September Mourning

September Mourning is a transmedia dark culture project created by Emily Lazar and Marc Silvestri. The project centers on the human-reaper hybrid September (portrayed on stage by Lazar), as she navigates the world of the living and the world of the dead. As a half-human, September feels the need to give some human souls a second chance, and thus toys with Fate. The story is presented on different media platforms, including music, comic books, and live concerts. The comic books are produced with Top Cow Productions. According to Lazar, "“It’s a story line that has a musical component to it. An artistic component to it. The story line is what holds it all together. The music is like the icing on the cake. It’s very important of course, but it’s the vehicle to tell the story.”

Formation (2009-10)
The storyline of September Mourning was first created by Lazar. Top Cow's Marc Silvestri became involved after Lazar pitched the idea to him via Myspace. Together, they developed the world and storyline of September Mourning.

In the spring of 2009, September began to focus on the project's music. Together with guitarist and programmer Chris Egert and guitarist James Duran, Lazar began writing songs for September Mourning and touring with rotating drummers and bass players. After moving from New York to Los Angeles in late 2010, the line up changed with September becoming the only remaining touring member. Egert remained with the project as a songwriter.

At the 2010 San Diego Comic Con, Top Cow Productions announced the creation of Marc Silvestri and September’s concept story, September Mourning, whose preview story summary would be published that year in the first edition of their Holiday Special. In the fall of 2011, at the San Diego Comic Con, MTV Geek announced a partnership with Marc Silvestri and September to create webisodes based on the characters in the storyline September Mourning, as well as online comics and other media for their website, and David Hine signed on as writer for the series.

Melancholia (2011)
At the start of 2011, Egert and Lazar began self-producing a full length album containing the first demo songs written by the band. Melancholia was released on Repo Records exclusively in Germany on May 9, 2012, and features guest drummer Ryan Seaman of Falling In Reverse and bassist Phil Buckman of Filter. The album was mixed and mastered by Dave Ogilvie.

On July 17, 2012, a new song, Before the Fall, and its music video, were featured in the TNA Wrestling commercial for their Hardcore Justice PPV August 2012. This single was released to the iTunes Store and Spotify the following week and showcased the progression of the band's songwriting and move towards a more commercial sound.

In September 2013 September Mourning played the Schecter Guitars Party at NAMM. Lazar continued to develop the look and theatricality of the band and to write new material for the project. September Mourning played some one-off shows in the California area while being shopped to labels. Later in 2013 September Mourning was signed to Virgin Records.

Volume 1 (2015-present)
In late 2014, the September premiered a new song, Children of Fate, on Loudwire. On July 12, 2015, September Mourning launched a Kickstarter Campaign to fund the release of the first issue of a comic book connected to the project's storyline. The Kickstarter achieved its funding goal in under 72 hours. In September, Loudwire premiered another track from their debut EP, Eye of the Storm.

The comic, entitled A Murder of Reapers, was released in October 2015 through Top Cow Productions/Image Comics alongside Volume 1, the band's first release in the USA. The EP was well received, with The Front Row Report saying that the "all components of the project’s impact present the sensation of strength and vitality. With such a unique method of storytelling and direct communication of passion, September Mourning have set themselves up for success with Volume 1". Live-metal.net stated that "in less than 20 minutes, Volume I establishes September Mourning as one of the few truly unique acts active today. The title implies this is the only beginning, which is a promising, exciting thought.".

Band members
Source:

Current

 * September, lead vocalist,keyboards, songwriting (2009–present)
 * Rich Juzwick, guitars (2014–present)
 * Josh Fresia, drums (2014–present)
 * Jeriah Eager, bass guitar (2015–present)
 * Kyle Ort, second guitar (2015-present)

Previous

 * James Duran, guitars (2009–2010)
 * Chris Egert, guitars, programming (2009-2010)
 * Nobuaki Hayashi, guitars (2012)
 * Steve Podgorski, guitars (2012-2013)
 * Xavier Moreux, guitars (2014–2015)
 * Skot Christ, bass guitar, backing vocals (2012-2013)
 * Shawn Cameron, drums (2012-2013)
 * Tommy Joe Ratliff, bass guitar (2014–2015)

Discography

 * 2012 - Melancholia
 * 2012 - Before the Fall (Single)
 * 2015 - Volume 1 (EP)

Tours

 * Summer 2009 Hanzel Und Gretyl tour
 * Summer 2009 opened for The Birthday Massacre, Dommin, I Am Ghost
 * Fall 2009 Marilyn Manson tour west coast
 * Spring 2010 opened for RATT
 * Spring 2010 Hanzel Und Gretyl tour
 * SongKick.com (2011)
 * Fall 2012 Gemini Syndrome Tour
 * Winter 2013 NAMM Schecter Party
 * Spring 2015 Rock On The Range / Headline Tour
 * Spring 2015 Atlantic City Comic Con
 * Spring 2015 We Are Harlot Tour UK
 * Spring 2015 Download Festival UK
 * Fall 2015 Villains Con US
 * Fall 2015 Aftershock Festival US
 * Fall 2015 Marilyn Manson tour US

Promotion
The band has an official website linking their media outlets such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. The posts were mainly published under the name of "September". Starting from 28 November 2013, most posts were updated by all members under the name of "September, Wraith, Stitch, Riven and Shadou". The fans of the band are addressed by the nickname "Children of Fate", derived from one of their songs of the same name, released in 2011. The band would collect fan art, namely paintings and tribute make up tutorials, and post them on their instagram and Facebook Page on a regular basis.