Andrew Goldstein, The Friday Night Boys go “Off The Deep End”
Summer equals good times and Fairfax, Virginia pop-rockers The Friday Night Boys are making sure that anyone who comes out to one of their shows will have good times aplenty.
Singer/guitarist Andrew Goldstein took a break from talking with fans and hanging out with the likes of Hey Monday to talk with Guerrilla Radio about touring and his band’s new record Off The Deep End.
Guerilla Radio: How has the tour been going so far?
Andrew Goldstein: So far it’s been incredible. All of the tour dates have been great. The bands we’re on tour with are awesome. We’re actually all hanging out tonight, Hey Monday, This Providence, Stereo Skyline, The Bigger Lights.
GR: Sounds like fun. Are you looking forward to touring with Cobra Starship in August?
AG: Yeah, we’re all hyped. It’s going to be one of the biggest tours we’ve been on before. We had a chance to meet Cobra Starship at a show in New York and they all seemed really cool, so we’re really excited to go on that one.
GR: Do you get any time off between this tour and that tour?
AG: We have about five days off so we’re probably going to go home, relax for a day or two and then have band practice. We’re incorporating some new songs from our new album into our set for that tour.
GR: Off The Deep End has been out for a month now. Are you playing a lot of the new songs live?
AG: Right now we’re doing six songs in our set. Three songs from our EP and three songs from the full-length. On the next tour we’re going to probably be doing four songs from the new CD and three songs from our previous EP.
GR: How are the fans responding?
AG: Great, we’re actually getting a better crowd response from the new songs rather than the old songs. They do know the old songs, so they still get hyped for those songs, but the new songs have a really good energy and I feel like the crowd and the fans can really connect with them when we play them live.
GR: What are your favorite songs to play live?
AG: My favorites are probably “Permanent Heartbreak,” which is the first song off of our new CD. We usually open with that. And then “Suicide Sunday,” which is the third track on our CD.
GR: There’s quite a “buzz” surrounding your band right now. Do you feel any pressure from that?
AG: I definitely feel that “buzz,” it’s a really cool feeling. People are talking about us and it’s really cool. We’re definitely feeling it on the tour. A lot more kids are coming out to the shows. We’ve only started touring in January and I feel like since then we’ve gained a lot more fans just from the tours we’ve been on as well as the buzz from other bands and from our label [Fueled By Ramen] helping us out too.
GR: How do other bands help you out?
AG: All Time Low has plugged us a lot. We’re really good friends with them so they’ve been helping us. And then the bands we’re on tour with have helped us, plugging us and taking us out with them. Hey Monday was really cool to take us out on this tour and Cobra Starship was really nice to take us out. Those guys are really supporting us.
GR: How have things changed for you in the last year?
AG: I think that from touring full time we’ve gotten a lot closer as a band. We’re more tightly knit, especially with our live show. We’ve stepped it up a lot from where we used to be. Our interaction with fans has gotten a lot better. We go out during the show and after the show and talk to all the fans outside. Some nights we’ll play acoustic for them after the show if maybe there was a song that we didn’t play in the set that they wanted to hear, or they just wanted to hear another song again. It’s just a good way to connect with them and actually talk with them rather than just take pictures and sign autographs. You reach them on a more personal level. It’s really cool for us and I feel like it’s cooler for them as well.
GR: How do you describe your live show?
AG: It’s just very high energy. We’re out here to have fun and to make people happy. We just try to get the fans to follow as close as possible with singing along and clapping. We just like to have a good time, joke around and have some fun. Everyone comes to the show to have fun. If I can write a song that people can connect to – if it’s the beat or the lyrics or whatever – it’s just a very inspiring feeling to have people relate to your songs.
GR: Any gear that you are nerding out on right now?
AG: I’m actually really happy, I just got a new [Gibson] Les Paul Custom blue sparkle guitar that I’ve wanted for a while and I finally saved up enough to get it. I play out of a Soldano Avenger head, and Mike [Toohey, guitarist] plays out of an Orange 80 30 head. I feel like it’s a really good combination because his is more of a vintage sound and mine is a new school kind of sound. I feel like the guitars really bring the set together.
GR: Anything else?
AG: We just had a great time making our album. We recorded it out in LA and we just had a blast recording it and writing the songs and I hope everyone can feel the same energy we felt when we were making the CD.
See Friday Night Boys when they come to your town!
Jul 23 2009 The Door Dallas, TX
Jul 24 2009 Best Buy - IN-STORE Spring, TX
Jul 24 2009 Java Jazz Houston, TX
Aug 3 2009 SOLD OUT: The Basement Columbus, OH
Aug 4 2009 Stage Door Madison, WI
Aug 5 2009 SOLD OUT: Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN
Aug 6 2009 Bottle Neck Lawrence, KS
Aug 7 2009 The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, CO
Aug 10 2009 Chain Reaction Anaheim, California
Aug 11 2009 SOLD OUT: Troubadour Hollywood, CA
Aug 12 2009 Club Congress Tucson, AZ
Aug 14 2009 SOLD OUT: Emo’s Austin, TX
Aug 15 2009 White Rabbit San Antonio, TX
Aug 16 2009 SOLD OUT: House Of Blues Dallas, TX
Aug 18 2009 The Rutledge Nashville, TN
Aug 19 2009 Vinyl Atlanta, GA
Aug 21 2009 Respectable Street West Palm Beach, FL
Aug 22 2009 The Social Orlando, FL
Aug 23 2009 The Casbah Charlotte, NC
Aug 25 2009 Canal Club Richmond, VA
Aug 26 2009 SOLD OUT: Rock And Roll Hotel Washington, DC
Aug 27 2009 SOLD OUT: Crazy Donkey Farmingdale, NY
Aug 28 2009 SOLD OUT: Webster Underground Hartford, CT
Aug 31 2009 Club Hell
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