About Me
Housman’s Athletes
The Housman’s Athletes debut album is an eclectic cocktail of various forms of rock music with a hardcore edge that possesses a musical flow and is universal in appeal. The 5-piece group out of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Housman’s Athletes (Eric Epps, Chris Foley, DJ Foley, Mike Kazmer, and Logan Kavanaugh), utilized their life experiences as a catalyst for a thought-provoking thematic record with a dash of dance and punk music.
"Thematically, the record really demonstrates the beauty of life," Housman’s guitarist and primary vocalist Eric Epps explains. "In life, you have to take the good with the bad. There are depressing parts and good parts. You have to learn to deal with a multitude of different things."
Under the tutelage of producer and owner of Crush Recordings, Ryan Greene (NOFX, Lagwagon, No use for a Name, Good Riddance, Authority Zero, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes), the band was able to achieve the sound that they have been striving for. "We have grown so much in our sound since we first started playing together," Guitarist DJ Foley said. "Ryan helped us get to a whole new level and we were able to make a kick-ass record. He definitely helped us out big on the drumming and the production, and now the record just sounds huge."
Since the band’s first record together as Army Of Strippers, they said they felt like they have grown substantially in their musical expression by working toward a sound that is completely different. The result of the band’s artistic maturity has been laughingly described as a procreation of the two video game hits Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. "Our sound is as if those two video games made a hot baby," band member Eric Epps said. "It’s definitely a whole different entity than the first songs we wrote together. I think our latest project really reflects our maturity. We stopped trying to play as fast as possible and started writing the music we, and others, want to hear."
Eric also said he felt the meticulous attention to detail was necessary in catapulting the record to the level they wanted. "With the recording, we spent so much time trying to find the tone that matches the sort of vibes of the song. We used a different sounds for each song - different drumsets, basses, and guitar amps when necessary -- and we were able to shape each song with a unique feel. That is something that we never had the luxury of doing before."
On the recording, the songs’ lyrical content deals with a variety of subject matter, from the tumultuous nature of life in "Things No One Wants" ("It talks about things that no one wants - like wasting your life," Eric Epps said about the album’s opening track), to an introspective point of view on the suicide contemplation process, "Feet Dangling And The Color Purple" ("It’s the biggest sounding song that we’ve heard in a long time," DJ Foley said comparing the song to mainstream music). Another song titled "Four Cheers for Innocence" uses World War I as a backdrop for a story of a young couple separated by life’s trials.
Formerly known as Army of Strippers, Housman’s Athletes derived their name from the poem "To An Athlete Dying Young" by the 19th century poet, A.E. Housman. The story is about an athlete who wins all of his races and abruptly dies at the top of his game; never defeated, never growing old, never fading away. "Our goal as a band is for our music to have some longevity ," Housman’s Athletes guitarist D.J. Foley said of the music. "We want to never get old and have our music stick around forever."
----Jason Blasco
Race To The Finish
$13.00 (shipping included)
01. Things No One Wants
02. Unrequited
03. This Wretched Moment
04. Three Part Harmony
05. Four Cheers For Innocence
06. All The Bad Kids
07. Save Me, Destroy Me
08. Fumbling In The Dark
09. Tired Shoulders
10. Recreational Atavism
11. Feet Dangling And The Color Purple
12. Country Waltz
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