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Meet Colin Becker

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Becker.

Catchy, driven, and relatable. A Step Ahead (Nicholas Johnson, Colin Becker, Mike Melton, Matt Seli, and Robb Robles) brings a distinctive blend of rock, pop, and alternative music with each track providing a unique impact on listeners, both musically and lyrically.

Formed during the winter of 2008 in the suburbs of Phoenix, AZ, the band started with modest goals of just playing a few shows around town but have since released a handful of studio EP’s and stand-alone singles embarked on numerous tours spanning more than 50 cities across the United States, met thousands of incredible supporters, and continue to display their best work with each new release and live performance.

In hearing A Step Ahead, listeners will find the collective influences of the members – including pop-punk, alternative rock, and heavier genres – making their respective appearances in the band’s sound. Within their lyrics, A Step Ahead aims to bring a positive influence to the forefront, not only in addressing the importance of family, friends, dedication, and self-empowerment, but in relating to everyday struggles and emphasizing that no one is truly alone.

After some time off to focus on family and individual careers, A Step Ahead regrouped to finalize their lineup and hit the studio in 2017. These efforts produced multiple singles such as “Pretty When” and “In It To Win It,” which enjoyed a great response from fans all over the world, landing them on Spotify curated playlists such as Pop Punk’s Not Dead and Punk Rock Workout, and slots on local ALT AZ 93.3 radio. In late 2019 the band released the single “Silence is Golden.” The single is complemented with a mysterious music video. The video is sort of a horror short film (with a twist ending). Most recently, A Step Ahead released the single “Kicked in the Face” on March 10th, 2020. The song describes that all too relatable relationship that turns toxic but allows the protagonist to come out stronger from it.

The band has had to postpone scheduled show dates and singles releases during the COVID-19 pandemic but are eager to get back on stage and into the ears of fans old and new once things return to some sort of normalcy and it is safe to do so.

Has it been a smooth road?
No, there have been MANY obstacles. In 2009, I (Colin Becker) decided to take the band on the road. We had success playing shows around the metro valley and I felt we could make the next step. I began with booking “weekend warrior runs.” Basically, we would go to Prescott, Flagstaff, Jerome, then home. We did this and came home having had incredible shows, new fans, and some cash in hand to be reinvested into the band. From there, I would place a larger merchandise order and start booking longer tours slightly through cities and towns such as Tucson, San Diego, LA, Las Vegas, Flagstaff, Prescott, and Jerome before heading home. I continued adding cities to future tours while continuing to stop through locations that we had already found support in. We would then come home for a month or two before going back out on the road for months at a time. Downtime between tours consisted of me designing and ordering new merchandise, booking future tours, keeping in contact with promoters, creating flyers, and running social media. It was – and is – more than a full-time job, to say the least. There’s something about getting in a van with 6-7 dudes and going rogue across the country. Some family and friends think we were crazy. For us… we are living our dream.

When a band travels as much as we did, it is hard to keep band members. Nick Johnson (Vocals) and myself (Colin Becker – Guitar/Vocals) are the only original members from 2008. Mike Melton (Guitar) joined the band in 2011 but had to leave the band for a short time before returning. Matt Seli (Bass) joined in 2010 and left the band for a few years when his personal career took him to Las Vegas before returning to Arizona and re-joining. Robb Robles (Drums) is the newest addition to A Step Ahead. Since this lineup has been intact, we have found a new sense of vigor and determination to continue building upon what was established so long ago.

We’d love to hear more about your band.
A Step Ahead is a band who started out as a bunch of kids looking to play a few shows and party but has evolved into something that seeks to encourage, relate to, and be a part of a community looking to do the same. If anything, we are known for our constant presence in the music scene, not just in outlasting many fantastic bands that have come and gone, but hopefully in inspiring others to try this music thing out if only for a show or two. Our nostalgic brand of pop-punk along with fun and intriguing music videos and energetic live shows has made some sort of impression on so many people across the world. We just hope that anything we do speaks to, in a positive way, a percentage of the people who have heard or seen us.

What are we most proud of? Outside of trying to be a positive influence to our fans, I would have to say it would have to be our drive. In all honesty, A Step Ahead has had every reason to stop. From lineup changes and the relentlessness of life on the road to the grind and time spent handling everything in-house as an independent artist, being in a band for this long is not the norm. We all have our own families, careers, and lives outside of A Step Ahead, but have found so much support from fans and our loved ones that we aren’t even close to hanging it up. Ultimately, why end something you are so passionate about especially as it is taking off more now than ever? A Step Ahead is a family before anything else, and I am proud to be continuing this journey with some of my best dudes.

Another thing that makes us proud and possibly sets us apart from others is the way that we have adapted to the changes of the music industry. The digitization of and online access to music has turned the industry on its head, and I’d like to think that our current success is the direct result of our appeal to a broad audience.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Simply put, the Phoenix area is home. Each of us has seen this city grow from what it was in the early ’90s to today. As a group who has traveled the continent playing music, we have seen some amazing cities, but this is where we continue to call home no matter what. To list off some other reasons…

We are all die-hard Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Coyotes, Suns, and ASU fans (sorry Robb, you’re one of us now).
Hot summers > cold winters
The music scene is coming back in a big way
There are so many wonderful places to raise a family
There is so much to do, no matter the time of year
The yard work during the summer is pretty rough, though.

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Image Credit:
Nick Gaiski
Jacob Reynolds

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