A Chat with Nothing Lost (15.09.2022)
With their self-titled debut album Nothing Lost, this punk band from San Antonio are really letting us know what they are all about. As they bring a blast of sound to our ears, the tracks cover almost every aspect of modern life from monotony to skateboarding and annoying gatekeepers. Each track is one that we can all relate to on a personal level while having an absolutely rocking time while listening. We had a chance to chat with band member Ryan about their debut album, song selection, releasing on vinyl, musical recommendations and much more!
OSR: Ryan and Chad have known each other since high school, but how did you all come together to form Nothing Lost?
Ryan: Well truthfully, Chad and I were on PlayStation playing an online game and we were reminiscing about the old band we had back in the day. That led to one of us saying “wanna jam this weekend?” We hung out, Josh came over and our old buddy Joseph we wrote “Ten Years” which Ryan had in his pocket for about a year prior. We played like no time had passed.
OSR: You have just released your debut self-titled album Nothing Lost. What prompted you to release this album now?
Ryan: We released an early EP back when we were in our first year as a band. It wasn’t that great, but we were very excited to just have music out. With this album, we wanted something we could be proud of so we took our time writing this album and making sure production quality was great. We lost about a year of being in the studio due to covid shutting everything down, but truthfully I think that only helped with us being able to hone in on what we wanted this album to sound like.
OSR: Each of the tracks on the album tells a different story but is there an overall theme or backstory to the collection as a whole?
Ryan: Not really an overall backstory or theme really. We just wanted to put our best foot forward with the songs we love the most.
OSR: How did you choose which songs made it onto the album?
Ryan: We knew there were songs that we wanted to re-record from the older EP and the rest we had already been playing for a good year or two. There were some songs that we knew just wouldn’t fit well with this album and the overall vibe. We outgrew a lot of songs and those will remain in the past.
OSR: Your music is a combination of alternative rock and punk rock. What do you feel has had the biggest influence on your sound?
Ryan: Our major influences are always gonna be deeply rooted in punk rock of the 90s/2000s. We all fell in love with that era of music early on. We all have played in many bands outside of Nothing Lost and for sure a lot of those influences trickle in.
Chad, for instance, is a huge fan of Ska so because of that we like to play with different rhythms in our songs like ‘Gate Keeper’. Ryan really likes a lot of the older hardcore music so he’ll put influences of those grove parts in songs like ‘Not Alone’
OSR: The album has been released on digital music services, but you have also released a vinyl through Otitis Media Records. What made you choose to release the vinyl?
Ryan: Vinyl is fucking cool.
Seriously, we always wanted our music pressed on vinyl. That was something we all agreed on from the get-go. “Full length needs to be on vinyl” was always the goal.
OSR: You have worked with both Havoc Underground and Otitis Media Records for the release of your debut, but how did you connect with them initially?
Ryan: The Havoc Underground band Dial Drive came to Texas and needed an opener for some of their Texas dates. We obliged and it was just a match made in Heaven or Hell. We all got along, had the same goals in mind, and overall we just wanted to make good music. Jake got with us about joining the Havoc Family and I think before he could even tell us details we said “yes”.
With Otitis Media Records, they messaged us on a whim asking if we would like to work with them on distribution for physical copies of our upcoming release. We talked for a while about all the details and it just made so much sense to work with them. They have great bands on their label like Dropped Out and Hans Gruber and The Die Hards from Austin, TX, so again it was a no-brainer.
OSR: Each of the tracks on the album has a unique hitting edge to it, but which would you recommend to people if they could only listen to one?
Ryan: That’s a tough one, we would honestly have to say ‘Ten Years’ there’s something in that song for everyone we believe. If you like pop-punk, punk, or any alternative music style we think people will dig that track the most.
OSR: There are some personal touches and anecdotes woven into the tracks. How did this affect your creative process as a band?
Ryan: With songs like ‘Randall’, there are lines in about “chick falling out of a window” and “drive on the wrong side of the road”. These things all did happen. Don’t worry it was a one-story window at a house show and she was completely fine. These personal touches of things we’ve seen or how we’ve felt about certain situations only make our music more down-to-earth, we think. In ‘Burn’ and ‘Not Alone’ there are some real things said that this world has dealt with and we think it’s important to bring light to it. We want our audience to be connected with us. We’re just like everyone out there, we all come from similar backgrounds and have a story to tell. We are fortunate enough to be able to tell those stories.
OSR: What is the one thing you would like people to feel as they listen to the album?
Ryan: We want them to feel like for 30min they can just let go of their daily stressors. Laugh, head bang, cry, smile or whatever. Just let yourself go and know that we are there with you. We get it. Life can sometimes suck ass. Fuck the bullshit, let’s have fun and spread good vibes and high fives.
OSR: Now that your debut has been released, what else do you have in the pipeline for the coming months?
Ryan: Fest 22’ in Gainesville, FL is the next big thing on our horizon. We also plan on continuing the writing process of new songs for maybe another EP later on. Playing shows will always be on our radar as well. We are ready to keep pushing that envelope and raising the bar for ourselves as a group.
Thanks to Ryan for chatting with us! You can find more about Nothing Lost on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
