As the COVID-19 pandemic spilled into 2021 and THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE wrapped their fourth album, ILLUSORY WALLS, the Connecticut-formed indie/post-rock quintet had no idea when – or if – they’d get to bring their most ambitious set of songs to audiences. “I actually assumed we wouldn't play this stuff live,” guitarist Chris Teti says matter-of-factly. “Being a live band is really important to us, but we still felt like we had to make this record as personal fulfillment.” So they waited, watching the calendar as tours got scheduled, postponed, rescheduled and canceled. Eventually, the band (Teti, vocalist David F. Bello, keyboardist and vocalist Katie Dvorak, bassist Joshua Cyr and drummer Steven K. Buttery) knew they had to take matters into their own hands, setting out on a headlining tour in October 2021 amidst the greatest personal and professional uncertainty they’d ever faced. The resulting Epitaph Records live album and documentary, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE (Live), is a revealing look at a band hailed by Pitchfork as “a generational voice” in the underground and by Alternative Press as one of the greatest Epitaph Records bands of all time. It’s a rock doc, yes, highlighting the band’s raved-about live show – a blissfully cacophonous swirl of energy, anxiety and catharsis – but also a historical time capsule, capturing America’s tentative re-awakening from the most surreal events in modern times as well as the lengths TWIABP is willing to go to continue their life’s passion.
Chad Tepper, the musician with a vibrant persona earning him over 4 million followers on social media, has definitely spent some time in the limelight. Since moving from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles in 2015 he’s jumped at every opportunity to grow his fanbase, showcasing his larger-than-life personality through stuntman-like antics and gnarly skateboard tricks. But in more recent years he has shifted focus to his true passion - making music - and building a lasting legacy in the alternative world.