Singled Out: TEOA's Not The End

Keavin Wiggins | 04-25-2020

TEOA just released a music video for their brand new single "Not The End" and to celebrate we asked Trevor Leonard to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

I was feeling overwhelmed by the declining state of the world when I wrote "Not the End." The threats to our climate and our collective mental health were weighing heavy. I wanted to write a song to lift me out of my despair. I worked to find a voice that could speak the message that I needed to hear. From that search came the chorus, "Though we're standing at the edge, this is not the end." The song was written nearly a year before the coronavirus pandemic, but now the meaning seems even more amplified. It's a reminder that things will get better and we shouldn't give up hope.

I knew I wanted big harmonies on the chorus to reinforce the simple but important message. There couldn't be better dudes for the job than my bandmates, James and Brendon. We worked on the key a bit and found everyone's range then started flowing from there.

When it came time to record the song, I brought our long-time drummer, Jarrod Pedone, into an incredible studio that we all love called Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, NJ. One of the studio owners is an old friend, Dave Downham. We've worked with him for years and he's been at least the mastering engineer on everything we've done with this band, including "Not the End." Dave lets me freelance out of the studio, so I had access to an SSL console, all kinds of vintage mics and a beautiful live room. That day with Jarrod, we tracked the drums, I re-amped all of my electric guitar parts and wrote and recorded the organ on Gradwell's Hammond T100.

Each of us has a studio setup at our homes, which really helps with workflow, given the fact that we live in three different states. We sent files around to each other and worked our parts at our own pace. This also allows for some interesting ideas to arise. One of the guys wrote these killer vocals that weaved over my second verse melodies and then joined back in with mine. That kind of stuff can happen when you have time in your own space to try ideas out. Audio files got sent back to me, we did some back and forth part tweaking, and then I mixed the song back at my house when all the pieces were in place.

So much is possible in this technologically advanced, digital age. All the more reason to believe that we can get out of the messes that we find ourselves in. We're hoping this tune will remind people that there is hope in the world, for ourselves and for the greater good. Things seem daunting and dire, but we're here to tell you that this is not the end.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the band here