Photo by: Chris Hughes
“Strap me in for another ride. This rollercoaster life sounds like paradise.”
Friday Giants is back with a brand new ep, debuting their new lineup and new sound. Something Worth Saving released today on all streaming platforms with five new tracks strong enough to all stand on their own.
From playing Bunbury Festival and Vans Warped Tour to losing vocalist, Gavin Bonar, just shortly before studio time, this past year has been quite the rollercoaster for the Cincinnati-based band. With this new ep, Zac Taylor steps out from behind the bass into lead vocals. With the new arrangement, the guys headed out to Always Be Genius Recording Studio where Real Friends, Knucklepuck, The Devil Wears Prada, and more have all recorded.
Through the ups, the downs, and the in betweens, Zac, Chuck, and Logan pulled through. Putting their blood, sweat, tears, and talent to create the most authentic piece of work. You feel every emotion, every guitar riff. This is it. This is their voice. This is their sound. and it's BAD ASS.
Read what Zac had to say about the new direction of the band and the inspiration behind Something Worth Saving below and hear the EP live at Bogart’s on June 15th. Get tickets here.
How would you describe the new direction of the band?
Focused. The falling-out at the end of our 2018 run was strangely the best thing that could have happened to the band. Last year was a clear sign that this had become more than a hobby, and that this group was capable of the things we've been dreaming about as kids. When things jumped to that level, It became very clear who was serious about this and whose priorities were elsewhere, and that's a tricky thing about being in a serious band. If you are not 100% in, you're dragging everyone down with you and that's just not fair to the ones putting everything on the line. We took a look around the table at the last ones standing and Chuck, Logan and myself knew that we were far from done with this. We had a guitarist, bassist, drummer, lyricist, and vocalist just between the three of us and we thought to ourselves "What the hell are we freaking out about? We've got everything we need to write this record!". From that point forward we looked at the demos we were writing and we all noticed a consistency in the sound that wasn't there before. Focus. An actual identity. It's still very much Friday Giants, just in its most concentrated form. No artificial flavors or sweeteners.
Where did you find the inspiration behind the EP?
I think the title says it all. We felt this was something we couldn't let die, it was Something Worth Saving. This band has endured so much since its founding back in 2013. From day one, Chuck has been behind the boards shaping this band into what he knew it could be. I think it's kind of funny that we've gotten so much harsh feedback from people that think we should just put a bullet in this thing. A former member actually used those words at one point, just before he left.
It's nearly impossible to find a band that got it right the first time. Change is necessary for growth, and it breeds strength and persistence (zing!). If the dice don't match, you keep what's working and roll again and before you know it, Yahtzee! It is important to know that I am not sorry about that metaphor, in fact I feel like we should rename this EP now. Can we do that without getting sued?
I think the title says it all. We felt this was something we couldn't let die, it was Something Worth Saving.
Did any particular artists inspire the sound or writing style of the new EP?
There are so many of our favorite bands that were even included in some of the demo names. The song "Something Worth Saving" was originally titled "Paraunderstein" in the studio. And yes, that would be Paramore, Underoath and Silverstein smashed together and if you listen closely I think you'll be able to hear the influences in that track. However, there is definitely one band we are all completely obsessed with that just skyrocketed to the top in the last couple years. That band is Beartooth. Disease hit the charts right when everything was falling apart last year and Logan, Chuck and I clung to it as a guiding light. The perfect recipe of mainstream rock and balls to the wall heavy metal. Something this band has been trying to do for years. For me in particular, Caleb Shomo as an individual, is someone I feel that I can relate to. Here we have a guy that sat in the background for years only playing an instrument and when the going got tough, he stepped up took his place behind the mic to get shit done. Not because he wanted to, and certainly not because he knew he could, but because someone had to. It was there that he saw what he was capable of and where he found the confidence and the will power to do something he never thought he could pull off. That was me with this release. We won't quit until our name is on their tour lineup, and we won't even stop there. We are hungry, and that's what it takes.