North Huntingdon-based pop-punk band On Your Nerves anticipates release of new album

Caleb Andrykovitch has been singing ever since he could talk, and over the years, music has “always been present” in his life.

Now, as lead vocalist for the North Huntingdon-based band On Your Nerves, Andrykovitch, 19, and his bandmates are looking forward to the release of their new album, “Brace for the Best,” on Friday.

“(I’m) very excited for everybody to hear these songs,” said Andrykovitch, who graduated from Norwin in 2021 and is now a sophomore at Duquesne University. “I feel that all of the sounds are more well-rounded” compared to the band’s previously released EP.

Andrykovitch said the band got its start in spring 2019 and is composed of himself, lead guitarist Seth Toops, rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist Kevin Turcovsky, bassist Roman Backus and drummer Evan Blenko.

At first, the guys played covers from their favorite bands — mostly pop-punk tunes — and then they gradually began replacing covers in their set list with original songs.

Before teaming up with Static Era Records and recording the new album with Zac Eisenstein from Man Overboard and Pete Zen at Landmine Studios in New Jersey, the band released an EP and two singles.

According to Blenko, 18, “Brace for the Best” has been in the works since the beginning of the pandemic shutdown in 2020.

“It’s crazy to think how lucky we are to have the team of people behind us,” said Blenko, who recently graduated from Norwin and will attend Syracuse University this fall.

During the songwriting process, Blenko said one person “usually takes the lead” depending on the song, and he, Andrykovitch and Turcovsky mainly handle the lyrics.

Blenko said he wrote a few of the song lyrics on the album, and he’s “really proud.” People will be surprised by what they hear on the new album, he said.

Andrykovitch has played guitar since he was 8 years old and began to play in bands at age 11. He began writing music around 13 or 14.

“Any time we would write a song, we’d make a rough recording and send it to our producer,” Andrykovitch said.

This process made some of the songs “completely brand new,” according to Blenko, and he enjoyed getting to witness them “develop over time.”

“There’s something for everybody when they listen to the album,” Blenko.

Michelle Andrykovitch, Caleb’s mom, said it’s amazing that the boys have “done this all on their own.”

“There’s no parent or really an older adult who’s driving this — this is all them, every aspect,” Michelle Andrykovitch said. “I’m really proud of them for that, and I really like the way that they are reaching out to people their own age to let them help.”

The band members have asked friends for help with marketing, networking, flyers, T-shirt designs, music videos and more, she said.

On Your Nerves usually holds its practices at Caleb’s house, and since Caleb was in a band prior to this, Michelle Andrykovitch said she was “already pretty accustomed to what it entailed.”

“We just support what they’re doing, so their intentions and their dreams — they have our full support,” she said. “They manage it, and we just provide a space.”

She puts Caleb’s band practices and shows on the family calendar like other after-school activities, she said.

However, with all of the band members now in college, Blenko said they will have to face some new challenges with schedule coordination and locations.

“This past year, I was still in high school, and Caleb was commuting, so us two could get together pretty frequently,” Blenko said. “Others made it to practices when they could.”

But this year, Blenko will be farther away at Syracuse while the rest of the band is mostly centered in the Pittsburgh area.

“I’m hoping they can get together frequently,” Blenko said.

His plan is to hop on a virtual call for practice and band meetings and come home for shows as often as possible.

“I think technology will work in their favor,” Michelle Andrykovitch said. “They still have band meetings when they’re not together.”

The next step for On Your Nerves is back to the drawing board to write a “whole new batch of songs” since their current collection is set for release in a few days, Blenko said, which will be easier to help with via Zoom while at Syracuse.

On Your Nerves will play its album release show at Quinn Brewing on Friday, kicking off the band’s first small-scale tour where they will play shows in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey.

No matter what their college years bring, Caleb said he believes the band is and will remain “a big priority” for all of its members.