Unsigned Band Spotlight
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Interview by Katherine Roth, Editor in Chief
Off City Limits sets out to be the next big thing to c...Interview by Katherine Roth, Editor in Chief
Off City Limits sets out to be the next big thing to come out of Long Island.
Ready to play two truths and a lie about Off City
Limits?
This band garnered their name from an H&M
t-shirt.
The boys have shared the stage with Valencia.
The band is too young to be involved in the
music world.
I’ll give you one attempt at getting this one right.
Anyone who thinks that having a young member
of their band is a disadvantage needs to take a
page from the book of Off City Limits. Made up of four young men from Manorville, New York one might not
believe in listening to their music that their drummer is only 15 years old.
The four members of the band - Rob Atanasio, Ryan Malone and brothers Kyle and Ryan Williams – formed
officially back in May 2008 and are heavily influenced by Taking Back Sunday, Paramore and The All-
American Rejects marketing themselves to fans of these bands as well as Boys Like Girls and We the Kings.
This band was recommended to have the opportunity to appear in the Unsigned Spotlight by one of our staff
writers and rightfully so. The saying if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it applies. Their sound, although similar to other
groups in this genre, doesn’t turn me off and I find myself looking to see what they do differently to set
themselves apart. That thing is that they are themselves.
They don’t put on a show via their Twitter or MySpace, which allows them to paint an accurate portrait of who
they are to their fans, old and new alike.
The fact that they are typical boys gives them a certain charm that is sometimes missing with music groups
these days. Three quarters of the band pick on Rob for his never-ending habit for lateness and they have a
penchant for trips to get drinks before each and every show they perform despite the possibility of them being
yelled at by venue staff. The thing that surprised me most about these four was their ability to verbalize to a
stranger, seemingly, what they want their sound to be and what they want to get out of this adventure.
“We listen to a bunch of different stuff, like not even individually but as a band. On the way here, we listened to
This Providence and Saosin so we kind of incorporate pop but with a heavy element. It has a lot of electronic
sounds that is kind of different from the old stuff that was just guitars” lead singer Rob says.
“Honestly, we’re branching out…there’s still a poppiness to us, but the lyrics are definitely different on the new
EP,” Ryan Malone adds.
Even with new music being released and their adventure still continuing despite being unsigned, the boys are
very sensible. They’re goals and dreams are viable, not just imagining a career of super stardom. From
wanting to create music that another person can listen and relate to, to being able to share this with their kids
one day, the aspirations that they possess only make them that much more charismatic to know.
“I don’t want it to be, ‘Oh the drummer from Off City Limits was really good’ or ‘Kyle Williams was really good.’ I
want it to be that ‘he added a nice touch to them.’ Like speaking of Fall Out Boy, I don’t know his name [the
drummer] but I know that he adds something to the group,” Kyle adds.
They are currently appealing to their fans to aid them in appearing at Bamboozle or joining the spring
Alternative Press Tour.
“There's no way of telling how the voting is going for either of those, but we've been getting a ton of support
from our Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace so hopefully we'll do alright,” Rob says optimistically.
The band is excited to perform their new material for audiences and thus all fans of Off City Limits should
feverishly vote for the band in anticipation of seeing them receive that opportunity.
The upcoming EP entitled We’ll Be There Soon is due to be released at the end of this year. Just as Atanasio
describes, their new music is different than their previously released stuff. It features more intricate rhythms, a
tinge of electronic backing and arresting lyrics that capture Rob’s voice perfectly reminding me of an entrancing
combination of AJ Perdomo, Slade Echeverria and a hint of Alex Roy. A track to look out for is Can’t Let You
Go.
If you enjoy alternative music with a hint of pop, then you should keep your eye and ear out for Off City Limits
as the field is wide open for this group to make quite a name for themselves.
