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INTERVIEW: Shon Tetlow of Histories

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Histories are a pop-punk four-piece from Springfield, Missouri. With the release of two EPs under their belts and a full-length slated for later this year, the band are hoping to make 2015 one to remember, and I was recently able to discuss their plans with bassist Shon Tetlow.

How would you describe Histories to those who havenever listened to the band before?

Collectively, I think we’d go alongside the line of a “progressive pop-punk” or [an] “emo punk” kind of stereotype. Though our friends often tell us we’re a “depressing party” band, whatever that means.

What made you want to pursue music for a living?

Since all of us were younger, long before we met each other, we found some sense of solidarity in ourselves through music. For us now, it’s far from making music for a living - because of us, music is living.

You’ve announced that you’ll be releasing you debut full-length this coming spring. Is there any other information you can give us about it?

Our full-length, Decisions and Everything After, will be recorded the first two weeks of April at Nu-Tone Studios in lovely San Francisco. As for its release date, it’ll be a lot sooner than you think! 

How will the music on it differ from your previous releases?

Histories’ writing process has always been so much fun for myself and the other guys. There is no solo writer. We all make the cake and bake it too. This release will really show the direction we’re headed, not only just by the songs, but the tonal asset we feel has been missing from the other releases. If you liked either of our EPs, this album will definitely keep [you] anxious for another.

When listening to I’m Still Doing Well and Fri(ends), it’s easy to see a lot of growth and progression between the two. What do you attribute to this?

When we started writing the I’m Still Doing Well EP, it was after we broke apart from our previous band out of [a] mutual agreement. Grant [Stafford, guitar], Keaton [Katzfey, drums], Aaron [Klimmek, vocals] and I all looked at each other and said, “Let’s write the songs we want to write.”

Both EPs had been written and recorded within eight months of each other. The flow of creativity and the want to keep making artistically articulate songs just keeps going for us. Confidence plays a big factor. The more we believe in ourselves, the better our music gets.

The majority of Histories’ tracks are written from a very personal perspective. Do you feel this transparency helps you better connect with listeners?

When I was 19, I was running sound a lot for venues and my best friends actually brought The Wonder Years to our town on my birthday. This was about a year before they released The Upsides LP. I remember talking to Soupy [Dan Campbell] about his lyricism and he told me that a lot of his writing was repositioned quotes developed from life situations. I knew that’s why I enjoyed [the band’s music] so much. Because it was him, not what someone told him to write about, not just writing songs for the sake of it. [He] writes for him, and hopes that [they’re] relatable.

Aaron, Grant and I flourish in the idea of saying exactly what we mean, and how it happened. Aaron [has] such a steel tongue at times – we love it. We only hope that our personal experiences are tangibly relatable. Making us far from a “fake it til you make it” band and more of “we’re Histories, whether you listen to us or not”. We hope our honesty in our writing connects and brings the listeners onto ship with us.

What can fans expect from the band in 2015?

An album we hope you want to put on repeat, us being as close to your hometown as possible and a slew of merch your friends can be jealous of.

What bands or artists would you like to see Histories tour with in the future?

There’s always the legends: Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and Circa Survive. If we were to play any show with Pianos Become The Teeth, The Hotelier, Foxing, Tiny Moving Parts and Moose Blood, that would be [one] not to miss.

Final question: what’s your go-to karaoke song?

For me, it would have to be either “Bad Moon Rising” by CCR or “What Is Love” by Haddaway because you can’t beat a karaoke song everyone knows.

This is Shon from Histories. You’ll be hearing more from us soon. Stay rad!

You can find Histories’ music on Bandcamp, and be sure to follow the band on Facebook and Twitter.

By Clare Fitzgerald