The System After was formed in January of 2006. Our singer, Dustin Stoecker, and our drummer, Brad Heid, got together to start a project after both of their previous bands (Sylym/NoFall and Nonamus) broke up. Dustin posted an ad for a guitar player on the Illinois Musician's Website. Dave Zumbek responded to that ad, talked with Dustin a bit and was asked to come try out.
We began writing songs and found a bass player and Brad's cousin, Dave Rybolt (Nonamus). In April 2006, we were looking for an additional guitar player and brought in Jarret Witmer, who was the drummer from the area band Chaindrive. The five-piece that would be known as The System After was then formed. The band continued to write songs and began local shows in June of 2006.
After playing a few shows in our area, we landed a couple of sweet gigs playing with Anthrax at The Rave in Milwaukee,WI. Shortly thereafter, we got the opportunity to be interviewed by one of our local rock radio stations about the Anthrax show. The interview was during the five o'clock drive home on a workday and it really helped us get our name out there. Not too long after this we went into the studio and cut our CD, which was our self titled five-track demo. We released this CD in August of 2006, and we really started to pick up the pace with shows (including tours thoughout the Midwest). We played almost everything we could, trying to get our music and name out to as many people as possible.
We were quickly making a name for ourselves and over the next year we had the opportunity to open for many national acts (reference national act list). We had another opportunity to play on a side stage at The Rave in Milwaukee, this time it was for a Deftones show. We also got to open for some really great bands like FLAW, Silent Civilian, Allele and Year of Desolation. We had some great momentum going for us, but then we hit a stopping point when the band parted ways with Dave Rybolt in August 2007. We were about to record the follow up to our 2006 release, but we were left without a bass player.
The band began recording anyway, but kept shows to a minimum for the time being. One night we were playing a local show as a four-piece, and the place was pretty packed. We put on one hell of a show that night, and after our set Charlie Sissom came up us and asked if he could try out for the band. We brought him in to try out, and it was a done deal. At this point, we had most of the music recorded in the studio, we just needed bass tracks before the vocals could be laid down. We got Charlie up to speed, and he came in and recorded all of his bass lines within a short period of time from joining the band. We started playing shows with Charlie, and he really began to fit into things. Our momentum began to pick up even more.
We continued to finish the CD, really taking our time this go around. At the same time, we were playing as much as we could. We finally finished recording and we had an album we were really proud of. We put together a big CD release show on November 17, 2007 at the Dragons Dome in Pekin, IL and unleashed our first full length album, Thrill or Be Killed all while raising funds for the Make a Wish Foundation.
Most recently, we parted ways with Dave Zumbek (due to disagreements within the group) and decided to continue on as a four piece. Doing this, we recieved a considerable amount of support from fans, family, and other local groups. The general consensus was that it was a great improvement, overall. With that being said, we decided to remain a four piece. Soon after, we recieved news that our newest bass player, Charlie, is being re-deployed by the U.S. military and is expected to be in Iraq in August of 2008. After a long series of try-outs, The System After chose Dane Stalnaker (formerly of 1Shot1Kill) to step in and fill Charlies position. Once Charlie returns in 2009, we expect him to stand in to fill the vacant rhythm guitar role once again making The System After a quintet. GET HOME SAFE CHARLIE!
Overall, it has been a long hard road for The System After. Our die hard attitude and dedication has carried us to the top in the Midwest. We are currently planning a new release with the newest members that is anticipated to hit shelves in December, 2008/ January, 2009. You cannot kill what doesn't die!