Featured Artist Friday: Late.

In this week’s Friday spotlight we cover Joliet metal band Late. The band’s roster currently consists of guitarist and lead vocalist Nicholas Coughenour, guitarist Matt Baron, and drummer Joel Martinez.

“For all of us, discovering music as a hobby when we were in Junior High really sparked a new chapter for us before we even began to meet each other,” said Coughenour. “It was a social window for us to soar through. Being big dreamers and music history nuts, we would hear stories and watch documentaries of our heroes. That gave much more validity to doing this as a career. We always have had support from our families, but it was hard to not always get pushed back or give in to the misguided perspectives from any person outside of that part of our lives. In turn, we have used that opposition to just motivate us further.”

The entirety of the band enjoys progressive music, which has a heavy influence on the songs that they write. The members of Late. have dedicated their lives to perfecting the music they perform for their fans, which leads to them being extremely meticulous during their writing process.

Their policy when it comes to writing is that every riff, melody, or rhythm that any member brings to the table is fair game. Late. will work through every idea that the group comes up with until they hear something that they are comfortable locking into place.

Once they’ve locked their various ideas into place, Late. will repetitively play the song until they feel their songs are as air tight as they can possibly be. Often times, their meticulous examination of their own music helps to breed new concepts for other songs.

“That progressive mindset fuels the need to always put in something off the beaten path,” said Coughenour. “Whether it’s a Latin beat that goes into straightforward hardcore riffing or ambient soundscapes that erupt into a mathcore/noisey frenzy, we want all of our influences and emotions to shine through in whatever way makes it possible. Matthew and I will work on certain ideas together and our most recent bassist was a jazz guy who came up with progressions that just blew us away. There is and has always been creative work happening outside of the standard rehearsal. However, the magic doesn't truly become alive until we are all together. Ideas just pour out of us when we all get together in a way that writing alone has never been able to accomplish.”

Currently, the band has cut back on the number of performances they have coming up in order to focus more on writing new music. They plan on releasing their first full length production sometime next year. The band’s debut EP, titled “City of Storm,” was released in January of this year and can be found in the embedded Spotify link at the top of the page, or on the band’s bandcamp website.

The band also recently had their single “Waxing Nonsensical” released as part of a large compilation of local music titled “The Autumnal Equinox ,” which can also be found on the bandcamp site for The H.E.M.I.S.P.H.E.R.E. Music Movement. Late. will also have a live performance EP that will be released on December 22nd. The group's EP was recorded at Reggie’s in Chicago by a member of the venue’s staff.

“Our last show at the Subterranean was such an amazing time,” said Coughenour. “Seeing our friends Auric and Terminus from Arkansas always humbles us. They are some of the most forward thinking metal artists in the country. Compared to our original EP, the material [for our first full length album] is night and day, but still keeps our heavy demeanor present in much more interesting ways. We are in the process of booking Chicago dates for the upcoming year and also plan on a 2 week run during the summer with some weekenders sprinkled in for good measure.”

While they have cut down on their number of December performances, the Joliet metal band has announced a four show tour with fellow Chicago band Pleasantries to kick off the new year. The first show of that tour will be at The Witch House in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Thursday, January 4th. Other bands that are slated to perform are Michigan groups Exposure Therapy and Palm Hands.

Following their performance in Michigan, the groups will perform the very next night at a yet to announced venue. They will then return to Illinois for a performance at Meow Haus in Glen Carbon, Illinois on Saturday, January 6th.

The final stop on their tour will be on Sunday, January 7th in Sesser, Illinois where they will performing at The Sesspool. Further information regarding their upcoming tour and song releases can found on Late.’s Facebook page.

“We want this to be our lives,” said Coughenour. “We want to wake up and our day to be filled with music. All of us pride ourselves on self motivation and we know that the only way to get there is keep your eyes on the prize, but to also be selective with our actions as a group to maximize the opportunity. We don't want to leave anyone feeling burnt out or left to feel as though the band trumps the friendship, because frankly it never will.”

Next week’s friday spotlight will be Chicago Rapper Tim Million, who is currently living in the bay area. Be sure to check out our most recent releases of Whiskey Point Sessions with OUTDrejas and Chicago rapper Dre Wil over on our YouTube Channel and our Facebook page.