Review Fix Exclusive: Lucid Afterlife’s Caleb Sanders Talks Creative Process and Goals

Review Fix chats with Lucid Afterlife’s Caleb Sanders, who discusses the band’s origin, goals and creative process.

Review Fix: How did the project start?

Caleb Sanders: I was really concentrating on making music a career and trying to step away from being a concrete finisher. I put myself out there and was surrounding myself with people that have the same passion for music as I do. I happened to make friends with someone who worked on an SFU radio show and he offered to have me play live on the air. I went for it and as I was playing my last song Natjack and Thomas walked in for an interview. They said it was cool if I wanted to hang out, so I did. I just happened to have brought two acoustics with me so we improved a couple songs and it went really well. Natjack asked if I play bass and if I would like to jam with them, of course I said yes as this was the kind of opportunity I was looking for. The next thing I knew I was touring Mexico. 

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Sanders: When I write music I like to just pick up the guitar or bass and see what naturally comes out. If I come up with something that resonates with me I will record it. I found just recording from the start works best because when I’m in the moment it can get lost by the time I get the recorder out. I really like jamming with a drummer, having a real live person rather than a loop or a backing track sparks a lot of creativity and energy that brings out some cool music. I guess you could say I’m more about in the moment creation than composing a song on paper. 

Review Fix: What’s your standout song? 

Sanders: It’s hard to choose just one song that stands out. As I was preparing for our first shows I would start everyday with Lucid Afterlife. Each song has had its turn stuck in my head for a day or more, in a great way of course, and I still have not gotten bored of any of the songs. I would say Love is Beyond definitely stands out for me. There’s something about that song that’s just makes you feel good. DMT would be another one that I feel a deep connection to especially after my experience in Mexico. 

Review Fix: How was it written?

Sanders: I’m not sure how Love is Beyond was written as it was before I joined the band but I believe it was written live from the heart as a band. I think the same type of scenario happened with DMT, something that just happened to come out. Of course the fact that it was recorded in Peru on a very spiritual level has a lot to do with the energy the song puts out. 

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2019?

Sanders: My goal is to get the music out there as much as possible. Play, eat, play some more and then maybe sleep if there’s time.  Since I first joined Lucid Afterlife I knew that we just had to get out and perform for people and things were going to take off. Thom and Natjack are very talented people and I want to help deliver the music giving people an experience they won’t forget. 

Review Fix: How do you want your music to affect people?

Sanders: I want our music to inspire people and get them to expand their minds about this reality that we are experiencing. I keep thinking back to a bass player I seen at a festival I went to one summer. He had his eyes closed and a smile on his face the whole time. I could really feel that he was right where he was supposed to be, living his passion, doing what he loved to do. It resonated with me so much that I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I want to inspire people to live their passion like that bass player inspired me to do. As a touring band we have an opportunity to bring a positive experience and message to people all around the world and I’m not going to let that opportunity go to waste. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Sanders: Keep the momentum up and keep building the energy and connection we have as a band. Promote the new record and play as many shows as possible.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14268 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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