On The Road With Alteras

Ohio metal band Alteras will be playing at Legend’s Nightclub on September 8th as part of the Hopscotch Music Festival Day Party Series. They were nice enough to sit down with us and talk about life on the road.

Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
Jake "JC" Clasen: Our sound is pocketed as Alternative Rock, but we like to think that overall it is pretty flexible. Our new album, Myself On Fire, has hardcore breakdowns, acoustic melodies, pop punk choruses, and metalcore verses that we've blended into what our sound is.

What's the first concert you attended?
JC: Avenged Sevenfold, Shinedown, Buck Cherry
Zack Orr & Mike Dulay: Garth Brooks (just realized they were at the same show when they were 6)
Tony Costarella: Avenged Sevenfold

What's the strangest gig you've played?
JC: Definitely a venue located in an industrial park in New Jersey. This place literally looked like a factory and we were directed to show parking via cardboard signs written in sharpie. That was a wild night.

What's the craziest thing a fan has done at one of your shows?
Zack: Recently we played a show at a country bar and the bar regulars started square dancing during our set. That was a first!

What's the first thing you look for when you hit a new town?
JC: We love eating like the locals do, so we generally search through locally-owned shops and ask around about where to get the best bite!

How do you spend your days on the road?
JC: A lot of our time is spent driving, but when we're not driving we're exploring! On our last tour we got to indulge in New Orleans for a whole day and had a blast.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
JC: We usually have a pre-show drink and then right before our set, we put our hands in and chant "tight" to amp ourselves up.

What's some advice you'd give to a band embarking on its first tour?
JC: Be patient with yourself and others. Starting out not every show will run perfectly, not every show will be packed out, and not every show will be your best performance. As long as you're out there trying to do your absolute best every night, you're doing an awesome job.

Final question: You're the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform on the bill with you. Which five acts do you choose and what song do you all perform together for the final jam?
Johnny Cash, David Bowie, Justin Bieber, Dave Grohl, and Bring Me The Horizon. We'd all simultaneously perform "Through The Fire And Flames" by Dragonforce via Guitar Hero 3, expert mode ONLY.

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