Photos by: Jonathan Weiner & Lexi Matuson
This piece was originally featured in AM02 — Issue Two of Ascribe. Click here to read it alongside the rest of the issue.
Pop punk band Meet Me @ The Altar broke into the music scene in 2020, catching the attention of pop punk enthusiasts – both new and old. They were energetic, enthusiastic, and unapologetic of who they were. While 2020 was the year that they skyrocketed into the spotlight, they have been working towards their dreams for quite some time. The age of the internet saw friendships form from miles apart through shared interests and likeness. Those bonds grow stronger when you find someone who you relate to on deeper levels. That happened when Edith Victoria, Téa Campbell, and Ada Juarez bonded over their love of Paramore and their desire to change the music industry.
The band has never been silent on how it feels to be three musicians of color in a genre that’s oversaturated with white men. They “experience the music world in [their] own way,” giving them a unique perspective that they channel into their music. Had Meet Me @ The Altar seen themselves growing up, they say it would’ve made them “feel like less [of] an anomaly.”
During their live shows, they recount the story of how they first became a band. All from separate states (Juarez from New Jersey, Campbell from Florida, and Victoria from Georgia), they longed to be like the bands that they listened to. Edith had first auditioned to join Ada and Téa’s group, but was passed over initially. But Edith was determined to join their band. “I knew in my heart that the three of us were meant to be making music together,” Victoria recalls. “I was not going to back down and pretend like anybody else made sense. It was always going to be the three of us and I’d say it’s paid off!” When asked what the first session in Florida felt like, Campbell and Juarez say “Like we had wasted a lot of time pretending that it made sense with anyone else!” It was clear from the beginning to all three members that there was only one thing that made sense – each other.
Not only have they opened for acts like Green Day and MUNA, but they embarked on their own North American tour that just wrapped in Orlando, FL. The month-long tour had seven sold out dates and such a high demand that the band is already gearing up for another tour with twenty-three more dates. They’ve learned how to live life on the road from the best. To them, the most important part of touring is “going the extra mile to create a safe space for fans” which “makes the live show[s] better for everyone.” It’s clear that this is a priority for the band based on just how many young fans they attract, allowing the pop punk space to be less isolating for all. “We see so many young kids in the front row with their parents,” the band says. “Or fans who come up to us after the show and tell us how excited they were to get to crowdsurf or pit for the first time because they know they’re safe to do that in a Meet Me @ The Altar crowd. That’s what makes it all worth it!”
When asked about what they hope their fans take away from the record, Meet Me @ The Altar wants their listeners to know that their music isn’t surface level. The group believes “pop punk is more complex as a genre” than people give it credit for. It’s clear that their fans are an integral part of the live experience for them, even highlighting an all-girl circle pit in the middle of the show. “We love to see how people can see us and what we’re doing and think they can do the same,” the band shares, eager for their listeners to know that they enjoy the connection just as much as they do.
Before they even thought about touring the record, Meet Me @ The Altar had to create it. In the band’s live shows, Edith Victoria talks about how important making this record was to her. Téa Campbell worked alongside Edith to create the tone of the record, writing alongside one another with some of the greats. One name that they worked with for the album was John Fields, producer of the likes of Demi Lovato, P!nk, and Jonas Brothers. The band loved working with him “because he recorded all [of their] favorite albums and artists.”
The title of the album embodies it perfectly, incorporating nostalgic melodic stylings with a future-forward way of thinking when it comes to lyricism and production. You would think that they thought long and hard about the name, but like their performance style, it was effortless and fit just right. “Tea was laying in the backseat on our way to a show,” the band recounts.
“[A]nd it popped into her brain! The things we hold from our past inform who we are now and where we might go.” The group took inspiration from their past not just for the subjects of the songs, but for the musical stylings. “This album pays homage to the music we loved growing up while reflecting our modern-day lives, sounds, and experiences.” The experiences that the band describe are everything from perspectives that aren’t often heard in the mainstream of the scene given the lack of diversity to personal stories that they hope resonate with listeners.
John Fields gave the band crucial advice when it came to their debut album – “[y]ou don’t have to try too hard or add [many] extra elements to make a great record.” That advice perfectly fits into who Meet Me @ The Altar are as a band. They’re effortlessly cool, not trying hard to be something that they aren’t. The artists that they listened to growing up were P!nk, Avril Lavigne, and Kelly Clarkson, whose show they appeared on to perform their single “Kool.” It was the moment that the band knew they had made it, recalling how “unreal” it felt to them.
Making “Rocket Science” was a definitive moment for the band when they were creating their debut record. The process started in Los Angeles when they were writing with Rachel West and Nico Stadi. They found the themes of Model Citizen compelling and wanted to carry some of it over, finding it “very positive and inspiring.” The song was one that came together quickly, with their co-writers understanding “the vision immediately.” The goal was to “write a song about manifestation and chasing your dreams” because to them, “it isn’t rocket science, it’s not as hard as the world makes it out” to be.
When it came time to bring the nostalgic sound to the album they wanted to make, Meet Me @ The Altar had to balance a plethora of ideas. They had to dissect “what it is about [their] past influences” that inspired them and kept them hooked. They realized one thing that all of the songs had in common was the songwriter. The songs were “written by genuine songwriters about their own experiences and by putting all of their feelings into their songs” which was something that the band felt was missing from the scene. They didn’t want to utilize nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake but rather to channel the emotion that started it all. They “think that’s what people attribute to nostalgia, the emotion.” A goal that they had during Past // Present // Future was to put forward an honest portrait of their emotions.
With their previous EP, Model Citizen, they felt as though they “only focused on the positive because [they] didn’t want to put out any negativity into the world.” But looking back, the band realized that they were only presenting half of the picture. “Just by being honest,” the band says, “we can also help people.” And that’s one of the many reasons that the band’s fans connect so deeply with them. They share their own experiences and make the fans feel less alone, something the band wished that they had when they were younger.
Meet Me @ The Altar skyrocketed over the past few years and it’s no question as to why. Not only does the music resonate with the fans, but so do the band’s experiences. The more honest that they become in their music, the more that people flock to them and feel heard. It’s clear that the band’s dedication to their craft carries through to their live performances and their songs that they create. They’ve created a safe space where fans, young and old, can feel seen. There is no obvious demographic for the band, their crowds being filled with absolutely everyone imaginable. They’ve taken their experiences from the past, applied them to the present, and it’s clear that their future is looking bright as ever.
