David Begin sits down with Kerri from The October Accord for Midday Records “Get to Know the Artists” feature. The October Accord will be competing on Friday, January 24 at The Met in Pawtucket, RI for a chance to perform at the next Midday Social.

Midday Records: Let’s start off with the basics. Can you tell us a little about the band and the story behind your name, “The October Accord“?

The October Accord: The October Accord is a pop punk band from Blackstone, MA. Our lead guitarist, Holly Desautels and I, Kerri Gross, lead singer of the band grew up, knowing we wanted to start a band. In the summer of 2010 we finally decided to take action, and made it happen. October of 2010 we became official with five members and played our first “show” ever in Holly’s backyard. It was at that time we all agreed we wanted to buckle down and become noticed. Since an accord is an agreement we came up with the name The October Accord! Although the lineup has changed since then (due to certain circumstances) we’re more than happy to have members Austin Eskeli, bassist, and Joshua Remillard, rhythm guitarist, who we’ve met going to the same school, and Taydon Kennet, drummer, from North Smithfield, RI, whom we met at a jazz competition! Us five have been playing together for almost a year now and we plan on sticking together.

MDR: You’re a younger band (relatively speaking), have any life changes like going to college or starting careers affected the band in anyway?

TOA: Well so far, only Kerri and Holly attend college. Josh, Taydon, and Austin are currently in their senior year of high school. Although this makes it harder to get together, we all make every Sunday available to practice, and aim for shows on the weekends when Holly is back from school. We plan to work around everyone’s busy schedules but we always find a way to make things work.

MDR: You’ve recently released a video for “Better Off Without You“. What was it like filming the video and how has the new content affected the band?

TOA: Filming “Better Off Without You” was extremely fun. We had Mitchell Gamache, from Clark University come down to film the video and he did an amazing job!. We also had Dylan Salmon, from Cumberland, RI who came down to help be a part of the story line. He was a big help even though we threw paint all over him. We can’t forget Chris Piquette of Trophy Wives who recorded the song in the studio, we really couldn’t have done it without him! Currently this song has helped increase our fan base leaving over 1,200 views on YouTube! The feedback is great so far and we hope it continues!

MDR: Which of your songs do you enjoy playing live the most?

TOA: Our favorite song to play live would probably be “The Flood.” At the beginning of this song we all gather around Taydon, our drummer, and make faces at each other. The song is very upbeat and aggressive. Overall, it’s easy to have fun and mess around with!

MDR: You’ll be competing for a chance to perform at The Midday Social, have you attended a Midday Social in the past or worked with Midday Records prior to this event? If so, what was the experience like for you?

TOA: We have had members attend a Midday Social in the past, and they say it was a great experience! In the end, we plan to attend the next Midday Social whether we win or not! We have also worked a lot with Davey Moore who has helped us in so many ways. We first met him when he asked us if we wanted to play a Midday Records Presents show at The Spot in Providence. We were excited to accept and begin working with Midday Records! He’s been a helpful mentor since then and we couldn’t be more thankful! So far working with Midday Records has been nothing short of amazing and we look forward to playing at The Met!

MDR: What can we expect to see in this upcoming year from the band?

TOA: This year is going to be a very exciting year! We have so much coming up! Definitely some pretty awesome shows will be in place, an EP is being recorded in February; we have some new songs being written and much more! We don’t want to ruin it all!