The Afters

The unlikely origin of the Texas-based rock quartet The Afters is steeped in caffeine.

Josh Havens and Matt Fuqua were working together at a Starbucks in Mesquite, Texas while playing for other bands. On slow nights, they entertained customers and themselves by playing a few acoustic songs.

They wound up playing an acoustic show together at a church conference, and were surprised when people came up to them after the show asking where they were playing next. "We thought it would be fun to play a show and then go back to our bands," Fuqua explains. "Instead we were overwhelmed with incredible feedback from people. We decided to keep playing together and see where it took us."

The road led to a series of acoustic shows at The Door, a legendary Dallas club. "We wound up with 300 people at our first show and the crowds got bigger every time we played," Havens recalls.

Agreeing to shift from acoustic to electric, Fuqua and Havens began looking for a drummer and bassist. Naturally they found what they were looking for at Starbucks. Dodd and Wigg, also employees, joined to play drums and bass respectively. The band's powerful performances earned The Afters a loyal following and for two years the band packed The Door consistently.

In 2000, The Afters went into the studio to record a six-song EP. They sold all 2,000 copies in a few weeks and earned enough money to return to the studio to cut their debut, When The World Is Wonderful. Independently released in 2001 under their original name "Blisse," the album sold more than 25,000 copies and became a staple on Dallas rock radio.

Two years later and with a new moniker, The Afters signed with Simple/INO Records and recorded their follow-up, I Wish We All Could Win. Based on the strength of the album, Epic Records agreed to sign The Afters and released the album in the winter of 2005.

In 2006, the band's song "Beautiful Love" became the theme song to the MTV series 8th and Ocean.

Information from the band's site

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  Josh Havens: guitar, vocals
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  Matt Fuqua: guitar, vocals
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  Brad Wigg: bass, vocals
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  Marc Dodd: drums

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