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SUBMERGE MAGAZINE COVER STORY / INTERVIEW

Up, Up and Away Early States sound off on early successes By Ryan J. Prado Photo By Russ Wonsley If Early States ought to have been intimidated by the traditionally aggressive caldron of hardcore and metal bands bubbling out of the greater Sacramento area, they seem not to have noticed. In fact, they seem downright indifferent to the fabled demographic of their immediate proximity; a place where bands like Tera Melos shattered the glass ceilings of post-punk with dizzying mathematical permutations and broken instruments; a place where spatial metal heavyweights Deftones and Far ignited the tinder of disenfranchised Central Valley denizens and went knock, knock, knockin' on Billboard's door a place where the sheer strip-mallian essence floats so pungently in the humid troposphere, you're damn near required to bled Orange Julius should you be so unfortunate as to be shanked in the citywide food court. It's this kind of focused apathy that seems to be setting the band apart from its peers in the local music scene, and it's definitely getting it noticed outside of it as well. Early States is fronted by 18-year-old Zack Gray. His affluence in songwriting has yielded the band (also including Shaun O'Brien, 20, on guitar and keyboard; Brandon Lee, 22, on drums; with recent additions Tom Hatch, 18, on bass; and Nick Silva, 18, on lead guitar) a fluffy bed of uber-pop melodicism and expansive indie-rock pomp. "We weren't apprehensive," says Gray with regard to the divisiveness of the band's sound. "If anything we looked forward to introducing people to something nw. We want to be one of the bands that takes [the scene] in a new direction." While the band boasts an average age of 19, their focus remained steadfastly on the progression of their still fledgling career. Having just finished recording their debut EP Powerlines, Early States is forging ahead with not only their CD release show at Club Retro on Friday, Nov. 21, but also with the spoils of their headway with major Los Angeles-based music licensing firm Immediate Music. The band was recently signed licensing of music cues and pieces for television and in the promotional campaigns of 70 to 80 percent of the top 50 highest grossing films seeping out of the Hollywood's glistening underbelly, including the entire Harry Potter series, the Pirates of The Caribbean franchise and even Spider-man. Not a bad spot to be for a band that only formed about a year ago. "Being the first band to sign with Immediate Music hasn't changed our direction. It has only made us more driven and ambitious," notes Gray. "We're honored that a company as prestigious as I.M. wants to work with us. It's definitely some great validation." The band is planning on shopping their music to proper record labels come January 2009, and figures to utilize the time in the interim to "tighten up any loose screws" and to focus on the release of their EP, Powerlines will officially release at the Nov. 1 CD release show, but the album will first hit Purevolume a week prior for free (with the band on the front page), and will then make its way on over to music Mecca iTunes, then Amazon, then to basically wherever music is sold on the wild wild Web. Additionally, the band has acquired an endorsement from Dickies clothing. "Our band is our number one priority and we look forward to being able to give it our full, undivided attention," explains Gray. And the drive with which he's espoused his songwriting couldn't cut closer to the quick of the proverbial angst-loaded post-grad. Powerlines ushers in atmospheric nodes in all the right places, begging here and there for a unique threat to tether, but still maintains an unmistakable knack for hook-y transitions and guitar-smothered verve. Gray's adolescent renderings of universal themes such as "love and conflict, to wanting to get away, to finding happiness in yourself instead of looking for it in other people," while prudent, don't belie the vastness of his visionary palate. "Although those are the main themes that an be found on Powerlines, I really enjoy listening to people's interpretations of what they think the songs are about and how they relate them to their own life," says Gray. Early States are hoping to tour in Spring 2009, but will be working on new material and playing local and regional venues to begin the arduous task of getting their name plastered in the fertile minds of show goers; more importantly, the quintet has already eschewed the reticence of the young band syndrome, and expects nothing but great things in the future. "We believe that we're a very hard working band, especially for our age," says Gray. "We think we share the same focus as the bands we look up to and aspire to be like."

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EP is officially released!

We're very proud to announce that our debut EP "Powerlines" is now available for you to buy online. We have worked very hard on this CD and hope you enjoy it! Love, Early States Buy the CD here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/earlystates Buy the digital EP at ITUNES(and please leave a review!): http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=292391669&s=143441

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We're featured on MTV's Soundtrack site!

MTV is currently featuring us on their soundtrack page. The site is for discovering new music and for bands that are featured on MTV shows. http://soundtrack.mtv.com/

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Early States Photo Documentary

Hey Friends! We have a lot of new stuff going on for us right now especially with our CD release show coming up on the 21st at Club Retro. Also we have a radio interview on 100.5's the zone unsigned from 9pm to 10pm tomorrow night(sunday) so be sure to tune in. Click the picture below to follow what we’ve been up to, and to check out a bunch of behind-the-scene photos. http://earlystatesdoc.shutterfly.com/

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'An Answer' ringtone for your phone ...free of charge because we LOVE YOU!

We set up a little webpage for ya so you can hook up An Answer as your ringtone. 

Tell your friends about it too

Hope you enjoy it!

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