Return to Sender Reloaded

Josh: Hyped to be talking to Return to Sender. For those playing catch-up, who's in the band these days?

Chad Reynolds: The band is comprised of three members: myself, Chad Reynolds (guitar and lead vocals), Kyler Fillerup (bass, keys, and backing vocals), and Scott Miller (drums).

Josh: Love that tight trio energy. Take us back—how did you guys meet, and what got you playing music together?

Chad: Kyler and I met when we were around six years old, after my family moved into his neighborhood. We quickly became best friends. Kyler’s dad introduced us to The Beatles and fueled our shared dream of being in an awesome band. We officially started playing music together in 2001 with a different drummer, but everything clicked in 2002 when we met Scott at a junior high talent show. He was performing a drum solo to “Tom Sawyer” by Rush and was clearly an incredible, technically gifted drummer from the very beginning.

Josh: That Rush cover origin story is gold—that's that kid getting into his dad's record collection energy. Do you remember playing your first show? Where was it at, and how did you guys snag the gig?

Chad: Our first show was at Suite 13 in Lindon, Utah, under the name The Roads. Music had always been a huge part of my life—my dad graduated from BYU with a music degree and was a jazz musician, and my older brother played in bands and skateboarded. He had a big influence on the music I listened to and the scene I was exposed to. Through him, I learned about Corey Fox, who was running venues in Provo before Velour existed, including Wrapsody and later Muse Music. At the time, Corey was operating Muse Music, located on the same block as what would eventually become Velour. We gave him a demo and landed our first show there in 2003. Corey played a huge role in teaching us how to promote shows and think creatively about stage presence and image.

Josh: Muse Music as the launchpad—feels like one of the cradles of that whole Utah indie wave. How did things progress in the scene from there?

Chad: Between 2002 and 2005, Muse Music became an incubator for many incredible indie bands and a central gathering place for musicians and artists in Provo. In January 2005, we released our first full-length, self-titled album at Muse Music. It was recorded live at the original June Audio, which at the time was just the house portion of the studio. June later moved, and more than a decade after that returned to the same location with a massive expansion, becoming one of the top studios in the state where many major artists now record. Between 2004 and 2008, Return to Sender became one of the most popular bands in the local scene. After years of considering different recording options, we decided to self-record our next album, The Grand Exposure, at home. We released it in 2008 on a small indie label called Five One Inc., based in California, which we were introduced to by our good friends Facing New York. The album release show took place at Velour in the summer of 2008. We had also played during Velour’s opening weekend back in 2006. Velour came to be after Corey Fox parted ways with the owners of Muse Music. He purchased the neighboring building—formerly Dragon’s Keep—did a massive remodel, and turned it into what is now one of the most well-known venues in Utah, celebrating 20 years this year.

Josh: The progression from Rush drum solos to Velour headliners is straight-up legendary—Corey Fox as the unsung architect of it all. Fast-forward: What motivated you guys to start playing together again now?

Chad: Corey recently asked if we’d be willing to play a show for Velour’s 20-year anniversary, which sparked conversations within the band about getting back together. After about a year of talking, we agreed to reunite for a show on Saturday, February 28th, featuring Return to Sender with The New Nervous and Another Statistic. Tickets are available at 24tix.com or through velourlive.com. The band originally broke up at the end of 2008. We reunited once before for our 10-year anniversary show in 2016, but it’s now been another decade since we last played together. Over the past few months, we’ve been talking about writing new music and sharing recording sessions—and we just might play a new song at the show.