Tradition Is the Latest Local Post-Hardcore Band You Need to Know About

Tradition is ready for a proper introduction. The Colorado Springs trio recently released its debut EP, Flora, in July and is booking more gigs locally.

But what initially started as a solo endeavor for drummer-vocalist Caden O'Brien, who started writing the four tracks that would eventually go on Flora way back in 2016 and during his time in Oregon, is finally taking shape with a proper lineup that also includes guitarist Devin De Leon and guitarist-vocalist Christopher Schmidt.

“It was this thing of trying to find that sound,” O’Brien says, adding that his affinity for post-hardcore — Title Fight, Balance and Composure, Citizen — shaped Tradition. “It’s just where I naturally gravitate towards, and that was where we wanted to take it.

“The first EP was very much stuff I wrote when I was in Portland,” he continues. “Adding everybody it’s becoming more of this flair of taking that sound that we had initially and trying to cover every side of the box that we can within that sound.”

O’Brien and Schmidt had previously played together, so once O’Brien found himself back on the Front Range, he recruited his former bandmate by showing off some demos. Schmidt was immediately on board.

“We just realized we’re so on the same page musically for what we really want to do,” he says. “A lot of people join bands, and it’s been my entire life playing music, and it’s your thing but not exactly your thing but it fits close into what you want to do so you kind of compromise.”
So it’s refreshing that Tradition, which draws its name from the tattoo style O’Brien prefers, aligns with all three members’ tastes. Flora, with its nature-inspired theme, is mainly a look inside O’Brien’s mind at the time he wrote the songs.

“I personally struggled with depression and anxiety,” he shares, while sitting in front of a background filled with healthy house plants. “Flora was me embracing that and accepting the things in my life that come with dealing with that and an introspective look back at how those things affected points in my life, while also being able to accept that this made me who I am. I think it’s a good point to share that with people and hopefully it resonates somewhere.”

The arrangements, particularly the single and album closer, “Stone,” employ O’Brien’s raw lyricism with notes of distorted melancholy. There’s something innately comforting and catchy, and inherently emo, about it all.

Tradition already has another EP in the hopper, too, again with the help of Corruption Recordings and producer Connor Haines, also of California metalcore crew Mugshot. “It covers more of a wide spectrum,” O’Brien says of the next batch, which became more of a collaborative effort. “It’s a lot darker sonically, more post-hardcore. It’s more loss based. The first song is about the loss of a family member. The other ones go through different forms of loss.”

“Yeah, these songs are a little darker overall,” Schmidt adds. “It feels a little more mature and in the alternative vein. All our worlds are meshing.”

While a release date is still being nailed down — they all agree it’ll most likely be out by the end of this year — the best way to get familiar with Tradition right now is live. The band is playing the Colorado ICE Meltdown, a DIY benefit show for Colorado Rapid Response Network, on Sunday, September 14, at D3 Arts. Local groups Summer of Peril, Summer Stars, Playn for Keeps, Dogmon and Talking Point are also on the bill. Water gun fights are planned between in each set, too (the entry free includes an aqua pistol).

“We’re all coming together to try and take on this crazy stuff that’s been happening in the world recently. It’s a really cool event for a really good cause,” O’Brien says.

It’s also an opportunity for Tradition to stand with the scene and show a wider audience what the band is all about.

De Leon, who is Filipino American, knows firsthand what families face when moving to the country in search of better opportunities.

“I think it’s important when you have a soapbox no matter how early it is to speak up for what you believe in,” he says.

“I have a father who was an immigrant to this country, and without the open border laws that we had back when he was able to come here, I wouldn’t be able to be a citizen in this country, participate in the culture of the United States and be a part of the community that we are giving back to and being a part of,” De Leon continues.

And since similar benefit shows are becoming a more common occurrence throughout the Colorado underground, Tradition plans to support such causes as much as possible.

“It means a lot to be able to be a part of something that can give a little bit of charity to a foundation that helps those in need, especially when a lot of people are trying to come here to better their own personal lives and just make a living for themselves,” De Leon says.

So expect to see more of Tradition on a bill near you.

“It leads to community, like, ‘Look at all these people who have your back.’ Even if it’s only twenty people who show up to the show, that’s twenty people that one person might not have thought were in their corner,” concludes Schmidt, who is a member of the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe. “If the worst of the worst happens at least we have familiar faces within our community.”

Tradition, with Summer of Peril, Summer Stars, Playn for Keeps, Dogmon and Talking Point, 4 p.m. Sunday, September 14, D3 Arts, 3632 Morrison Road. Tickets are $18 at the door.