The Story

Above the After isn't a band.  It's a collaboration.  No live performances or tours.  Just the release of music that we are having great fun creating and hope people will connect with.  

I recall tinkering with and loving the piano since early elementary school.  I always seemed drawn to it, and it just became an integral part of my life.  I have a distinct memory of sitting at the piano when I was in sixth grade and playing some chords.  I was thinking about my grandmother who had passed away when I was in third grade.  I can still see the lined notebook paper and the chords C-Am-F and G written on it.  Looking down, there sat the paper overlay on the piano keys with the notes printed on it so I could tell where all the notes were.  In big letters on the top of the page, it read “Etude to Gertrude”.  I suppose it was an elementary nod to Beethoven and I'm fairly sure I did not know what etude meant.  I plucked away as I was writing my first song. 

Through the years, I took in more of the piano, memorizing the notes, and assembling and learning chords along the way.  I took to learning songs by listening and then playing by ear.  When it came time for me to venture into piano lessons at twelve or so years old, it didn't go well.  It's a little fuzzy, but I'm sure I played a recital by playing what I heard my teacher play and not by sight reading.  So, the adventure continued…

I've always loved writing songs.  I recorded a little homebrewed album in the early 1990s that had five songs with lyrics on one side and five instrumentals on the other side.  I cleverly called this album “Two Sides" and shared it on cassette tape within my circle of family and friends.  I’ve often thought of redoing some of those songs now that I have matured (haha).  Through the 90s, I wrote a handful of songs and did some recording, but never really concentrated on finishing them to my liking.  In 2003, a wave of inspiration hit, and I ended up writing and recording several ideas for new songs.  This continued for the next few years and by the time 2010 arrived, I had recorded a couple of demos I was proud of.  One of the songs, “Lose My Grip” ended up on the album “I'm Here” by Sunway.  She and I met on MySpace when she stumbled upon the demo of the song and reached out to me.  She really liked the song and after some conversation, I discovered she was working on a new album.  I offered her the song and with her producer, Joerg Alfter, they created a wonderful version, and it will always be a proud moment for me.

Listen to Sunway's “Lose My Grip”

The other songs ended up frozen in time.

As I sit here writing this in December 2023, the songs have been thawing and are seeing the light of day!  I've had the pleasure of working with my longtime friend, Criss Wheeler, who inspired me to get these songs recorded.  We started this process in 2020 and he's been instrumental in helping me fine-tune them and has taken on the task of helping arrange and produce this project.  We are working with the stellar Joel Ferguson (Papa Vegas, The Verve Pipe) at Planet Sunday Studios, and he has injected his talent into the sound by producing, arranging, and playing much of the instrumentation (keys, guitars, drums, and background vocals).  These songs are becoming a sonic reflection of all three of us.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.  Can't wait for you to hear these songs that have been patiently waiting to see their finish line.

-Warren