Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Prater.
Hi Justin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Paper Street began as a cover band called uTi in 2014. After a year or so of playing covers, we decided to start writing our own music. We officially became Paper Street in early 2016 and just begun recording our first songs when we parted ways with our drummer. Shelton and I (Justin) searched for a drummer while pursuing other projects and it seemed that Paper Street might be over but we were able to secure a new drummer and began a two-year period of activity, writing, performing, and even adding a new guitarist to our band to become a 4 piece. In early 2018 we once again parted ways with our drummer and found ourselves at a loss. However, we were determined to keep the momentum we had generated so we began recording what would become our first album with our friend and producer Ryan Scherschel who also played drums for us. All of us being new to this sort of thing, we learned as we went and spent nearly a year recording and mixing our album before finally being able to call it complete.
It was also during this time that we found a new drummer in Levi Havard and were finally ready to release our first album and begin to play with a full lineup again when in March of 2020 Covid-19 struck and we along with everyone else were unable to attend or perform live music.
We decided to release our album anyway because we figured it might be helpful for moral if artists continue to create and release new art rather than wait until things were back to normal. However, with no opportunity to support it we had to wait over a year to hold an official “album release show” which we did in September 2021.
Now we are eagerly booking new live performances and writing new material. We are also preparing to record our first new music since our debut albums release.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Losing members was a constant struggle, it seemed every time we got some momentum under us, we would lose a member or add a member and have to slow back to down and lose the steam we had going.
Being in a band is its own set of challenges as we have to navigate the opinions and feelings of 4 different people with different ideas and communication styles in order to get anything done. Sometimes it gets heated, sometimes it’s discouraging. It’s never really easy but sometimes it’s harder than others.
Obviously, Covid-19 was a struggle for everyone. Once we finally felt complete and ready to take back the momentum, we had everyone had to stop in their tracks.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Paper Street is a hard rock band. We play heavy rock music that is guitar-driven and emotive.
We take a great deal of influence from 90s bands such as an Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden, as well as more modern alternative bands like Queens of the Stone Age.
What sets us apart is that we are doing a style of music that isn’t featured heavily anymore, our singer plays guitar which has become more rare in recent years. We mix it up with our style and structure and occasionally feature guitar solos. We maintain a strong element of grunge with a modern twist.
Image isn’t really something we focus on too much; the music is where it starts and we have a sound that is difficult to define but still familiar and accessible.
Authenticity in our art is of the utmost importance to us and we try to never put on a fake image just for sake of popularity.
We try to write music with depth and real emotions, things people can relate to, and tell stories we’ve all been through rather than more shallow, materialistic rock and roll subjects.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
If you really want something, do it. Don’t wait for the perfect timing, or the right person to come along. The time is now and you are the person to do it. With all the technology and information available today there is no reason you can’t learn to do anything.
Pricing:
- ‘Lead the Blind’ is available on CD for $12
- T-Shirts are $15
Contact Info:
- Email: paperstreetdtx@gmail.com
- Website: www.paperstreet.band
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paper_street_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paperstreetdallas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpVcWPiROAov8XxmU-xlAHw
