Half Past 3

Here in Columbia, South Carolina's local music scene, the atmosphere is stagnant with the uncreative drone of modern rock. Yet, Half Past 3 is emerging as a breath of fresh air. Not only are they rapidly rising with a unique sound but they have also crafted a rock album in the purest sense.

Longtime friends Colton Curtis, Stephen White, and AJ Newman gathered in a living room two years ago playing covers of their favorite bands. Not long after, a drummer, Dustin Branting, joined the group. Says Stephen: "We always seemed to wrap up practice about 3:30 in the morning. Thus Half Past 3 came about." Several brainstorming sessions brought about Control Freak (now Tears Fall) and Only Time Will Tell. Dustin stayed with the band while Breathless and Moving On were crafted in July 2003, but soon thereafter quit due to work and relationship conflicts. His departure was terribly timed. With a gig already lined up, Half Past 3 had no drummer! As if on queue, George Perez offered himself and was adopted into the lineup. He delved into the set list, learning four originals and three covers in two days. George threw a loop at the rest of the group, bringing a unique and keen knowledge of timekeeping and a punk-style influence. Now, the rest of the band had to catch up.

After George's debut show, and an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience and friends, Half Past 3 entered a frenzied songwriting stage. In the same month, however, tragedy threatened the band members. Colton recalls: "My grandfather went into the hospital to have a triple bypass and value-replacement surgery, but things went wrong, really wrong. The doctors gave him an overdose and he almost died, remaining in critical condition for weeks, his body rejecting food. After seeing the trauma of my mother and my whole family, I felt helpless. I usually write to purge problems and this time was no different. Critical Condition was written in one night. It took one hour of writing and two of crying."

The song Without You had always been a favorite of the band, but never played as a full band. "It just never seemed right, " mulls Colton, "so we kept it acoustic." All the band's original songs were revamped to encompass George's drumming style and improved, rewritten and detailed over a five-month period. "The chemistry with George was amazing," AJ smirks. Absence of You, their latest title track, was written during that period of time. Half Past 3 worked tirelessly toward their goal for the forthcoming album - perfection.

With the end of December approaching, Half Past 3 reserved their first dates at The Jam Room (www.jamroomstudio.com) studios in Columbia, S.C. The band remembers the project vividly. "George laid down the drum tracks on the first and second days - stone cold," says Stephen, "but we went in constantly, over and over. We didn't even practice in our downtime. We wanted to give the recording every bit of our energy. And working with Jay [Matheson] was incredible." Recording was finished mid-April 2004.