The Higher rode the wave of pop-rock stardom in the early 2000’s after sharing the stage with emo greats including Panic! At The Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, Silverstein, and more. Their unique brand of rock fused with a hint of groove landed their fan-favorite On Fire LP a #9 spot on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts, on heavy rotation on multiple MTV channels, and on the radar of top tastemakers including SPIN, Kerrang!, Fuse, and more. Now the Epitaph Records alumni are taking everything they know from the major stages of their early days to shine brighter than ever for their 2022 comeback. They are poised to share their first release since 2009, the Elvis In Wonderland EP coming out on October 14, 2022 via Secret Friends Music Group. The new tracks encompass their rejuvenated sound and fresh era fusing elements of dance pop, emo, and R&B with a pop-punk edge. With Seth Trotter on vocals, Reggie Ragan on guitar and vocals, and George Lind rounding out the lineup on drums, The Higher is prepared to soar once again. We caught up with them to find out what inspires them, their musical roots and more:
1. How did the band form and what does the band name mean?
Reggie: We were all in rival high school bands. We merged to form September Star. After signing with Fiddler, one of the label owners suggested we change our name to The Higher after a photoshoot we did on an LA rooftop. It stuck.
2. Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?
Seth: I personally came from a choir and theater background.
Reggie: I was in a band called Monroe before joining in 2005. Everyone else was in non serious high school bands before September Star was born. Our parents had a significant role in all our musical upbringings. We got lucky there!
3. First concert that you ever went to?
Seth: My first concert was Matchbox 20!!! Rob Thomas was the man!!!
Reggie: Billy Joel and then this hardcore band called The Hope Conspiracy.
4. What's your writing process like?
Seth: It’s very collaborative. Someone might have a guitar riff we go off of or someone has a lyric and melody and the bring the music to the song. We don’t really have a set way that works every time. It’s always evolving.
Reggie: It varies from song to song. Sometimes someone will come in with a completed song and we’ll all add our little touch to it. Sometimes someone will have a riff or melody idea and we’ll build off it together.
5. What other artists or songs inspire your music?
Seth: We are big fans of The 1975, Harry Styles, Machine Gun Kelly, Panic At The Disco, All Time Low, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, and classics like Craig David, The Dream and The Eagles.
Reggie: From Prince to The Weeknd to Fleetwood Mac to 2Pac to Death Cab for Cutie to The 1975 to Bjork to Ella Mai…we’re diverse. We happily take from every genre.
6. What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be its own thing?
Seth: I like to give off the same energy as the recording live. We definitely try our best to make it a high energy experience and give the audience something they’ll remember!!!
Reggie: Playing live is everything for us. It’s the ultimate way to connect with fans. We bring our best energy every show. We like to find a happy median. We don’t want to go too far away from the original song but we do like to add a little more flare here and there to the live versions of songs.
7. What has the touring experience been, best shows? Worst shows?
Reggie: Mixed bag. We’ve been on some great tours (Panic at the Disco, Motion City Soundtrack, Warped Tour) and some not so great ones. The ones early on especially. Those were a lot of fun, but looking back they were rough. We couldn’t sleep on random fans floors these days. We played a show in Fresno that was at a seafood restaurant. There was no stage and like a pallet of wood for a drum riser. Tough one lol
Seth: The best shows for us are festivals where you can see multiple bands performing and has that warped tour vibe!!!
Worst shows are the ones at a venue know one knows about and hasn’t been promoted having no hope for success. Though we rock the faces off of people when it’s a more intimate crowd.
8. What's up next for the band?
Reggie: We have about 8 shows left this year and our EP comes out October 14th! We’re very excited about that. Hopefully we can get back in the studio early next year to release a new single and more shows next year as well.
Seth: Next we plan on playing a few festivals and some west coast and east coast dates to finish out the year having released ALL the new songs from Elvis In Wonderland. Hopefully recording more in the New year And touring more in 2023!
The Higher "Elvis in Wonderland" (Official Video)