If you’ve gone to Breakers Live in Five Points, or made a trip to the frat lots this past tailgating season, chances are you drank a beer or two with your friends to Columbia’s hottest upcoming band, After 10. Known for their covers of your favorite high school hits, like Blink 182, After 10’s “pop-punk” vibes get everyone going. HCSC got to go backstage (does this make us groupies now?) and meet the band. Yes, they’re so much hotter and cooler in person.
Marshall Beattie, the lead singer and personality of the band gave us the low-down on After 10. “Do you want the long story, or the short one,” he said, “No, you know what, you need the long one. We started about a year ago now. I was at a poker game with a friend of mine when he turned to me and said, ‘Let’s start a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band.’” And the rest is history.
The band went through a series of drummers and guitarists in the beginning. Beattie had never been in a band before, but he quickly learned that it’s hard to keep a band together. After they lost another drummer, they opened up auditions. Alvin Gawai, the current bad-ass drummer, came out and blew them all away; “He’s easily one of the best drummers in Columbia.”
But, the band wouldn’t be complete without guitarist, John Vail, and bassist, Eugene Hammill. Although most people think of Beattie when they think of After 10, he considers himself the least talented member. I think it’s safe to say that they’re all amazing. But, if you don’t believe me, check out the crowds of fans they accumulate when they step onto the stage.
The fans are the best part of the show for them. “I really like to see people’s faces and their reactions. I also love it when everyone sings a part of a song. It’s a big thing for me to hear everyone singing in unison. There’s nothing like it,” said Beattie.
If you’ve ever been to a show, I’m sure you’ll recall John, one of the guitar players, crowd surfing, “I think it’s crazy when John crowd surfs. He does it almost every show. I like to get out into the middle of the crowd and sing next to people. One time my brother came to a show and overheard a girl scream, ‘That singer is awesome, he’s like right here.’ I loved that.”
The band’s personality and on-stage presence are only part of the reason so many USC fans love them. The name, After 10, caught a lot of people’s attention. Many assume it’s a play off of the saying, “Nothing good happens after 2 A.M.” but it’s for a different reason entirely.
In fact, the band decided on the name because of an old member. Tony, one of the band’s previous drummers, would always show up to practice an hour late. And, because they all had jobs or school, the only real time they could meet was 9 at night. So, by the time the whole band was there, it was normally around 10. “One day we all sort of realized that we start or end our days around 10. So, we made the name After 10.”
After 10 has been picking up popularity in downtown Five Points, and at Greek life functions, but they’ve taken their cover-story vibes up a notch and wrote their first original tack, “City of Dreams.”
If you’re an After 10 fan, then you need to follow them on Spotify ASAP. Their new single is on Spotify and iTunes. It’s an ode to Cola, the famously touted, “City of Dreams.”
If you want to book After 10 for an upcoming event, shoot them an email at After10sc@gmail.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.