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Over It
In a world of bands where truth often gets bogged down in the mire of genres, trends and politics, Over it would like to think they have stayed afloat. Out of Orange County, California, by way of Alexandria, Virginia, they have taken in the road and a host of adventures, discovering the things they value most. For this band, what matters is the sincerity of every last one of their hundreds of performances, a personal connection with their fans, and the quest for the inspiring song. Over it lives for furious sounds and a hopeful future.
Nearly five years ago in the Fall of 1998, chance drew the members of Over It together. Peter, Nick, Seth and James were four bright-eyed teenagers then, staring down the dawn of what was to become a dazzling, liberating vision.
“Looking back, it seems ironic that music left such an indelible mark on the four of us,” relates Munters, the group’s lead vocalist and guitar player.
“The suburbs offered us no big brother bands to emulate, and beyond the dark outskirts of DC no form of music-centered scene or shows really existed. Still, somehow the boys in Over It found and sought out the sounds that opened their minds to the possibility of music as a serious creative outlet.
Recording and touring in support of their indie-released demo ep, “Over It” and a full length album, “The Ready Series” (both on Oakland’s Negative Progression Records) became more and more a priority for the band as they waited for Ulrich (drums, 20) to finish high school. So much that in the spring of 2001 Munters (22), Watts(21), and Bailey (21), already attending universities, decided to push their education to the back-burner, and persuade their youngest band-mate to wait for college, instead joining them in the full-time pursuit of their love for music. To this day, the band reflects on this decision as the most pivotal turning point in Over It’s story.
“We were all good students, but distracted from our studies by the rewards we found in the studio and on the road,” remembers Watts. “We just told one another that if we could survive as a productive force, hear our songs featured on dozens of compilations worldwide and find content at each day’s end, we owed it to the world to work fully toward a musical destiny.”
Following the release of their “Hindsight 20/20” ep in 2001, the band garnered the attention of Santa Barbara’s own Lobster Records, who recognized the bands unflagging work ethic and positive energy. Encouraging Over It to continue and amplify their rigorous touring and eventually relocate to the Southern California markets, Lobster helped spawn “Timing Is Everything”, the band’s second full length, and most critically acclaimed work to date. Received by good press, and the approval of a growing fan base, the record propelled Over It through several national tours and two-week stints on the grueling and infamous Vans Warped Tour in both 2002 and 2003 (as well as ’04).
“Being on warped tour was all at one our greatest blessing and the most burdensome weight the band has carried, “ notes Munters. “We drove our van alongside the coaches of so many-of our idols, and touched base with more fans than we ever thought we would meet, working all day and driving all night to find as much as we could. It was truly a testament to how far a little dedication and sincerity can take four friends.”
Nearly three years later, the band is still full of wonder and grateful for the path they’ve traveled.
“We all feel blessed for having come so far, and awe-inspired by the road we still see winding down our horizon,’ says Bailey. Recently finishing out their autumn tour schedule, the band is back in Southern California musing over their future. Their next plans include releasing Silverstrand, the follow-up to “Timing Is Everything” with producers Mike Green and mixers Cameron Webb and Beau Burchell, a trip back to Japan on a tour of the land of the rising sun and a brief tour of the Hawaiian Islands. If there’s one thing life has taught Over It, it is to expect the unexpected. “We want to serve as proof to our fans that life is unlimited,” explains Munters, “that all of us can take our blessings and climb as high with them as our imagination will carry us. None of us ever thought to just step up and live a dream, that’s just the way it keeps happening.”
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