“Our goal is to make sure the crowd is having a good time.”
When I was five years old, my parents called me and my sister into the living room on a Saturday night. As we entered, I heard the opening notes of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” playing on the TV. A recording of the band’s concert and dim lighting instantly transported us. Singing, or rather screaming, the lyrics, playing air guitars and dancing around, we watched the entire concert and pretended we were there. Since that day, I have been in love with music, artists, bands and their stories.
Meet Jackson Alter, Cole Banfill, Jordan Greenbaum and Matt Spiteri, four names you’ll want to remember and whom I had the pleasure of sitting down with this past week. They make up the latest and greatest Tallahassee band, On The Edge. To break the group down, Jackson and Cole are singers and guitarists, Jordan plays the drums and Matt is the bassist. The band has only officially been together for less than six months, but they’ve got some fresh music and upcoming gigs that you will not want to miss.
As I sat around a table outside of a local coffee shop with these four unique guys, the most pressing question on my mind was how the band got together. Jackson immediately began telling a tale that could rival that of any classic rock band, stemming from way back in his freshman year of high school. A mutual friend of his had a brother who played the drums, and she suggested that maybe they get together and play music one day. Two years later, the brother, Jordan, looked into rushing the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity at FSU where he finally met Jackson. As fate would have it, Jackson was looking for band members at the time to compete in a battle of the bands, because being a solo act amongst the bands is “just not cool,” as Jackson put it. After an incident with a borrowed drum kit, and a questionable first meeting with the bassist, and Jordan’s roommate, Matt, the band was finally formed. Despite having the smallest and newest band, (and playing the same song as a rival band,) On The Edge took home the trophy. A few months down the road, after a jam session, Cole, then a soloist, joined the band.
When I asked who came up with the edgy band name — wink, wink — Jordan, who was the mastermind behind it, said that they had held band practices next to an apartment complex called The Edge. He went on saying, “We just started playing around with that, we originally thought about next to the edge, or off the edge, until finally, we all fell in love with On The Edge!”
One question that I love hearing artists answer is where they get their inspiration for new music from. Cole immediately stated, “Backseat Lovers is our number one inspiration, along with The Wawas. All of us just clicked and had similar tastes in music, and I don’t think the band would have come together if we all didn’t love the music we’re playing.” They described their sound as indie and beachy, with other inspirations coming from Peach Pit, Surf Curse, Kings of Leon and even The Beatles—all artists I have already added to my playlist.
On a personal level, each of these members also had very special people who helped to guide them and inspire their musical journeys. For Matt, that was his high school band teacher, who led him to find the electric bass. For Jordan, it was his middle school music teacher who helped him form his first band. For Cole, it was his dad who he says, “walked with music so that I could run.” For Jackson, it was his grandmother who recognized his talent for music at just three years old.
In our discussion, we talked about the highs and lows of their career thus far. Their favorite part has been the crowd’s unbelievable energy, Cole states, “That’s our goal, to make sure the crowd is having a good time.” They continued, saying that it has made it so worth it to see everyone singing and dancing along to their music. But they emphasized that their lowest moments have been just as important in shaping the band. One time, they were performing one of Cole’s favorite songs, “Tommy’s Party” by Peach Pit. During the performance, Cole faced a slew of guitar problems, including the unplugging of an amp, but it was a “necessary learning” to grow as a group.
Most recently, the famous FSU Club Downunder (CDU) reached out to the band asking if they’d be interested in performing. The band could not have been more ecstatic. “When I opened the email,” Jackson began, “I just started running around my parent’s house. This has been two and a half years in the making. I have been dreaming about playing at a CDU venue since I got to FSU.” Cole added, “I’m so excited to be among the legends and perform at a venue that my older alumni sister always talked about. It’s really a full circle moment.”
Before you head out on April 7, be sure to listen to some of the band’s available music under Jackson Atler and Cole Banfill on all streaming platforms. Stay up to date with the members by following their socials, @on.the.edge.band, @mattspiteri_, @jordangreenbaum, @jacksonalter27 and @colebanfill.
Funny, talented, and one-of-a-kind, this is a band that I think we will be seeing a lot more of in the future.
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