The Afters is an American Christian rock band founded by Josh Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they performed songs for customers before deciding to form a band. They were initially joined by Brad Wigg from the same Starbucks and drummer Michael Burden and performed with the name Blisse. When Burden left the band, Marc Dodd, who also worked at the Mesquite Starbucks stepped in. Their song "Never Going Back to OK" was the most-played song on R&R magazine'sChristian CHR chart for 2008.[1]
History
As a precursor to Blisse, Josh performed several shows around Dallas with his band The Screaming Mimes which included Charlton Parker, who later formed Deaf Pedestrians, and Hans Grumbein. While Brad was a founding member of Blisse, he took time away from the band to perform with his own blues project, playing lead guitar. Shows at the Door in Deep Ellum, part of Dallas, were filled in by Dallas bassist Eric Kitchens and bassist/filmmaker Niko Red Star.
Under the name Blisse, the band recorded a six-song EP in 2000. From the recording they made enough money to cut their first album, When the World Is Wonderful, which was released independently in 2001. This album contains songs also released on their major label debut album I Wish We All Could Win. In 2002 they released a live concert DVD filmed at a local Dallas club called The Door.
The band changed its name after discovering that another "Blisse" already existed. Settling on "The Afters", they continued to play local clubs in the Dallas area. Eventually they were discovered by INO Records and signed to a four-record deal. Word of the band later got to Epic Records, who signed the band to a deal for mainstream promotion and distribution. Their first major label album, I Wish We All Could Win, was released on February 22, 2005. The first single from the album was "Beautiful Love", written by Josh Havens about a time when his wife was abroad doing humanitarian aid. The single's music video won The Afters a 2005 MTVu "Streaming Woodie" award. In addition, "Beautiful Love" became the theme song for the MTV show, 8th and Ocean about the careers of female and male fashion models living in Miami. The song was also featured in the 2006 film, Just My Luck. The song "Until the World" was the theme song for the American drama television series that aired on the ABC Family Network Beautiful People.
The Afters performing during the Rock & Worship Roadshow in 2011
In an update posted on their official website, the band went into the studio in August 2006 to begin recording their second album, Never Going Back to OK. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 26, 2007, as per a post on their MySpace blog, but was ultimately delayed and released on February 26, 2008.[2]
The first single from the album, the title track "Never Going Back to OK" was premiered on October 16, 2007, on Total Axxess. It was released as a streaming file on The Afters' MySpace page on November 10, 2007.[3] The song was on the R&R magazine charts in December 2007. It reached No. 1 on the R&RCHR chart in March 2008;[4] R&R magazine ranked it as the most played song on U.S. Christian CHR radio in 2008.[1] In the spring of 2008, the band began their own headlining tour along with Falling Up, Ruth, and Everyday Sunday.[5]
The Afters performing with American rock singer Kyle Sherman
The Afters said in their Twitter account that they started recording their next album on October 27, 2009.[6] The album, called Light Up the Sky, was released on September 14, 2010.[7] The album's first single, the title track reached No. 1 on Billboard's Christian CHR radio and also appeared on MTV's The Hills.[8]
In January 2011 The Afters joined the Rock And Worship Roadshow national tour headlined by MercyMe.[9] Light Up the Sky was produced by Dan Muckala.[10] They announced a new album to be released on April 17, 2012. A month later, they released a new single entitled "Life is Beautiful" on iTunes; the song was part of the soundtrack for the movie October Baby.[citation needed] On February 19, 2013, a new single, "Every Good Thing", became available on iTunes.[citation needed] The new album's title was Life is Beautiful.[citation needed]
On August 28, 2015, the band released "Live on Forever", the lead single[11][12] from Live on Forever, their fifth studio album set for release in late 2016 on Fair Trade Records.
In 2018, "Well Done" appeared on the Billboard 100,[citation needed] followed by "I Will Fear No More" on October 19, 2018.[citation needed] Both songs were advance releases for The Beginning & Everything After, their greatest hits album released on November 2, 2018, and for Fear No More, their sixth studio album released on May 31, 2019.[citation needed] On December 3, 2021, the band released their first live album, Where Heaven Touches Earth: Live at The Grove[citation needed] which was recorded in Arizona.[citation needed]
