Local band Conquering Tides is on the rise. Made up of lead singer Raphael Love, drummer Blaine Anspaugh, bass player Ollie L’Esperance and guitarist Nate Howe, Conquering Tides is showing they have what it takes to make it big. After recently coming third in the first round of the Battle of the Bands at The Granada, together they are working together to grow musically and try a new sound. Blaine said of their sound “Our older stuff could be categorized as metalcore, heavy metal, screamo. But we just aren’t an angry band anymore.” “Still heavy, but we’ve allowed ourselves to be more musically creative and not box ourselves into the same genre pitfalls,” Nate said of the changes. As they work on their new sound, they each have a lot going on outside of the band. Ollie is majoring in Behavioral Neuroscience, Blaine is majoring in Technology Management, Nate is majoring in Journalism, and Raphael will be majoring in Audio Engineering. Despite school, work and everything else in their lives, all members remain committed to the band and each other as well as their studies.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KU chapter.
Nate credits Raphael with coming up with the name of the band. “I believe Raph came into the band room one night and was like ‘How about Conquering Tides?'” Ollie added “It fits with the general idea of overcoming. That’s the driving force behind most of our writing.” “Conquer everything head on with it held high,” Raphael added.
As for upcoming gigs? “We’re in the process of writing a new set at this point, but we did book a show at the Jackpot in Lawrence on June 15th with Type (A) Alert, another band that we’ve played with before,” Ollie said of their upcoming performances. They are looking to book more shows in Lawrence and the Overland Park area once they finish the new set. Blaine said “This summer we should be pretty active, and we mostly play shows in Lawrence.”
A future goal that the band all seem to be on board with are traveling all over to play live shows. “Live on a tour bus with my band playing shows world wide. Deadly serious,” Nate said of the group’s dream for the future. “Inspiration for those who feel the trails ahead are too much to bare, inspire other bands to develop their sound. To just play music twenty-four-seven,” Raphael added. “Short term, we’re just trying to get better at everything we do,” Ollie said.
While their music skills are enough to inspire awe, the men of Conquering Tides are committed to improving themselves, their music, and the band and that is what makes them campus celebs. You can find Conquering Tides on Facebook to keep up with their music and upcoming shows and you can find the guys in person around Lawrence and KU. Keep an eye out for info on upcoming shows so you don’t miss out on this band before they make it big.