Cedar Boulevard

Friends and musicians since high school, Kris Ahlquist and Luke Sharp founded the band that was to become Cedar Boulevard. After a relocation to the States, the two met David Mari and Julian Comeau and the band was complete. They wasted no time getting to work on their debut self-titled EP, Cedar Boulevard which is what we are sharing with you today. After heading into Adelaide Recording Studios in North Carolina in August and releasing the EP in September, we have to note how impressive the album turned out after only a month in between the recording and the release.

Cedar Boulevard is a 5 track EP that appropriately serves as a “Meet Cedar Boulevard”, seeing as this is their debut release. Each track gives listeners a taste of what the band is capable of musically. The EP’s opening track, “A Raven Like A Writing Desk” brings the high energy along with heavy guitars and a taste of metal. The rest of the songs keep the energy high while sampling post hard-core and pop-punk that can please today’s Warped Tour crowd as well as fans of the famous tour from back in the day. Produced by Shawn Mike, the EP is clean, professional and shows the band is serious about their craft.

Being versatile and showing different sides and influences in your music can be a daunting task with less than desired results, however Cedar Boulevard has created an EP that is inspired with tons of energy and catchy songs to keep fans happy until they release the next album.

Cedar Boulevard is a band still in their infancy. Only being founded in July of this year, these four guys have quite a ride ahead. Being a part of a band’s journey from the start is exciting, and we are more than happy to have a front row seat for the show.

For updates, tour dates and everything Cedar Boulevard, be sure to connect with them on Facebook and Twitter. Cedar Boulevard is available now through iTunes. - Wordkrapht

In November of last year, we featured Cedar Boulevard on our site. Their self-titled debut EP was only released in September, but contained a lot of potential and promise for a band that had only been together for less than a year. The band quickly gained momentum and after finding new representation they reached out to us, asking if we would cover the release of their re-mastered EP. We jumped at the chance to ask the boys a few questions, and see what it is that makes them tick. Take a moment to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with these post-hardcore boys by reading the interview below:

First things first, welcome to our little corner of the indie universe! Introduce yourselves to the readers and give us a little history on Cedar Boulevard.

CB: The band was started back in Australia by Kris and myself (Luke). We never managed to have much luck getting the band off the ground back home, just never found people with right dedication. So we picked things up and relocated to Toronto, Canada. From there we found our drummer David and then we’ve been down in Los Angeles writing and working hard, which is where our other guitarist C.J is from. We recorded our EP last year and released it on February 17th of this year. It’s a mix of punk, post-hardcore and metal. Trying to craft our own sound and bring all our influences together.

You recently switched management which has opened up some doors for the band. Walk us through the process of seeking management, and how you wound up with who you did. Where there specific qualifications you were looking for?

CB: We recently started working with our new management company called Smoke and Mirrors, which is great. It means we are now free to focus mostly on the music side of things, knowing that the behind the scenes stuff is being taken care of. I don’t think we were looking for specific qualifications, just people who understood the industry and how it works and were easy for us to work with, which is exactly what we got.

Along with new representation, you’ve also re mastered your self-titled debut EP correct?

CB: Yes, we remastered our self-titled EP with Kris Crummett (Sleeping With Sirens, Issues, Alesana). He really boosted the overall feel of the album and gave it new life so we could re-release it and keep pushing ourselves as a band.

Rumor has it you guys are also working on new music as we speak? How is the process different this time around (if it is at all)?

CB: We are definitely working on new music, and always have an idea or two going on. However, recently our main focal point has been on writing new material so that we can hit the studio again and put out some new recordings. I think as we write more as a band and as individuals we are really getting to the heart of our sound and making some really cool music that we can’t wait for people to hear. This time round though we are planning to release a single or maybe two before the release comes out, to start getting everyone excited.

What will the rest of 2015 bring Cedar Boulevard and the fans who follow?

Right now 2015 looks to be a big building year for us as we make new music behind the scenes as well as trying to get as many gigs in as we can. We really want to hit the road as soon as we can to try and see as many fans as we can. That’s our big priority for this year.

Cedar Boulevard is available now through iTunes, Google Play and just about any other site you can think of to purchase and download music. If you’re in the area, Cedar Boulevard will be playing at Ampfli in Los Angeles on April 10th. Don’t forget to connect with the band on any and all social media sites, all of which can be found at the bottom of the page. - Wordkrapht

Cedar Boulevard is a punk, rock, post hardcore band. They have a sound along the lines of Black Veil Brides crossed with Avenged Sevenfold, mixed with Fall Out Boy and Pierce The Veil. Based between Los Angeles and Toronto, they have just released their self titled EP. Check out my exclusive interview with the guys below and get to know this great up and coming band I am sure you are going to be hearing a lot about.

image
Can you give me a brief history on your band; how and when you formed and how you decided on the band name Cedar Boulevard?

The band was originally started in Australia by Kris & myself (Luke). We decided to move to Toronto, Canada where we found our drummer David. There was then a fairly lengthy process of trying to find a singer as dedicated as the rest of us. After a long search we eventually found our singer Julian in Los Angeles, and from there everything just really clicked and before we knew it we were in the studio recording our self titled EP. The name Cedar Boulevard has a long story behind it, which will slowly come out over time, but for now we leave you pondering…..

How would you describe your sound?

The band’s sound comes from a lot of our influences and what we enjoy listening to. Overall we combine a mix of genres, hard rock/metal similar to bands like Avenged Sevenfold/Black Veil Brides mixed with a punk/post-hardcore feel like Fall Out Boy/Pierce The Veil. Mainly its catchy vocals, lead guitars and thick driving rhythm.

Who do you think would enjoy listening to your music?

We hope that there is something in there for everybody. We’ve been told we sound like a lot of bands. Blink 182, All Time Low, Fall Out Boy and that punk vibe through to heavier stuff like Atreyu, A Day To Remember and Avenged Sevenfold. I think it’s because we have some heavier tracks on the EP, driven by the instrumentation, we also have an acoustic track on there so we feel we have quite a range as we think it’s important to be diverse. Hopefully that helps bring a diverse audience as well.

You just released your amazing self-titled EP that was recorded in North Carolina. What was it like to record your debut release?

A strange mix of exciting and stressful would probably sum it up. We were lucky enough to be able to record at Adelaide Recording Studios with Shawn Milke and Neil Engle, the team behind Alesana’s latest release. We went into it with everything already written and demoed, which proved useful as we were short on time. David’s skill as a drummer really shone through and he managed to record all of his drums in just one day. That really set the tone for the recording process and Luke and Kris pushed themselves immensely to make sure we got the rhythm guitar and bass done. It left us just enough time for Julian to record his vocals and for Luke to get the lead guitars done before we had to catch a flight back home. Working with a deadline pushed us to get it done, it was probably what we needed.


image
The EP’s opening track is a great song with a unique and interesting title, “A Raven Like A Writing Desk,” what inspired that?

The track itself has this dark and eerie classical string opening which then kicks into the song with full force. It is definitely our heaviest track on the EP with plenty of guitar leads and some more “metal” riffs. Lyrically the song explores a character who is questioning his own sanity and whether or not he is in fact going crazy. The lyrics from the pre-chorus depict it perfectly, “And they say maybe I’m losing my mind, and I said maybe it’s already gone”. The song title comes from a line in Alice In Wonderland where the Mad Hatter says to Alice; “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”. The Hatter admits that he doesn’t actually know the answer, eluding to his madness. Something that related strongly to the lyrical content of the song.

What kind of festivals are you hoping to play at? I could definitely see you guys at Warped Tour.

Warped Tour is definitely a big one that we would love to play at. So many of the bands we all love have been on that tour at one point or another. Spending a summer playing music, hanging out with your friends and getting to meet so many music fans from around the country sounds amazing. Another festival would be Soundwave in Australia, it would be awesome because both Kris and Luke are Australian and the festival itself has a great mix of bands, but really Europe or any festival that would allow us to play to new fans.


What is your writing process like? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

The writing process for this first release was different to our current writing process. Luke and Kris had already written the skeletons of most of the songs when they were back in Australia. It was when they moved out to Toronto and found David that we really started to see them come to life. When we sat down and wrote the vocal/melodies with Julian it all just came very naturally. And we think that was the most important part, the four of us writing together just feels very natural. Now that we have put this release out we are beginning from the ground up on our next release and the writing is happening in many different ways which is great. Whether it is a rough song idea or a vocal idea from Julian or a guitar part from Luke, it’ll get brought to the group as a whole and then Kris will add a bass part or David will bring in the drums etc. Everything just comes to life from there, it’s very much a group effort.

What albums and bands do you individually or as a band enjoy listening to?

As a band we think one of the biggest things that makes our sound so diverse is that each of us has really different musical tastes. It’s where we get our combination or rock, pop punk, post hardcore and metal.

Kris: I listen to a variety of genres from Rush and Macklemore, to more of the heavier side, bands like Escape The Fate, Black Veil Brides, Close Your Eyes etc…

Julian: I love everything, as long as it’s good for what it is. But a few specific examples would have to be Beartooth, who I’m really into right now, and Issues. Also, I used to be an All Time Low fanboy … It was bad.

David: Avenged Sevenfold, A Day To Remember, Metallica, Rush, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy. I also listen to Rap/RnB/Hip Hop and EDM music.

Luke: Classical Music, Symphonic Metal, Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, All That Remains, Queen, Green Day, so many more.

image
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

The best advice we would have is just to go for it. Start small, get your friends together and do it for the simple love of music. Some of the best times we’ve all had is the simple pleasure of being with your friends and writing music. From there see where you want to go with it, understanding that you should always do it for the love of music, not for money or fame. Make sure you enjoy what you are doing, pursuing it as a career is as equally hard as it is rewarding, just make sure it’s definitely something you want 100% because you have to put your heart and soul into doing it to really get somewhere.

How can fans stay in touch with the band and its members?

We try and make it easy, people can stay in touch with us as a band and individuals via our social media. We’re most active on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. We actually genuinely love talking to fans and interacting, answering questions and we definitely encourage people to talk to us.

Band: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Members on Twitter: @krisahlquist, @juliancomeau, @davidmarii, @lukesharp

You can also check out Cedar Boulevard’s official website for more info and to purchase their EP.

image
Check out the band’s Facebook to see how you can win some official merch from the band! - Breakaway Daily

CEDAR BOULEVARD
‘Self Titled EP’-DIGITAL
(Self Released)
7/10

Nella primavera di quest’anno due pischelli australiani decidono che vogliono mettere in piedi una band. Ma non la vogliono fare a casa loro. Partono per gli Stati Uniti e li, una volta arrivati, completano la formazione. Ad agosto entrano in studio in North Carolina ed ora è fuori il loro primo ep, omonimo e autoprodotto, per il momento solo in versione digitale. Si definiscono un incrocio tra Fall Out Boy e Avenged Sevenfold. Se devo essere sincero, dei Fall Out Boy, che siano i primi o gli ultimi, sento ben poco, forse qualche eco in ‘All That I Wished For’. Sicuramente l’influenza di marca A7X, coi dovuti paragoni, è più marcata, vedi l’opener ‘A Raven Like a Writing Desk’. Ottime strutture melodiche e assoli in abbondanza, i quattro se la suonano alla grande, e ci sono ancora margini di miglioramento. Li preferisco quando spingono sull’acceleratore, anche se devo dire che se la cavano pure con i pezzi più ‘pop’ e alla portata di tutti. Non manca nemmeno la ballatona, ‘Fall Apart’, che sa di già sentito ma che non trovo assolutamente fuori luogo. Come primo biglietto da visita non c’è male. Se qualcuno si dovesse accorgere di loro e prenderli sotto la propria ala protettiva, si potrà sicuramente parlare di next big thing. Cambiassero anche il nome, che proprio non mi piace, la tombola è assicurata.
(Francesco Zavattari) - Salad Days Magazine

How did you guys all meet? Luke and I (Kris) met in High School back in Australia where we played previously in a band together. From there we moved out to Toronto, Canada looking to really make a career in music. We met our drummer David by putting an ad online. Things just really worked well and he’s been with us ever since. We scoured the internet and all our music contacts and eventually came across our singer Julian, who’s from LA. We traveled down to the US, to collaborate together and everything just went from there.

You guys are from all over the world. Does this make you stronger as a band? Yeah, Luke and myself are Australian, David is Canadian and Julian is American. We feel that hopefully it makes us unique, or if nothing else it’s a really weird talking point. We all have different views on music, which I don’t think really comes from us being from different countries at all. We actually think having these different views makes the songwriting more diverse and therefore hopefully makes us a stronger band.

What brought you guys together to make music? A love of music and sheer determination. It really started by deciding that music was what we wanted to do and made the leap of faith to move out to North America. From there it was just a process of finding David and Julian, two other people with that same level of determination and desire to put in the effort to really make this work.

Is there a force driving you guys to create music? There is the love of music first and foremost, but in relation to the last question I think there is also this level of determination. That drive and that passion to really want to make this work. Trying to make a career out of music is hard, it takes so much sacrifice and dedication. We’ve all had people we know who wanted to “make it” so to speak, but when the first obstacles came along they would bail or give up. We think proving that we can do this, proving any naysayers we’ve had wrong is another thing that really drives us.

Congratulations on the release of your new self-titled EP, what was it like writing and recording that? It was a great experience. We went into the studio with everything already demoed out which was great. Whilst we were in the studio we came up with a few changes which really added to the songs and rounded it all out. It was just great how the four of us came together and in a really short period of time everything just seemed to work and fit really nicely.

How do you guys write your music, and who writes the lyrics? The music for the most part is a group effort, we are all songwriters which really helps bring ideas to the table. This first release was a little different because as we said some of the material had already been written before we were a full band. But the way we are continuing to write now is a very group orientated thing, someone will bring a song or idea to the table and we’ll build off it from there with everyone’s input. The same goes for the lyrical content, there were some songs on this first release that had already been written lyrically and others that were written as a group. That’s how it seems we’ll probably be developing further as we push ahead.

What is next for Cedar Boulevard? At the moment we are busy writing and planning for 2015. We’ve only just put out this latest release but people already want more, which is a good sign I guess. We’ve just released 4 different shirt designs which are available via our online store (cedarboulevard.storenvy.com). We are also talking to a lot of press and that seems to be what the next few months will involve a lot more of. There’s also a lot of behind the scenes work going on. Things that we’re working on to try and get out to everyone as soon as we can.

Where can we find your music? Our music is available on 33 different streaming and download sites. The biggest of which are iTunes, Spofity, Google Play, Amazon Music, Rdio, Xbox Music, JB-Hi Fi, Rhapsody as well as host of others. If people have questions about a specific country or stream service, or even just want to ask us a question they can hit us up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cedarboulevard.

Any plans to tour? As we said before there is a lot going on behind the scenes at the moment so hopefully a lot of touring coming up in 2015. The first thing we are working on is for around April next year, but we’re still waiting on that to be confirmed. After that though we really just hope to get the ball rolling and get out there to see all the fans. - Music Existence

Cedar Boulevard is an intriguing band to take a look at: birthed from two musical partners in Australia, it found its way over to the United States in pursuit of a bigger spotlight. Landing in North Carolina, the band recorded their eponymous debut EP. Let’s delve into the record:

Cedar Boulevard’s album artwork is immediately very brooding and unsettling; it looks like a small darkened town on the eve of Halloween. ‘A Raven Like A Writing Desk,’ the first track on the record, opens with similar eeriness. After a few moments of ambiance however, it quickly evolves into hard rock. The production is exceptionally good, as is the musicianship. The song is powerful and catchy, a strong note to begin a record with. Right off of the bat, the guitar work on this record is impressive as well.

Julian Comeau, the lead vocalist, is a pleasant surprise on this album. With the dark, metal-esque musical style, the listener braces themselves for some sort of distorted, screaming, hard core vocals. Comeau doesn’t provide on that, which is good. His voice is elegant for the music, pushing emotions forward in a haunting way. In honesty, his vocals can’t help but draw comparisons to some 1980’s rock groups. If Poison and Bret

Michaels were starting out today, they would probably sound a lot like Cedar Boulevard and Julian Comeau. To draw a more modern comparison, the vocals align themselves in the same region as someone like Nate Ruess.

‘All That I Wished For’ falls in line with the first song, at least, in terms of stylization. The third song on the record is quite something, though: ‘Fall Apart.’ It’s a good rule of thumb that the best rock groups should translate well to acoustic instrumentation. Cedar Boulevard makes this transition with ease and grace, and it works. ‘Fall Apart’ is gorgeous, and may stand as the most poignant song on the track, especially when the

band slips in and out of the noise. ‘Shorelines & Shipwrecks’ returns to the 1980’s-esque rock and roll. Again, though, it has a modernized flare to it.

At this point, it’s probably worth mentioning something fairly important: I’m doubtful that Cedar Boulevard will appeal to adults or older young adults. Their sound feels very similar to the sound of the boy bandish era of the early 2000’s, finding a comfortable space between the All American Rejects and Panic! At The Disco. It becomes clear by the end of Cedar Boulevard’s first record that their target demographic, whether they like it or not, may very well be young teenage girls and boys, the kind that go to Warped Tour concerts in the summer.

In any case, it’s a strong debut. It’s produced well, the musicianship and delivery of the songs are top notch, and there are some worthwhile hooks scattered throughout the record. It feels shallow at times, which probably ties back to its alignment with those early 2000’s bands. Regardless, they wear what they do well, and are worth checking out if that era, or a sound reminiscent of the 1980’s appeals to you. - Take A Shot Magazine

Founded by high school friends, Kris Ahlquist (Bass) and Luke Sharp (Guitar) in Perth, Western Australia. In search of a bigger scene and looking to further their musical careers the two moved to North America. Here they found David Mari (drums) and Julian Comeau (Vocals). They headed into Adelaide Recording Studios, North Carolina in August 2014.

In September 2014 they released their first self-titled EP; a blend of rock, pop punk, post-hardcore and metal. From the fast paced vocal delivery, dual lead guitars and thumping low end through to the more melodic acoustic, piano and string elements the band covers a wide range of styles to create a sound all their own. We recently caught up with Cedar Boulevard for an exclusive interview.

cedar-boulevard-400

How long have you been doing what you’re doing and how did you get started in the first place?
Kris Ahlquist: I’ve been playing bass for about 7 years, after picking up a sporting injury, I had to stop playing sport, I was given a bass to play at the time and just kept playing it. Luke and some friends in High school later asked if I wanted to join the band they were in, I haven’t looked back since.
Julian Comeau: I started singing before I could talk, I remember my mom used to always tell me that I would hum Beatles melodies when I ate my broccoli. Singing was always a major part of my life, but I started taking it seriously when “So Wrong, It’s Right” came out. I wanted to sing all those songs and I used to try for 8 hours a day, at LEAST, and I guess that hard work paid off.
David Mari: I’ve been playing drums for 10 years. I got started in the 5th grade when a buddy of mine, who played guitar, wanted to start a band & needed a drummer. After my first couple of drum lessons I was immediately hooked.
Luke Sharp: I’ve been playing guitar for 8 years. First got started by wanting to be singer/guitarist until I realized I can’t sing that well so I decided to focus on guitar instead.

Who were your first musical influences that you can remember?
Kris Ahlquist: Michael Jackson or bands like Green day are an obvious for most and then bands like The Used, Avenged Sevenfold and Underoath really got me into the ‘heavier’ music scene.
Julian Comeau: My dad is a singer-songwriter, so I gotta say him. But the first band that got me into music was Fall Out Boy, I remember hearing Grand Theft Autumn and just being obsessed with it.
David Mari: Nirvana and Wolfmother were both two bands that influenced how I played from the very beginning. As far as drummers it would have to be Neil Peart from Rush.
Luke Sharp: Green Day is the first band that really got me hooked to an intense level.

Which artists are you currently listening to? And is there anybody you’d like to collaborate with?
Kris Ahlquist: Black Veil Brides new album, and One Ok Rock, A Day To Remember look fun to collaborate with.
Julian Comeau: I’m super into Beartooth right now, Caleb’s vocals are sick!
David Mari: Right now, I’m currently listening to The Word Alive. They’re all extremely talented musicians, especially Luke Holland and I’d definitely love to collaborate with them.
Luke Sharp: A lot classical (Bach, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky), nothing for a collaboration.



Describe the first piece of musical equipment that you actually purchased. And which is the one piece of hardware or software you’re still looking to add to your collection now?
Kris Ahlquist: My first instrument was an Ibanez 5 String bass, it was on sale at a second hand store so I taught myself to play on a 5 string. I would one day love to own a Bechstein Grand Piano
Julian Comeau: The first instrument I got was my dad’s old guitar, but the first piece of actual equipment I bought was a CAD GLX2400. I love recording at home, so buying that mic really improved the quality over using the webcam microphone on my MacBook.
David Mari: I remember buying a practice pad and 2b drumsticks and they were too big in diameter and were really awkward to practice with. I am looking to acquire a new drum kit, preferably SJC.
Luke Sharp: My first guitar was a Fender Squire Stratocaster, the same guitar I think every kid has. I would love a Steve Lukather “Luke” guitar, for the name and cos they’re amazing.

Tell us something about your current hardware/software and instrument setup?
Kris Ahlquist: I’m currently playing a 4 string Fender Deluxe Jazz series. I like a high action setup on my bass which a lot of people find strange and its currently setup for Drop D playing.
Julian Comeau: I still use my GXL2400 for my home recording projects, usually borrow my dad’s awesome Taylor for the acoustic stuff. As far as electrics go, I’ve got two that I use, a Minarik Lotus and a G&L ASAT.
David Mari: I currently play on a Ludwig kit with Sabian Cymbals. 14” AAX Freq Hi Hiats, 14” AAX Studio Crash, 10” AAX Splash, 20” XS20 Ride, 17” AAX X-Plosion Crash, and a Meinl Generation X 14” Thomas Lang Filter China.
Luke Sharp: I have 4 guitars, all Gibson and Epiphone, 2 Les Pauls and 2 SG’s. My main is a Les Paul with Seymour Duncan Invaders. I use a Blackstar HT 100 Head and Blackstar Series One Cab with Celestion V30’s.

Studio work and music creation, or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
Kris Ahlquist: Personally I don’t prefer either, both are great, not only do I get to do something I love in making music, but at the same time I get to go out and perform it to people that love hearing it, it’s a win win.
Julian Comeau: Well, I’m an actor, so I’m definitely inclined to say live audience! Nothing beats the energy of having people watching and listening to what you’re doing on stage.
David Mari: I definitely prefer performing and interacting with a live audience. There’s no better feeling for me than the rush of feeding off other peoples energy.
Luke Sharp: Live audience for sure. It’s something I’m really looking forward to when we head out on tour.

Which one of your original songs gets your adrenalin running the most, when performing in front of an audience?
Kris Ahlquist: For me it has to be “Shorelines & Shipwrecks”.
Julian Comeau: “Raven” is really challenging, but it’s also one of the most enjoyable songs to sing on the record. Wailing choruses and crazy key changes throughout just make for a good time.
David Mari: It’s tough to say. I get a good adrenaline rush from every one of our songs. But “A Raven Like A Writing Desk” is extremely fun to play.
Luke Sharp: I like “A Raven Like A Writing Desk”, its got lots of lead guitar parts for me and is just this grooving metal kinda track.



On which one of your songs do you feel you delivered your personal best performance so far, from a technical point of view?
Kris Ahlquist: Oh that’s a tough one either “Shorelines & Shipwrecks” or “A Raven Like a Writing Desk”.
Julian Comeau: Eek! I had a rough time recording vocals, from a mixture of the stress and the jet lag, but I feel like All That I Wished For came out really solid. Fall Apart holds a pretty deep meaning to me, so I’m also really proud of that one.
David Mari: As far as best performance so far on the album, I’d have to say “Maybe” was pretty technical.
Luke Sharp: Again “Raven” is definitely that track for me. It’s got 2 guitar solo sections and a lead guitar intro. Really proud of it.

Which ingredient (or trademark sound) do you think is most essential in making your music sound the way it does?
Kris Ahlquist: I think the combination of it all. The mixture we have of different genres.
Julian Comeau: My biggest concern when tracking vocals is to make sure that, overall, I capture the essence of what I’m singing about. Just about any singer can hit notes, so emotion is what really separates the good vocalists from the great ones. I hope that that comes through on my vocals.
David Mari: Our trademark blending of genres and sounds together.
Luke Sharp: Couldn’t pinpoint just one thing. I think it’s the mix of melody and heavy that we blend.

If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you to stay in this tough business. Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why?
Kris Ahlquist: I think the passion, it is what makes it enjoyable and fun and hanging out with your friends and writing music all the time is something I love.
Julian Comeau: Passion. This is all I want to do, and you can be sure I’ll put my all into it.
David Mari: Definitely passion. I would and am always ready to drop anything and everything for music. Passion is what keeps me going.
Luke Sharp: Passion definitely, its the passion that I have for music that has lead me to this point, it’s the passion that will keep me going.

Which aspect of being an independent artist and the music making process excites you most and which aspect discourages you most?
Kris Ahlquist: You are able to control what you make musically, you have no limitations and not forced to produce something you’re not 100% on. That’s what can sometimes discourage a lot of people I know they are asked to make something a particular way.
Julian Comeau: Being an independent band gives us basically unlimited creative control, and that’s something that I think we can really thrive off of. But the lack of distribution and funds can really get someone down, we’re lucky to have some really vocal fans on social media and their efforts combined with our own have really been paying off.
David Mari: What excites me most is being able to express my all my emotions into my drum playing and production of our new music. What discourages me most is being new to the industry and not knowing what to expect.
Luke Sharp: The one on one feeling with fans is the most exciting and the lack of support or backing would probably be the only discouraging thing.



Tell us something about your songwriting, recording and production processes. Who does what, and where?
Group: We all really contribute our own parts respectively. We’re all coming up with ideas and then bouncing things back and forth to get the final product. For this record, Luke and Kris had most of the rough tracks already planned out. Later, David came in and solidified the drum tracks, and Julian came in. Julian had written Fall Apart and we all agreed that it would really help round out the EP and give it some dynamics.

How involved are you in any of the the recording, producing, mastering and marketing processes of your music in general. Do you outsource any of these processes?
Group: We outsourced recording, production, and mastering. We decided to go with Shawn Milke and Neil Engle because they seemed like the best fit, and they were really eager to help us out. Marketing is all grass roots, we’re on social media all the time, constantly trying to reach out and spread our music.

The best piece of advice in this business you actually followed so far, and one you didn’t follow, but now know for sure that you should have?
Kris Ahlquist: Follow your dreams is the best advice I took, best advice I didn’t take is practice. more.haha you can never practice too much
Julian Comeau: Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given in general really applies to this business. Sitting in the side lines and talking about your dreams won’t get you anywhere. If you want something, you have go out and do it. If you never try, you’ll never succeed.
David Mari: The best piece of advice I followed was to follow my passion. And I am currently doing that right now.
Luke Sharp: Best Advice; “don’t give up”, persistence is the key to most things. Advice we should have followed we probably be hiring a PR agent. Knowledge and connections to people is definitely a valuable asset we underestimated.

At this point, as an independent artist, which is the one factor you desire most, and feel will undeniably benefit your future (for example increased music distribution, better quality production, more media exposure, bigger live gigs etc…)?
Kris Ahlquist: I think the more media exposure, every person that seems to hear our EP are giving such great reviews and feedback, so the more people that hear it, I can only imagine it will make us bigger and allow us to play at bigger shows and have a larger fan base for future recordings.
Julian Comeau: All of the above! If I had to pick one, I would say distribution. I’m confident that we’re all really solid musicians, we just need people to listen to it so we that can find the people who want to hear us. Quality, media exposure, huge tours, those can all come down the line. Right now, we want people to give us a chance and see that we can do this.
David Mari: I feel that one factor we desire most that will benefit our future is playing bigger live gigs. Once we get more people to see us live, things will drastically change for the better.
Luke Sharp: At this stage, media exposure. Everyone who hears the tunes loves them, we just need to put it in peoples faces.



Do you consider Internet and all the social media websites, as fundamental to your career, and indie music in general, or do you think it has only produced a mass of mediocre “copy-and-paste” artists, who flood the web, making it difficult for real talent to emerge?
Kris Ahlquist: Social media websites do help to expand your following, its another way of reaching new fans all over the world.
Julian Comeau: We know that the “copy-and-paste” method is annoying, so we really make an effort to connect with each and every fan who gets back to us.
David Mari: I think that a lot of “copy-and-paste” artists have definitely flooded the web because of this. But I also think that over the last few years, really good artists have emerged because of this.
Luke Sharp: I think “real talent” usually tends to shine through. There have always been mediocre bands, even before the internet, but the truly unique bands will always still stand out.

Is the music you produced on your self-titled EP exactly how you expect your sound to be right now? Or in retrospect, would you change anything on, or about the album in anyway?
Kris Ahlquist: I think with our budget and being our first release I like it, it gives a nice range to listeners of what our future music will sound like and what they can look forward to.
Julian Comeau: Overall, we’re happy with the EP. Considering how much time and money we had, we did good job. However I know the sound will definitely evolve more as we grow as a band.
David Mari: Personally I didn’t have any major expectation for what the EP would sound like, but I had a general idea. I wouldn’t change anything about the EP only because I believe we set the bar pretty high as far as coming out with our next album.
Luke Sharp: I think I would give ourselves more time to further develop the songs, I think that would change them slightly, but I don’t know how much. I think every group has afterthoughts when they look back at a release though.

What do you think is the biggest barrier you have to face and overcome as an indie alternative punk-rock band, in your quest to achieve your goals and wider-spread success?
Kris Ahlquist: I think it’s getting our music out there and getting it heard, so we are not restricted audience wise.
Julian Comeau: I think its distribution. Right now, we have no way to really spread the music besides social media. We’re being very steadfast in our current forms of distribution, but there’s only so much that social media can do.
David Mari: I think the biggest barrier I have to face is being almost like the “new kid on the block.” Not knowing what the business is like is definitely an obstacle we’ll have to face.
Luke Sharp: Getting people to hear the music, we feel like we have some awesome tunes. We really just need to get it out to people. That really is just a time factor mostly.

Let’s imagine that Cedar Boulevard doesn’t exist and you were given the opportunity to be in any world-famous band of your choice, who would that band be, and why?
Kris Ahlquist: Probably Rush, tour the world, fill stadiums and get to play awesome bass lines.
Julian Comeau: I’d love to sing in Issues, actually. The vocal parts that Tyler is writing for Issues right now are right in my range and style, maybe I can fill in for him if he gets sick one day, haha!
David Mari: If Cedar Boulevard didn’t exists and I was given that opportunity, I’d want to be in Avenged Sevenfold. I’ve been listening to them since Waking The Fallen and I know how to play every single one of their songs.
Luke Sharp: Avenged Sevenfold, they are probably my favorite band, they are just amazing songwriters and seem like great dudes.

What is the ONE thing you are NOT ever willing or prepared to do, in your quest to achieve a successful musical career?
Kris Ahlquist: Sell out……. I’ll always stay true to who I am, my beliefs and always write music that I enjoy.
Julian Comeau: I’m not interested in having other people write songs for me, I want to always be a major part in the writing process. I don’t want to sing lyrics that someone just hands to me and says, “Go!”
David Mari: I am never ever willing to let someone, or a label, tell me or my band what music to play. Period.
Luke Sharp: Compromise my ideals or “sell out” so to speak. I won’t write something because it will be more commercially accepted. If I’m not feeling the music I won’t do it. - Jamsphere

Good bands do good music; but great bands like Cedar Boulevard, RAWK! The band’s new self-titled EP is a monstrous release that showcases some of the best music in the DIY music market today. Part of a growing number of unsigned musicians who rock harder than many of the bands with record deals, Cedar Boulevard could easily carve out a space of their own among the Pop-Punk elite. Comparable to top rock bands like Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and hints of Blink-182, Cedar Boulevard is poised to impress anyone within an ear’s shot of their music.

My favorite track on this self-titled EP is, A Raven Like A Writing Desk, because this song just friggin rocks! A fusion of pop, punk, and metal core this track will blow your mind and send your adrenaline into overdrive. A Raven Like A Writing Desk is an excellent example of why Cedar Blvd drew such notable comparisons above, and why they deserve to be on tour with the best in their class if the band’s live show rocks just as hard as this recording. The vocal performance by Julian Comeau is nothing short of incredible, while Kris Ahlquist (Bass), David Mari (Drums), and Luke Sharp (Guitar) combine to create one of the most impressive displays of musicianship I’ve heard thus far this fourth quarter of 2014.

Overall, this EP is a powerful pitch to the masses and should be regarded as one of the top DIY band releases this fall. With the right marketing push and exposure, Cedar Boulevard could very well see this release push them into the foreground where everybody can appreciate their beastly sound. I would recommend this EP to those who are fans of the aforementioned “top rock bands”; and I doubt very seriously that anyone with an affinity for punk-pop music will disagree with my review of Cedar Boulevard’s project. - I Am Entertainment Magazine

Cedar Boulevard combines a blend of rock, pop punk and post-hardcore to form a unique and distinctive sound. From the fast paced vocal delivery, dual lead guitar and thumping low end through to the more melodic acoustic, piano and string elements the band covers a wide range of styles and genres. Founded in Australia by Kris Ahlquist and Luke Sharp, but searching for a bigger scene the two moved to North America. Here they found David Mari and Julian Comeau. After releasing their self titled EP the band has set out on a mission to conquer the music scene and gain countless new fans.

We ran a few questions their way to find out a bit more about them.


CedarBlvdPaint2CROSSRADAR: How did you get started in music, and what drives you to continue?

Kris: I was asked to join a band in high school, I did, I haven’t looked back since, I love hanging out with friends and the feeling of playing.

Julian: I’ve always been a singer, since as far back as I can remember. But I got started making music and taking it more seriously when I decided I wanted to learn the guitar parts on “So Wrong, It’s Right”.

David: My grandfather plays classical guitar and dabbles in the keyboard from time to time so I grew up with music constantly around me. Drums just sort of “clicked” I guess you could say.

Luke: I got my first guitar, decided I was gonna play music for a living and haven’t looked back. A love of music keeps me doing it.

CR: What have been the biggest highlights for the band?

Recording the EP with Shawn Milke (Alesana) and Neil Engle was a huge experience for us. It gave us tons of insight and it really reminded us of why we are doing this, and the same goes for releasing the EP. Putting the music out and receiving such a positive response from fans and press alike was really special for us.

CR: Who are your heroes? Why do they rock your world?

Kris: Bassist wise probably Hunter Burgan, non bassist wise…….Where’s Waldo/Wally, that man can disappear anywhere.

Julian: As far as musical heroes go, I gotta give it to Dave Grohl. That dude’s a total rockstar.

David: Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold. The dude is a genius. Every guitar solo is just friggin mind blowing. And then of course I’m gonna have to throw Spiderman in there, he’ll always be my hero.

Luke: Jason Becker, dude is the most shred guy ever and even after losing his ability to play guitar still found a way to make music.

CR: What do you have coming up next?

There are some incredibly exciting things coming for us next year, including a tour in April, that Is currently still to be confirmed. Right now it’s a lot of writing and rehearsing, but I think next year will be a very big year for us.

CR: Where can everyone listening to this interview keep up with your adventures?

We’re really active on social media, so you can connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cedarboulevard) and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@cedarboulevard), that way you’ll never miss a beat. - Crossradar

Native Australian band, Cedar Boulevard combines a blend of rock, pop punk and post-hardcore to form a unique and distinctive sound. From the fast paced vocal delivery, dual lead guitar and thumping low end through to the more melodic acoustic, piano and string elements the band covers a wide range of styles and genres. The band was founded by Kris Ahlquist and Luke Sharp, who were soon searching for a bigger scene, which brought them to move to North America. Here they found David Mari and Julian Comeau. After releasing their self titled EP the band has set out on a mission to conquer the music scene and gain countless new fans. We discussed their upbringing as a group, and their future goals with their upcoming EP.

Entertwine: The band was founded by Kris and Luke in Perth, Australia, correct? What encouraged you to move to the United States? Could you tell us about how you met the other members of your band?

Cedar Boulevard: Yeah, the band was founded by Kris and Luke when we were back home in Australia. Although, we use the word “founded” very loosely as we didn’t really become a band until we found David and Julian. We had shells of a lot of the songs including instrumentation and melodies, but everything really came to life when the four of us joined together.

Moving out to North America was the logical next step for us, because Australia just doesn’t quite have the same music scene or exposure that can be found out here. We moved out to Toronto, where we met our drummer David, and that’s when we really started putting the band together. From there we found our singer, Julian, via some online music contacts and traveled down to the States to begin working with him in LA. It was there that we found that we really clicked as musicians, and a month later we were in the studio!

How would you describe your sound to someone who hadn’t heard you music before? Any particular influences who seemed to have rub off on you all as your recorded or produced your music?

It’s a mix of rock, punk, post-hardcore, and metal. I think the best description we’ve gotten was “Fall Out Boy crossed with Avenged Sevenfold”. Julian definitely brings that kind of pop-punk vibe, with some really catchy vocal parts on the EP. Instrumentally, it’s a mix between some songs being driven by catchy guitar melodies and CedarBoulevard700others with a more post-hardcore/metal feel. When we were writing, Avenged Sevenfold and Green Day were some of the bigger influences. We try to incorporate the dual lead guitars along with orchestral elements, like string sections and piano, whilst also creating that punk vibe, bringing a really catchy and memorable element to the music.

What life experiences and events influenced the writing and recording of the band’s debut EP? What was it like working on the record at Adelaide Recording Studios in North Carolina? How have your lives changed since the recording and release of the album?

A lot of what influenced our writing in this self titled EP was actually friends and other people in the music scene. It really put things in perspective, and reiterated how much we all wanted music careers. We know a lot of people who wanted to pursue music, but as soon the first real challenge came up, they would back down and just give up. We know it’s an uphill battle, its not going to be easy but we’re ready for it.

Adelaide Recording Studio was a great experience, we really learned a lot working with our producer Shawn Milke (Alesana) and engineer Neil Engle. As people we haven’t really changed at all, we’re still pretty humble guys who have just been blown away by all the great feedback we’ve been getting. All the positive reviews and support from different publications as well as fans from all over the world showing their love for the music. It really has just made us work harder and to keep pushing and writing more, which is practically all we have done since leaving the studio and releasing our record.

Could you walk us through each of the EP’s featured tracks? What musical equipment / gear was used to complete these recordings?

“A Raven Like A Writing Desk” is the opening track from the EP. Its starts with string elements and orchestration before going on to become the heaviest track on the EP. Dual guitars, lots of double kick, it really is a hard hitting opener.

“All That I Wanted” then heads in a more punk direction, it is written in 6/4 timing and has a Green Day vibe to it. With lots of catchy guitars and equally catchy vocals.

“Fall Apart” is our acoustic song, it’s much more mellow and more vocally driven. We wanted to show our softer more melodic side.
“Shorelines & Shipwrecks” is the lead single and we have just recently released a lyric video for it. It combines all our elements into one; catchy vocals, driving bass lines, thumping drums and dual lead guitars.

“Maybe” is a more traditional pop-punk track, it was one of the first tracks we had written as a band. We get told the chorus is “too catchy” quite a lot.

When tracking drums, David used a Truth Custom Acrylic kit for most of the EP. The Truth kit really gave it that deep metal feel, especially in the double kick sections. The kit was set up with All Sabian cymbals. 14” AAX Freq Hi Hats, 14” AAX Studio Crash, 10” AAX Splash, 20” XS20 Ride, and a 17” AAX X-Plosion Crash. Then on Fall Apart we switched out the Truth kit for a Vintage Ludwig kit, tweaked the snare drum, and used brushes to give a lighter feel.

The majority of Luke’s guitar work was done using his Epiphone Les Paul. It’s custom fitted with Seymour Duncan Invaders which really helps give it the chunky, driving sound that we were looking for. Luke’s lead guitar sound was something we wanted to get 100% right, so the tone was incredibly important. To get this we used an old Peavey EVH 5150 head and a Bogner cabinet with Celestion V30’s which gave us that really thick, in your face tone.

Kris recorded with his 4 string Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass, it gives a nice, heavy sounding low end, but also a pleasant brighter tone higher up the fretboard. There are sections where Kris is playing some really skilled bass parts that we really wanted to shine through, so for certain sections we altered the tone and mid settings to bring it out more

Julian recorded vocals with a Bock Audio 241, an acoustically enhanced version of the 151, which really let us capture his vocals. On Fall Apart, we chose to use an SGC Adelaide, which had the bright tone we were looking for.

What does 2015 hold in store for Cedar Boulevard? Do you have any upcoming performances scheduled?

Next year is really set to be a big year for us. We’re currently in the process of re-locating the whole band permanently to LA, which is a pretty big undertaking. From there, the start of the year is going to involve writing, rehearsals and preparation for a US tour that is hopefully happening April, but that’s still to be confirmed. After that we hope to put out another release and continue touring. There is a lot being organized that we can’t reveal just yet, but it’s very exciting. - Entertwine