Pushin’ Forward Back: A Look Inside Slaves to Humanity

I recently drove down to Tustin, California to meet with the band Slaves to Humanity. This OC rock band is less than two years old, featuring a sound that’s like a mix of 80s hard rock, 90s grunge, and with a dose of modern alternative. The band consists of five members that include Max Hickman (guitar), Pierce Akers (guitar), Nathan Johnson (bass), Shane Ryan (drums), and Aidan Amini (vocals). While the band is young, they have gained a lot of traction in the past year and a half, opening for bands like Alien Ant Farm, LA Guns, and having a #1 played song on the famed KLOS rock station in SoCal. I had the excellent opportunity to meet the band at their headquarters and talk about their music.

Interviewer: You guys all live in different areas around Southern California. How do you all know each other?

Aidan: I had started a band before, with the same name and everything. I had a falling out with the drummer and was best friends with everybody else, so it was like “Okay, I don’t have a band anymore.” And that was a week or so before two big shows. One was at The House of Blues and the other at The Whiskey.

Max: The Whiskey was the first one.

Aidan: Right. It was the first one you guys played. I played at The House of Blues the week before.

Interviewer: This one at The Whiskey was when you opened for Alien Ant Farm, right?

Aidan: Yeah. I had played The House of Blues on my own with a couple of friends I had already known but they weren’t going to be permanent additions to the band, you know? I decided I wanted to look around and found a site called Bandmix. And everyone here was on Bandmix, except for Pierce. He was brought in by Shane.

Shane: Yeah, I knew Pierce from our old performance school, School of Rock-Huntington Beach. And we were there for like, five years, I think.

Pierce: I was just about to have been there for four years before I quit. It’s like an afterschool kinda thing. They put kids together and shows based off certain genres. The kids all practice for two or three months until they put on a show at The House of Blues.

Aidan: School of Rock is where I met all my other people too. It’s the place where people our age are playing together for the first time. I found the rest of the current members like two weeks before The Whiskey show. Literally, we had three practices before that show. One of the first practices was Shane, Nathan, and I meeting for the first time. The next practice was Pierce meeting all of us for the first time, except for Shane. The last practice was us meeting Max for the first time. And we got to use The School of Rock’s rehearsal space for that. We only got one more practice before that show at The Whiskey.

Max: Luckily, we were doing mostly covers for that show. We had three originals on that set.

Interviewer: Any specific bands y’all cover?

Aidan: Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and we did a Led Zeppelin song.

Max: It was only a 30-minute set, I think. I still have the set lists.

Interviewer: Is that y’all’s influences? That early 90s and 70s stuff?

Aidan: It varies. Person to person. We are all very different when it comes to our influences. It just that all of them mesh into the music.

Max: A lot of crossovers.

Aidan: All our parts get put into that early 90s sound. Although recently we have been trying to expand out of that pigeonhole sound. It’s like “Oh, this sounds cool from Pierce’s influence, maybe we can throw that into a song with my influence.” And make something new. That’s what we’ve been recently working on in practice.

Pierce: I’m the metal kid in the group. There’s always that one. It’s hard to point to where I pull my influences from. One second, I’ll be listening to metal, but I might be listening to Billie Eilish. I try not to be one ended all the time. There’s a lot of influences.

Interviewer: Is there a specific record you listen to all the time?

Pierce: There’s this band called Sleep Token and they have this album called “Sundowning”. It’s something I really like, and it helped me write for this band since we’re not a metal band.

Max: I grew up on a lot of 80s rock, even 70s with like The Eagles and Led Zeppelin. That’s continued for the most part. Maybe some newer stuff is like Royal Blood, the new blues rock.

Shane: For me, it’s always been Green Day. (laughs) Yeah, they make fun of me for it. But it’s always been Green Day. Blink 182.

Aidan: It’ always green day (laughs)

Shane: Foo Fighters. The Beatles. More recently, Ice Nine Kills

Aidan: (laughs) And Green Day.

Shane: Some Green Day.

Max: Did you mention Green Day yet?

Shane: Oh yeah, Green Day!

Nathan: I mostly listen to a lot of alternative music, 70s and 80s. Like that early punk rock scene. That’s mostly what influences a lot of my writing.  I love that late 70s, Manchester scene. Like Joy Division. They’re my all time favorite.

Aidan: Mine is the simplest, most basic one. I’m a giant 80s hard rock fan. Guns N Roses, Mötley Crüe, that hair metal stuff. And a massive 90s grunge, Seattle scene fan. That’s what I know, what I love, what I grew up on. I’m also a big Linkin Park fan.

Rest if band: (coughs) Alter bridge.

Aidan: And Alter bridge. They are the dying carcass of Creed. It’s Creed with a new singer.

Pierce: And good music. (laughs)

Interviewer: It’s funny. Usually, people think of 80s metal and 90s grunge clashing. Like those genres are supposed to be enemies.

Aidan: Yeah, me and Pierce don’t like each other.

Piece: (laughs) It’s because I like metal. I used to be a 90s kid; I liked all that music in middle school.

I instantly got a great sense of friendship with Slaves to Humanity. All the members have very different personalities that mesh well with one another. Being a new band right before COVID isn’t an easy thing. With the crazy shit going on and modern platforms like streaming, it’s harder than ever for bands to get noticed, unless you’re a social media wiz.

Slaves to Humanity currently has four singles out, their most recent being “The Start” that was released in August of last year.

Interviewer: Why are artists, like yourselves, only releasing singles?

Max: We’ve been in talks with different labels and different ways to put out a record. But the reason we put out those first two singles, “Battleground” and “Behind”, was because of the KLOS thing that happened a while ago. People heard us and everyone started DMing us saying like “Where’s the music? We want to hear something.” So, we had that stuff recorded and we were like “We gotta put something out.” It was good timing but also not the best since we didn’t have music ready to go.

Interviewer: How did KLOS find y’all if you didn’t have music out?

Aidan: We submitted the drop box files because you can apply to do that show. Their game show, Stay or Go. So, we applied and we didn’t have anything released so we sent in the files.

Max: They played it on the air and people loved it. They wanted to hear more. That helped us so much, being on that show. And we had this show, right before COVID at Malone’s, and we oversold it like crazy. Because KLOS promoted it and gave away tickets for us. Which was awesome.

Pierce: It was like 500 cap, and we sold 600.

Interviewer: This was in OC?

Max: Yeah, down in Santa Ana. It’s called Stages now but used to be Malone’s.

Aidan: They really changed it now? What the hell?

Max: I know. There are two stages. That’s the cool thing about that venue.

Shane: I really liked that place.

Max: It’s cool. They have two stages so it’s easier to do the switch up with bands. You don’t have to wait a ton because the other band will be setting up when the other band is ending. And then COVID hit, and we lost some momentum. But we’re trying to get a record out.

Aidan: But to answer your question. The reason why more modern artists are doing singles over records is because singles are easier to produce at one time. Plus, people get very impatient now. It’s like “Oh, this band is cool. If I don’t get something new in the next two months, I’m going to forget about this artist.” So, the industry has adapted to where if there’s popularity, we gotta release a single. And another and another. And then fuck it, we can put out an album. But albums aren’t as rewarding anymore. Because you used all your songs and only five of them are going to get picked up. And only two outta the five will become hits.

Max: Another part of that is that the singles help build an audience.

Nathan: And we’re currently sitting on a lot of music we haven’t released yet.

Max: That’s one of the reasons why we’ve been holding off on putting out a record because we want to see who would want to put it out for us.

Aidan: Exactly. Because we don’t want to spend the money to put it out ourselves.

Pierce: Another thing too is that if you have five singles in an album, you don’t have a lot of new songs on that album. And it costs a lot of money.

Aidan: And you don’t want to overwhelm people with twelve songs where they might not listen to a lot of it. We’re trying to get to a point where what we write isn’t just for us, it’s for the audience. We have to keep that in mind.

Rock bands, specifically in the 50s and 60s, had to be pop bands before gaining the audience to eventually become more experimental. A few decades later, the opposite seemed to happen, where bands would be obscure but might “sell-out” and become pop. In the modern climate of rock, it is important for bands to start on a more-pop oriented track so they can win over listeners in this fast ocean of music with streamers.

Max: That’s what happened to The Beatles. Their first record was pop, but their later albums were a lot different, once they found mushrooms.

Pierce: There needs to be a balance between writing for yourself and for other people. Of course, you want to appeal to audiences, but you don’t want to be branded distasteful.

However, one of the benefits of a genre like rock being underground is that you will have fans more open to sitting through music that might not hook them immediately. Rock fans, old and new, are eager for new bands and want to see them succeed.

Interviewer: So, you mentioned that you’re trying to get signed right now.

Aidan: That’s the goal. We’re in the middle of negotiations with a couple of record companies. The goal is to not have to pay out of pocket anymore.

Max: It’s gotten expensive:

Aidan: It’s gotten really expensive to record and produce everything. It’s a lot of money we don’t want to spend anymore.

Shane: It’s also distribution.

Aidan: Exactly, being under a label would help.

Max: We could sit here and plug up everything and make a record. But the issue is trying to distribute it, get it out there. Because if you have a whole team behind you, from a label to whoever, they will have a lot more experience knowing how to put the music out there. That’s not to say that record labels are the best thing ever. There are downsides to it. But we have good managers and we’re just trying to find a good deal that won’t screw us over.

Slaves to Humanity opened for Alien Ant Farm right before COVID hit. You might recognize their cover of “Smooth Criminal” from the most excellent movie, “American Pie”. Unfortunately, the band’s trajectory was slowed down from the COVID closures.

Interviewer: What was it like with COVID? Since y’all we’re getting a lot of traction before it hit.

Max: Bad. (laughs)

Aidan: We didn’t practice for a good, what?

Max: At least four months.

Nathan: We were trying to use this browser based, uploading platform by putting music we were working on from home. It was kinda like Google docs for music.

Max: It was a cool concept. I think it was called Band Labs.

Aidan: It was complicated. It would have worked well if it was better (laughs).

Max: Usually when we’re in the room together, we actively bounce ideas off each other and it comes together. It’s so much harder on the computer. It’s like “Here’s a recording I sent, do something with it, when you have time.”

Nathan: There’s like a half-second delay in the system so it’s impossible to keep it on time.

While the band struggled during COVID, they were able to start playing live shows again fairly soon.

Max: We played at this cool outdoor venue called Sea Salt. It was this restaurant/bar that had a little stage outside. We kinda had this residency there for a few months. Played twice a month maybe.

Nathan: Once they started having us there regularly, they build a bigger stage for us. 

Aidan: The one we didn’t get to play on before they got shut down? Bill actually built that for us. They got shut down before we got to play there.

Shane: It was over some stupid noise ordinance. Some other venue around there got mad at them.

Aidan: They were in competition and Sea Salt was really winning it.

Shane: I thought it was from the noise complaints from the houses back there?

Aidan: No, I don’t think so. I think the other venue called and was like pretending to make the noise complaint legit.

Nathan: Yeah, there’s marshes and wild land behind it. The houses are like five miles away.

Orange County is known for its rock scene, specifically punk. It had a large scene in the early 80s with bands like Agent Orange and in the early 90s with ska-punk bands like No Doubt.

Interviewer: What’s it like to be a band in Orange County? Since it’s an area that’s known for the underground rock scene in California.

Aidan: OC is kinda dull now, not gonna lie. Compared to what it was. We still have a scene. But if it’s underground, it’s under us. We don’t know about it.

Max: There was some good surf rock bands, but COVID killed a lot. We’re trying to get it back up and there’s a few good bands playing in OC with us, and we try to have as many shows with them as possible.

Aidan: We’re trying to make our own new scene because everything is kind of dead now. 

Nathan: I think a problem is that there are a lot less shows that are being played now than there used to be. And a lot of them were hobby bands so when COVID hit, they died. There needs to be a resurgence of local bands.

Aidan: But the thing is, a resurgence can’t just be hobby bands anymore. I mean, the thing about hobby bands is that’s what they do. They are good for a few years and then they die. For a scene, that’s not good. Back when No Doubt was starting up in OC, you had Rage, Sublime, Social Distortion, and The Offspring all happening.

Shane: I used to see bands every other weekend and now it’s like, nobody.

Nathan: And there’s a lot less money to be made with certain music too. There’s this disconnect with bands and management because people who grew up 20 or 30 years ago were part of a different music scene than we have now. So, a lot of management is holding on to older tactics that don’t translate.

Aidan: We’re in the awkward transition.

Nathan: Now, there’s social media and changing an evolving platform that are coming out every three or four years. New platform and algorithm master.

Max: Which sucks.

Nathan: Yeah. So, there’s a lot of management that knows there’s not as much money as before, so they are looking to not cut the best deals. A lot of bands are signing with poor labels and not getting the best deals.

Max: Back in the 80s and even 90s, you had like a million-dollar signing bonus. Might get a mansion in the hills. It’s just not like that anymore. Now it’s like, “We’ll pay for recording and some promotion if you do your work.”

A common complaint I’ve been hearing from people is the oversaturated and overproduced music that is flooding the mainstream. Many artists have become similar with one another. There isn’t much diversity compared to 25 years ago when you had Garth Brooks, 2Pac, No Doubt, and Soundgarden all in the same charts.

Interviewer: Yeah, I have some buddies in booking and they tell me they don’t do a lot of rock music right now because there’s not a lot of money in it. They will focus on someone who sounds like dogshit but if they have a lot of social media followers, that’s all that might matter.

Max: That sucks. There are so many times where people will be like “You guys are great, but you need to work on social more.” But it sucks when the whole band is based off how many followers on Instagram do you have.

Aidan: That’s all that matters now. I mean, why do you think Scotty Sire got signed to a metal label? He’s a rapper. He’s not even a rapper, he’s a vlogger.

Nathan: That also kills the local bands because there’s no money for them to make.

Aidan: I mean there needs to be big artists but if all the money is going to people who are already big. It’s not even just the money, it’s the popularity. You can only have so many high profile people out there. So right now, the music market is oversaturated with these, like, mediocre rappers.

Nathan: Artificially inflated.

Max: I mean it’s great that someone can put out a beautiful record from their laptop. That’s awesome. But it floods everything. Everybody can put something out.

I recall going to many hip-hop concerts in high school. Now, I don’t hate hip-hop, I think a lot of the stuff from the late 80s-early 2000s is great. But the past 15 years have been very different. I’d go to a Future concert, and everyone will be just stoned, swaying or bobbing their head. The recent rock shows I’ve gone to are a complete 180 of that. People are jumping, moshing, being interactive with each other.

Aidan: I think after all this, people need to hear that angst, that fuck you sound that comes out of rock and roll. And I don’t think modern music right now can give you that release.

Max: I think COVID has revealed that whatever side you’re on, everything is fucked up.

Slaves to Humanity does a great job at incorporating older styles of music but making it something new, a type of genre that can’t be located to an exact spot.

Aidan: We’re at this point in time where everyone is starting to bring back the same kind of music as before in some ways. I agree it’s cool to have that kind of music come back but I also think that it’s our responsibility to write something that has a feel of older music with a sound that’s tweaked enough to where we are expanding off of that music.

Max: There needs to be a line between copying and being inspired by.

The band notes the importance of audiences engaging with their music. The energy at shows where people are open to going nuts always helps the band feed off the energy and produce that energy back.

Interviewer: What’s your favorite venue?

Max: Malone’s.  I would rather play for 20 people who are way into it than 100 people who don’t give a fuck.

Aidan: I like Malone’s.

Pierce: As much as I don’t like the sound at Chain Reaction, it’s a great vibe.

Max: Yeah, the sound sucks but the crowd it pretty cool.

Shane: I like The Observatory a lot too.

Aidan: Yeah, that place is great. They have two rooms, a main one and a small one. We played in the small room and packed it, which was pretty nice.

The band’s four singles include “The Start”, “Battleground”, “Behind My Back”, and “Riot Attack”. They also made a music video a few months ago for their most recent single, “The Start”, which has over 5,000 views on YouTube.

Interviewer: What’s the process like when y’all come up with new material?

Aidan: Pierce, write a riff (laughs). That’s all it is.

Nathan: We have such different influences that we’ll write things at home and bring them in. We try to show each other our different ideas and half-baked things. And then we will be working on something for ten minutes and someone will noodle something in the background, we trash this and work on that.

Shane: For “The Start”, He was playing something random, and I started playing and we were like “Oh, that’s kinda cool.” A lot of it came together in one day.

Max: Like he said, for “The Start”, we all put our parts in during practice and that was it. But on the opposite end, “Battleground” I wrote basic chord stuff for. And I brought it to Aidan, and we worked on it together. And then we brought it to the band.

Aidan: The weirdest one was with “Worth It”. Right now, it’s our personal favorite song. I had written this really stupid, really simple guitar part, that I really liked. And they kept shutting it down. (laughs) I wrote multiple different songs using that one riff. And then, we did the verse, bass part but they shut down the riff when I tried to use it. So, I tried it with the chorus, and it was shut down again. We ended up using it as a foundation though.

Max: That was probably our most collaborative song. We each had an equal amount of input.

Pierce: It’s the best reflection of us right now.

Shane: But it’s not even recorded.

Pierce: But it’s at the live shows. If you come on the 28th to the Chain Reaction, you will hear that song.

Slaves to Humanity currently has four singles out and a music video for their single “The Start” on YouTube. You can listen to their music on all the major streaming platforms. The band also has a show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA tonight, January 28th. Stay tuned for more releases from the band and follow them on Instagram @slavestohumanity.