Today is a great day to share the new single from Highly Suspect called “The 8th Of October (To August 17th).” The track comes from the band’s forthcoming LP As Above, So Below that will be released on July 19th. The band is about to embark on a sold out U.S. tour this summer, and is looking forward to testing out their new material. If you’re enjoying the early listen to the new single, please consider pre-saving As Above, So Below here. I was also able to catch up with Highly Suspect’s front-man, Johnny Stevens, for a brief interview below.
Can you share the inspiration behind “The 8th of October (To August 17th)”? What significance do these dates hold for the band?
Yeah of course! Essentially this song is about two different people. In the first half I’m singing to my ex and in the second half I’m singing to the woman who snapped me out of a really dark place and taught me how to love again. It probably takes a couple listens but eventually that will be an easy thing to discern if you’re digging into the lyrics. The dates are pretty simple, like the song says, “The last time I saw you was the 8th of October-” and that’s that. I’m describing the tear filled and painful day I walked away from my ex for the last time. We hadn’t even broken up yet, I had to get back on tour though and we both knew without having to say anything that it was over. I still have nightmares about that day. Many tears were shed.. and would continue to fall for almost a year. Lo and behold August 17th of 2023 came around and I would meet someone who would change my life forever. This is who the second half of the song is sung about. So, This period in between these two dates were some of the most fucked up times I’ve had this decade. It was dark, but I pulled through. This is why I wanted to put a really hopeful and triumphant instrumental on the end of the song to help lift that weight off. I’m Happy now! For the most part anyway.. at least happier. That song kind of closes the album in my mind. It finishes the main story… the ACTUAL last track on the album is more of a modern hidden bonus reprise to a lesson that continues to show its face at different stages of my life. Perhaps it sets up the next chapter.
How do you balance raw energy and introspection in your music, particularly in this single?
Sheesh, I don’t know…lol…as best as I can? I wish I could say I knew what I was doing or how I was doing it but it’s purely feeling. I just write based off of what I think feels and sounds good. So, in this case I really needed to admit that I didn’t deserve my ex. She was an Angel. Absolutely way too good for me in so many ways, and I was just an asshole If I’m being real. I was so self-absorbed, and I wasn’t patient. I have no excuse for this.. I could try and blame this or that, the pandemic or whatever but the reality is I just wasn’t happy with myself, or my life and I was too stupid to realize I had a pure love in my life. Constantly suspicious of this or that, constantly scared I was gonna get fucked over, and so I had this natural defense up and rather than give my true happy funny normal self I was cold and selfish. I really let this person down as a human and it haunts me. Like fully fully haunts me. I guess the silver lining here was that she learned she needs to be treated better than what I was capable of, and I learned a LOT about myself and how to not be a jerk. I realized only after we split up just how much I need love in my life and how dangerous things get for me when I don’t have someone to ground me. I hate admitting that it took me 37 years to become a man, but I have to be real with myself otherwise I’ve learned nothing. Now I’m 38 and I feel pretty fucking rock solid to be honest. I’m not where I want to be yet fully as a human, but I’m pretty confident that I’m making forward progress instead of destructive anti-progress. So yeah, I guess you take all that and if you’re being 100% raw then you couldn’t not have the song turn out like this. I like to think of this song as a very pure form of an audio diary. This is how I feel, and this is that feeling translated through sound. It was sad.. it’s getting happier. I hope that makes sense.
How has your approach to creating music evolved from your earlier albums to As Above, So Below?
Again, I wouldn’t say there is some prolific and defined answer for this. Each time is very unique and most of the time it’s circumstantial. The first albums were written and recorded one way because we lived together for so many years and did so while those albums were made…MCID was a product of living in Los Angeles and separate from each other but still very close but also being at different places in our lives mentally, MDC was a product of not being together at all and having to cut and paste, Our latest album reflects where we were from the end of 2022 until now which was and is just excited to get together and be in a room. Its like you take that for granted when you’re on top of each other for over a decade, then after being apart for so long and living independent and separate lives, coupled with having the ability to get together (unlike the pandemic). It really makes you savor that bro time and so musically at least (because lyrically it’s a whole different story that depends on my mental and experiences) we are now back in this full on rush of just creating together in a room with some weed and beers and some cool guitars. I wish I had a set approach to writing music; I’d probably be able to get a whole lot more done…but we write it however we can given the circumstances.