Who? 

Common Nonsense consists of three standard Michigan dudes with a wide range of backgrounds. Andy (Me), grew up on the easternmost edge of the mitten state (The thumb knuckle) in a typical, lower-middle class home in America. With a metal head of a father and a sister who introduced me to Warped Tour when I was 14, there’s no doubt in my head why I turned out the way that I have. 

Though Rocky and I have been friends for many years at this point, he will always be a bit of a mystery to all of us. He hails from the flattest and most cornfield-like part of the state, though rumors have it he was born behind a drum kit. If he’s not being an absolute animal behind the kit he’s either in the studio making lo-fi beats or gaming somewhere in the Mario World. 

Steven is the biggest outlier in the band, but by far the most knowledgeable. In fact he’s not only the engineer and producer of all the music we have released to this date but he also coded this website that you are on right now. Secluded from the world most of his childhood, he studied nothing but bible scripts and Underoath lyrics (are those the same thing?). 

The way these three bandmates find a way to intertwine and showcase each other’s strengths is not something that is easy to come by. 

What?

Common Nonsense is a self-proclaimed DIY band and the pioneers of the genre “Midwest Angry.” Spinning off of the backs of other known genres like Midwest Emo, Post-Hardcore, Pop Punk and Grunge. The band brings a high energy performance to match their trademark sound. 

Songs tend to start with a recognizable guitar riff that fills the listener with anticipation, until the drums and bass drive in to fill out the sound. My lack of music theory and hours of strumming out of key chords make up the beginning structure to most of the tunes. Steven will tend to make suggestions on timing and dynamics as songs develop using his more trained background. Sometimes he even finds the nerve to ask me what ‘key’ a song is in. 

No matter what type, speed, cadence, or time signature a riff is, Rocky always seems to put a heartbeat to it that makes it a song. Not many people can play drums as locked in as Rocky and he does it while singing. He makes it look effortless but countless hours have been spent in order to hone the musical instinct that he has. We often joke that Rocky is the only one in the band who’s actually good at their instrument, but we’ll let you the listener be the judge. Just know that he’s the one holding it all together. 

Where? 

The bois all arrived in fall of 2017 on the campus of Ferris State University ready to study Music Industry Management in the most unlikely of places - the dead of winter in the snow belt of western Michigan. For me this was my first chance to have my own apartment out of my parents’ house and I was dead set on finding some like-minded people who wanted to get in a van and play our music to the world (Yet to completely fill this dream.) 

Rocky was one of the first people I met on campus as he just arrived for his freshman year. A slight in stature but swift human being, Rocky and I related quickly to a few similar favorite artists. I even heard rumors that he played drums in a Green Day cover band. 

Steven was another person who I met early that year. He was going to be taking the reins on the campus studio, something I desperately wanted to be a part of. For most of that first year we were working in the studio on other people’s projects. Whether it was creating advertisement videos for a school project (maybe we can talk more about that someday) or working on another person’s music project in the studio, the three of us seemed to work really well together. 

The most notable music project that year was this band of high school kids named Rendered Worthless. Rocky got to step in as the studio drummer, Steven led the engineering and producing while I tried to just take in and learn as much as possible. 

How? And When?

It wasn’t until after the recording of the Rendered Worthless EP that Common Nonsense officially recorded and released its first single “The More You Know.” I’d be hesitant to say that we were even a band yet. I came into that first year at FSU with a handful of songs and lyrics ready to find its full sound. TMYK was more of a pity recording that Steven allowed me to do at the end of the year. Probably sick of me complaining about wanting to record songs. (Editorial note from Steven: Steven was desperate to find people to record. If you actually could put together a full band and you had a lick of talent, you were in.)

Since Rocky had already killed it with Rendered Worthless I figured he was the best drummer for the recording. RW ended up inviting me to play a garage show with them in mid summer 2018. I thankfully said yes to playing a couple of my “sad boy indie songs,” and Rocky was able to partner with me on a few and we put on an energetic live show for the first time. TMYK came out shortly after that. The first “official” Common Nonsense show came a few short months later when I got the incredible opportunity to host a few Michigan bands in my Grand Rapids basement (aka Fuller House). August 5th, 2018 was the first time we played under the name Common Nonsense in support of If Only, If Only, Silver Age, Forest Green, and Hot Mulligan (Definitely will have more stories about this.)

Though Steven recorded and engineered TMYK he did not start to slap the bass in CN until returning to school that Fall. Rocky and I were rocking as a two piece until Nov. of 2018. First we just needed a bass player for looks in a makeshift music video (yet another school project for someone else). But the mockery didn’t last long for Steven as he was the obvious candidate to play bass in the project. His style was already buried into the songs through recording and he obviously enjoyed what we were doing. At this point we were in the process of recording our first 6-song EP that ended up being called “Time Ran Out” and Steven would start to join us on stage whenever we had the opportunity to play. 

Common Nonsense has built a community of friends and fans around it based on an honest and caring work ethic. The three members have worked together to put out multiple releases, play shows all around the state, host their own livestream concert, promote other friends’ bands/artwork and include people of all walks of life. If you took the time out of your day to read our story, then we consider you a mega-fan. We appreciate you!