In The Studio with… The Afters

Josh Havens, lead vocals / guitar / keys of the The Afters talks about their upcoming album, Never Going Back to OK, that coming out January 26, 2008.

THE MUSIC:
“The music on this album is very diverse. There are songs that rock harder than anything we’ve ever done and ballads that are softer and more emotional than anything we’ve ever done. We kept writing until we had the songs we loved. There is not a single song that is on there just because we had to fill up the rest of the record. I think that people who liked our song ‘Beautiful Love’ will really like this album.”

THE LYRICS:
“Many of these songs were inspired by things we’ve experienced over the last couple years. We’ve tossed around the idea of a song called ‘Never Going Back to OK’ since before our last record. I remember talking about it during practices back when we were still independent. It’s interesting how that idea stuck around and became the title track of this new album. That song is one of the most upbeat, rocking songs we’ve ever done. It deals with not being content with where you’re at in life, but always striving for more. Another song that we’ve been playing live is called ‘Ocean Wide.’ It was inspired by a friend of mine, whose parents separated after 30 years of marriage. A husband is supposed to love his wife the way Christ loves the church. God never says, ‘I’ve had enough’ or ‘I can’t love you anymore,’ even though that’s what we deserve. Because God’s love is an ocean wide, there is forgiveness, mercy and grace that allow us to look past all the little things and let love last a lifetime. There’s also a fun song inspired by our old bass player, who fell in love with a girl on MySpace and is now married to her!”

THE COMPARISON:
“I once asked a friend of mine who is in a popular band how their new album compared to the old one. He said that would be like a parent saying who their favorite child was. If that’s the case…this new album is my favorite child.” [smiles]