We’ve been writing about An Old Friend for a while now – since 2018 in fact – so in a lot of ways they’re old friends of ours here at Essentially Pop. In all that time however, we’ve not managed to speak to the Long Island band…until now.
We really like your sound, and your band name! It feels really warm and comforting. How did you come upon naming yourselves An Old Friend?
We really wish we came about the name in a deep profound way, yet, we threw a bunch of names in a hat and picked one by one until we came up with An Old Friend. Stuck with us since.
You’ve grown up together, do you consider yourselves family as much as “old friends”?
I see what you did there! We all actually met outside of high school, it’s been quite a bit playing together so we all absolutely consider each other as family.
Do you feel your closeness influences your music, and if so, in what way?
Absolutely, chemistry is everything, sometimes we could go weeks without rehearsing/writing, but when we get back to it, it’s like we never missed a beat.
Your latest single ‘Native Gardens’ is a deeply self-reflective track. What dreams have you had that have come and gone?
We like to think most of our music is self-reflective; sometimes that’s the only real thing to write about.
Describe your songwriting process for us.
It’s very simple; someone usually brings a riff or an idea to the table, then we all branch off of that until it blooms into a song.
Do you have any particular make of instrument that you favour, and if so, why?
Guitars are Fender, bass is Ibanez, drums are Yamaha; these have been our makes for a while now, and they seem to do the trick.
What advice do you have for anyone who’s just starting out in the music business? What have you learned that you feel you can share?
Keep writing, record everything, and reflect a lot, overthink but don’t overthink your music, be true to how you feel and what you enjoy playing/writing.
What’s next for An Old Friend? What can fans expect?
We have a ton of music on ice – we are working out logistics for our next studio sessions. New music will follow!
Finally, what question do you wish someone would ask you in an interview, but nobody ever does? And what’s the answer to that question?
Maybe, what’s the hardest struggle about being in a band? Sometimes communication is crucial; if it lacks ever so slightly, it could throw the entire flow of the band’s progress off, or if one person isn’t completely honest about a direction of a song, a part, etc., it could cause friction when it’s finished/recorded.
Watch the music video for ‘Native Gardens’ below, and find out more about An Old Friend and their music online on their official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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