Time Ran Out was released to the world on April 19th, 2019. This piece of work was self-produced in the same recording studio the band worked in for the release of their previous single (You can read the story of that single here.). Steven again took the reins on the engineering, mixing, and mastering of these tracks. We utilized a familiar space and tried to eliminate past mistakes to hone in our skills on the recording process. These 6 songs took a lot of energy to make happen. 

Starting in the fall of 2018, after the completion of our first show, we quickly decided it was time to release more music. A few demos of the songs floated around previously, but these songs were not structured and finished until the scratch tracks were created. Scratch tracks are guitars recorded to a click just to give the drummer some reference when recording their parts. I remember some frustration specifically with the title track “Time Ran Out.” You can watch the clip below of me recording the bass track with Rocky and Steven tapping their feet along with me to try to keep me in time. I am no trained musician by any means and the timing on the intro of that song is more complicated than any sane person would do to themselves. That riff was meant to catch people off guard. I think we successfully achieved that. Although I don’t believe we ever hit it perfectly in a live performance… but that’s punk rock.

We did get the chance to use a few not-so-typical recording techniques in a few places. In the first few seconds of the EP, you can notice (If you have it loud enough or the low end way boosted) a deep wooshing noise before my voice comes in. This comes from a mic that is actually swinging through the air. This was in hopes to capture a bit of phase and warble in the guitar tone to start the song. If the kick drum feels like it has more punch in this short first song, well that’s cause we used the ole double barrel technique. This is the process of taking the resonant head off of one kick drum, the batter head of another kick drum of the same size and then bungee cording them together to make one long kick drum. Personally I wish we would have attempted to use this technique on the entire EP. 

Common Sense was a song I had written in my first year of college about a less than ideal roommate. This was my first time living with anyone else and this person put effort in to make sure everyone around them was having a worse time than them. It comes off as the angriest song on the album and rightfully so. The guitar in the song continues to gain more and more energy as the song continues and finally breaks down into a head-banging riff. The more intricate second verse is one of my favorite parts to play on the guitar. A fun little easter egg in this song is at the very end. You can hear a missed hit on the cymbals and Rocky scream “FUCK.” We felt it matched the vibe of the song and decided to keep it in. 

“This is Me” is a song that has stood the test of time. I remember writing it back when I still lived in Port Huron and was jamming with some other friends. At the time I was very much into a band called Movements. It was supposed to match the energy of their song “Kept.” Though the chords closely resemble another song of theirs “Colorblind” that came out long after I had written this song. The composition of the song goes out of the typical format to a pop song. It starts with a long jam before the verse riff kicks in and I start spewing about none other than my hometown. The fire seen from fifty miles away was a real experience I had driving back east across the state. It was an overcast evening and the factories in Canada just across the river from Port Huron were glowing red and orange, burning off nasty chemicals that the plants produce. The lyrics stick to the fact that I was new to speaking out, getting out of my comfort zone and becoming my own individual. After the first chorus the riff leading into the breakdown of the song is my TOP favorite riff on this EP. The way it gallops along and goes high then low is a pleasure to play. 

The song that turned out sounding the best in my opinion is “Doubts.” This song overall has a different tone than the rest. It balances more on our emo side of music and the bridge even has a quiet, ambient, portion talking about an ex. Again another song that I had written prior to ever moving away, the lyrics reach out hoping for better days. “Leaving these doubts behind” is a line meant to talk about taking that first step into a new chapter but for someone like me, it’s less of a step and more of a jump. I typically live on an all in or all out type of pace. A lot of my songs come from this feeling of needing change, and knowing only I can do it for myself. 

A fan-favorite song is “Finally Feels Like I’m Getting Somewhere” also known as FLIGS. You can see the music video above. This song is another of ours that bounces between different time signatures. The intro and Outro are in 4/4 and the rest of it stays in 6/8. It is of course another song about an ex and one of the only songs written completely in the time between the first single “The More You Know” and this release. I had just landed my first internship and was feeling the most confident I ever had in my life. The chords and words poured out of me in the tiny, hot, Grand Rapids bedroom. It stays with that same mindset of doubts but brings even more PMA (Positive Mental Attitude). I believe this song does well with listeners because of it being about self empowerment and believing in the path you take is the best for you. It touches on the idea that it doesn’t matter what anyone else does because I am here doing my best at what I believe I need to do. It also may be that this song is at a pace at which others can actually learn the words and sing along to. At live shows for this song, friends would always start a “spinny pit,” the mosh pit’s nicer and safer cousin. Everyone would spin and bop around the room like battle tops. Always fun to see others enjoying their time listening to our songs. 

The release was celebrated at yet another Fuller House show on the national holiday of 4/20. Common Nonsense headlined some legends(or so I thought) of the Michigan DIY scene. Gold Route, Paper Lanterns, Liveletter, and Normal made up all the bands that played that day. We performed the EP from front to back and mixed in some other newer songs. It was a night to remember. Thanks so much to all our friends and fans that came out to support us!