Old Friends - PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the alternative rock band, Old Friends, reveals what they do before taking the stage. You can check out the rituals below:

So, It’s show day. You’ve been waiting a week, a month, whatever. And the day is finally here. You're going to see some sick bands, and you're starting to wonder- “what are they doing right now?” Well, I’ll tell you. Everybody does different shit. Our band, ‘Old Friends’ is no different. There are three of us, so while we all have a bit of superstition, a bit of ritual, we are not really all that different.

When you know you're going to be exposing yourself, like a nerve, for everyone to see, it can be rough on the psyche. We usually talk the day before and set up a time to meet at the practice space to load everything up. Remember- a band is a family, and teamwork makes the dream work. From there we go on to live out our normal regular lives, until the next day. You know how I said we aren’t really that different? Bullshit. I lied. Kinda. So Matt gets crazy manic. Like an actor trying desperately to remember the lines to a King Lear-esque monologue that the whole show hinges on. Rob tends to transform into some kind of anxious monster. He really just wants to be left alone. Kind of like the scene in ‘Walk The Line’, that Johnny Cash Biopic. Tom is the Misnomer. He is the Consummate professional, always just chilled out. There are a few rules that each of us try to either abide by, or completely ignore. Like Matt is very conscious of his voice, So he refuses anything dairy or juice related for up to 24 hours before a show. Messes with the vocal cords. Rob, on the other hand, doesn't give two shits, and will go up there and kill it night after night, even if he’d just had an ice cream bar. Tom honestly just wants some pot.

We all have a drink before we go on stage, Matt Likes a nice whiskey, Rob a Guinness and a cigarette, and Tom will just have a beer. Before we play, we often meet by the drum kit, and tell each other we love each other. It tends to give us that moment- you know, the moment where you achieve absolute clarity on what you're about to do. And then, we walk up to the microphones as Tom starts the opening beat to ‘Shotgunned’. Hands go up, prompting you to clap along. And all of a sudden, you begin to understand something. In that exact moment, you, us, everyone in that venue. We all became Old Friends.

Keep up with Old Friends on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, and Bandcamp.