Seismic Toss is the brainchild of Philadelphia musician Tyler Carmody. It's truly a DIY story from the start, but I'll let him tell you how it all came together. "Seismic Toss was formed from the desire to take music into my own hands. I've been playing music in a live band setting since I was 13 years old, and never really felt like my experience was my own.
"I was always supporting the musical dreams of other artists. Even though I still do that, and love doing it, it was getting kicked out of a band that I cared about very much by someone who I thought was a dear friend that gave me the final push to really take my music into my own hands."
It's one thing to think it, and another to actually execute a solo project, but Tyler followed through. "I was always very sure that I would not be able to write my own music, but this project has shown me otherwise. I was very fortunate to have friends who supported this and hopped right on to play in the band, and thus, Seismic Toss was born."
The fruits of Tyler's labor can be heard on A lot of Fucking Damage, Seismic Toss' debut EP. "I wanted to write songs that could be danced to in some way throughout the entire song. Growing up, I listened to a lot of melodic hardcore like Set Your Goals, Title Fight, H2O, early Saves the Day, and Paint it Black, as well as more classic bands like Floorpunch, 7 Seconds, and Gorilla Biscuits, so I definitely wanted to incorporate that sound in my music.
"Lately, I've been listening to a ton of Raw Brigade, Buggin, and Scowl, which really inspired me to expand on the more 'groovy' parts of the music. If you like those bands, you'll like Seismic Toss."
"Every song on the EP details something bad that happened to me, which sounds whiny, but honestly it really helped with the healing process. To name a few, "Splatterhouse" is about me attempting suicide in August of 2021 by first trying to take a bunch of pills but realizing I didn't have enough, then walking into traffic out front of my old apartment in South Philly and kind of having to just act like it didn't happen because it was a failed attempt. It sucked.
"'The Rot,' which is the last song on the EP and my personal favorite, is about my best friend of 15 years dying of cancer in 2018. I was with him from the beginning to end, and had to be strong for everyone else, not allowing me to grieve. There was a moment a few days before he died when he opened his eyes for the first time in days to look at me, and the whites of his eyes had gone completely yellow, and his pupils were completely dilated. That's where the opening line of the song 'Haven't been myself for the last few years, because all I see is your eyes, they were yellow from the rot' comes from. So yeah, pretty heavy stuff, but it really did help with my healing process."
Since recording A lot of Fucking Damage, Tyler has put together a proper Seismic Toss band, and he's ready to get to work again."Now that the EP is out and our sound has been dialed in, I really want to get shows booked ASAP. Philly has a huge DIY scene, and there's so many cool places to play. You can get on a show at the legendary First Unitarian Church and then get offered a show in a West Philly basement or a Ukrainian banquet hall, but both will have the same energy. It's awesome.
"I've also begun writing LP1 already. I'm honing in on a more melodic sound reminiscent of Jawbreaker and 7 Seconds, but also have some heavy riffs in it that are pretty similar to Jesus Piece and Backtrack so who knows what it's going to sound like in the end. I will also never write a song in Drop D - standard tuning forever."
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Seismic Toss on social media: Instagram | Bandcamp
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