Jay Reason has grown up in the punk scene. He is now a man in his 20's and his voice as well as what he has to say has matured quite a bit. The Distance, which Reason fronts has also matured, their upcoming full-length The Rise, The Fall And Everything In Between is a mesh of melodic driving pop hooks, fully fleshed out arrangements and built upon a foundation of speedy punk energy. "I call it my attention deficit disorder record" says Reason, which is an accurate description when you hear his radio-ready croon over power pop chords that open up seamlessly into galloping, pogo-friendly punk/hardcore aggression. Styles constantly crash into each other within the same song and even stranger is the fact that it works!
Shortly after their last release everything in Reason's world fell apart including the dissolution of a five year relationship with his then fiancee. "We didn't do much for a year and a half while I tried to sort my life out. I did end up writing many of the songs that appear on the new album while going through that period." As a result The Rise, The Fall And Everything In Between encapsulates a relationship from the beginning, the middle and the end, passion, frustration, heartbreak, loneliness but also the resolution of that dark time with growth and a resurgence of strength.
When the band resumed with the line-up of Jonathan Dobyns (bass), James Ward (guitar) and Lonn (drums) they decided that they wanted to write good songs regardless of genre and expand past four chord songs and yelling monotones. "We had some offers from a few big labels but all they wanted was for us to keep our harder sound, they didn't want us to try anything different. I don't think I will understand why people can't just write the songs they want to write, who cares if one is a rock song and the next is a pop song and then a hardcore jam, I like records that keep me guessing."
The Distance spent the majority of 2006 on the road and are gearing up to make 2007 bigger and better. The Distance has received features in Alternative Press (218), Metal Hammer (10/06) name a few.