Six Years After started in Waterford, Pennsylvania with the acquisition of Steve Banta. Banta (on lead vocals) joined the band in March of 2012 as the band played its first show without even having a name and with less than two weeks of preparation. Influences from bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Alter Bridge, and Thrice began shaping the sound that eventually came to be Six Years After.

Positioning itself as an alternative, hard rock band with mass appeals has given the opportunity for wide varieties of up and coming audiences with a touch of classic sounds of old Soundgarden and punk roots like Pennywise. Hard hitting riffs with overarching leads and a wailing vocal style, full of grit with a touch of the 80's mixed in, has made the music a unique sound that is symbolic of Six Years After. Putting all these sounds together blends a very well rounded edge to each song that is guaranteed to stir a fire in any hard rockers loins while still including the "not so hard rockers" with interesting lyrics great to sing along with.

Steve Kolakowsky is a freelance engineer and producer based out of northern New Jersey. Music has been his passion for his entire life. He is an avid drummer and percussionist, and has played with several local bands and orchestras. In 2000, Steve made his first foray behind the glass and was immediately hooked into the world of production, going on to record with various local bands. In 2003, he decided to pursue his ambitions and was accepted at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He graduated from Berklee in 2007 with a Bachelor of Music in Production and Engineering. He honed his abilities with studies in both analog and digital recording, mixing, mastering, acoustics, MIDI and post production. He has crafted his art through assisting and studying with such consummate engineers and producers as Ron St. Germain, George Massenburg, Jeff Lagent, Mark Wessel, Price Charles Alexander, Jason Corsaro, Mary Campbell, Stephen Webber, Eric Reuter, Jonathan Wyner, Kostadin Kamcev, David Kowalski and Carlisle Young.  

He has had the pleasure to work with such varied and accomplished artists as Living Colour, DMC, Wiz Khalifa, Pop Evil, Will Calhoun, Jadakiss, Estelle, Bob Babbitt, Scarface, Alex Marshall, Bill Warfield, Chance Taken, Chris Bowen, Cosmic Debris, Dave Cavalier, Detonator, Dive, Don Kincaid, Doug Wimbish, Enemy of Everyone, The Glickman Bassoon Ensemble, Greensky Bluegrass, Hazard Adams, Infamous Plague, Jay Watts, Mike Shiavo, Off The Record, Reese Chubbs, Sendero, Sick Mind, Six Years After, Skylar May, Soulbite, The Space Puppets, Sun 5, Will Ferguson, With Snack, and The Vetts; composers Chris Opperman, Donaldo Garcia and Zac Armgard; institutions such as The New York Philharmonic, Berklee College of Music’s Performance Division, the Ringwood Friends of Music, and the South Shore Conservatory; producers and production companies including Adrian “Dr. A-Hawk” Melendez, Caté, Carlos McKinney, Grand & Warren, Jim Bonnefond, Junior Sanchez, Lofey, Marcos Carnaval, Myles William, Pierre Marceau, Rich Fabrizio, Rick Iantosca, Sharif "Reefa" Slater, Tony Solis, ATM, Chino Music Group, DUMP Records, En Victoria Records, EP Entertainment, M2P Records and Urban Legendz, commercial work for Adidas and Icebreakers, and has even worked in post production as a sound fx editor for Miramax’s “Gone, Baby, Gone”

He is an AES fellow, a BMI songwriter and Voting Member of the Recording Academy.


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