Anne Erickson of Upon Wings and Banana 101.5 Talks About ‘Afterlife’ [INTERVIEW]

Our very own Anne Erickson has been gaining national attention with her band Upon Wings and the single 'Afterlife.' We caught up with Anne to talk about her recent success, music video and more -- get the interview here.

If you only know Anne Erickson from her weekend shift at the Banana, you may not know that she has like 50 jobs and is excellent at all of them. In addition to being an extremely skilled writer for several local and national publications and websites, Anne is an incredibly gifted vocalist -- something we weren't even aware of until recently (Anne isn't the type to brag).

Upon Wings recently recorded the single 'Afterlife' with Brett Hestla of Creed and Dark New Day fame. The single has since been heavily featured on Sirius XM and the music video for the tune just debuted on Revolver. Since things are really starting to happen for Anne and Upon Wings, we figured we should get an interview now before she stops returning our calls and showing up for work.

So Anne, tell us a little bit about the new video for 'Afterlife.'

The video was shot in mid-Michigan, and the outdoor scenes were kind of a surprise. It was snowing pretty hard one day, and the video was already completed, but we decided it was a great opportunity to add something else. So, we shot that outside a cool mansion in mid-Michigan.

Being that this was only your second video, was it a bit uncomfortable performing in front of a camera or did it come naturally?

Good question! Well, I’ve been in front of the camera a lot because I got my degree in theater, so it wasn’t uncomfortable, but it’s always unique to put together a concept for a music video and make it come to life. It’s just not something you do every day and can feel a little bit odd, especially when random people see you shooting and wonder what’s going on!

What was it like working with Brett Hestla? How did that come about?

Brett was great! He’s a great producer. I’ve wanted to work with him for years, sent him some demos and he was cool enough to want to work together.

You’ve been featured on XM radio’s Big Uns and now your video has debuted on Revolver, has it been weird getting so much attention so fast?

Thanks! It’s been so awesome and rewarding to get the airplay and press. It was such an honor to make it on SiriusXM Octane’s Big Uns and be featured by Revolver Magazine. It’s hard to describe the feeling! It didn’t happen overnight, though, because I’ve been working hard on music for years.

Which of your jobs are you planning on quitting if your music career keeps accelerating at this pace (please don’t say “Banana”)?

Haha, I would never leave my Banana family! Don’t be silly, Tree!

 Okay, final question. Do you need a mediocre guitar player?

Haha, I hope you aren’t talking about you, because you certainly aren’t a mediocre guitar player, Tree!!*

To keep up with the latest happenings in the world of Upon Wings, head over to their official Facebook page and throw them a like.

*Note: I'm pretty sure Anne was just being nice. I'm not sure if she's ever heard me play guitar, but I totally suck.