Afterglow Radio

Strong use of melody in the verses to set up and create the mood. Good song structure. Strong and engaging vocal performance... - Taxi Independent Music Co.

With a pop-rock sound, the four tracks on Afterglow Radio's EP are a first rate job. But this comes as little surprise, considering the disc was recorded at Gridlock Studios and produced by Justin Thomas. The songs sound like they were well thought out, and Afterglow Radio is one of the better bands of this musical style. As always, one thing that always scores points with us -regardless of genre- is when a band presents themselves in a professional manner. And this band does just that, both musically and in the packaging. The cover art is a nice job and doesn't look local-bandish. Worth checking out.

by Paul Henning
(Connections Magazine) - Connections Magazine

This sounds like a culminating number that's only fully appreciated in a setting like the Madison Square Garden or another concert hall that seats at least 15,000. Vocals are amazing and are mixed well with the rest of the band. I love how the guitars come down off a driving intro to form a musical bed for these sweet vocals to fall into. Bass and drums are as passionate about their parts as the vocalist is about his. Musical bridge takes the song in another direction then gets brought back into the fold with haunting screams of the vocalist. This tune is getting every mark possible from me and I feel that I'm not the first!

Reviewed by: Velo from Aberdeen, Washington - Garage Band Song Review

On Saturday, Afterglow Radio headlines a group of Central Florida-based musicians who will highlight the first B.A.S.E. Camp Children's Cancer Foundation Concerts for a Cause at Orlando's Central Station.

Afterglow Radio, formed in 2005, has racked up a number of accolades in its short existence, including winning a Battle of the Bands competition that earned it the right to play at Real Rock 101.1 FM's Earthday Birthday. That meant opening for such bands as Sevendust, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Buckcherry and Saliva.

The band also was selected a favorite by O-Rock 105.9 FM's Mel Taylor, and will be featured on the station nightly at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, finishing with an in-studio performance.

Comprised of Jeremy Hagen, vocals/guitars/harmonica; Eric Palkovic, bass; Preston Wulff, guitar; and Jorge Alvarez, drums, Afterglow Radio is without a doubt one of Central Florida's premier bands, perhaps the most likely to succeed on a national and international level.

I spoke with lead singer Hagen about Afterglow Radio's recent successes, its upcoming CD, and the basis for its thought-provoking songs. So let's Shake, Rattle & Know: Afterglow Radio:

SRK: You have been a band since 2005, but only recently have started to get the attention you deserve. Why do you think it took a while for the band's music to catch on with audiences?

Hagen: I would say it has a lot to do with the fact we were transitioning from me as a solo artist to having a full band. That type of transition takes time to develop, because as a band, you have to figure out who you are and who you want to be, and it takes time to develop the sound.

We also didn't put ourselves out there right away. We wanted to stay in the underground scene and perfect our sound before trying to make a splash. Timing is everything, and there is no sense in having a "Grand Opening" until we were ready. We are happy where we are right now, though, and are doing whatever we can to get our music out there.

SRK: Tell me about the process you went through in handpicking your band members.

Hagen: A lot of it happened by fate. Eric (bass) used to come see me play at shows, and I got to know him and his family really well. So when I needed a band, he came to mind right away. When I first moved here from North Dakota, his family took good care of me, so having him a part of this was a no-brainer.

Preston (guitar) was a student I used to teach guitar to at Mars Music, and I got to know him pretty well also. In fact, his father gave me my first surfboard.

Jorge (drums) was in a different band that used to play at Pleasure Island. When I was offstage, his band was on and vice-versa, so I got to know of him. Oddly enough, we ended up working together at Full Sail in Orlando and began a great friendship.

SRK: You released a four-song EP in 2006. When can your fans expect a full-length CD from the band?

Hagen: We will have a full-length CD done sometime in early 2008. At the very latest, it will be out in the spring of 2008. Everything from the recording, mastering, packaging and so on takes so much more time than people would think.

SRK: Comparisons are inevitable in the music business, so who are some of the bands to which you are compared?

Hagen: We've heard everything from Led Zeppelin and Incubus to matchbox twenty, Tool, Jeff Buckley, The Deftones and 3 Doors Down. It's hard for us to see some of those comparisons, because we aren't trying to sound like anyone else. We are just a product of our collective influences. We want people to take a listen and be the judge. I would say we have a good balance of influences and bring a modern edge to it.

SRK: Songs like "In Your Reign" infuse untraditional rock elements such as reggae riffs and soaring chords. Does this eclectic blend of style best define Afterglow Radio as a band?

Hagen: Yes, it really does. We are all a part of the writing process and all had a hand in making that song what it became. It started out as a straight-up reggae song in the embryo stages of its writing. . . . We left some of the original reggae elements in there and layered it from there.

We certainly aren't trying to be a reggae-style band or ska band, like Sublime, although I love Sublime. We just wanted to keep some of the song's original form and add a new twist to it.

SRK: Where does the band name, Afterglow Radio, come from?

Hagen: It came from Brad Floyd (from Orlando band The Greater Grey). He is the one who came up with it, offered it to us and allowed us to use it. We just thought it was a really cool band name, and we sort of gave it our own meaning.

Naming a band is a strange little process. You spend so much time working on the music and trying to develop an identity for your music and suddenly you're faced with having to put a name to the music. It's hard, because you don't want to come up with a name that's too cheesy, too weird or so normal sounding that it doesn't stand out at all.

SRK: With a lot of top honors that already have been bestowed on the band, what is your proudest accomplishment to date?

Hagen: Probably the release of our EP and getting it out. And probably getting our new CD out will become my proudest accomplishment. It's tough, because each new show I view as an accomplishment we can be proud of as a band. Whenever we are able to transfer energy to the crowd and share those type of moments on stage, I feel we have accomplished something special.

SRK: What do you feel is the toughest challenge you face as an unsigned band?

Hagen: Getting noticed and dealing with all the finances yourself. You get what you pay for, and it takes a lot of money to make a great record. You put a CD in someone's hand, and they are like, "this is cool," but they have no idea what went on to make that CD; all the blood, sweat and tears that went on to make it happen.

BY MIKE NUNEZ - FLORIDA TODAY