Concert Crap: Who is The Summer After and who is Jake Seidl?
The Summer After is a solo music project from me, Jake Seidl.  As far as who is Jake Seidl? Iâm just a normal nerdy dude from a small town in New Mexico who loves music and making music. Music is the only thing thatâs ever made sense to me. I sucked in school and at sports. I got in trouble in school often and the only thing I ever wanted to do was music. Music has honestly got me through everything in life and the bands I grew up listening to have had a tremendous impact on my life.
My dream is to do the same for someone else and hopefully inspire someone to pick up an instrument or do whatever form of art or expression they can to express themselves. At the core of what I want The Summer After to be is real. I want it to be relatable, open, uplifting, and honest. I want to write songs that make you feel good, that you can relate to, or that you can smile to.
CC: How have you been evolving as a band and as an individual during the pandemic?
I would have to say this pandemic has made me a lot more creative. I probably wouldnât have started The Summer After if it wasnât for me being locked away in my little studio. Not being able to go out and go to studios or meet up with people really taught me to learn to rely on myself a lot more and to enjoy the process of just creating music and art in a way Iâve never experienced before.
I think that was probably one of the only upsides of this pandemic was that people had a little bit more time to invest in themselves and so many people have been releasing such great music and art from this experience which I think is pretty rad. It also taught me that I took a lot of things for granted before like just being able to go to the movies or to go out to eat or to go to concerts.
2020 was such a difficult year for everyone and I hope that we can realize that no matter our race, gender, social status, or whatever it is…but as humans, we can realize this was something we all experienced together, and hopefully we can come out of this a stronger, more compassionate and better human beings.
CC: Can you talk about your new album release on June 11, 2021?
Absent Minded is my debut EP and the meaning behind the name pretty much comes from the pandemic and all the feelings attached to it. The not knowing what to do, not knowing how to feel, and not knowing whatâs safe or not. I feel like a lot of people have been just going through the motions of life and feeling kind of absent minded. As far as music, I wanted it to be super relatable to people and to write songs that make people feel good.
The title track “Absent Minded” and “Lockdown” are about the pandemic. “Antidote” and “Late Nights” are upbeat love songs. “Braindead” is by far the fastest heavier track on the EP which is about being stuck in life at school or at a dead-end job just knowing that there is so much more to life than repeating the same day over and over.
The final track “A Star Like Love” is a song I wanted to make to feel like a love story in space, if that makes sense. Iâm super stoked on each track and Iâm so excited for people to hear it and I hope they can relate to the songs and hope they find themselves going back to listen to them.
CC: What is your favorite song from the release?
Wow, thatâs hard to pick. I like each one in their own way but if I had to pick one Iâd have to say “A Star Like Love”. I feel like I had to work for that song and it took me a long time to write it. I feel itâs a style song Iâve been wanting to write my whole life.
Ever since I heard “The Adventure” by Angels and Airwaves as a kid on MTV and how a song could have that cool space-type vibe to it, I wanted to write a song that felt like a journey and that had an authentic style chorus and Iâm pretty happy with how it came out.
CC: What types of people would like this release?
Iâm hoping for a lot of different types of people. Iâm hoping that it can kind of blend together fans of pop-punk with fans of metal and in my future releases fans of more reggae/ska type music. I feel like all those genres kind of share core characteristics of being a misfit in a way and I think thereâs something special about that scene that goes against the norm of what youâre âsupposedâ to be or how youâre âsupposedâ to look. Just to the people that donât fit society’s mold.
CC: Who would you like to play with on a tour when shows are back into full swing?
A dream tour I would love to be on would be like a nostalgic type tour with Blink-182 co-headlining with Sum 41 and then have modern acts like Machine Gun Kelly, Girlfriends, Nothing Nowhere, or KennyHoopla. I have a long ways to go before I get to a point of playing shows with artists like them. Iâd honestly be stoked to be playing any show or festival I can and start building a fan base in person. I miss the sticky floors, cheap beer, and the smell of smoke at live shows.
CC: Why should people care about The Summer After and Jake Seidi?
Hopefully, because  I want The Summer After to be more than just a music project. I want The Summer After to be a safe place for like-minded people who are here to realize that weâre all just human. That weâre all trying our best in life, we all have our own struggles, and that we should all look out for one another and lift each other up and encourage each other to chase our dreams. No matter what your race, gender, sexuality, political beliefs, social status, or how much money you have…The Summer After can be an uplifting community of people that have separated themselves from all the bullshit going on. Itâs also a huge dream of mine to use this platform someday like some kind of anti-bullying campaign for schools.
CC: Anything else you would like to say?
I would first want to genuinely say thank you to everyone and has reached out so far and has supported me in this early stage. From messaging me, streaming my songs, sharing my stuff, pre-ordering the EP. All of it truly means the world to me. I want to thank my family for always supporting me and believing in me. I wouldnât be the person I am today without them.
Iâd also want to say 2020 has seriously been a rough year and my heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones, who are struggling to pay rent, who lost their jobs, and who are struggling just to stay sane from this. Lastly, Iâd want to say fuck what the typical standard is. Pave your own way. Do things your own way. Be proud to be who you are and never stop chasing your dreams no matter what they are. Life is too short not to.
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Post and interview by Corey Kleinsasser
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