EMQ’s With Sometime in February
EMQ’s With Sometime in February
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQS interview, this time with USA Instrumental Progressive Metal band, Sometime In February. Huge thanks to their Guitarist, Tristan Auman, for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Tristan Auman.
I play guitar (and dabble in keys). Sometime in February originally kinda started as an outlet for writing my own songs, as I was playing in a couple of other bands at the time. It worked out to where the other bands fell away, and we had solidified the band lineup with Scott and Morgan and started playing shows, so we went all in on SIF.
How did you come up with your band name?
Band names have always been a pain for me, some bands I’ve been in have taken months to find a name. I wanted something versatile, inoffensive, and something with personal relevance. I heard someone say the phrase, and I was born in February, and I added it to my list, and it ended up winning in the end!
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
We are from the Carolinas here in the southeast US. There doesn’t seem to be a large Prog scene, with a few notable exceptions. There’s lots of Punk/ Metal/ Hardcore around here, as well as Indie/ Emo/ Folk Rock. We tend to play lots of mixed bills when we play locally, we can fit with lots of different styles, often out of necessity.
What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
As of now, our most recent release is our single ‘Palantir’ from our new sophomore album “Where Mountains Hide” which came out on March 21st!
Who have been your greatest influences?
Collectively SIF would probably say Dream Theater. Others include Metallica, Between the Buried and Me, Rush, The Contortionist, and The Beatles.
What first got you into music?
It’s very clear for me what piqued my interest in music and guitar, it was the moment I heard ‘More Than a Feeling’ by Boston as a child. The guitar tone in particular was unlike anything I had heard, and I needed more immediately.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Dream Theater is the first band that comes to mind, but that’s an obvious choice. I’d love the chance to play or collaborate with Yvette Young of Covet, she’s truly singular with her style and what she does.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I would say ArcTanGent in the UK, but we’re actually playing there this year! Otherwise, I would probably say Download, probably the largest, most famed Metal festival I can think of, just a staggering amount of legendary bands have played and it’d be wonderful to be on that same list.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
There hasn’t been too much honestly, anything we get is always a treat, one in particular that sticks out is someone who did a live sketch of us during a show and presented it to me afterwards, that was so unbelievably cool.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Give us your money. Kidding. But for real, just taking any time out of your day to listen to anything of ours means the world.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Does David Lynch count? I’m counting David Lynch. He rocks.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
Starting on my path, the coolest thing about being a musician was being able to sound like the musicians I idolized. And the thing I’ve always hated the most was the competition mindset. No one wins that way. Everyone has their own unique voice and should focus on letting themselves find it instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing or what the current trends are.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
Probably accessibility. While this has also become better in some ways, it’s also become difficult, so the goalposts keep shifting. While there’s so much you can do yourself, it’s almost expected for you to do everything yourself. Some examples are writing and recording, filming, editing, graphic design, social media management, the list goes on!
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Oh that is difficult. Here’s a non-Prog pick: “Home, Like Noplace is There” by The Hotelier.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Whatever makes people listen more!
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
With SIF, probably opening for Intervals at Music Farm in Charleston, SC in 2024. With BTBAM, probably the closer to the Parallax II tour at the Ramkat in Winston-Salem, NC in 2023.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’m a big coffee guy, when I’m not on tour that’s what I do, so probably open my own coffee roastery! Maybe I’ll do that at some point anyway.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
So many different categories to choose from! I’ll pick musicians.
Steve Vai
Geddy Lee
Alex Lifeson
Guthrie Govan
Mike Portnoy
What’s next for the band?
We will be playing shows regionally and internationally to support our new album, starting with making an appearance at ArcTanGent in the UK this August!
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
This link goes to socials and preorders:
https://sometimeinfebruary.lnk.to/WhereMountainsHide-Bio
Label: https://www.insideoutmusic.com/artist/sometime-in-february
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@sometimeinfebruary
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3NhxTzj0hLIbhoGP84xrmq
Social Medias: https://www.instagram.com/sometimeinfebruary/
https://m.facebook.com/sometimeinfebruary
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
Oh god. I feel like roll makes sense?
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Our sophomore album comes out NOW on InsideOutMusic. Singles are out now too, and shows are happening soon. Lots to come from us! Only getting started.
Disclaimer: This interview is solely the property of Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this interview, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
