Page 80 - Demo

Øblivia
After Hours
Alex Rudnick (bass guitar) & Luke Gerhardt (drums)
The two of us got our start playing music together as the bassist and drummer of the band Burn Your Idols, a punk band started by Alex and one of his friends. As it became clear that Burn Your Idols was coming to an end, we decided that we wanted to keep making music together. We briefly considered the idea of continuing on as Burn Your Idols and putting together a new lineup, but that idea was scrapped in favor of starting a new band with a new sound.
Sonically, Øblivia borrows from many of the influences of Burn Your Idols, including punk rock, grunge, and some early metal influences. However, Øblivia also leans much further into prog influences like Tool, while expanding on song structure and melody to create our own sound.
Alex: “I’ve started calling our sound post-hardcore, which is itself a very varied
genre, but since we take influence from various other post-hxc bands, and we literally came from a hardcore band, I think the label fits.”
Luke: “”Though we definitely lean into the prog-rock sound in some of our songs, I would still categorize our music generally as alt-rock/post-hardcore. We are trying our best to maintain an accessible sound while also trying to bring something new to the table. Our biggest struggle so far in all of this has been finding a singer that fits our vision of this band and the direction we are headed.”
Since we started the band in roughly July or August, we’ve been looking for more bandmates. Initially we were looking for a standard rock lineup, including a guitarist. However, after several months, we were still unable to find someone who could keep up with the pace we were working at. At this point, Alex decided to add an octave pedal to their pedalboard, which would help them cover the sonic space a guitar normally takes up. This, plus an elaborate, melodically-focused style of playing bass, allows Alex to create a wall of sound with just one instrument.
Alex: “Luke has also really stepped up their game since the Burn Your Idols days. It’s incredible how far he’s come. He was a talented jazz drummer when we met, but since picking up rock drumming, Luke has become a formidable force behind the kit. Both of us are playing stuff these days that we could barely have dreamed of being able to play even just a year ago.”