Band: Broken Ties
From: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Their formation story:
(Eric, vocals): "While playing guitar in my other band, Reunion, I wanted to play more frequently than Reunion was able to. I also wanted to play a slightly more punk style of hardcore. I've always sung backup vocals while playing guitar, but I wanted to give lead vocals a shot.
"I grabbed Mike McDonnell to play bass since we'd previously played together in Get In the Van, then reached out to drummer Dan Herr, who I'd first played with in high school back in the mid-'90s and more recently in The Program. I didn't want to play guitar and sing lead at the same time, so finding the right guitarist took a little longer. While we kept writing songs, we finally found Matt Glassmyer through friends' recommendations. Matt had played in local bands like Spill and Consumer, and he joined after we'd already finished six songs, just a month or so before we started recording."
Their sound in their own words:
"We all come from a wide range of influences. When I was writing, I wanted to keep the songs punk without sounding poppy and hardcore without sounding metal or tough. We all love the early Revelation Records bands, and I'm a big fan of post-hardcore.
"As far as newer bands go, we've been compared to Drug Church, Restraining Order, and Cosmic Joke. Honestly, I never really know how to describe any band I've been in—I usually wait to hear what listeners think."
Latest release info:
"We just released a seven-song album on all streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. It was my first time writing both the music and the lyrics, and it was a fun process figuring out lyrical cadence that worked with the riffs.
"I'd bring a verse and chorus to Dan along with an idea for the drums. Once Dan and I had the guitar and drums figured out, I'd work with Mike on the bass lines. After we settled on the structure, I'd come up with vocal cadence ideas before writing the lyrics. That's usually when the songs really evolved—we'd realize they needed another verse, a longer intro, or maybe a two-part bridge before the final chorus or outro.
"Since Matt joined so close to the recording sessions, he mostly added melodic parts, octaves, and little details that made a huge difference. I'm really looking forward to writing brand-new material with him because he's great at adding those subtle touches that elevate a song."
Future plans:
"We're looking forward to playing a bunch of shows, writing more music, and meeting more bands in the scene. Once we finish four more songs, we'd love to head back into the studio. I feel like the last two songs we wrote—which ended up being the first two tracks on the album—are where we really started finding our sound, and I'm excited to explore that even further."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"There are so many great bands across Lancaster, Harrisburg, York, and Philadelphia. We just played our first show with High Heels from Lancaster and KNUB from Baltimore, and both are great. Streets of Rage are from the area and seem to be playing every weekend if you're feeling angry. Super Vehicle and Mid Rats are also bands you shouldn't miss."
Broken Ties on social media: Instagram
Tagged: broken ties
