Albany, New York melodic rock outfit Restless Streets are on the verge of releasing their new EP, a collection of personal songs and a look into their everyday lives. Moments into listening to the band, it’s clear that they are an open book, and their new music – recently released, “In Vogue,” which touches on the challenges all musicians face in the music industry, and new single, “A Little More Us” – is a direct reflection of just that. With a big year ahead of them, including plans to hit the road this summer alongside the EP release, Restless Streets are more than ready to share their story.
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
Can you tell us a little bit about Restless Streets for any readers who might not be familiar?
We have been writing music together for ten years now. We’ve played shows all over the US. We grew up in Albany, New York and we still live here. We are all very loving people who feel very fortunate for this platform to spread our music to others.
How do you feel that your hometown of Albany has affected you as musicians and a band?
Albany is quite the melting pot. You can walk a couple blocks downtown and pass families cooking traditional food from their home countries. You’ll find families partying and dancing in their fenced in yard with their young kids playing in the hose by the sidewalk. There are a lot of small local businesses up and down central, and the side streets that offer international cuisine. We love trying new food, and we love people. I think Albany has been a great place to grow up and learn to love, and appreciate people’s differences.
You’ve mentioned before that the music you create together is an extension of your own personal lives and experiences – does this mean that no subject is off limits? Do you find writing about personal experience to be therapeutic in a sense?
If we experience something that has a profound impact in our lives, you will most likely find it in our music. When I sing, I want to truly sing from the soul. I want to feel like there is a reason to be in that venue with those people singing those words. I find that I feel most passionate about singing when I’m talking about a piece of my real life. Writing, and performing are both incredibly stress relieving, and meditative for us.
You guys are getting ready to release a new EP later this year! Were there any events in particular that inspired the songs on it?
Our EP is comprised of very emotional music that we spent a lot of time on. These songs contain the darkest, and the lightest pieces of our experiences throughout the last year. We wrote a lot about relationship, love, and heartbreak. We wrote about the roles people played in our lives, and how things like lies, addiction, sex, trust, and tragedy changed how we felt about those people.
Did you have any major goals in mind when working on the EP? Is there anything you’d like to be able to accomplish with it?
We wanted to write music that had a different flavor than any other band. We want people to get a certain exclusive feeling when they listen to a Restless record. I think we e created an emotional monopoly, and people will know who they are listening to within the first few seconds the song comes on. We wanted to bring back honest emo/pop/rock. We grew up listening to Saosin, Chiodos, Motion City Soundtrack, Taking Back Sunday. I think the raw, genuine feeling that those groups brought to us, and the scene really shine through in our new record.
You also just released your new single, “In Vogue”! Can you tell us about the track?
The music industry is very unforgiving, and every musician is faced with challenges along the way to success. This song is a condensed look through 3-year window of time in our lives. We have been through so much together as a band. As musicians, we felt very strongly about something we experienced, and we chose to write about it. Too many people bottle their emotions up and have trouble sticking up for themselves. We wrote this song to show people that it is okay to talk about your problems, and to never to be afraid or intimidated when voicing your opinion.
Could fans expect to hear any more new music in the coming weeks and months?
We have a ton of new content to share with our fans in the coming months. We are releasing our brand new music video for our single “A Little More Us” on March 16th. This song will be available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora. We are also dropping some very hip new merch items with this single.
With an EP dropping later this year, do you have any plans to hit the road as well?
We absolutely plan on hitting the road hard this spring/summer. We will be announcing our first run of cd release shows in the next couple of weeks. We cannot wait to see our friends across the country and play these new songs for everyone!
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We are excited to announce our new partnership with UAC Management. We have teamed up with Hristo Penchev, and Kevin Gruft of Escape The Fate to bring the Restless Streets brand to a new level. Keep your eyes peeled for our new music, and show announcements.
Follow us on Facebook/ twitter / instagram @restlessstreets @loganatrest @brandonjuan @laststarfalling @johnmalund @aaju92rs
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