Before I Wake
Cameron Jacobsen – Vox
Carter Pederson – Guitar and Vocals
Alex Armel – Bass
Drew Ongstad – Drums
Harboring enough emotion to put on such a heavy show should be difficult. Fortunately though, the four hardcore hopefuls making up Before I Wake (BIW) simply draw all of their emotion from the crowds they play for. And at a BIW show can easily become an endless, ongoing flow. Armel, the bass player stated matter-of-factly that “watching the crowd move makes me want to move.”
Having released three tracks strapped together in a freshman EP release self titled and formulating the sounds of these four high school-age musicians, Before I Wake definitely creates quite a name for themselves with it. Being fairly new to the local scene having just formed in Fall ’09, Before I Wake is gearing up for their show scheduled on November 9th with Brokencyde at The Garage. With intense drumming backed up by resonating bass tones, they drive Pederson’s vocals with more ability to croon. For their up-coming show, Pederson plans to be “all crooned-up.”
Pederson affirmed the band’s intentions of continually using catchy, melodic choruses with this assuring statement.
“I like getting stuck in people’s heads.”
With genres slipping between hardcore/ screamo and thrash- there really is no validation through words for the sounds born in these guys besides the melodic choruses that create catchy sing-a-long spots in their otherwise, illegibly mosh-friendliness .
The heavy influence of For Today becomes increasingly apparent through Jacobsen’s howls. I will say that, at times, it feels almost as if Jacobsen is striving for something that’s just out of his reach. But considering how young this band is collectively, their accomplishments don’t leave a lot of room for failure and their sound consistently matures!
Jacobsen’s frame-bending, raspy screams make up the band’s signature trademark that sets them apart from other groups in the local scene. This immediately and without a doubt stamps them with originality. Having already been approached by several other offers to join other local bands with his talent, Jacobsen makes his response quite clear by stating, “I will never leave Before I Wake.” The rage reverberated from his vocal chords perfectly juxtapose the catchy choruses coming from mainly Ongstad’s mind and sung by Pederson, the face behind the lead guitar and heartfelt vocals of BIW.
A lot of their inspiration can be found originating from the band, For Today, yet their primary focus is found elsewhere. With heavy beats sprouting from Christian mindsets, both bands have fairly comparable pounding and praiseworthy personas. Scary Kids Scaring Kids is also a big competitor for influential roots in a lot of the BIW instrumentals. Being first and foremost a Christian band though, Jesus Christ plays the most gigantic role in the band’s influences and impact that they may have on others. Their faith is meant to be felt through their music as Jacobsen proudly proclaims,
“We drop-tune for God.”
Give BIW a listen! : http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Before-I-Wake/180206927427
4 Comments
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Hmm…. I feel like I’ve read this before….
The part I liked most about this blog was how you compared BIW to other bands. It is helpful to get an idea of what they are similar to, because saying they are “hardcore” or really good at what they do is very vague. Talent is all relative when there’s no comparison, so it was nice to read about them side-by-side with other bands.
Thoroughly enjoyed your informational blog on Before I Wake! This is an amazing new young band that is undoubtedly ready for the bigger scene. They are full of talent – new talent — and the combination of talent that they have put together is only going to make their name more and more on everyone’s lips! Good job Indie Toaster on Before I Wake. Hoping to hear more from you regarding them soon.
I agree with Kaylin that it was helpful to compare Before I Wake with another band. Overall, I appreciate the information you include in your blogs, Hannah, because these are band I never would have heard of otherwise.
While it was good to know what bands they compared to and draw inpiration from, I also appreciated hearing what set them apart – their catchy, sing-along lyrics and Jacobsen’s raspy scream. Being musical newcomers, it is good to have something that sets them apart from the rest – thanks for the info!