience, and I was on a massive high after doing so. However, this was a one day opportunity only, and I was no longer needed - looking back, I was very fortunate to not jump on as staff at the time, as I likely would’ve embarrassed the website with my inexperience and been let go, never to return. I was in no way ready to take on that type of responsibility.
So after a one-day gig with AbsolutePunk, I decided to start interviewing bands on a tumblr blog, SoundwaveNW. Yes, you heard that right, I was one of THOSE people. I was horrifyingly mediocre, and got a ton of lucky breaks through relationships in the year I did my own thing - for instance, I should have NEVER been allowed to interview Yelawolf or Of Mice & Men. But I learned a lot of things that would end up being really important later on, such as patience - Yelawolf ended up giving me a great interview, but I had to sit on his tour bus for over an hour while he went to go party with some friends he had made on the Warped Tour.
I’ve spent four years as a staff member at AbsolutePunk since December 2011, publishing my first interview with Don Broco in January 2012. It’s been an absolutely wild experience. I’ve made some great friends and made some great memories because I was allowed to interview essentially whomever I wanted for so long. I’m thankful that Jason allowed me to write for his website, even though he really didn’t like many of the bands I covered. There’s a ton of things that I got to do because I wrote for AbsolutePunk, and I still don’t take that for granted - I could write for quite some time about everything. Also, my voice has grown considerably after seeing people better than me put out some awesome content.
I’ve had quite a few people ask me what I’m up to since AbsolutePunk is no longer around. And to be completely honest, I haven’t made a decision yet. I will say that I have multiple options though, one of them contributing towards Chorus. Another option is re-branding my podcast, “This Is What I’m Into”, and bringing that back. Luckily, April-June is a slower part of the year when it comes to shows, and that’ll give me more of a chance to ponder where I want to go from here on out. Maybe I’ll do both.
I’d like to thank Jason Tate and all of the rest of the AbsolutePunk staff for putting up with me over the past four years, as well as the numerous people who have stopped me at various places to tell me they enjoyed a particular interview.
List of Interviews while at AbsolutePunk (in somewhat sequential order): 2010 Andrew W.K. #1 (Warped Tour contest) (Non-Staff) Haste The Day (Giuseppe) (Warped Tour contest) (Non-Staff) 2012
Don Broco (Bobby D) - 1/26/12 Blessed By A Broken Heart (Sam Ryder) - 1/26/12 Leaders (Lazarus Rios) - 03/15/12 Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (Craig Owens) - 02/15/12 Hit The Lights (Kevin Mahoney) - 02/15/12 Like Moths To Flames #1 (Chris Roetter) - 02/15/12 August Burns Red #1 (Jake Luhrs) - 02/10/12 MxPx (Mike Herrera) - 03/29/12 Cartel (Will Pugh) - 03/28/12 Set Your Goals (Jordan Brown) - 03/28/12 The Story So Far #1 (Will, Kelen) - 03/25/12 Impending Doom (Brook Reeves) - 03/20/12 Hands Like Houses (Trenton Woodley) - 04/03/12 Veil Of Maya (Marc Okubo) - 03/14/12 Andrew W.K. #2 - 03/05/12 Stick To Your Guns #1 (Jesse Barnett) - 03/20/12 Woe, Is Me (Hance Alligood, Austin Thornton) 03/27/12 Ed Sheeran - 05/02/12 letlive. #1 (Jason Aalon Butler) - 05/09/12 Sleeping With Sirens #1 (Kellin Quinn) - 05/08/12 Squid The Whale (Bradley Walden) - 05/27/12 Falling In Reverse (Jacky Vincent) - 06/11/12 For Today (Mattie Montgomery) - 06/06/12 The Ghost Inside #1 (Jonathan Vigil) - 06/05/12 The Word Alive #1 (Telle Smith) - 06/15/12 Pierce The Veil (Vic Fuentes) - 06/15/12 New Found Glory #1 (Jordan Pundik) - 06/16/12 Thrice (Riley Breckenridge) - 06/26/12 (*Hiatus interview) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - 06/27/12 The Temper Trap (Toby Dundas) - 07/08/12 Machine Gun Kelly - 08/12/12 (Warped Tour interview) Breathe Carolina (Kyle Even, David Schmitt) - 08/15/12 MOD SUN #1 - 08/20/12 (Warped Tour interview) Of Mice & Men (Austin Carlile) - 08/15/12 (Warped Tour interview) Memphis May Fire (Matty Mullins) - 08/12/12 (Warped Tour interview) Issues #1 (Tyler Carter, Michael Bohn, Ty “Scout” Acord, AJ Rebollo, Kris Crummett) - 09/12/12 (*Band’s first interview ever, in studio) Glass Cloud (Travis Sykes) - 09/12/12 Mac Miller - 10/02/12 Winds Of Plague (Jon Cooke) - 10/09/12 Underoath (Chris Dudley) - 10/12/12 (*Hiatus interview) Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers (Stephen Kellogg) - 10/29/12 (Hiatus interview*) P.O.D. (Sonny Sandoval) - 10/29/12 Hatebreed (Frank Novinec) - 11/02/12 Parkway Drive (Winston McCall) - 11/19/12 Tonight Alive (Jenna McDougall, Whakaio Taahi) - 12/12/12 We Are Defiance (Brian Calzini) - 12/26/12 2013 Texas In July (Ben Witowski) - 01/07/13 Chiodos #1 (Craig Owens) - 01/14/13 Blackbear #1 - 01/17/13 Romeo Lacoste - 01/20/13 Obey The Brave (Alex Erian) - 02/12/13 Volumes #1 (Michael Barr) - 02/10/13 Jonny Craig - 02/22/13 The Acacia Strain (Vincent Bennett) - 03/06/13 The Color Morale #1 (Garrett Rapp) - 03/08/13 Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! (Paul Wilson) - 04/17/13 Serianna (Chris Ferraro) - 04/22/13 For All I Am (Aria Yavarinejad) - 04/25/13 Issues #2 (Ty “Scout” Acord, Case Snedecor) - 04/26/13 John D. (Skate & Surf Festival) - 05/07/13 Stick To Your Guns #2 (Jesse Barnett) - 05/31/13 Heartsupport (*Non-Profit) - 06/20/13 The Summer Set (Brian Logan Dales) - 06/26/13 Architects (UK) (Sam Carter) - 06/23/13 Big Chocolate (Cameron Argon) - 06/23/13 Never Shout Never (Christofer Drew, Taylor MacFee) - 06/24/13 Sleeping With Sirens #2 (Jesse Lawson) - 06/24/13 August Burns Red #2 (Jake Luhrs) - 06/25/13 New Found Glory #2 (Jordan Pundik) - 06/26/13 The Amity Affliction #1 (Ahren Stringer) - 07/29/13 Dustin Kensrue (solo) - 09/13/13 No Bragging Rights (Mike Perez) - 12/23/13 2014 The Classic Crime (Matt MacDonald) - 02/14/14 Blackbear #2 - 03/17/14 Four Year Strong (Dan O’Connor) - 03/18/14 Miss May I #1 (Levi Benton) - 03/24/14 Stick To Your Guns #3 (George Schmitz) - 04/01/14 G-Eazy #1 - 04/02/14 Breathe Carolina #2 (David Schmitt) - 04/15/14 The Amity Affliction #2 (Joel Birch) - 06/07/14 DJ Scout (Issues) (Ty Acord) - 07/04/14 Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! (Bert Poncet) 07/30/14 Beartooth (Kamron, Taylor) - 07/30/14 The Ghost Inside #2 (Jonathan Vigil) - 07/30/14 The Summer Set #2 (Brian Logan Dales) - 07/30/14 Crown The Empire (Andrew, Brent) - 07/30/14 Dangerkids (Andy, Tyler) - 07/30/14 The Story So Far #2 (Kelen Careener) - 07/31/14 Uh Huh Baby Yeah! (Kevin Fletcher) - 07/31/14 Volumes #2 (Michael Barr, Gus Farias) - 07/31/14 A Skylit Drive (Micheal Jagmin) - 07/31/14 The Word Alive #2 (Telle Smith) - 08/01/14 Chelsea Grin (Pablo Viveros, Alex Koehler) - 08/01/14 Favorite Weapon [2 Part] (Hance Alligood, Alex Heroes) - 09/01/14 Senses Fail [2 Part] (Buddy Nielsen) - 09/15/14 Like Moths To Flames [2 Part] (Chris Roetter) - 09/22/14 The Amity Affliction #3 (Joel Birch) - 10/10/14 For The Fallen Dreams [2 Part] (Jim Hocking, Chad Ruhlig) - 11/10/14 Palisades (Lou Miceli Jr.) - 11/11/14 Obey The Brave (Alex Erian) - 12/03/14 Chad Gilbert (of New Found Glory) - 12/05/14 Backtrack (James Vitalo) - 12/15/14 Marmozets (Becca MacIntyre, Jack Bottomley) - 12/16/14 From Indian Lakes (Joey Vannucchi) - 12/17/14 Issues #3 (Ty Acord, Michael Bohn) - 12/23/14 2015 G-Eazy #2 - 01/02/15 Miss May I #2 [2-Part] (Ryan Neff) - 01/20/15 Angel Du$t (Justice Tripp) - 02/09/15 PVRIS (Lynn Gunn) - 02/13/15 Silverstein #1 (Shane Told) - 02/22/15 Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot) - 03/01/15 August Burns Red #3 (Jake Luhrs) - 03/04/15 Motionless In White (Chris Motionless) - 03/16/15 Enter Shikari (Rou Reynolds) - 05/04/15 Emery (Matt Carter, Josh Head) - 05/28/15 Man Overboard (Zac Eisenstein) - 06/17/15 We Came As Romans (Dave Stephens, Kyle Pavone) - 08/21/15 One OK Rock (Taka Moriuchi) - 09/14/15 Thousand Foot Krutch (Trevor McNevan) - 09/16/15 Islander (Mikey Carvajal) - 12/01/15
2016 Silverstein #2 (Shane Told) - 03/21/16 Underoath #2 (Spencer Chamberlain) - 03/28/16 *Rebirth Tour August Burns Red #4 (Jake Luhrs) 03/29/16
Two Tongues Recording Update
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Staff Recommendations: 3-27-2016
It's Sunday, and that means it's recommendation day. Here are the staff recommendations for the past week. Hit the replies to let us know what you've loved as well.
As always, check out my blog and the AP.net podcast.
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