Buffalo emo-rock band The Traditional have opened up to listeners on their new EP, The Queen Of Heaven. Chronicling the struggles that come along with heartbreak and trying to move on, the EP covers everything from anger and self loathing to longing and loneliness, and the result is an incredibly relatable and very human release. With the new EP out now, we talked with drummer Jon Coric about the album’s themes and what lies ahead for the band.
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
Can you tell us a little bit about The Traditional for any readers who might not be familiar?
The Traditional is a 3 piece rock and roll band from Buffalo NY. Anthony Musior plays bass and sings, Mike Bienias plays guitar, and I (Jon Coric) plays drums. We’ve toured the country and parts of Canada. We love playing live, seeing new places, and meeting new people.
Do you feel that being based out of Buffalo has had an effect on your music? What do you love about your local scene?
I think Buffalo has definitely had an effect on our music. It’s hard to explain, but you kind of feed off of what’s going on around you. The music scene in buffalo is like one big family. There’s a bunch of great bands and everyone comes out and supports each other. It’s really amazing to be a part of it.
You guys just released your new EP, The Queen of Heaven. What was your favorite part about working on the EP?
My favorite part about working on any EP is definitely the writing process. When something so raw comes together to become this final product, it really makes you feel accomplished. Working together to write is always such an incredible experience because we all have such different influences, so when we start to work on a new song we all have so many ideas we try whether it works or not. It’s truly amazing to have that creative process come together as a whole.
With about three years between How To Live Without Blood and The Queen of Heaven, was there anything that you wanted to accomplish with these songs that you haven’t had the chance to do in the past?
I think our main goal was to show how much we have matured as a band through our music while still being open and being relatable.
What inspired the themes on The Queen of Heaven?
The Queen of Heaven is about growing up and trying to move on with a broken heart. It covers anger, longing, self loathing, and loneliness. It was Anthony’s therapy in dealing with what was happening in his life.
With such a personal story behind the EP, was it ever therapeutic at times to be able to work on these songs and sort of work out what was going on in your lives at the same time?
Definitely! This record helped deal with what was happening in each of our lives during the writing process. Playing music in itself is therapeutic for each of us.
You guys recently released “Thirty” from the EP. Can you tell us a little bit about the track?
Thirty is about Anthony and how he was feeling about himself during the writing process. While working on this song the words just poured out of him. At the time emotions were all over the place and he was afraid of who he was and what was coming next. Anthony has moved on from that part of his life, but we all think it’s important for people to know they aren’t alone in feeling this way and things get better.
What would you like listeners to be able to take away from The Queen of Heaven?
I guess we just hope these songs are relatable to anyone who listens to them. Just know you’re not alone. If they can help you get through what ever it is you’re dealing with, and act as a source of therapy in a way, we are more than happy with that. I think that as much as writing the music helped us get through our life, listening can help others through theirs, and then also sometimes you just need to rock the heck out and let your body and mind fall in to the moment!
You have a few shows coming up in March and April in support of the EP release as well! What are you most excited about on these upcoming shows?
I’d say I’m most excited about new people hearing our music and showing them what we are capable of as a live band.
After The Queen of Heaven drops, do you have any other big plans for this year?
We will be playing a lot of regional shows and promoting The Queen of Heaven in a big way. We might even set out across the country and visit the west coast. We’ll be staying very active that’s for sure!
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