Young group releases EP and gains a following
By Kaila Mellos
American Standards, a local band comprised of middle school and high school students, has released its debut EP album. After producing the album for a year, the six-member band is ecstatic to have gained more monthly listeners than it could have imagined.
According to the album description, their debut EP “I Hate that I Miss You” delivers a dynamic and powerful sound and showcases musical depth beyond their years. This indie pop-rock group is captivating locals in San Diego and global audiences as far as Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru.
Fronted by Marshall Middle School’s Alianna Akers’ vocals, the band defies expectations. With a sound and vibe reminiscent of Paramore, American Standards thrives on the collective talents of its members: Tyler Bandel (Cathedral Catholic High) on lead guitar, Will Bandel (Cathedral Catholic High) on keyboards, Thatcher Thomas (St. Augustine High) on bass, Josh Clinkscales (Poway High) on guitar, Akers’ vocals and Marshall Middle School’s Niko Koverchuk on the drums.
Formed under Electric Lime Records in Poway by founder and owner Mark Huls, the band was brought together to produce music they all shared a passion for.
But before American Standards was formed, Bandel, Thomas, Clinkscales and Koverchuk were a four-man show, discovering their sound by playing together since 2021.
“Mark taught us all how to play and put us together in a band. Originally, it was just Josh, Tyler, Thatcher and I. We all knew each other a little bit before the band formed, and then we four started playing in 2021,” Koverchuk said. “I’m not exactly sure when Alianna and Will joined, but I think it was sometime in 2022. That is when we started to discover our sound.”
They would play some of their previous songs at Mainstream Bar & Grill in Poway when they were just a four-man band, hoping to gain an audience through playing live.
When Akers joined with Will Bandel, the band was officially formed, and the process of creating new music started. After going to the studio for music lessons, which is how they all were discovered, Akers and Huls collaboratively wrote all the lyrics for the album.
“He started to encourage me to write music, and when I joined the band, it was a lot easier for me,” Akers said. “I figured out what kind of sound it was that I liked and then wrote the songs to reflect that and everyone in the band.”
When Akers started to write the lyrics and produce the sound of all the songs on this album, she took the time to make sure she and her other band members would be proud of it.
“I would say from the beginning of writing the first song, it was probably around seven or eight months to finish everything off,” Akers said about producing the five songs on the EP.
Most of the songs she created are based on scenarios that she has imagined, she said.
“Most of them are just scenarios just to make it sound cool, but some of them were definitely from experiences and stuff we’d found would work as song material,” Akers said.
With their music released on streaming platforms like Spotify, they have 1,766 monthly followers on their band’s profile. Their song “One by One” is a fan favorite for both the band to have produced and the listeners with 3,819 plays.
With their debut EP out now, the group has been working on playing their music live for a crowd. They recently played three back-to-back shows at the beginning of October.
With the support of family and friends and an audience, they hope to play at Hoyt Park as a featured band in the Scripps Ranch Symphony in the Park summer concert series someday.