No Tomorrow is diving deep into the emotional spectrum with his latest single, "Steps." The track, part of his upcoming EP The Things We Do for Love/Loss, captures the fleeting intensity of young love in all its unpredictable glory. In this exclusive interview with EARMILK, No Tomorrow opens up about the inspirations behind "Steps," the nostalgic pop-punk influences that shape his sound, and his journey of blending raw emotion with catchy, memorable hooks. With heartfelt lyrics and a modern emo vibe, No Tomorrow is making its mark on today’s music scene while staying true to the timeless spirit of pop-punk.
EARMILK: “Steps” has such a raw and intimate quality to it. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the song? What specific experiences or emotions did you want to capture?
NT: Steps was written with my previous band when we were all in our early 20s. I think Steps captures that feeling of young love in your early 20s, where everything simultaneously feels like it has no consequences and means everything at the same time. Your next month can end up being “the best month of your life” based on the success of a momentary connection with a love interest on one random night. You are kind of just living day-to-day with all the excitement that comes along with it.
EARMILK: The lyrics in “Steps” feel incredibly cinematic and vivid. How do you go about crafting lyrics that are both evocative and emotionally resonant?
NT: I think lyrics always need to come from real life experience. As different as we all may seem, we surprisingly go through a lot of the same things throughout life. Lyrics are often just a catalyst for people to insert their own story. These are just the seeds, the listener is really the one who brings a song to life.
EARMILK: You blend nostalgic pop-punk sounds with a modern emo vibe. Which artists or bands from the ‘90s and early 2000s would you say had the most impact on your sound?
NT: Because this musical project is reflective of my last 20 years of songwriting, there are a ton of influences. Naturally, I write from the Bush, Nirvana, STP, Sound Garden grunge era of music, but as someone who played a lot with my previous band in the early 2000s underground music scene, I feel like I try to pull in a lot of the energy from my peers of that era and the “live performance excitement” into studio recordings. As I am rewriting some songs from the past, I am also trying to be very cognizant of the attention span of 2024. It is just a reality that people generally are not looking for 4 minute plus songs, which is often at odds with my grunge era songwriting.
EARMILK: The push-and-pull energy in the song feels very real. Was it challenging to capture that dynamic in the studio? What was the recording process like?
NT: I think the blessing and curse of modern technology is that you can record a studio quality album out of your bedroom. It is amazingly convenient and cost effective. You can send tracks back and forth with collaborators in different time zones and they can record when they are able. That is all great. The trouble is tying everything together at the end and making something that feels cohesive and exciting like a live performance. I think most of my effort on this EP has been put into making things feel like they are exciting and like anything can happen. For that reason, I actually recorded a good chunk in a studio as well, if for no other reason than to “touch grass”.
EARMILK: "Steps" is part of your upcoming EP, The Things We Do for Love/Loss. How does this song fit into the EP's overall narrative?
NT: Steps would be the “love” portion of the EP title. The next two tracks lean more heavily into the complexity of relationships after the honeymoon phase of “Steps” wears off.
EARMILK: In “Steps,” the tension between intimacy and hesitation is palpable. Why do you think these themes resonate so deeply with listeners today?
NT: I think that is the exciting part people love/hate about new relationships, not knowing how the person you are interested in feels or will react. I think that feeling is universal, regardless of how confident or unconfident you are. No one wants to feel rejected, especially when you really like someone and the stakes are so high. That tension is both a great and horrible feeling that people spend years of dating to get away from and years of marriage trying to get back. Humans are weird.
EARMILK: There’s a maturity in your lyrics that adds depth to the pop-punk energy. How has your personal growth influenced your songwriting over the years?
NT: I think some of the later songs on this EP and some of the songs I am writing currently for my next EP really reflect this evolution. The longer you are alive and the more experiences you go through, you realize things are very rarely all good or all bad, all happy or all sad. There are so many shades of gray. I try to reflect that complexity in my writing. On some of the next songs, I intentionally take lyrics from the first verse and flip them in the second verse to show the other person’s perspective or to show how your own perspective may change as time goes on.
EARMILK: Your music reflects a fusion of introspection and high-energy punk. How do you find a balance between keeping things catchy while exploring complex emotional themes?
NT: I usually like to write the instrumental first to set the energy level of the song, and then find a topic and explore it from multiple angles lyrically. I keep iterating on the lyrics until I get them to a place where I, as a listener, would think the lines are good or clever. I send myself a ton of notes through email every time I think of a good line. Anything you hear from me has usually been written, beat up, and rewritten multiple times before it ever gets recorded.
EARMILK: You’re also passionate about animal rescue and use your platform to support this cause. Could you share a bit about why this is important to you and how it intersects with your music?
NT: I’ve taken care of quite a few pets throughout my life and quite a few sick ones for very long periods of time. The more time I’ve spent with animals over the years, the more I’ve realized that are feelings and complexities are universal. Love, happiness, sadness, they feel the same things we do, and we’ve kind of done them dirty in so many ways. It is one of the main reasons I went vegetarian over a decade ago. Outside of my love for writing music, I am hoping to use this platform to help bring awareness to some of the truly wonderful organizations I have gotten a chance to support and interact with over the years.
EARMILK: From what you’ve shared, each track on the EP represents different aspects of relationships. Is there one track that was particularly challenging or cathartic to write?
NT: The upcoming track “Love Can’t Save Us” really dives deep into the emotions in failing relationships. It is not always easy to walk away when you are in the middle of it. I ended up hiring voice actors to replicate some of the phone calls I’ve been on when things were falling apart. I went back and forth about including those “phone calls” in the final mix of the track. I am really glad I did. I feel it was something worth sharing, and hopefully it helps someone else going through something similar know that we all go through it.
EARMILK: Pop-punk is experiencing a revival now. What do you think makes this genre so timeless, and how does your music fit into the current scene?
NT: I am a huge fan of early 2000s era pop-punk/emo music. I think it resonates because it is simultaneously instrumentally complex, catchy, and lyrical authentic. That is what I love about the music I listen to and simultaneously what I try to provide in my own music. Because I am a fan of pop-punk/emo first and foremost, the most important thing with each and every song I put out is whether or not I would want to listen to my own music.
EARMILK: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, in the pop-punk or emo scene, who would it be, and why?
NT: I am a big fan of Senses Fail. I met Buddy Nielsen at one of their shows a couple years ago. He is a genuinely nice guy. Their music really spoke to me when I was going through a tough time in my life. I am not really sure if my music jives with theirs, but Universe, if you're listening…
EARMILK: Your fans get a sense of realness and vulnerability in your music. How do you approach the delicate line between being personal and being relatable?
NT: I go through quite a lot of iterations before I am happy with the final lyrics. Unfortunately, I end up throwing away some very clever lines sometimes because they cut a little too deep and change the feel of the song. I generally have a pretty good sense of that, but will occasionally reach out to some of my other friends in music or my wife to see if my lyrics have gone off the rails.
EARMILK: With “Steps” introducing a new phase of your music in 2025, what do you hope listeners will take away from this song and the EP as a whole?
NT: If you are a fan of pop punk and emo, I am hoping Steps will be a good, accessible entry point for new listeners into the rest of the EP. If you like what you heard on “The Things We Do for Love/Loss”, I hope you subscribe and follow. I am already multiple songs into the next EP, and it is shaping up to be some of my favorite songs to date.
EARMILK: What’s next for No Tomorrow.? Can fans look forward to any upcoming performances or special releases along with The Things We Do for Love/Loss?
NT: I have some really cool behind-the-scenes stuff coming up. I am also working with a few new people on this next EP and really exploring some different and interesting sounds and ideas. If you like Steps, the next track off the EP will drop in January, and there will be plenty more to come in 2025.
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