lauren stern speaks with one of the Garden State’s hottest bands …
Brick, N.J.’s Set It Free has only been together for a year, but in that year they have achieved so much. They already recorded an album last year and are set to release a new one this Spring. In December, they opened up for Saves the Day and Senses Fail and are set to open for Trapt this April. They were featured in Aquarian Weekly. They have more than a thousand likes on Facebook and their fan base continues to grow every day. The list of triumphs goes on and on.
If you heard their music, you would understand why in only a year Set It Free has been so successful. Their music draws elements from indie rock and pop punk, sounding similar to acts like Four Year Strong and New Found Glory. Though the band is just starting to make a name for themselves, their energetic rock melodies and positive attitudes will eventually help their music blow up into something bigger.
I spoke to Set it Free’s guitarist Mike Gurnari about their new album, their show with Saves The Day and Senses Fail this past December, and their 2012 touring plans.
Pop-Break: I said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m really digging your music. I’m looking forward to the new record. When’s it set to release?
Mike Gurnari: We don’t have a specific date just yet, but it’s probably going to be released sometime in May or June.
PB: What can people expect when they listen to your new album?
MG: The new album is somewhat of the same idea as the first one — it’s just better written songs that are more to the point. It’s a little more in depth and we did a lot more production with this record. There is just better songwriting, and with the production we did a lot more layers — like, you’ll hear a lot more strings, piano, and a lot more guitar going on.
PB: Something that I’ve noticed is that you guys just started out last year and you have developed such a large fanbase and it’s continuing to grow each and every day. Was that something you expected when you got together?
MG: Not with this band — this band started strictly just for fun. This was the first time since we’ve all played music in a while, some of us since we were younger, like at around 12 years old. All of us were going through a drought, and when we got we got together for the first time and we played and we thought it was so much fun. We went into it not worrying about this or that and thought, “We’ll see what happens.”
PB: Who are some of your biggest influences?
MG: I really like Saves The Day, New Found Glory, Foo Fighters, and Nirvana. I think those bands are some of the band’s biggest influences too.
PB: I heard you guys shared the stage with Saves The Day and Senses Fail in December. What was it like sharing the stage with these bands?
MG: It was very very surreal at least for me. I cant count the amount of times I’ve seen Saves The Day. They are pretty much my favorite band. I couldn’t really wrap my head around it until the day it happened. They are super nice guys, and they were amazing live. It was an honor to play with them.
PB: If you could have one artist play a show with you band, who would it be?
MG: Foo Fighters.
PB: I saw that you have a cool show coming up in April. Can you give us details about it?
MG: We are playing with Trapt from California. I’ve known those guys for several years now, and right before Trapt blew up, we played a show with them at The Saint in Asbury Park. After the show, we kept in touch. We’re working on our new record with Pete from Trapt actually right now. They were doing this stream of shows, and they contacted our manager because they were coming through and needed to add a band so it worked out.
PB: Are there any other cool touring plans for this upcoming year?
MG: After the record release, we are going to hit the road with our friends Breathing Blue. They are releasing a record around the same time around we are. Hopefully, something else might pop up, but for right now we are are set to play with them.
