Last month, Louisiana six-piece Secondborn released Symbols, a new six-track EP that echoes back to the glory days of emo-rock and post-hardcore from the mid-2000s with bands like Saosin, The Classic Crime and Matchbook Romance. So, needless to say, Secondborn fit comfortably in with the current resurgence of such bands and reunions with their own fresh take on the sound.

We had to chance to speak with guitarist Patrick Trumps recently and discussed the band’s formation, the Symbols EP and its follow-up they’ve already begun working on. You can read through our conversation below and check out more material from the band on their website.

I know you guys individually have a lot of history in various bands and such. Can you tell me a bit about past attempts and how everything led you all to become Secondborn?

Tim (guitars/synths) and I played in bands that did the whole touring and label showcases for majors and indies alike. Fast forward a few years and Tim approached me about this project he wanted me to join with Daniel (vocals) and himself. Lee (drums) was recruited as well. It was originally supposed to be just a recording project. A few songs in and we had the itch to play shows. So we got Stefan (guitar) and Alex (bass) on board.

As far as influences and inspirations go, who are some bands and artists you feel are important to you guys and may have played a key role in how your sound has developed to this point?

We all listen to different bands and music styles. I don’t think Tim and Daniel started this project with a certain sound in mind. We do like bands like Thrice, Further Seems Forever and Saosin, collectively. I think we each have our own individual influences that really kind of make up the Secondborn sound.

Do you guys have an interest in signing with a label if options were offered or do you wish to stay independent?

I know we would love to do this as a job. If the right label came along at the right time with the right deal, yeah, sure. We all have full time jobs and a few of us are married. So it’d have to be the right thing. We’re having a blast doing it all ourselves, though.

As far as the writing and recording process for Symbols, how was the experience for you guys from beginning to end, especially compared to your work in previous bands?

Tim engineered and mixed the EP from his home studio as we found it allowed us the most freedom to produce exactly what we wanted. His engineering and mixing have definitely improved since we started recording Symbols. That being said, being a six-piece and having six people completely happy with each song was no small task. With Symbols, we worked at our own pace. We’d track a song and think we would be finished with it. But we all had a philosophy that “no song was safe until it’s off to the press.” The way we recorded Symbols was much more relaxed than Tim and I’s previous recordings.

For those who may not have heard your music yet, how would you describe this EP in terms of sound and lyricism?

I think, personally, our sound has a throwback to early and mid-2000s. It’s hard rock with small elements of prog, pop punk-ish and maybe a dash of metal. Hard to really pinpoint. We love big catchy choruses and we also love interesting and heavy parts. Lyrically, it’s about energy and being positive. It’s about the moments in life that wake us up, challenging or not, and how we with deal with them.

In your press release, it mentions that you guys wanted to focus more on this record than touring as you have in the past. Will that stay true moving forward now that the record is out or have you reconsidered and have any plans to play shows steadily?

We’ve played a few shows since we finished Symbols. We’re actually writing the next EP that we hope to release at the end of this year. We always intended on doing another EP to complement Symbols. So we’re currently busy with that but we’ll be playing a few shows as well. I don’t think extensive touring is in the works but you never know.

What do you think each of you would be doing if you had for whatever reason never taken the path of musicians?

Well we’re actually doing both (careers and music). Stefan’s a CPA, I work in IT and Tim owns a music academy where he and Lee teach. Alex owns his own media company. Hard to say with Daniel; he just likes to travel and experience the world.

Lastly, for fun, what were your guys’ first concert experiences?

I think my first concert was possibly Everclear. The only other band on the bill that I remember was Hagfish. Everclear had just put out their first record, World Of Noise. This was in the mid-90s, I think. It was pretty awesome. Crazy enough, Daniel actually saw Brooks and Dunn, not of his choosing. Lee’s first concert was a blink-182/New Found Glory show. Stefan’s first rock show was the Red Hot Chili Peppers…with Snoop Dogg opening up for them [laughs].

*Feature photo by Alexander Breaux

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Brian Leak

Editor-In-Chief. King of forgetting drinks in the freezer. Pop culture pack rat. X-Phile. LOST apologist.

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