By Jen Thuy-Tien
Contributing Writer
Staff Page
Amely, a rock band from Orlando, Florida, signed onto Fearless Records last January. The band is composed of vocalist Petie Pizarro, drummer Nate Parsell, bass player Patrick Ridgen and guitarist Brandon Walden. Amely was first a studio project begun by Pizarro. The project turned into something more after the additions of Parsell, Ridgen and Walden. Amely released their debut EP, Hello World, this month.
This month, Amely released their debut EP, Hello World. How long did it take for you guys to complete the album?
It took a long time. We started last January. We went to a studio and recorded for two and a half weeks in Atlanta. We tried out different producers in March. Then we flew over to L.A. to finish the second half of the EP.
For people who have not listened to the EP Hello World, what can they expect?
A long EP. There’s eight songs. We tried to give people as much material as we could for an EP. They can expect variety, something for everybody.
I’ve listened to the EP. Are all these songs from real life experiences?
I write all the lyrics and they are life experiences from my perspective. Hello World is more general and not as personal.
The song Have You Ever Known is a song that I think most people can relate to. The song is about trying to gather the courage to tell a person you care about him or her a lot, right?
Yeah. In specifically, it related to me. It’s kind of a falling in love [with someone] from a distance and not knowing the person exactly but wishing they kind of noticed you.
Did the person eventually notice you?
Not really, but that was a long time ago.
What is the song Hello World about?
The song is about us, as a group, finding our purpose but the lyrics can be taken in different ways.
Why did Amely choose Hello World as the debut single?
The label [Fearless Records] thought Sing to You was going to be the single. They liked Hello World but they weren’t sure how people would react to it. They thought it was going to be one of those tracks that musicians would appreciate but actually, the fans caught onto that song a lot. So the band was hoping for that one to be out.
What is your favorite track from the album and why?
My favorite track from recording the EP didn’t even make it onto the EP but it may be featured on another EP in the future. Hello World is my favorite because it’s a song that we went into the studio and had no clue what we were going to do with it. The producer told us to rewrite the chorus. We took it into a power rock ballad direction.
For those who don’t know, Amely is a rock band from Orlando, Florida. Are all the members from Orlando?
Actually, none of us are. Orlando was just where we all collided. I’m from south Florida, moved to Orlando for college. I’ve only been in Orlando for two years. Brandon is from Massachusetts. Nate is from Ohio. Patrick is from North Carolina. Brandon moved down here because of his job. Nate came to Orlando to go to school for about a year. Patrick drove to Orlando from North Carolina to try out for the band.
When exactly did Amely become a band?
Amely’s band debut was in March of 2009.
Amely signed with Fearless records in last January. How did the band get signed so quickly?
We were buzzing around on the Internet, selling our music through iTunes. A few labels were interested but nobody wants to sign you until you get road experience and see how your band is. We toured for nine months until we got signed [with Fearless Records]. We booked ourselves and played with a lot of bands.
Petie, you were in another band while you were writing songs for Amely, which was a studio project at the time, right?
I had a band for 4 years. That band ended and I started writing my own songs [for Amely] and my dad gave me a loan to record the songs in a studio. I was playing all the instrumentals on the songs. I wanted more complicated drumming so I asked Nate, who was from the old band, to be the drummer.
How did bass player Patrick Ridgen and guitarist Brandon Walden come into Amely?
We were looking for somebody who could sing and play bass. We looked online and talked to friends. A friend knew Patrick and he drove to Orlando to try out for the band. Brandon moved to Orlando and he was playing with a bunch of different bands and he went to my old band’s last show ever. He introduced himself and became good friends with my brother. When we were looking for a guitarist my brother said, “What about Brandon?”
Amely's debut EP Hello World was produced by Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount and Mike Green. How was it working with these producers?
It was awesome. It was the first time we got to work with people who have done a lot of bigger projects: Cartel, Paramore and Mayday Parade.
What artists/bands have influenced the band musically?
Jimmy Eat World, All-American Rejects and early on, there was Boys Like Girls influence. But we listen to everything from Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus to Aerosmith.
What artists/bands influence you musically?
Lately, I’ve been heavily influenced by The Script as well as Neon Trees and the new Train album, which is really great.
What is Amely doing now?
We just released the EP and we’re going on a one-week tour in October to promote it and touring for a year, all next year. Make sure to check our Facebook and MySpace page for upcoming tour dates.
Petie, thanks for taking the time out for this interview. I wish Amely the best of luck.
Thank you so much.
The EP Hello World features eight tracks and is a blast of pop-rock, for the most part, love songs. If you like Mayday Parade, Jimmy Eat World and All-American Rejects, you should lend an ear to Amely.
Here are some of my favorites from Hello World.
Now or Never is the first track on the EP, which is an upbeat, flirty song that has an extremely catchy chorus. You can definitely dance to this one! It’s about the decision to reject or accept the return of somebody from the past. In the end, you leave the past in the past.
The fifth track Come Back to Me is a heart-breaking song that is about being haunted by the ghost of somebody who you fell in love with and begging for them to return to you. The song features great vocals by Pizarro and instrumentals by Parsell, Ridgen and Walden.
Have You Ever Known is the EP's seventh track that you can belt out to. If you have ever been infatuated with somebody from a distance and wanted to get their attention but never knew how, this is the perfect song for you.
Hello World is the last track on the EP. It’s a solid single and well-introduces Amely to the music world.