there's a place for love, one in the same.

Giovanni Gianni of New Atlantic was kind enough to answer some questions about the recent good fortune his band has seen with the release of their new album, The Streets, The Sounds, And The Love. Read further to know what it's like to finally see hard work pay off.


PPJ: For starters, can you tell us your names and what you do in the band?

Gio: My name is Gio & I sing for the band. Chris & Matt play guitar, Dave plays bass, and Jake plays drums.

PPJ: How did you guys form New Atlantic?

Gio:I met Chris in College about 6 years ago & we began writing music together. We recorded a some demos, played a few acoustic shows for kicks & 3 years later we decided to piece together a full band. We met Dave through a friend & Matt on an online message board. We went through two other drummers before we met Jake. He was originally jus a fill-in for us on one of our tours.. We all got a long so well, Jake wanted to stick around permanently and he’s been with us since.

PPJ: You are from New Jersey, and there’s always a lot of talk about how great the music scene is there. What were your experiences like?

Gio: My experiences in the New Jersey scene were amazing. If it wasn’t for bands like Midtown & Saves The Day, I probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with music as much as I did, let alone had the motivation to start a band. Back in high school, there were so many venues & at least 3 shows a weekend for us to choose from. The scene started to die down a bit since I graduated. A lot of venues were getting shut down, but it seems the scene has picked up again over the past year or so. I hope we have an opportunity to be a “Midtown” or “Saves The Day” for some kids one day.

PPJ: For the last few years you toured heavily and released a couple of EPs. What was it like to be doing that all on your own with no label support?

Gio: There were some really rough times but it was also an amazing experience. You know how bands talk about “paying your dues?” Well, we could definitely school you a whole course on it. We traveled the country numerous times with barely anything, but we were persistent enough to make it through. Eventually, having our Demos (EP’s as some people like to call them) to sell made it a little more with it, because kids had something to take home with them. But all in all, the touring brought us to the attention of the music industry. I guess it’s the “old school” way of doing it, but by far the most rewarding.

PPJ: You recently signed with Eyeball Records, a move that surprised a lot of people. What made you choose them?

Gio: The People. That’s the easiest way to put it. We had a large number of record labels on our radar the past couple of years, but non of them stuck out to us the way the Eyeball staff did. Everyone who works there is amazing & had the same goals for us that we had envisioned for ourselves. We couldn’t have found a better fit.

PPJ: You’re currently on tour with Cartel, Cobra Starship, and Boys Like Girls. How is that going?

Gio: That tour was incredible. It was by far the biggest and the best tour we’ve ever been on & was actually on of our first tours as a signed band. It was truly whole different world with so many more kids knowing who we were. We weren’t used to kids crowd surfing, passing out, and even crying… it was pretty damn cool.

PPJ: Are you getting a good response from the crowds?

Gio: Haha, hell yeah! Like I said above... kids were going nuts on the Cartel tour and it was a huge confidence booster for us. I can’t wait for our full US tour this May/June with The Audition... Especially now that we have a record out.

PPJ: Tell us about what went into writing the songs on The Streets, The Sounds, And The Love.

Gio: This record was the product of writing close to 30 songs. We were writing for over a month & weren’t happy with a single song we were coming up with. Eventually, we were very short on time & ended up having to spend 12 hour days cramped up in Jake’s basement. The majority of the record was written in about 3 weeks time. We demoed 20 new songs before heading into preproduction.

PPJ: Why did you choose to include “Late Night Television” on the new album, and not some of your other older songs as well?

Gio: Late Night TV almost didn’t make the record either. After we finished recording the record, we were so happy with our newer songs that we decided to use it as a b-side. Eyeball later called us and felt very strongly otherwise & suggested we included it. At that time, Late Night TV was already a year old song for us & we were ready to move on. But I’m really glad we decided otherwise and included it on the record.

PPJ: A lot of your songs seem very personal. Are any of them based on particular people, or just characters?

Gio: They are definitely personal songs...The majority of them are based on people & different experiences we’ve had in our lives. Some are about love, some about lust, others are about tragedy, growing up, and being on the road.

PPJ: How does it feel to be getting so much buzz and attention online for the release of this new album?

Gio: It’s an incredible feeling after working so hard on our own for 2 1/2 years. It’s great to have numerous people talking about & helping promote our debut..

PPJ: Are you planning on doing a headlining tour in support of the new album?

Gio: It’s not currently in our plans, but if so, it would most likely happen in early of next year. We’re hoping to support for a while longer before we consider any headlining tours.

PPJ: What do you hope to see happen with New Atlantic in the next five years?

Gio: To be quite honest, I’d like to see us become one of the biggest bands in the world. We have high hopes & have worked so hard since day one. Now, we’re relying on a lot of luck & hope things fall into place.

PPJ: Lastly, can you tell us three bands you think we should be listening to?

Gio: MUSE. I just saw them at Bamboozle and the put on one of the best live shows I have ever seen. Also, check out Search/Rescue & Kay Kay & His Weathered Underground...They are two bands formed of former Gatsby’s American Dream & Acceptance members & both of them are awesome.


Thanks again to Gio for taking the time to answer these, and also thanks to Marc Debiak at Eyeball Records for making sure things worked out. You can pick up New Atlantic's album in stores now, and you can catch them on tour with The Audition, My American Heart, Monty Are I, and The Graduate now.

newatlanticrock.com