On July 1, 2016, local student band Anthropocene released their first full-length album, In a Different Hemisphere, on iTunes. The album consisted of 12 songs that reflected the hard work of the four members, lead singer Laura Mendoza (2016), guitarist junior Jacob Tate, bassist junior Zoe Pham and drummer Amanda Martinez (2016). Jacob Tate spoke about his experience with the band and this album.

How did you come to join Anthropocene?

In November of my sophomore year, Laura made a band with Amanda, and they planned a show. But then three days before the concert, they texted me, “Hey, want to play guitar?” We practiced for one Sunday, and I wrote around five guitar parts. We played our show, and it was fun. From there on, we kept playing shows. We got t-shirts. We got true fans. It was great.

What was it like recording your album?

Right after school let out for the summer, we recorded ten songs in three days, which was really, really difficult. We played like it was live, but the guy had everything recorded separately. We did a couple runs of our songs so that we could pick and choose the best takes. Recording was actually the easy part. It was harder at the end when we were just sitting there going over the songs and re-recording some of them. In the end, we got our CD, and then we had to decide on track listings, which was much harder than it seems. We had really long talks about what the track listings should be.

How did you advertise your album?

We worked with a promotional company. You pay them $20, and they will promote your stuff everywhere. It’s easier than dealing with each individual company. We put it up on the web, and it sold. The coolest thing is when you run into people that you haven’t told about your work and they’re playing it. I was at a summer camp, and this kid that I didn’t know started playing “Coastlines”, and I was thinking, “What the heck, dude? We’re in North Carolina, and this is our music!” It’s just cool how music gets around. I’m really proud of that album.

Is there a story behind the songs?

Well, every song is a different story, right? “Coastlines” is a fun one. So the night before a concert, Joe Mabry (2016), Amanda and Laura were hanging out. Amanda started messing around with a ukulele, and Laura just started riffing over it.

The next day, two hours before the concert, Laura told me: “Yo, we’re going to play this song.” I’d never heard it before, but I figured I’d roll with it. She kept screaming at me about my guitar part. “More Mac DeMarco! More!”

At this point, I didn’t know who Mac DeMarco was, so I just kept frantically playing things until Laura just said, “Okay, that’s good.”

What’s your favorite song on the album?

“Coastlines”. Everyone’s favorite song is “Coastlines”. But other than that, I love “Let’s Go!”

Now that Laura and Amanda have graduated and the band has been ended, what’s your next direction?

I’m making a band with my friends. We don’t have a name yet, but it’s going to happen. It’ll be great!

Anthropocene’s album can be found on their bandcamp: https://anthropocenemusic.bandcamp.com