Spandex. Headbands. Neon. Make-up. Hairspray. Lots and lots of hairspray. What else could we be talking about besides ’80s hair metal? Because one decade of this music wasn’t enough, members of The After Party formed a cover band to keep it going 20 years later.
When asked about the origin of the band, the members had to ask if they should tell the real story or the fake story. The fake story, as well as the fake names and personalities each guy has, proves how much thought has gone into the band. Onstage, Nate Antwine becomes singer Zakk Magnum, Derek Vaughn becomes bass player Kyle Crush, Jeremy Gustafson becomes guitarist Rikki Styles, Nate Hendrick becomes drummer Scorch, and Sid Rival becomes guitarist Johnny Random. Together, they claim to be “the sexiest tribute band on Earth.” All the members are from Bakersfield, with the exception of Gustafson, who is from Chico.
Vaughn explained the real story of how The After Party came to be about a year ago.
“Three of us and our manager were out one night at an ’80s party, all dressed up, and we realized how hot we looked, and that some of us played instruments and that we should probably start a band,” he said. “And then we found this guy, Rikki Styles, and the lead singer was last.”
The members of the band all have previous experience in “real” bands, including Diary, Ashes and The Filthies. These bands wrote and performed original songs unlike The After Party.
“It’s way more fun because everyone else knows the songs already,” Vaughn said of being in a cover band versus an original band. “You don’t argue with your band members about songs.”
The After Party’s next show in town will be headlining at the Festival of Beers later this month, and the band is excited about it. Vaughn said he thinks it will bring in a new crowd that hasn’t seen them play before. The intoxication level of the crowd won’t be anything new to the band, though.
“All we play to is really drunk people,” said Hendrick. “And it’s really awesome because they don’t give a shit, basically.”
The band plays a variety of songs bands including Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Journey, Poison, and AC/DC, and they each have their favorite songs to play.
“‘Sweet Child of Mine’ is my favorite,” said Rival. “I don’t even like that song, I just like playing that song. If it came on the radio, I’d change it.”
For now, the band’s goals are to just have fun, and take it wherever it goes.
“Obviously, you can’t get signed or anything like that playing in a cover band,” said Vaughn.
The After Party plays shows regularly in Bakersfield and also plays often in Santa Barbara and Chico. They’ll be playing in Bakersfield on April 25 at the Festival of Beers at Stramler Park and May 15 at the Replay Lounge.
“Expect very little amounts of clothing, a lot of rock and roll . and a lot of hairspray,” said Vaughn.
“We’re endorsed by Aqua Net and Rave hairspray, so we totally have to use it onstage,” said Gustafson. “It’s the ’80s, so the world doesn’t know about the effects [of aerosol hairspray].”
Each member has an alter ego with his own personality, in addition to the tight pants and big hair. They tell jokes and although they say they sometimes get tired of the same jokes, they always tell them because that’s what the fans want. Although the alter egos are a big part of the show, and the band likes to have fun, they still take their playing seriously. They admittedly play on every ’80s stereotype from doing blow to overusing hairspray.
“We have a lot of stage banter; we act kind of retarded. People wait for that. Our fans in town, they know it, they want to see it even though we might get tired of it,” said Gustafson. “Then we go into a song, and the song’s pretty much flawless. It’s played just as they heard it back in the ’80s. So, we’ve got the music there, but then we’ve got these five guys that run around on stage. There’s a real funny, kind of hilarious aspect about it, too.”