We arethemovies

One moment at a time

We Are The Movies formed in 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, founded by record producer Tim Waters of Radio City Records and independent label owner Stephen Goldstein of Broken Line Records.

Their combined years of industry knowledge and international touring experience brought immediate recognition within the scene. That momentum could have taken them back out on the road, but Tim had just welcomed his first child, so they agreed to keep the focus local.

Instead of chasing fame, they wanted to enrich and build up the local scene: releasing music, playing shows and being part of a community that supports and lifts each other up, rather than diving back into the cut-throat industry at large.

“It’s about creating a scene that my kids can grow up in and be a part of,” Tim says.

The duo enlisted longtime friend Asa Shaddix on guitar and vocals, followed by Bryan Overholt on drums to complete the lineup. The band debuted at King Avenue Five to a packed house and shortly afterward released the five-song EP Ending One Moment at a Time through Bandcamp and Spotify in 2013.

Get busy living…

Dan McMillan and Mike O’Leary joined in 2015 after Asa stepped away to focus on his family. He had just had twins and lived an hour away, so rehearsals and shows were taking a toll. The band fully supported his departure, though it left a hole that proved impossible for one person to fill.

After weeks of auditions, the band made a surprising pivot to a five-piece, bringing in both Dan and Mike on guitar so Tim could step out front as lead vocalist.

In March 2016, they released their follow-up EP, Get Busy Living…, at a sold-out show presented by 99.7 The Blitz at Scarlet & Grey Café. Distributed by Broken Line Records, the EP took its title from The Shawshank Redemption.

The band’s new look and sound soon pushed WATM into the local limelight. They continued playing venues such as Donato’s Basement and Rumba Café, helping grow the local scene while sharing bills with touring bands such as Hit the Lights and The Ataris.

That June, We Are The Movies traveled to Tim’s hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, to play the main stage at Road to Warped Tour alongside Sum 41, State Champs, Sleeping With Sirens and Reel Big Fish. They packed six shows into five days, including a live on-air performance on KWHL’s Bob & Chad morning show and a special appearance at Covenant House Alaska, a shelter for young people experiencing homelessness.

Dan stayed home to welcome his first child, and Justin Moegling of Absolute Hero filled in on guitar. Tour manager Zach Frost documented the trip in a tour diary.

…Or get busy dying

In 2018, We Are The Movies released their third EP, …Or Get Busy Dying, alongside a video for “Leaving Me Incomplete,” featuring Hit the Lights vocalist and longtime friend Nick Thompson.

The song spent a week on Spotify’s editor-curated All New Punk playlist, amassing nearly 50,000 streams and helping the band build a following far beyond Ohio, with pockets of fans as far away as Australia. It became the band’s second-most-streamed song, behind their 2021 cover of “Stay.”

The band continued performing and writing, including a short tour with Chousand, while collaborating with other bands in the local scene and building momentum.

The January 2020 issue of Alternative Press named We Are The Movies one of its “12 Bands to Watch in 2020.”

COVID pandemic

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Shortly after the AP feature, the pandemic brought live music to a halt. The band kept recording separately and releasing rock covers of pop songs on YouTube while they waited out the storm.

The plan was to get back to it once the pandemic cleared up, but the world wasn’t the same, and life had shifted the members’ priorities. Mike O’Leary stepped away and was replaced by longtime collaborator Jack Snyder, who had co-written and produced some of the band’s earlier material.

During 2020 and 2021, the band released two original singles. “Bury Me,” released in October 2020, featured Oshie Bichar of Beartooth and City Lights and introduced electronic drums and a more pop-influenced vocal approach. “The Devil Inside” followed in January 2021, combining heavier guitars with elements of pop and trap. Its video, premiered by New Noise Magazine, used hand-drawn rotoscope animation by director and producer Danny Rogers. Another original, “Motives,” followed in 2022.

Between 2020 and 2023, the band released six covers: “Positions,” “Lonely,” “Without You,” “Stay,” “Shivers” and “Wonder.” These reworked songs by Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Benny Blanco, The Kid LAROI, Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes appeared on YouTube, with some also making their way to Spotify.

Most notably, “Stay” featured Howard Mesharer and Zach Lukkarila of local band Cotter. The cover appeared in a viral TikTok livestream, quickly collected more than a million views across YouTube and TikTok, and grew the band’s YouTube following fivefold.

That success did not reestablish the band’s pre-COVID momentum. Live venues were still operating at limited capacity, and the band preferred to focus its attention on the local scene rather than chase online notoriety.

Legacy

We Are The Movies’ last live performance was a sold-out show at Ace of Cups in Columbus on February 18, 2023, alongside Hit the Lights, in memory of their late friend and collaborator Kyle Maite. #kylemaiteforever

Over the years, We Are The Movies played over 200 shows across 5 states. Their recordings have tallied more than one million combined streams and reached audiences across the globe.

Their music remains available online, and the band says this is just a hiatus, not a breakup. They’re sitting on an unreleased full-length album titled All My Friends Are Monsters, waiting for the right moment. They’ll know when it’s right. The world still has a lot of healing to do.

Members