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Meet Joseph Pieper of The Relics

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Pieper of The Relics.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Joseph. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

The Early Days
Well I guess I should start back in 2016 then. Evan and I had always been big fans on the Beatles, and used to always play their songs whenever we hung out. We admired The Beatles and thought it was cool how four guys changed the world with their music. In 2016, we did a couple of open mics with my sister playing drums. We didn’t know what we were doing back then but we caught the band bug from it.

In May of 2017, we decided to form a proper band, so we could play real shows and eventually play our own original music. We got a couple of friends together and began rehearsing in my basement. I brought my friend Dylan over to play lead guitar, and Evan brought his friend, Ethan, to play drums. I was finishing up college and we didn’t have any originals at the time, so we just learned covers. I also didn’t know anything about booking shows back then, so we played an open mic at Darwin’s Burgers and Blues under the name, “The Relics,” for our first ever set together. I thought it was an appropriate name for the band since we were playing a bunch of classic rock. However, the set did not go very well. The sound system was messed up, I was fighting off a sinus infection, we didn’t have much gigging experience, and we attempted to open with the Billy Joel song, “Miami 2017.” Which was very much out of our range at the time …  So, you can imagine how that set most likely went. Luckily, we didn’t let that get us down, and it encouraged us to start writing our own music.

A few days after that set, I was playing my guitar at home, when this chorus to a song just popped into my head. I don’t know where it came from, because I had never written a real song before in my entire life. But I began singing the words: “I go crazy when I look into those stormy blue eyes, I go crazy when I think of how much you hide. I don’t want nobody but you, cause darling you’re my baby blue.” (And any of our early fans will know exactly what song that is). Immediately, I tried to write the verses and a bridge, but I couldn’t find the right words because I was fighting against the songs real meaning and anything I tried to write just sounded fake and cheesy. I just didn’t want to “go there” or revisit old wounds. But about a month later, I finally accepted who the song was clearly about, and gave myself permission to write it about her. The verses were solid, however the lyrics to the bridge were still the low point of the song. They sounded very self-righteous, and weren’t at all reflective of what really happened in the relationship. I showed the bridge to Evan, and he said, “that’s not really how you feel. Just be honest and say what you really feel.” I knew he was right, so I wrote the bridge with apologetic lyrics and said what I really wanted to say. And after that we began rehearsing what would become our first ever original song, “Baby Blue.” And just a couple of weeks later, Evan wrote the song, “What’s Stopping You.” Evan showed me and my sister, who was playing drums for us at the time, and we kind of just fell in line. It was an early-Beatles influenced tune, so I came up with this Paul McCartney-like melodic bassline and joined in with vocal harmonies during the chorus. And then bam, just like that we had a second original song.

We did one more open mic that summer and played both Baby Blue and What’s Stopping You for the first time. After that set, I and Evan decided, we were going to go all-in with the band and try to take it as far as we could take it. When school started back Dylan didn’t have enough time play with us anymore, so I asked my friend Bob to play lead guitar for us. I also found this guy named Ben to play drums for us.

 I found a producer with a home studio and we recorded Baby Blue as our debut single. We did one more set at this bar called “Brewsters,” to promote the song. And then that following Tuesday, Baby Blue hit all the online music stores on September 26, 2017. We sent it to all our friends and we’re very excited about having a song online for everyone to listen to. But then unfortunately, just one week later, Ben texted me that he was quitting the band to focus on school. I was devastated because I had just graduated from college and had chosen the band over a job I had been accepted to with a campus ministry called Cru. And I didn’t have any other full-time jobs lined up, so thought I had made the worst mistake of my life by doing so. The post-college blues were hitting me hard because I felt like I wasn’t going anywhere, and that I should’ve been further along in life. I also thought the band was dead. Because I didn’t know if we would ever find a real drummer, nor how to go about finding one. But out of this frustration, I wrote several different songs in one month. Some of the songs were songs about feeling stuck and dissatisfied in life, like the song “Roundabout” (a fan favorite). And other songs were about past regrets like, “Just Another Name” (yet to be recorded). Evan also wrote the song, “Always Will,” during that month. So, it ended up working to our advantage and helped us compile a set of original material.

One month later, we played in this tribute show to Tom Petty at the 10 High Dark Horse Tavern in Atlanta. Bob didn’t want to play in the show because he was finishing up his last semester of college, and we still didn’t have a drummer. So, I played lead guitar, my friend Kristopher filled in on bass, and my sister filled in on drums. We only played three songs: “Honey Bee,” “The Waiting,” and “Wildflowers” but the place was packed. There were easily over 100 people which was the most people we had ever played for at the time. It was our first ever show in Atlanta, and there were several other very talented bands performing. So, it was probably the most nervous I have ever been during a set. And probably the most nervous Evan has ever been as well. But it was also one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had. I’ll never forget hearing everyone in the audience sing along to “The Waiting” and “Wildflowers,” and just how surreal that felt. I was so proud to honor someone whose music was loved by so many.  And it was very powerful hearing everyone singing along to his music only a month after his passing. This experience encouraged me to keep pushing.

That December, Ethan started drumming with us again. We didn’t know if it was going to work out with him long-term, so I posted an ad for a drummer at a local Guitar Center’s bulletin board. We ended up doing two more sets that December: one was a Christmas showcase, and the other was another open mic at Darwin’s on my birthday. I also created the band’s official website and booked us for our first-ever ticket show. I found the show in response to a touring artist, Taylor Kropp, who had posted in a musicians group on Facebook, that he was looking for one local to perform with him at Smith’s Olde Bar on March 28, 2018. I immediately responded and he submitted us to the venue for the show. I was thrilled when he got back to me and said that we were approved for the bill. Because I still had no clue about booking shows and didn’t even know if we were good enough to get real shows. But once we booked that show and put it on website, other venues seemed to take us more seriously.

John “The Revelator” Chambers

By January I had booked us for four different shows with the first show being in February. Bob’s cousin, Andrew, had also joined the band as our new keyboardist. But our drummer was having transportation problems and missed three rehearsals in a row, so I realized we were going to need to find a different drummer quick. And literally one day after I told our drummer that we were going to need to find someone else, I got this call from this guy who had just moved from St. Louise with his family. His name was John Chambers. John told me that he saw my ad at guitar center and checked out our song Baby Blue, and loved what we were doing. He also mentioned that he was a jazz drummer with experience in a vast variety of genres including Gospel, Contemporary Christian, R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, and Rock. So, we had John come in and audition two days later. I’ll never forget the look on Evan’s face when he rolled into “Baby Blue.” The song instantly became 100 times groovier, and the rhythm was so much more locked in. We couldn’t believe this guy was actually playing with us in my basement and that he wanted to join our band. So, John officially became our new drummer that day.

Our first two sets together as a unit were plagued by technical difficulties and mistakes. Me and Evan were switching off between guitar and bass at the time, and this would often cause a very noticeable delay between songs. But after embarrassing ourselves on UGA’s student radio station with some bad technical difficulties and a loose performance, we decided we needed to get much tighter.  Our third set of the year was coming up and it was a battle of the bands at this new venue called “Connect Live.” Evan’s father, Paul Borgese, had played in the New York City circuit back in the day, so we had him come coach us up at our rehearsal before the set.

The Relics Rise into the Atlanta Music Scene

When we played at Connect Live that day we were a different band. We opened with our song, “Tonight’s the Night,” which was one of the first times we opened with an original song rather than a cover, and we got right into our second song, “It’s Alright,” with hardly any delay. Although there was literally nobody in the venue except Paul, my dad, and the other band—we didn’t care. We were just happy that we played a much tighter set together than we ever had before. Evan’s dad also took some great videos which I posted to our YouTube and Facebook. And couple days later, a venue reached out to book us for a show at the Vinyl later in April. This was the first time a venue had ever reached out to us to play a show.  At the end of March, we played our show at Smith’s Olde Bar that I booked for us back in December. By this time, I was beginning to figure out how to book shows. So, I booked five more shows for the remainder of the spring.

On April 4th, we played at MadLife Stage & Studios in Woodstock for the first time. It was another battle of the bands, so I wasn’t expecting much after losing the last battle of the bands at Connect Live. But I was pleasantly surprised. We were the first band to go on that night, and when the emcee announced us to the audience and we stepped onto the stage—I felt like a rock star. It was the biggest rush of energy I’ve ever felt in my life. The lights were flashing, there was a big audience, and the acoustics were amazing. It was one of those moments where I was performing but I was probably drinking it all in more so than focusing on how well I was singing or playing. It was too much fun! Once all the bands had performed, they called all the bands back on the stage to vote for the top three finalists. They voted by having the audience cheer for which band was their favorite, and had a decibel meter to measure which band’s applause was the loudest. The top three bands would move on to the finals. I was hoping we would just finish third or second, so we could move onto the finals. He announced the finalist in reverse order starting with third place. I thought for sure this band called, “The Last Chance Riders,” were going to place first. But when he announced them as second place I was shocked, and thought there’s no way we are placing now. But then he said, “And finally coming in first place tonight, The Relics!” I will probably never forget the feeling I had in my chest when he called our name. I probably jumped up about 10 feet in the air. I was completely overcome with emotion and excitement, and had never been happier to win something in my life. I couldn’t believe that just six months earlier our band was nearly dead. And if someone had told me back then that we were going to win the first round of the battle of the bands at MadLife, I would have told them they were crazy. But we did!

After that show, we got these professional videos of our set from MadLife, and I posted them on our You Tube. We had busy April and played a show in Riverdale, the Al Bum’s Record Shoppe Patio Show in Acworth, and a show at the Vinyl. However, unfortunately, later that month John told us that he was leaving the band because this Jazz band he was playing with was taking off and they told him that he couldn’t play with us anymore. John told us that he would play one more show with us at the finals at MadLife. We all loved John and he was one of the best drummer any of us had ever seen. He was an amazing drummer, and an even more amazing person. So, we knew we would all miss having him around. Our last set together at MadLife was very sentimental and we had a great time playing together one last time. Unfortunately, we didn’t place that night. But the Last Chance Riders ended up winning it all, and we were happy for them because we really liked their music. We’d also become good friends with them. Since then they’ve exploded and toured all around the southeast. They have had no problem filling up venues in Atlanta.

The Summer of Growing Pains 

Shortly after John left the band, Bob also decided he was going to leave the band. We had just found a new drummer, and I was obviously very embarrassed that our lead guitarist had just quit right after we had just lost John. My friend Brandon told me he could fill in on guitar for us for until he had to go back to school. So, Brandon learned all our songs in just one week and played with us at Furnace 41 in Jonesboro. The set went surprisingly well, all things considered. And we met one of our favorite bands to play shows with, “The Sound of Fire.”

When I texted our new drummer about rehearsal a few days later, I didn’t hear back from him. I tried to text him one more time and still got no reply. So, I took this as a clear sign that he wanted out. I immediately began to search for a new drummer. I was panicking because we had sets coming up in Marietta, Covington, Athens, and our first ever set at the Masquerade. I got on craigslist and found an ad that said, “Gospel Drummer looking for a Church.” I thought to myself, “well John was a gospel drummer, so this guy should be pretty good too.” I sent him an email about the situation we were in, and then we talked on the phone. He told me he wasn’t interested in joining any bands as a full-time member, but would be down to do some fill in work. So, Greg Washington became our official fill in drummer. And we got more than we bargained for with Greg. Like John, Greg has experience in a vast variety of genres. He even did some recording with Outkast for their album “Stankonia.” But I think about Greg as a rock drummer. Which is why I call him “Rock Steady Greg.” Greg sets the beat and you aren’t going anywhere. He keeps everyone in the pocket. Like all great rock drummers—he has very powerful hits and is monster at doing big rock finishes. In fact, probably the highlight of that summer was when we played at the Depot in Covington and covered Runnin’ Down A Dream by Tom Petty. During the final ramp up section, Greg took the energy to a level that I don’t think even the Heartbreakers had ever taken it to. Brandon was shredding on the guitar, and was trading of solos with Andrew. When Greg ended the song, he did about a 30-second-long big rock finish followed by a quick drum solo, and the audience went crazy! It was loudest I had ever heard the audience cheer for us during a song. Greg’s drumming totally redefined our sound and gave us more of a rock edge.

While Greg and Brandon were playing with us, we spent the entire summer auditioning lead guitarists and drummers. Andrew decided to leave the band after our show at the Masquerade because he was having to drive all the way from Covington to get to get to our rehearsal. We decided not to look for a new keyboardist, because we already had our hands full finding a new lead guitarist and drummer. And it was not an easy search. A few of the drummers that auditioned were talented, but there was always some catch—like they lived too far away or were too old. We had even more trouble finding a solid lead guitarist. A few of the candidates didn’t even play a single guitar solo when they auditioned, or got the chords completely wrong. But in late June this guy named, Mitch Pew, auditioned. Mitch graduated from the Atlanta Institute of Music (like Greg) and was a guitar teacher. He also played in a progressive metal band. So, he had a very elite background. He auditioned with a cover, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, and one of our songs, Tonight’s the Night. I was very impressed and thought he was by far the most talented candidate yet—but was a little concern he wouldn’t have enough time for the band since he was also in another band. We found someone a few weeks later that we thought would work out on drums. So, we had Mitch come back in to audition with the full band. He sounded even better the second time than he did the first time! He melted our faces off and we asked him to join the band.

In August, we did a couple of shows with our new drummer and Mitch. The shows did not go very well at all. And after a super embarrassing show at MadLife, it became apparent to us that our drummer didn’t have the experience we needed. He was also having trouble getting to rehearsal—so I decided to have Greg fill in again and re-open the search for a new drummer. Our next two shows went way smoother, since Greg was playing drums. And that made the shows much more enjoyable for us all. This was a relief, because I was worried we were going to lose Mitch after how bad our first two shows together went.

The Studio

After about four months of waiting to finally record our songs, I did not want to put off recording any longer. I scheduled recording time in October with our producer Sonny Lallerstedt, and we had both Greg and John record with us. I wanted to use both drummers because they each brought something different to the table. It was like a football team with two star running backs. I was also happy to get to play with John one more time, and thought it seemed very appropriate for him to be a part of our debut record. So, we recorded drums with John on one day, and then drums with Greg the next session.

In addition to having two killer drummers in the studio, our producer Sonny was another secret weapon. Sonny is the worship pastor at Sanctuary Church, which is my home church. So, I have known him for years. In addition to leading worship, Sonny is also a long-time Atlanta studio-musician and has done sessions with the likes of Elton John, Destiny’s Child, and Boyz II Men. Sonny also wrote and recorded the Atlanta Falcons official touchdown song, and played in the Pat Terry Group, a very popular Christian rock group. So to say the least, Sonny’s input was invaluable. He even played some of the guitar parts himself. Watching both Mitch and Sonny play guitar in the same room was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. And the highlight of our entire recording sessions was when Sonny and Mitch put their heads together to make this killer guitar solo for Roundabout. I was totally shocked because originally that song didn’t even have a guitar solo. Mitch said he had a little bit of an idea for a solo but was open to anyone else’s ideas. Sonny said, “that’s great brother! But what if you tried something completely different?” Mitch was all ears. Sonny came up with this one blues line, then Mitch came up with the next line, then Sonny did another line, then Mitch did this Punk Rock line, and then Sonny finished the solo of with this insane blues lick. And this guitar solo was not only the best guitar solo on the EP but was also one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard!

But the best part about working with Sonny was he’s literally the nicest person you could ever meet. He’s a real-life saint and truly lives a Christ-like life. He was very encouraging to us all, and helped me a lot with my pitch and rhythm. This combined with the vocal lessons I was already getting from my vocal coach greatly improved my singing.

The New Relics

While we recorded the EP, we trained up our current drummer, Fernando Flores. Fernando was friends with Evan and auditioned about a week before we went into the studio. We loved the intensity of his drumming and asked him to join the band right after he auditioned. Fernando has been an excellent addition to the band, and is easily the friendliest member of our band. He’s the first person to greet people who come to our shows and is great at making people feel welcomed.

 We also worked on some newer material. We decided to save these songs for a later record because they felt very different than the songs we were recording with Sonny. They were much heavier rock songs. But that’s no surprise considering that Mitch played a huge part in composing the guitar parts for these songs. Greg even helped us arrange some of the parts on one the songs called “Standing tall.”

During that fall/winter, we also played bigger shows than we had done in the past. In October, we were asked to open for the Nirvana Tribute Band “Nameless, Nameless,” upstairs in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar. Greg played that show with us because Fernando had a prior commitment, and Mitch did as well. But the show was still a great time! We debuted Standing Tall which got a great reaction from the audience. Fernando played his first show with us in Athens, when we played at The Caledonia Lounge for the first time. That was another fun night because we played for a young energetic college-aged crowd. We made some cool fans and debuted two new songs. The biggest show however, was when we opened for the AC/DC tribute band, “Thunderstruck” at the Masquerade (in Hell). That show was just three days after Christmas and the turnout was unbelievable. There had to be over 400 people in there by the end of the night and at least 300 people when we were playing.

But my best memories of last fall were just working with the guys. It was the first time I felt like we truly collaborated as a band to make music. We finally began to have a real band dynamic, because everyone was involved in the composition of the songs. No song felt like it was just my song or just Evan’s song like it had in the past. This seemed to make everyone feel much more excited about the band.

2019

We finished recording our EP in January and did a photoshoot with our good photographer friend, Luke Usry, for some much-needed promo shots. We released the EP in February and did our official CD Release show upstairs in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar. That was a special night, and it was nice to see how many people were excited about our debut EP. There was a lot of love in the room that night for sure, and we got to do our first ever encore.

Since then, our turnouts for shows have been much better than they were in 2018. We’ve played at least three to four shows a month, but have spaced out our Atlanta shows to maximize our draw. But we’ve increased the amount of hourly sets/ festivals we do, which has helped us reach new audiences. We got the opportunity to open for the Last Chance Riders at MadLife back in May, played in Athens again in June, and played at Star Bar for the first time in July. We’ve opened for a couple of touring bands at Connect Live, and most recently played in St Simon’s for a music festival on Labor Day weekend. We’re heading to Nashville at the end of September to play with this Nashville based glam rock band called “The Blam Blams,” who played with us at Smith’s recently. We are planning on heading back into the studio to record in October, and planning on shooting a music video as well.

I am very proud of how far this band has come since our first few shows in 2017. The difference is night and day. If there is one thing I’ve learned from the past two years it’s that things don’t always go according to plan. In fact, they often go in the complete opposite direction from what you expect. But if you want something bad enough, then no obstacle will ever get in your way. It’s not been an easy road at all, but no set back has ever stopped us. The show has always gone on. After all the growing pains, we are standing tall. I am very excited about the future and cannot wait to record our new songs.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not! Replacing members when we’ve needed to replace them, trying to work around four different guy’s schedules, selling tickets, getting a three-hour set down, learning how the music business works on the fly, and the shear cost of all the expenses this band entails. Bon Scott said it best, “It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll.” And as I said earlier, things don’t always go according to plan, so you must have back up plans. That will make life much easier when things do go wrong, and can save your band/business from completely crashing.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a rock band that merges elements of classic rock, 90s rock, garage rock, and modern alternative rock. Our music is characterized by; tight vocals, driving guitar leads, catchy hooks, and an overall up beat sound. Our songs range stylistically anywhere from pop rock to alt rock to hard rock. This is due to our vast array of influences.

Some of my influences include the Beatles, Tom Petty, and the Heartbreakers, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Green Day, Jet, and a few local bands even. Evan’s major influences include: The Beatles, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Del Shannon, Chuck Berry, and The Monkees. Some of Mitch’s influences are: Dream Theater, Rush, Thank You Scientist, various metal/prog-metal guitarist, and even some blues/country guitarist. Fernando’s influences are various classic rock/90s bands like the Doors, Steppenwolf, Queen, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Spanish music, and his heart (since he says he plays with his heart).

One thing I am very proud of is that we are consistently requested to preform by venues around the state. Theoretically, I could go completely hands-off on looking for shows and we would still have gigs to play. We stay busy and that to me is a good thing. We deliver high quality shows and are almost always requested back by the venues we play at.

What were you like growing up?
I was friendly and always had a sense of humor. I was close with my family, loved being outside, and hanging out with friends. I was more reserved in high school and only hung out with a handful of friends outside of school. But in college my extroverted side came to life and I had many different friend groups. I never got sick of being around people when I was in college. My faith also become very important to me when I was in college.

One thing that makes me different than some musicians is I loved sports growing up. That was my first passion. I was a huge UGA football fan and never missed watching a game after I went to my first game in the first grade. I played hockey from the fourth grade to seventh grade, and then I played football from eighth grade to my freshman year of college. I was very injury prone when I played football, because I was undersize up until my senior year of high school. I broke two bones and had three concussions. But I learned so many valuable life lessons from playing football, so it was all worth it.

I developed a passion for music during my freshman year of high school after I saw Paul McCartney in concert for the first time. I became obsessed with the Beatles music after that concert. And shortly after it, I taught myself how to play guitar. I tried to teach myself to sing when I was a freshman in college but I didn’t become a real singer until I started taking vocal lessons with my vocal coach, Cheryl Boncimino. You didn’t want to hear me sing before her, so thanks Cherryl!

Pricing:

  • $10 for physical CD of our EP
  • $10 for a t-shirt
  • We are willing to negotiate the price for booking us for entertainment

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Luke Usry

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