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Ascending at great speeds
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From left: Eric Znamirowski, Adam Znamirowski, Matt Kooser, Zach Kirby, and Mike Baschenis of Ascendings
Hailing from a town just minutes outside of Baltimore, “Ascendings” has become the talk of the town throughout the local music scene. Made up of the most laid-back, humorous young adults I’ve ever witnessed, the five members are not just musicians, but true best friends who just happen to share a mutual love for playing music. The band has already experienced stressful, yet rewarding times in a studio recording their first EP; they have been gaining support from friends and family since before their first public performance. The members of Ascendings are making their way into the hearts of music enthusiasts across the state, and are reaffirming their loyal fans, friends, and families that their music (and their extremely unique personas) is here to stay. Through this interview, many people will begin to find out the true people behind the words and music.
How did you guys get started as a band?
Eric: “Well, for starters, Adam and I have been brothers since he was born. We come as a package deal. And then Adam started playing music with Mike when he was about nine years old, because he lived right up the street. Mike was such a cute baby. We played in a band for a long time, and then it fell apart. So, we knew that Zach and Matt were another package deal, and that they were in band limbo like us. We gave them a call and got together for some jam time, and it just went from there.”
Matt: “We all really liked the ideas we were throwing out at each other and went from there.”
What was it like to record in the studio?
Matt: “We just got done recording our first EP "Sink or Swim," with Taylor Larson of Oceanic Recordings. Taylor is a great producer and an even better guy. We had a very good time cracking jokes with each other while still taking care of business.”
Eric: “It was both exciting and frustrating. We learned a lot about the writing and recording processes from it. Taylor Larson is an amazing producer and has an amazing ear. He helped us out a great deal. Plus being in close quarters with your band mates/best friends all day for a week straight, crazy stuff is bound to happen.
Do you have any shows coming up? If so, when and where?
Eric: “We have a few in the future. Mostly around MD, one or two in DE. We're planning on booking a lot of out-of-state shows as well, to try and get our name out there.”
Zach: “We are playing some pretty cool shows this summer. You can check them all out at our MySpace (myspace.com/ascendings)-- but one show in particular is a 4th of July benefit show for Invisible Children.”
As a local band, is it difficult to promote yourselves? Even with the invention of MySpace and Facebook!
Zach: “Myspace and facebook is one of the best things to promote your music. It's a great way to get kids to check you out and come to your shows. I think that without that, it would be a lot harder than it already is.”
Matt: “We hand out a lot of demos to kids in different towns to try and help us spread the word around.”
Eric: “Persistence and determination is the key.”
Any plans of a CD Release/Merch show in the future?
Eric: “We are planning an early fall release of our first EP, "Sink or Swim". Most likely after pressing and releasing our CD, more merch like shirts, stickers, etc will be available.”
Who (or what) inspires you to play/write music?
Matt: “I've always just kind of done it for fun and music is a huge part of my life. I think we'd all love to make a career out of it though.”
Zach: “Anything and everything: our friends, our family, our emotions etc. We try to write about things that everyone can relate to. For instance, for our EP entitled “Sink or Swim”, we wrote from the inspiration of the hardships people face in life and the ways people must overcome them.”
Eric: “Mainly I think we're influenced by food, or else maybe music. Na, it's food. Some music...mainly food.”
What is your favorite part about being in a band (especially since all of you are best friends)?
Zach: “We're all best friends, which is awesome. We get to relax and hang out. It's not always about "business" (even though we are serious about our music). We're playing music to have fun and express ourselves, which is the whole reason you play music in the first place. I think because we are all best friends, it makes that so much easier.”
Matt: “You get to meet a lot of cool people who share a similar interest in music as you do. I love getting to hang out and talk with the kids who come out to shows. Playing with some of the most talented people I know, who just so happen to be my best friends is a plus. We have a lot of good times together.”
Eric: “We all know that being buds is just about the most important part of keeping a band together. We don't just call it quits after practice. We hang out, play video games, watch movies, shoot each other with air-soft guns… throw ping pong balls at each other, and much more things that I really shouldn't mention. But you get my point. These guys are like my brothers; there are no secrets and no boundaries.”
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