Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabe Segarra.
Hi Gabe, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
I thought, “Where’s the stuff that *we* want to hear?” It was then that I realized sometimes you need to create something yourself if you want something to exist! I can still remember our band’s humble beginnings, all of us going around town, seeing other bands in the vibrant local music scene, and wanting to get involved and be a part of it.
Our first lineup was put together in 2016 by chance meetings or through friends at bars and house parties, and we used to practice in a back lot outdoors or at friends’ houses before we had our own space. (We were often asked to stop because of how loud we were!) We wrote out the first few songs in those days, some of which we still play now.
Our first live show was at Burns Alley Tavern, opening for the DC hard rock band Caustic Casanova. We appreciated the opportunity to play as the owner had not heard us before but still gave us a chance! We went on to play at several other local venues. The highlight was our performance at the grand opening of the Sk8 Charleston skatepark in 2017.
After our first single and music video, “Not My President,” in 2017 (with local film director Michelle Iannantuono of Octopunk Media,) we gained some notoriety as it was featured on Charleston’s 98 Rock, and at the house show where we released it we performed with other local acts including emo-punk band Never Any Ordinary. That show was a fundraiser to help some local friends out of a bind, so it was significant to us to be part of it. That’s what punk rock should be about, helping others.
Our lineup underwent a few changes as we released more music over the years. We collaborated with Columbia vocalist Ash Vapor for our single and music video “Society” in 2020. Then we worked on our latest EP, “5-Hour Anergy,” through the Covid-19 pandemic. We recorded it during all the protests in 2020, which we watched on TV in real-time while in the studio. A lot of that chaos is captured in those recordings, which we finally released in 2022. Our newest music video for the single “What You Say” is out now from that EP, with more videos on the way.
A chance meeting when we were performing at The Royal American led us to meet representatives from Snarkeez, an alternative fashion label based out of Charlotte, NC. After Ash Vapor wore some of their pieces onstage, we ended up performing at a cyberpunk fashion show for Charlotte Fashion Week which they were part of, where we got to play while the models were on the runway. That experience was pretty surreal for us! Our friends at the Snarkeez label (https://www.snarkeez.com/) featured some of our artwork on their clothing items and helped us distribute our merchandise.
We just completed our first South East tour to support “5-Hour Anergy” this past month. We even took our friends from Never Any Ordinary along with us as partners on tour, which was a real full-circle moment for everyone since they were there at our beginning.
From the beginning, we’ve always tried to keep one thing true about our music: it has to have energy behind it, no matter how fast or slow. We draw inspiration from old-school punk, grunge, and other modern influences to create a high-energy, driving sound, which has been compared with artists such as Agent Orange, Circle Jerks, and Dead Kennedys. Our current lineup consists of Gabe Segarra on drums, Sherrod Russell-Blake on bass, and Sarah Murphy on guitar—all of us trade off on vocals.
We want to shout out the following:
- Igor De Souza from local post-grunge band Abrevity for recording guitar parts with us on the “5-Hour Anergy” EP and joining us for a few dates on our recent tour
- Chris Freeman: artist for the “5-Hour Anergy” album art
- Michelle Iannantuono: Currently working with us on our next music video
- Stephen Nemeth: Worked with us to make our video for “What You Say.”
- Matt Tuton: He has recorded all our songs at his local Johns Island studio, “The Lab.”
- Billy Batts and the Made Men: fantastic hardcore punk band from Atlanta and rising young stars in the local scene who we recently performed with and who embody what punk rock is all about (people should know about them!)
- Pistol Pete Records: Brand new local punk rock label making waves!
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
We’ve dealt with all kinds of lineup changes, logistics problems, and even a conflict with Spotify about classifying and distributing our music! We’re proud that our band also managed to survive the Covid-19 pandemic and keep our members and fans safe during that time, which was the right thing to do. Many other bands struggled and didn’t endure that difficult time. Our featured vocalist Ash Vapor also has a lung condition: cystic fibrosis, so we especially had to look out for her during Covid, but we were happy to do so as we enjoy performing with her. We had to pack a whole 3-piece band into a Toyota Camry for a while, but we’ve come a long way as we finally rented a van for our recent tour. Let’s say we got a lot of real-life practice at Tetris! We set out on the road with no guarantees, and it was the support from local music scenes, other bands, and bookers and promoters who truly believe in rock n’ roll that got us through. Some people have disliked our music, and we even got raided by 4chan keyboard warriors once! But we figure punk shouldn’t please everybody anyway. Besides, it inspires us to create even more, which is what our new single, “What You Say,” is all about!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We like to create honest music with a punk ethos and attitude. We’re known for having fun songs that don’t take themselves too seriously but have a story or message behind them. We’re proud that we just completed our first tour and managed to make money on it, which we can put toward new merchandise and new music, which is a major achievement!
What does success mean to you?
To us, success is not about clout or money. It’s about doing something we love and having fun doing it. The biggest measure to us is that the audience has fun. We love to create that atmosphere when we play, and our favorite thing is when people get into our music and crowd surf or dance around. If we can spread that positivity as far as possible, that’s success to us!
Contact Info:
- Website: anergyband.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anergyband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anergyband
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/anergyband
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfhZvCIR8TGQaDSOUNKvIqA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-355675965
- Other: https://anergy.fanlink.to/5houranergy
Image Credits
Taylor Lee Czerwinski – Photos 1-4, Christ Freeman – 5-Hour Anergy, album artwork Michelle Iannantuono – Photos 6-8 (from our Society music video)
