Interview: Chrissy Costanza from ‘Against The Current’

Since the release of their second EP ‘Gravity’, Against The Current have quickly risen to become a world-class act and tour across the US, UK, Europe, and Asia. We spoke with frontwoman Chrissy Costanza about the creative process behind their debut album, most memorable shows, and how the sunny vibes of Los Angeles influenced her song writing.

Hi Chrissy! Do you feel the creative process behind your debut album ‘In Our Bones’ benefited from a bit of on the spot writing and spontaneity?

I really liked going in with no intentions and, y’know, no margins set for the album at all, basically! When we started writing we weren’t even necessarily writing songs specifically for the album. We were just writing songs, and whichever were the great songs that ended up being right for the album, those ended up on the album. But having that creative freedom and really being able to flex our artistic muscles was awesome for us because we really just let everything flow and we didn’t have any reservations or worries about holding back.

Do you think the writing and recording process for the album was inspired by the move to Los Angeles? It’s a crazy city!

Yeah, for sure! For a song like One More Weekend, that song was definitely very much influenced by kind of just having that positive, ‘sunshiney’ atmosphere around us. That’s definitely one of those songs that was very much a product of the environment.

Your last EP ‘Gravity’ sent you guys globe-trotting, how did you all handle the hectic life that comes with being a world-touring band?

This is what we’ve always wanted to do. Growing up and being a local band for the first couple of years, we watched as Will’s brother’s band (We Are In The Crowd) did international touring and a lot of our friends bands did these crazy international touring schedules, and we just accepted that as what happens. So, when it actually started happening for us it wasn’t overwhelming in a negative way whatsoever. It was kind of like, “Ok, this is just what we do now”. Now we’re at this point where we’re an international touring band and that’s what we want to do. To us this is just normal. This is just what our life is!

Do you have a particular show during your last world tour that stands out as especially memorable? You’ve been basically everywhere!

Japan, for sure! We were really lucky, we got to open for one of our friends in the band ONE OK ROCK. So, we got to play for an arena of 22,000 people which was unbelievable, so Japan was definitely a whirlwind for us. But some of the shows that very much stick out are the smaller, club shows. We played in Thailand, Bangkok, for the first time, and it was a really small 150-200 person show, but there was this unbelievable energy in the room. It’s totally different to playing in a bigger venue because you get to get up in everyone’s face. It’s not so much you’re putting on a show and the audience is watching, so much as it is you’re all in it together.

Are there any songs on the album that you’re most keen to play live? I think Running With the Wild Things will be a fan favourite during your set!

We actually started playing Wild Things before the album came out, and we’d play the intro and the energy was awesome. I’m really interested to see how Wasteland goes over live, because it’s so different for us. But in general, all of the songs. I’m so excited to have new content in our set to see how they go over. So, I’m really stoked!

Your main goal with ‘In Our Bones’ was to make a “great first record”. What do you think makes a great first record?

I think what makes a great first record is…if it’s genuine and it’s a reflection of who you are. If it’s something you’ll look back on 10 years from now and you’re still going to want to listen to it, if it’s not too in a trend, like a timeless record. I think ultimately, if you’re proud of it and if it was really genuine and if it means what it should mean to you, then I think that’s a great record.

When can Australian fans expect to see you guys live again?

We’re working on it now, and we’ve tried a couple of times and it just hasn’t been able to line up the right way yet! Hopefully we’re going to be able to come back soon and because we’ve waited so long it’ll just make it that much more fun and worthwhile for everyone who gets to come out to the show and who wants to come see us! (Laughs)

Against The Current’s debut album ‘In Our Bones’ is out now!