“The Mistress” is the provocative new single released by New Paltz student band, Until Later. The trio of musicians, featuring Justin Ruszczycki on drums, Paul Julian on guitar and Evan Harden on bass, keys and vocals, released “The Mistress” to all streaming platforms on March 19. The song, inspired by a personal situation, is an up-tempo, feel good rock song about experiencing an attraction to someone other than the person you are committed to. Julian described the idea as “being at a party or a bar, basically anywhere with a girl who you’re dating and wanting a different girl.”
“It’s the law of attraction,” said Harden. “You’re supposed to be there with someone else but you’re drawn to the other person for some reason. Its a pretty rock and roll topic.”
This being the group’s first streaming-released single, they wanted to make sure the song was perfect and sounded professional before it released. “We really went the extra mile with recording ‘The Mistress’ and we want to do that for most of our songs,” said Julian. “We really perfect them and mix them and do everything that we can to make it sound as good as possible.”
“The Mistress” is not the only original song to have been created by the local band. Now that “The Mistress” has been released, the trio is working to record their other original song, “Duality of Man.”
“The form of ‘The Mistress’ is very straightforward. There’s no crazy changes, but ‘Duality of Man’ has tempo changes, rhythm changes and an outro. Every time we’ve played it live, it sounded different for the most part,” said Julian. “We haven’t had the chance to go and record it the way we really want to, but we will. Absolutely.”
The band also has another original single in the works, which has a much heavier and grungier sound. The trio hopes to have it done by the end of this semester.
Until Later officially formed in 2022 when Julian and Harden (who had met previously) were practicing one of their first covers in a practice room and overheard Ruszczycki playing drums. “It was just me knocking on the door and we’re basically just sitting there like, ‘Hey, man, you need a band?’” said Julian. “We didn’t really need to hear much to know that we wanted him to play with us.”
For the first chunk of the trio’s time together, they were limited to small gigs, primarily playing in the basement of Ruszczycki’s house, as it was the only place they had been asked to play. “The shows that we played in my basement, the people that we really needed to see us, weren’t seeing,” said Ruszczycki.
However, that changed in Feb. 2023, when Alli Dempsey and Ari Cummings, the organizers of Battle of the Bands, an event at Snug Harbor that allowed bands to compete against one another, reached out to the group, inviting them to perform. “That was the first time that we had been asked to be on a bill. We took that as an audition for us to see if we were good enough to be in the music scene in New Paltz. So, we practiced really hard,” said Harden. The practice paid off, and although the group didn’t win Battle of the Bands, they made a lasting impact, making multiple important connections within the scene that would help them in the future. “The really big people in the scene who are in established bands or have a say in booking stuff, they were all in Snugs that night, and they saw us and were like ‘Holy crap, I thought they were just a basement band,’” said Ruszczycki. “It was perfect. The turnout was huge. We played really good. We gained a lot of connections just from that night.We made friends with other people in the scene,” said Julian.
Shortly after the event, the group was booked to perform three shows at Snug Harbor and Bacchus and opened for Kale, a popular Hudson Valley band, cementing themselves in the New Paltz music scene. “We ripped and we didn’t win, but in School of Rock, they didn’t win either. So, who really won?” said Ruszczycki.
The band would also go on to become a staple at the local house show venue, The Pickle Jar, performing there frequently throughout the Spring 2023 semester. The band would also then perform throughout New York State over the summer, performing at venues such as the Meadowlark Mountain Bike Trail on Long Island.
Until Later also spoke on some of the difficulties of the ever-changing New Paltz music scene. “The main problem is that it relies on house shows,” said Julian. According to the band, last year there were five or six house shows that put on consistent performances, but this year there are much less. “Spring last semester, there were too many houses, not enough good bands. This semester there are too many good bands not enough houses,” said Harden. According to the band, really good bands are having a difficult time getting recognition due to the lack of opportunities to play.
House shows are the foundation of the New Paltz music scene, and the variability of them highlights the importance of the houses that are able to stick around. One of these houses is Nebraska. According to the band, Nebraska is “basically the only house that is keeping the house show scene alive this year. Every band in New Paltz, if they are in the scene, appreciates Nebraska,” said Julian.
The group is using this lull in the house show scene to work on creating new music, recording and getting originals out into the world. They urge anyone who is seriously interested in having a house show to pursue it, giving advice and offering to look at houses that might be suitable for throwing shows. “For anyone looking to throw a show but may not have resources, reach out to bands in the scene, because plenty of bands would be willing to share their stuff if it means getting more bands up and running,” said the band.
To keep up with Until Later’s music, follow them on Instagram @ulband_ and stream “The Mistress” on Spotify and Apple music. “We just want to thank our fans for their support, for coming to our shows and listening to our music,” said Harden.
*All photos courtesy of Sports Editor Alyssa Sciarrone*