December Morning

On Saturday, September 23, December Morning will perform their debut live show at The Saint in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While this project may be new, the band members are all veterans of other successful bands. Since the beginning of the year, they released their debut track, "The Rising," along with a great second single, "Shed A Tear". As they prepare to showcase the new sound live for the first time, we chatted with the band's bassist Raj Narayanan about where December Morning came from, and where they're headed.

You've been around the Jersey scene for a while, but December Morning your first new project in a few years. Start off with some background about your past projects and how this band got started.

My lead singer Davin Alson and I have been in and out of original bands together since we were 13 years old. We came onto the New Jersey local scene as in.spite.of. That group lasted for 13 years. Him and I then went on to form Leaving Sideways, Venus Vegas, and, now, December Morning.

Davin and I took a break following the end of Venus Vegas. We had just gone nonstop for so many years. One-night Davin met our guitar player Jesse Sullivan through a mutual friend. After talking music that night, they decided to jam. Davin called me in on it and that was the spark we needed to get back to writing and performing. As luck may have it, my old drummer from Venus Vegas had a friend looking for a project. So, Dan Demyanovich joined the group as our drummer some time later.

December Morning has released two tracks so far, including a video for "The Rising". Has the creative process in the studio been different from what you've done in the past? How much new music do you hope to have ready to go by September's show at the Saint?

The creative process in the studio has been the same as in the past. The reason is because we've always surrounded ourselves with great musicians who are open minded. We all have our role, but everyone is willing to explore different ideas. A drummer can suggest how the guitars should sound, the guitar player can offer the singer a different way to approach the vocal line. There's good synergy in this group.

The two songs we released act as an introduction to December Morning. They vary in style and help showcase our range. After September's show at The Saint, we plan on hitting the studio again and laying down the remaining songs to complete our debut album.

Is there a different gauge of what would make this band a "success" from what you might have wanted years ago? I mean, people don't really want to pay for music any more, and it's tough for new bands to develop a touring schedule. What would you consider a big deal: radio airplay, lots of YouTube views, a large social media audience, or something else entirely?

Yes, this band has a different mindset than some of our previous projects. We're all in this for the love of music. And that's pretty much it. In a way, we've gone back to the same mentality we had when we were 13 and just starting out. No pressure. Let's just have some fun. These days, I would measure success by how we build up a fan base. Having a social media presence is one thing, but getting folks out to the clubs is the #1 goal. We've always treated shows as one big party, hooking up with friend's bands and sharing the same stage. We look forward to experiencing that vibe all over again.

What does returning to the Saint in Asbury Park for your debut show in September mean to you?

The Saint has always been the one club we call Home. I've been performing on that stage since I was 19 years old. There is a whole bunch of local musicians who all grew up there. When it came time to book December Morning's debut show, there wasn't even a question of where to have it. Scott was getting a call from me.

Watch "The Rising" by December Morning

December Morning on Bandcamp:
https://decembermorning.bandcamp.com

December Morning On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DecemberMorningBand