Hailing from Columbus, Ohio is rock's newest innovators, Axiom. Consisting of Tim Dunn and Mike Peck, Axiom looks to take the rock music by storm with their innovative sound. Described by the band as "rock without boundaries or borders" their sound must be heard to be understood. Coinciding with their foray into the music industry the band is also pleased to release their debut EP Daybreak, which consists of the first three parts to the Axiom Saga. Continue reading for an interview with the band about there history, the debut EP, and where they plan on going in the near future.

The Beginning

So how exactly did you guys get together?
Tim Dunn: Well, we were both in different bands. We actually met at a uh, like a battle of the bands kind of thing on the Ohio State University campus (we were both students there at the time). Our bands were both pretty generic rock acts, nothing really special or unique as far as the sound, but it was fun and it we got to play gigs. Anyway we got to talking and we both found out we had some pretty similar tastes in music so we decided to meet up and jam and things really took off. We started working on some songs and before you knew it we quit our other bands to make this thing work full time.
Mike Peck: At first this was never meant to be anything more than just some fun. I think where it really took off is when Tim pitched the idea of telling a single cohesive story through multiple albums and EPs. I mean, it wasn't the uniqueness of the idea but the way he wanted to tell it. He played me a rough cut of what he had in mind for what eventually got worked into Daybreak and I was intrigued. So we kept working at it until eventually we decided we wanted to focus all of our energy on this project and Axiom was born.

Describe as best you can what your sound is.
MP: Well its essentially rock without boundaries or borders. I mean we don't think we are an experimental band, rather we take what rock music is and then color outside the lines if you will. Sometimes we have traditional three to four minute rock songs with a hook, or we do the acoustic or piano driven ballad, but a lot of time we are working in a space beyond what you would expect from normal mainstream rock music.
TD: It's not easy to describe our sound. It is something that you just have to hear. Rather than producing an album of 10-15 radio friendly rock songs we play around with what you the listener defines as rock. I mean we have songs where the melody is played on drums, and songs where the vocals harmonize beyond melodic piano lines, and all kinds of other things we like to play with. Some people might label us progressive or experimental, but we firmly believe we are a rock band who just likes to bend, and occasionally break, the rules.

The Daybreak EP

This is part of a story you guys have named the "Axiom Saga" what exactly is that and where does this fit in
MP: The Axiom Saga is the overarching story being told throughout our albums and EPs. This specifically is the beginning to the story. Without giving too much away about the story, it is a psychological look into loneliness, depression, and fear. These three parts, Section 01, Section 02, and Section 03 open with our hero waking up and going about his usual morning routine. After he finishes what seems like any mundane morning he slowly learns that all the people close to him have vanished, and further more he may be the last person on the planet.

What does each individual track sound like and where do they fit in the story?
TD: Section 01: Daybreak starts off with a sound collage of the traditional wake up sounds. Basically its roosters crowing and then about 100 to 150 different alarm clocks ringing. It starts off really quiet, barely audible, and then just grows into this loud bombastic intro before slowly diminishing down to about 10 alarm clocks. Then we actually use the some of the different alarm clocks and there pitches and tones to create the entire tracks melody line. That just goes throughout the song with some cymbal crashes here and there to add some flavor. Section 02: As the Morning Rolls On... is another track that uses a lot of ambient sounds. In this track we have a lot of general morning noise, brushing teeth, shaving, showering, eating cereal, and other stuff like that. We also however introduce the first guitar, bass, and drum parts. The guitar is simple, just playing arpeggios, and the drums aren't that flashy but it works for the song. The last track Section 03: All Those I Have Ever Known is the meat of this EP clocking in at just over 17 minutes. The first two and a half minutes are made up of a very haunting piano sonata, the point where our hero starts to realize something is up, and then it breaks into a very haunting, ambient section. There are a lot of random distorted and dissonant guitar chords, some different keyboard and synthesizer effects and a lot of random cymbal rolls and drum hits to give the song a spooky vibe. This is when he slowly starts to realize that he cannot find another living human, nor has he seen a single body. The song builds and builds until it hits this crescendo and we have this punishing guitar riff come in along with a pounding beat and then a guitar solo. That is the point he starts to lose it a little bit and freak out. Finally the song ends going into a variation on the opening piano sonata as the loneliness starts to grip our hero.

The Future

What are your plans for the near future?
MP: Getting the debut album done. We are making some finishing touches to Sections 11, 12, and 13 (the album starts with Section 04) and still have a lot of stuff to record. I mean there is a lot of time before the album will hit, but we also want to get some material started or at least have some rough sketches for the sophomore release as well. There is also a lot of business stuff to handle. We have to secure funding, find someone to press the CDs and vinyl, and get distribution taken care of. About the only thing we have done is the website and that is going to need work when we decide to host all of our music on it, so we definitely have enough to keep us busy.

Do you ever plan on leaving the Axiom Saga?
TD: Yes, of course we do. I mean, we want to finish it, but we never sat down and said we have to knock it out out of the gate, first five albums. We know about how long it will be, and we know the whole story, it is a matter of writing music to go with it. We could release it all one piece after another or we could release a couple do something else, then release another before moving on again, and so on. Right now it is what we are focused on but we aren't going to keep forcing ourselves to work on it if we get burnt out and we don't feel obligated to get it done as fast as possible either.


Axiom is
Tim Dunn- Production/Guitars/Bass/Drums/Vocals
Mike Peck- Production/Piano/Keyboard/Vocals

Daybreak Available Now!