AN OLD FRIEND ON THEIR ROOTS AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION –

Emo, indie-rock, progressive, alt-rock, even shoegaze – these are all words that have been used to describe Long Island, NY band An Old Friend. Their most recent release is “Flower Glass”, accompanied by a video shot by fellow creative Tom Flynn. VENTS Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing An Old Friend, which you can read below.

When did your musical journey begin? How has your style and sound evolved over time?

As a band we began our actual journey in 2012. Our sound was raw, full of emotion and unpolished at that time, but as the years went on, and some brief member changes later, our style and sound began to gel – still full of emotion, but more refined, and writing together is now second nature.

How have your Long Island roots shaped and influenced your music?

Growing up in an area where bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Glassjaw, Brand New, and As Tall As Lions come from, it’s easy to say where some of our early inspiration comes from. Long Island is know for its punk, pop-punk, and hardcore scenes.

How would you describe An Old Friend’s music? What genre does it categorize under, and what makes it stand out and unique compared to others?

It’s honestly hard to place a finger on what distinct genre we are, it all depends on where our heads are at collectively while writing, some songs can be heavy, some airy, light and ambient, while others math-y and complex. We have been labeled anywhere from emo, indie rock, progressive, alt-rock, and most recently with the release of “Flower Glass,” shoegaze?

What inspired “Flower Glass”? What concept is being described in the lyrics, and what meaning is built into the song as a whole? What was it like shooting the “Flower Glass” music video? What is going on in the video, and how did you successfully execute your creative vision for it?

“Flower Glass” draws inspiration from trying to convey a feeling through music. This is actually a song that we had on our back burner for a while and was written during a time where we drew inspiration from bands such as Explosions In The Sky, Pianos Become The Teeth, and From Indian Lakes. The lyrics are more or less open for interpretation to the listener but broadly convey how being human is – for lack of better words – complicated. Growing, hurting, learning, loving, grieving, failing, starting over, learning to feel, dealing with feeling too much but too little at the same time and so on, the motions we all go through that make us, us. Shooting the music video for “Flower Glass” was a fun one. Tom Flynn (director of “Flower Glass”) is such a creative, and deals with artists and bands on the daily where he’s put to the test to bring visual justice to the music. Our goal was to mess with lighting and dreamy effects to visually match the ambient vibe of the song, in which we think was a success.

What should fans and followers expect from An Old Friend next?

As cliche as it is to say, plenty of new music, and high hopes for hopping back on the live show train.