INTERVIEW: Early Eyes
JANUARY 10TH, 2023 | BY SAMANTHA CARR
There are a lot of ways to stand out in the music industry. For Early Eyes, it is the refreshingly humble attitude and friendliness towards fans and fellow musicians that garners such attention. On January 10th of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with the band before their first show of their first “big boy tour” to talk about pre-show jitters, excitement towards their newest album “Look Alive”, and general musical conversation.
Originally hailing from Minnesota, these (now) ex-college students met during their time at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. After a spot became open at a local arts festival, vocalist, keys, and guitar player Jake Berglove brought together his friends to rehearse and play covers of some songs they enjoyed. From there, they went on to release 4 EPs before completing their first album “Look Alive” in 2022.
The general basis of their newest album was based off of the anger and total chaos that was the year 2020. “I think if the year 2020 did not affect you as an artist in some way you are doing it wrong.” says lead vocalist Jake. I then asked the band if they feared playing songs with such heavy and emotional personal meaning would lose their message over time and the course of their tour. “Hm. That’s an interesting point.” said Jake Berglove. “These songs are extremely special to me in a way that's different from music we’ve made in the past. They come from a place of us connecting from under the chaos of the world that makes me stoked to play about still.” Guitarist Joe Villano mentions that in order to keep their emotional health regulated they change up their set lists frequently. “Sometimes you just want to party!” Joe jokes, meaning they prefer to stay with more upbeat songs at certain shows.
Interestingly, Early Eyes features 4 different supporting acts throughout the course of their tour, each of whom I asked about. “They are all friends of ours in the business which we are super fortunate to have. We love all their music.” John O’Brien states. I was fortunate enough to witness the force that is Anita Velveeta for their show at the RecordBar. Adorably, each member of Early Eyes came up to support and watch her play. Her funky, playful sound helped hype the crowd up for the headliner immensely, and undoubtedly put herself off the radar for many people in attendance that night- myself included!
During the last part of our chat, I asked about any routines or things they do to mentally or physically prepare for a show. “Try not to think about it, honestly.” responded drummer Sam Mathys. There was a large amount of nodding and laughter that ensued after, perhaps due to shock of being able to perform as a headlining show instead of as an opener as the band mentioned they were used to. “They are treating us so well here, we have our own green room and everything!” says guitar player and vocalist John O’Brien. Having a futon to sit on and bottled water delivered to you in a shady basement is surely the key to every aspiring artists heart. It’s a tough business!