New beginnings are a fact of life for San Francisco Bay Area rock quartet All The New. The alternative/progressive hard rock group has been forced to start over so many times that naming themselves All The New was the obvious choice.
All The New was originally born as KOI in 2002 with founding member/bassist E-Rich and drummer Jesse Alamillo. KOI enjoyed mild success through the early part of the 21st century with their music dominating the college circuit. Their hit song, "Colder," made the rounds in a MTV Blue Tattoo Television commercial along with one of their other popular songs “In Vain” and their entire “New Horizon” album was used for the 214 Productions Stunts DVD, their hit "One Reason" became the most requested song on KHVS 90.5FM The Edge. They enjoyed much success in the SF Bay Area selling out famous local clubs “Slim’s” several times. But all of this came to an end in 2005 when due to family issues their guitarist needed to relocate out of state and their singer fell to personal problems.
E-Rich and Alamillo met singer John Floyd and lead guitarist Cameron Woodruff in 2006 and created All The New from the ashes of KOI. The quartet quickly began working on a debut album when tragedy in October forced everything to a grinding halt.
"Early that morning, a five alarm fire destroyed the building which we and 17 other musicians and artists used as rehearsal spaces," explains E-Rich. "Though some were able to save their gear and memories, our studio was hit with the worst, and we lost everything."
It would take nearly a full year before All The New was able to replace all its equipment and gear and start new (again). The group found a new studio, recorded a debut EP and...lost Woodruff. The boys knew that they would not settle for just any guitarist to replace Woodruff and thankfully, they met up fan Devin James, whose father's background and upbringing in the music industry made him the perfect fit.
The band has had just enough time to season their sound through live performances and their creative writing process. The new quartet has been playing out their tunes from Purity's Gone as well currently working on some new amazing songs. The band has been touring and promoting relentlessly. Their sound truly shows the depth of their collaboration and a directed passion in their work, and features a sound which they like explain as Alternative/Progressive/Rock that is equal part Muse, Dredg, Tool, AFI, Coheed & Cambria, and 30 Seconds to Mars. "We definitely like to get heavy in songs, but at the same time feel that it is a lot more dramatic to have a lot of dynamics, hypnotic rhythms, and ambient textures," says E-Rich.
AtN look forward to the coming year and hope they can find a national audience that is as receptive to their music as the one in San Francisco has been.
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