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Imagine leaving your job, joining a band that writes and produces their own songs and you get to live and tour all around the country with five of your best friends? Up and coming band Family Of The Year did just that. Brent Freaney, Joseph Keefe, Vanessa Jeanne Long, Sebastian Keefe, Jamesy Buckey, Christina Schroeter all came together to make their dream a reality. Family Of The Year’s debut album Songbook is a manual for American activities like exploring the country on a road trip, camping in a national park or drinking with friends on a rooftop on a starry summer night. You can download the album for any price on their website. TNG Chicago Editor Adam got to interview Family Of The Year’s guitarist Brent Freaney on being the gay member of the band, living with six people and how the band was formed. Below is the band’s song “Surprise”.

TNG: What is that like, going on tour and living with six people all at once?

Brent Freaney: It’s pretty funny because we all live in one house. The thing about the house is that we’re rebuilding it from the inside out because it hadn’t been lived in for a long time so we got a good deal on it. There’s enough room for all of us but the parts that are livable aren’t that large so we’re all in one concentrated area. But its all fun because they’re all my best friends but it gets a little annoying sometimes because I’m the only one who doesn’t drive so I’m stuck with at least one other person the whole time. And it helps too because someone’s always working on their parts and practicing so you can jump in on this 24 hour practice session.

TNG: Awesome. So where are you guys all from?

BF: Los Angelos but the band was formed in Silver Lake.

TNG: How did the band get started? How did you guys come up with the idea to start a band with six people?

BF: Well Vanessa (Jeanne) and Joe (Keefe), who are the two main singers of the band met a year and a half ago. They were just hanging out and Joe was just coming off another band that had just broken up. While they were hanging out they started writing songs and recording them to each other with no real intention of playing the songs in public. It’s cool because they were just getting to know each other in their relationship through the songs they were writing. About a year later they asked Sebastian (Keefe) the drummer to join when they decided they wanted to put it together, and a few weeks Jamesy (Buckey) the guitarist joined, then Christina (Schroeter) and I was the last member to join a couple of weeks after that. So it was kinda of like this thing were we want to have fun, and hang with our friends so we might as well figure out parts for all of us to play and be together and be a part of this thing that Vanessa and Joe started.

TNG: That’s crazy.

BF: It is but it’s a lot of fun. For the first two months, we were practicing everyday at all hours of the night. We’d get to the practice phase at like 10pm and wouldn’t leave till 4 or 5 in the morning and do it all again the next night. It was pretty brutal but when you’re doing something you really like to do it doesn’t feel like work.

TNG: I love the album, by the way.

BF: Thank you very much. I’m glad that you like it. We’ve been getting good reception from everyone. It’s cool because we’ve had these songs on our computer for about 7 or 8 months now and to put them out in a forum where a lot of people can listen to them is cool so we can hear their feedback on songs that we may have put on the back burner. So what’s your favorite song on the album?

TNG: “Intervention (Staple Jeans).” I’m not even kidding when I say I’ve listened to that song multiple times a day for the past 2 weeks.

BF: It’s awesome that you said that song. I feel like there are so many love songs out there. And while I love those songs, its cool to have song literally about a pair of jeans. Its one of my favorite too.

TNG: So how do you guys go about writing songs? Is there a certain process?

BF: Well all of the songs that are on the record Joe and Vanessa already wrote. Joe would write the music and Vanessa would write the lyrics so it’s definitely a collaborative effort between those two. Since we been back from touring, we been writing one song a night together. The way it starts is that Joe or Jamesy will usually throw down a drumbeat or some chords that sound good and we’ll all put together the lyrics as we’re recording them. When you write a song and you’re trying to make it something, and you write lyrics and think about them over and over again, it becomes over saturated in your head. So the lyrics are made bit by bit. Obviously there is some tweaking. But its usually about whatever’s going on. The other day we wrote a song about Vanessa selling me her eggs. So its usually music then lyrics.

TNG: Does it ever get to be too much with 6 people?

BF: For Christina, Vanessa and I, this is our first band. Joe, Jamesy and Seb who have been in bands before and been in bands together. Speaking for myself, its pretty awesome to have 5 other people to lean on when someone is going through a rough time and when its good, its great. So there’s no one else I’d rather be in a band with.

TNG: Most of the songs don’t have gender specific lyrics but do you ever want to have a song that tells your feelings towards a guy or do you feel that all the lyrics are universal and it works anyway?

BF: What I think that’s cool about all the songs about falling in love or being with somebody, is that their all genderless right now and it helps that we have the male female vocals for the whole thing. There are no real pronouns used like he or she really. So I feel like its something everyone can listen to and be a part of.

TNG: Who are some of your inspirations in music?

BF: I had a weird childhood. My parents are from the south and my dad was in the military, so I had this really strict Dad and my Mom was this southern person who is literally the coolest person I know in my life so I drew my musical tastes from what they listened to. My Dad always listened to Tom Petty and my Mom really liked Dolly Parton and country music, so I liked it too but for a long time I was really embarrassed about. But as I got older I started to get into other genres like subculture. And when I went to college, art started to inspire me.

TNG: Have you met a lot of your fans on the road and are you surprised at the different types of fans?

BF: It’s cool because when we started going on tour I was stoked to find anyone liked the record at all. It’s really cool because we have fans that are like 16, 17 and also fans that are 40, 45. It is not only female or male but an all-compassing thing. I’ve met a lot of straight couples that like the music as well as gay people so its great to be a part of something that everyone likes.

TNG: Are you currently single?

BF: I am, I am. And accepting dates. (Laughs).

TNG: Have you met many fans that aren’t afraid to show their attraction to you?

BF: I have but I am oblivious to everything but I never know when I’m wrong and sometimes I may think some dude is into me and I could be totally wrong. It’s kind of a downfall but when I’m in a relationship, I tend to base my life around that relationship and other person. It’s a good thing because you’re really stoked to be in this relationship and you want to hang out with them all the time. But when I’m not in a relationship, I’m usually wondering when am I going to find another dude. But as I was talking about this with Vanessa the other night, it’s like the band is my boyfriend right now. I feel great about being able to focus all my attention and energy on this and not have to focus on a guy. Going on the road of course you meet people but I’m a pretty shy guy so I never really know how to connect. Sometimes I’ll be talking to a guy and there will be a bit of flirting going on and then he’ll say have you met my girlfriend then I’m disappointed.

TNG: But that’s endearing to be shy in person but to open yourself up on stage. Some people find that attractive.

BF: I hope its endearing. Well maybe it can land me more dates. (Laughs).

TNG: (Laughs) Probably. What are some of your favorite cities to tour in?

BF: Boston was a lot of fun, Dallas, Omaha, a lot of the south was a lot of fun. I grew up in the south so I’ve been around a lot of these places before but being older, you see these places in a new light. And actually Kent State in Ohio was amazing. I had so much fun.

TNG: Are you guys starting to write and produce a new album?

BF: Well the cool thing about the album that just came out is that it has 15 songs on it. We still have about 45 songs recorded because we record right out of our house so we have so many songs that we are reworking, rearranging, and working on the instrumentation. Since there are 6 people in the band, there is a plethora of instruments that can be played. Since we’ve been off tour we’ve been trying to write one new song every night. Obviously not all of them will make the record but its cool to see where you came from (musically). We keep writing new ones to get the “Family Of The Year” sound. I think we’re gonna try to release a 5 song EP in the next couple months as well as another record in the next year. We record everything in our house and we produce and release the album ourselves so we can release everything a lot quicker. It’s easier to do it ourselves instead of on a label. It’s also more freeing.

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