felicity
From my home state of Florida, we have the viral alt-pop-punk-metalcore band FELICITY!
The self-proclaimed "Craigslist Band" has been one of my most anticipated features for the blog. Not only are they repping Florida but they are one of the most badass bands coming out!
Felicity is made up of Damien Fagiolino (Vocals), Cory Nicholas (Guitar), Andrew "Drew" Rapier (Guitar), Mike "Red Beanie Bassist" Alosa (Bass), and Rashid Williams (Drums).
These guys are known for their kickass songs and wild antics! Their most recent release of "Charlie Sheen" where they called Charlie Sheen's management until they got the GOAT to listen to the song and give a comment as well as being known for "promoting their music guerilla-style at Target and Lowe’s Home Improvement (earning themselves an exile from the retailers)."
I had the honor and opportunity to work with Drew to get you all the electrifying details, including the band's anticipated tour starting March 22nd in Nashville, TN!
This five-member group found each other, mostly, on Craigslist, hence the self-proclamation. In a previous interview with Music Madness(LINK ARTICLE), Drew shared how originally he and Damien started playing together and forming the band in the summer of 2014, stating that "it was very tumultuous" as they struggled to find all the missing pieces of the band. For the most part, Damien, Cory, Mike, and Drew have lasted the test of time, with Rashid coming into the band just two years ago.
Another challenge they mention is finding their identity as a band. They describe themselves as a "band that loves to create music in diverse genres and styles" stating they all come from a "diverse musical background, and we just love to make music that is influenced by the music we grew up listening to whether we draw influences from Nirvana, Van Halen, Avenged Sevenfold, Limp Bizkit, Maneskin, A Day to Remember, Blink 182, Foo Fighters, Queen, My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, or Rage Against the Machine you never really know what you might get from us."
They go on to say how listeners "may discover us from a pop punk song and then the next song you might listen to might be a soft ballad or a metalcore song, and that may be offputting to some."
I can attest that I am here for ALL of it!
Music, in my opinion, shouldn't be one-dimensional. We are starting to see more musicians taking more risks and blending genres - it's invigorating to see and be a part of as a fan of frisson!
This five-man band surely has skin in the game and the pieces are sublimely coming together.
On the other hand, opening for The Used in their first-ever show in Los Angeles, playing the main stage of Vans Warped Tour in Orlando, working with Dan Marsala of Story Of The Year, their recent project "Charlie Sheen" with Point North, and going on tour now and opening for Between You & Me amongst the many already gnarly opportunities these guys have experienced detail some of the band's greatest accomplishments.
Their hopes are to one day work with Papa Roach, Silverstein, Beartooth, Hardy, A Day to Remember, Magnolia Park, Post Malone, and Nickelback to name a few.
Speaking of the upcoming tour ahead I asked Drew how the band was feeling about touring this time around, if they are hitting up any new or old stomping grounds, and what have been some of their favorite shows they have performed, here's what he had to say about it:
Drew
We’re so excited!!! We’re playing some markets we’ve NEVER played before (Cleveland, Richmond, Charlotte) and returning to some of our favorites (Nashville and Atlanta) plus, our final date of the tour is a hometown show in Orlando.
One of our favorite shows we’ve played was last year when we were able to return to Atlanta for our first time in almost 5 years to do a live performance at Emo Nite LA, and we were BLOWN AWAY with how much love and support we had in that city after all these years.
We can’t wait to see how some of these other dates turn out!
…
Having fans globally and over one million Spotify streams alone, if you are still not convinced you need to number one check out the music followed by purchasing your ticket to a nearby show let's get into the music itself.
Attacking each song differently throughout the years they have broken it down to a science. Recently they have been working with producer Andrew Wade approaching the songs with a "blueprint."
They look to songs that have moved or resonated with them significantly and break down the blueprint of the song by "analyz[ing] the tempo, the song structure, the riffs, the song length, the energy, and everything about it. We would use that template and start laying the foundation and build our own song using that template. We’ll then add lyrics and melodies to make the song fit the message we’re trying to get across."
From Felicity's song creations to marketing strategies, they are rapidly launching into the next phase of their musical career!
Since their latest album released in 2021, Dear Universe, they have been working nonstop and it shows. They still have a bunch of unreleased music, safely ensuring "a new FELICITY song every few weeks until we take over the world."
To wrap things up, I asked the group what is something they’d like to share with new and established fans:
Thank you for all your love and support over the years! We are expecting 2024 to be the busiest year of FELICITY’s history with new music, shows in new cities, and maybe even new countries! Be sure to follow us on all socials @wearefelicity and join the official DISCORD server so you can be part of the FELICITY family!
To FELICITY, Thank you for taking part in the blog and sharing all that you have - Drew, thank you for working with me to get this going! Soooo fckn psyched to see you guys live and sending you all the best vibes for the ultimate tour ahead and with more tours to come after!
