Interview: Chris Russo of Highwind Talks About The Band's Acoustic Remake of "Afterlife"

Highwind, a band from New Jersey, will release “Afterlife (acoustic)” on Friday April 3.

By Ashley Gallagher

As Highwind’s “How've You Been” era comes to a close, Chris Russo talked about what the song “Afterlife” has meant to him and how it became a part of his life. He felt it was the perfect way to close off this era. “Afterlife,” as a whole, is already a really personal and emotional song. The stripped-back version adds another layer of rawness and realism about a tough topic to overcome: death.

Why did you write this song?

The song is about Adam Rarela, one of my best friends that passed away a few years ago. I wrote the song a few months after his passing. The song is essentially a letter to him and speaks about what he meant to me. The song is full of references to things he loved and things about his life. Writing this song definitely helped me process a lot of what I was feeling when everything first happened. I still feel the effects of his passing to this day, and I definitely don't think I would be where I am today if he didn't come into my life.

What made you want to do an acoustic version?

To be honest, it just felt right to do. I don't remember what sparked the idea, but it popped into my head and just felt right to make. I brought the idea to CJ Rarela, Adam's brother and the guy who produced it, as well as engineered the song, and we just had a lot of fun making a more stripped back, raw version of the song. I had really only attempted to make acoustic versions of songs I've written once before. I don't typically play or write acoustic music, so this was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. I'm definitely open to the idea of creating more renditions of Highwind songs that are more stripped back like this one is.

Why is this song important to the end of the "How've You Been" era?

It's where it all started. This was the first song I ever worked on for Highwind. It was the first single, the first music video, it's basically the title track, it's the first anything Highwind ever had. So it feels right to make this one of the last releases for this era of Highwind. We have a lot of new music in the works, as well as other things for this project. This might not be the last release of this era due to our current circumstances, but we're definitely nearing the end of the era and transitioning into something new for this band.

What special significance does Adam hold to you?

Adam Rarela genuinely changed my life, He was one of the most accepting, welcoming, and supportive friends I've ever had. We played in a pop-punk band together before he passed, and he was one of the most talented musicians I've ever had the honor of playing with. Writing this song definitely helped me accept the reality of what happened, and helped me start moving forward.

What's next for Highwind?

New music! More touring! I know that things aren't normal right now because of the issues that COVID-19 has given us. But once things become a little more normal again, we're going to head back to the studio to finish some new singles. We're going to re-schedule some shows that we had to cancel. We were really looking forward to playing in places we've never visited and meeting new faces at those shows, as well as finishing new songs for everyone to hear. I'm very excited to make both of those things happen when the time is right. I also have a lot of ideas for content that I can create while I'm at home in quarantine. I'm not sure when these things will happen exactly, but expect a lot of new and exciting things from us in the near future.

You can preorder the single, which releases Friday, here.

Follow Highwind on social media

Twitter: @HighwindBandNJ

Instagram: @highwindnj

Facebook: @highwindnj