On My Honor

On My Honor drops release, picks up steam
By Jer Cole
Tuesday, May 26, 2009


On My Honor is among the hardest-working musical acts in Knoxville. While recording its new full length album, “The Good, the Bad and Getting By,” the group was able to simultaneously align a two month-spanning, coast-to-coast tour all just shortly after getting a new guitarist up to speed. The band’s persistence paid off as On My Honor has now landed spots in both The Cornerstone Festival and the Vans’ Warped Tour.

Having lost its original guitarist last August, the band forged ahead playing, even touring as a quartet while hoping to find an ideal replacement. They ultimately found the needed complement in guitarist Jared Graap, whom the band credits for picking up the material quickly and adding to the overall energy level of live outings.

“We have definitely considered ourselves a five-piece act all along, but we didn’t want to rush filling the gap,” says vocalist Drew Justice. “After we got back from tour in December, we had an e-mail from Jared, who had heard we were looking for another guitarist. He started hanging around and learning the songs, and it just kind of clicked. Our live show has definitely improved, and it’s been nice having another capable guitarist in the band.”

Almost immediately after the Graap addition, On My Honor set up shop at The Soundlair, recording under the guidance of Miah. While the recording session lasted much longer than anticipated, the group feels its patience has paid off in creating a product that is just as the band intended. “The Good, the Bad and Getting By” is officially slated for a June 9 digital release, but physical copies will be for sale starting Friday at On My Honor’s CD release and tour kickoff extravaganza.

“We’ve grown into our own sound,” says Justice. “It’s probably a combination of the experiences you pick up as you tour, practice more and decide to pursue a full length album, but I think we’ve developed into something that isn’t exactly like anything else. I know every band says it, but I think as compared to the EP (2007’s “Lift Your Guns and Smile”), we sound much less like cookie-cutter pop-punk. It’s been crazy to really prep for a release like this too. The day after the CD release we’re on the road for two months. It’s been a lot of organizing at once — promotion, ordering merch, getting CDs pressed, booking, getting press and reviews. It’s been an intense amount of work since the beginning of ‘09, not to mention writing and recording the album itself.”

Included in On My Honor’s lengthy tour are a gig at Illinois’ Cornerstone Festival and a spot playing the Charlotte, N.C., stop of The Warped Tour, where the group will play alongside a number of its pop-punk idols. But first the band will show its appreciation for its local support by premiering the new album with a show at the all-ages Ritz venue. Promoting all-ages shows has been a staple of On My Honor, which hopes the tradition of having all-ages venues will be continued by a new generation of backers.

“Locally, The Ritz Theater has been a great place for us to host all-ages shows,” Justice says. “The owners are very cooperative and understand what it is that we’re trying to do. I grew up and went to high school in Clinton. My friends and I were lucky enough to still have places like Old City Java to see shows, even if we had to drive 30 minutes to Knoxville. Unfortunately the kids don’t even have that now, so we are just trying to make it available. I think that’s very important. I don’t know where I, the band, or local music in many cities would be without an all-ages outlet.”

Friday On My Honor will unveil its debut album and kick off its tour by playing a show at The Ritz. The bill also includes Aloretta, Furthest from Fame and Saves the City. Music is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30. The show costs $5 and welcomes all ages. - The Knoxville News Sentinel

Fame and fortune elude them, as does acceptance and inclusion by venues and fellow musicians in the East Tennessee music scene.

But the boys in the pop-punk band On My Honor don't do what they do for those things. They drive to faraway cities, play for a pittance and nurture relationships with fans who aren't old enough to drive to their shows because they believe. And that, On My Honor singer Drew Justice told The Daily Times this week, is all it takes.

“I think the music we do has an honesty to it that a lot of music today lacks,” said Justice, via phone during an overnight drive from Baltimore to Richmond, Va. “We really believe that if you have a dream and you want to go for it and you have the means and the drive to do so, then you should. I feel like we've realized that one of the main problems with young bands breaking up is that they don't stick together.

“You have to realize that it's an issue of loyalty and that you have a responsibility to the people you're involved with — the other members of the band as well as the fans. Whatever you go through, you realize there are people there with you going through the exact same thing.”

That loyalty — to one another and to the fans who have championed On My Honor over the years — dates back to 2007, when Justice first started On My Honor with the group's former guitarist. It was at a random show in Atlanta, and the two realized through trial and error that they had similar tastes and chemistry. Over time, the other members joined — bassist David Fear, a graduate of South-Doyle High; Lucas Sams, a graduate of Union County High, on guitar; and drummer Trey MeHaffey from Morristown. The most recent member is guitarist Jordan Garner, a Blount County boy who graduated from Greenback High in 2007.

In October 2007, the band recorded the EP “Lift Your Gun and Smile,” and through all-ages shows at various community centers and venues like Old City Java, On My Honor built a respectable following, especially among enthusiastic younger fans who appreciated the band's efforts to play at teen-friendly venues. From the outset, Justice said, the band's infectious, hook-laden rock resonated with those in attendance.

“When we first started playing, there wasn't a lot of music like what we do around here,” he said. “There's just a style and a mentality to it that appealed to me, and we try to write songs that are relatable. At the same time, you've got to be honest and write about what you believe, and you have to live up to what you're saying.

“We've just tried to eliminate that barrier between the band and the people who listen to us. There are people who come to our shows repeatedly, and we want to get to know them. We try to let them know that what they're doing matters to us.”

Apparently, fans felt the same. By the end of 2007, On My Honor had already mounted a short tour of the Eastern United States; by 2008, when Old City Java stopped hosting rock shows and the number of area all-ages venues dropped to zero, the guys started renting out The Ritz Theatre in Clinton and holding shows there. (Justice is a graduate of Anderson County High.) By that point, it was routine for 400 fans to show up to an On My Honor performance, and that summer, touring was a regular part of the On My Honor agenda.

“Our main priority right now has been touring,” he said. “Right now, we're on our third tour since last August. We did a West Coast tour a few weeks ago, taking six weeks to hit California and back. This one was a three-week tour to the Northeast; in June, we'll do a Southeast tour, and in August, we'll hit the Northeast again.”

This summer will also be spent working on a new EP, the follow-up to last year's full-length album titled “The Good, The Bad, and Getting By.” Festivals are a part of the plan as well, including a return to the Christian music festival known as Cornerstone. That, Justice said, is part of the On My Honor appeal — a strong work ethic, positive music and a desire to make a difference in the lives of those who consider themselves On My Honor fans.

“We definitely keep our message positive, because that's just the style of music that we make and what we all believe — that life throws a lot at you, but there's always good in it,” he said.

Perseverance, he added, is the key. Whether it's stapling band fliers to telephone poles or handing them out at malls ... working social-networking websites for hours and designing T-shirts ... answering fan e-mails and sending out inquiries to every possible place to play between Florida and California ... the guys in On My Honor don't quit. It's not that they're gluttons for punishment, nor that they feel an obligation to keep going even in the face of exhaustion and frustration.

They do it because they love that obligation — to one another, and to the fans.

“It's just one of those things — we've tried really hard to make ourselves available to crowds of all ages,” he said. “We can play places that are 18 and up, but at the same time, it's way more fun when you get into a community thing. I grew up going to sows at Old City Java, and I hated to see that go. Knoxville is a town that does cater to an older audience, and that's definitely been a problem across the board, but that doesn't stop us.

“There are a lot of other bands like November Sky and Beyond the Coast and Furthest from Fame and Paper Monsters that are helping each other out. It's a similar mentality, and they're all working hard to make it work and give back to the fans, just because they believe in what they're doing like we do.”

By: Steve Wildsmith

April 29, 2010 - Steve Wildsmith (The Daily Times)

Here we are in a brand new month and you all know what that means: A new Indie Band of the Month Award is being handed out to an awesome independent band that you should all know about. Last month a band called The Marys won the first ever Everyview award and now we’re here with On My Honor, the first band of 2009 to win the prize.

On My Honor is a four-piece power pop/punk band fronted by lead singer Drew Justice and backed by guitarist and vocalist Lucas Sams, bassist David Fear, and drummer Josh McCulley. The boys hail from Knoxville, Tennessee where they regularly perform for over 300 dedicated fans. When the band’s not kicking it in their hometown they spend their time running tours across the country, which is probably what helped them get featured on a Future Destination Records Compilation. In 2008 alone, for instance, they embarked on 3 tours spanning 30 states, from New York down to the Gulf of Mexico and everywhere along the way.
On My Honor is a completely independent band that funds all of their shows and tours and even the recording of their E.P. entitled Lift Your Guns & Smile, which has sold an astounding 1,000 copies at live shows alone. The kids plan on recording a full-length album this March and are backing it with a huge nationwide wide tour to celebrate and promote it’s release. And if they stop by somewhere near you then make sure you pick up a shirt or something from their merch man Zach Monday. You can bet that if they come by Terre Haute (hint, hint) I’ll be their recording some live footage for you guys.
As for my personal opinion of their music, which I know you all value and respect dearly, I love them. I actually had the honor (no pun intended) of sharing a stage with On My Honor when I was playing with a band called X’s for I’s or In Your Defence or something like that. Anyway, I digress. The band has the ability to put on one kick ass show, that’s for sure. They play with so much passion and energy that they are able to get even the most conservative of show goers to join in on a game of Rock and Red Rover.
I’ve even got their E.P. on my iPod and it gets played regularly. They have a wonderful poppy sound that you just can’t help but bounce around to. But don’t take my word for it, you can check out their MySpace to listen for yourself, add them to your friends, and paste a banner onto your own page. If you like ‘em you can even buy their E.P. on iTunes. - Zac Pritcher (Everyview.wordpress.com)

Knoxville pop-punk outfit On My Honor tours the nation frequently, but for the emotional quartet, home is where the heart is. The group's motivation is largely centered on playing for youth, hoping to maintain the legacy of inspiration they experienced from similar bands at an early age. A recent depletion of local all-ages venues has driven the band to farther-away show destinations, but On My Honor still makes great effort to host nearby all-ages shows, often at the group's own expense.

On My Honor has logged online sales of more than 1,000 and claims to be one of the youngest touring bands in Knoxville. Ranging in age from 19 to 22, the group members vividly recall the trauma of their high school years and reach out to fans of that age with relevant lyrics and a welcoming demeanor. Hoping to lift the spirits of those in the mall-lounging phase of life, the group cites friendship as a primary motivation to perform.

"We write about life, I guess," vocalist Drew Justice says. "I mean, the main goal I have when I write lyrics, I suppose, is to make something people can relate to. It's a lot about the stuff we go through - being in a band, living together, friends, life, love, just getting through. It gets personal because a lot of times people know who or what a song is about, but I think that's the point in a big way. This band is about letting people in, to me; letting listeners know they're not the only ones going through the things they go through."

"I think we're more personal than a lot of bands take the time to be," adds guitarist/vocalist Lucas Sams. "A lot of the people that come to our shows end up sleeping on our floor and hanging out with us all weekend. We love making friends more than anything. It's about personal relationships with people. That's one of the main reasons we do what we do."

The group is eager to record its second full-length CD early next year. Still road-testing a number of new tracks, the band is taking its time to produce a quality product. Despite the recent loss of a second guitarist, On My Honor claims the next release will be a departure from past work and will more succinctly define their desired sound.

"We're currently writing as much material as possible to take into the studio with us," says Sams. "It's a bit heavier and melodic so far, but we don't think we've lost any of the values that we wanted to express with the first CD. As far as studios go, we've received offers to record everywhere from New York down to Atlanta, but we're weighing our options and figuring out what's best for us in terms of a lot different things, ranging from quality to cost effectiveness."

"This album is going to sound a lot less generic, I think - more outside of cookie-cutter pop-punk," Justice continues. "This is when I think it's going to be clearer what On My Honor sounds like. The influences and roots are there, but we've started finding our own sound for sure."

Providing all-ages shows for Knoxville teens has become a struggle for the group in the past year. Between the disbanding of The Knox Scene Coalition and the end of Old City Java shows, few venues are left to cater to the younger fans On My Honor appeals to. As a result, the band shows its commitment to this age group by renting out theaters and rec centers for the sake of its teenage following. On My Honor claims to be one of many area bands to profess a dissatisfaction with the lack of a consistent all-ages venue.

"The thing I love about our crowd in Knox is that they're loyal to the bone," says Justice. "The kids go crazy when we can find a place to play for them, and that makes everything worth it. The thing that sucks is there's really nowhere to play in Knoxville if you want to have an all-ages show. Once Old City Java stopped having shows, 'that place' for kids to go on weekends to see local bands didn't exist anymore. There just isn't an all-ages venue that wants to support local music around here, and I think that's a big problem and a typical complaint for a number of bands in our town. We're all pretty limited to house shows or trying to find community centers if we want to give kids a place to see us in Knoxville."

"It's really sad what's happened to the music scene in the past few years in terms of the venues," adds Sams. "We've had to resort to renting out community centers, old theaters and wherever else for kids to be able to see a few bands from their hometown that don't sound like Nickelback. We've had 350 kids out in an old theater in Clinton on two different occasions."

Tonight On My Honor is slated to perform at Longbranch Saloon along with Without Hatred and Liars and Tigers. The show is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and costs $5.

By:
Jer Cole - The Knoxville News Sentinel