The Nashville-based alt-rock band, reminiscent of other genre favorites such as COIN and Saint Motel, releases Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before on Oct. 16, 2020 and remind us that rock is thriving.
The album features standout tracks “July” and “Pleasure,” both of which were filmed in quarantine. With writing and production credits from the likes of Nick Furlong (All Time Low, Good Charlotte) and Brian Phillips (COIN, blink-182, Walk the Moon), Betcha’s sound is amplified and coming into its own.
“From the groovier pop/rock anthems to trippy psychedelic/stoned rock, we’ve been super intentional about making each song feel like us. It’s everything we’ve been working towards since our days jamming in college dorm rooms,” the band shared. “Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before is our first statement piece and sets the foundation for who Betcha is.”
The band is made up of Ben Booth (lead guitar), Taylor Dubray (bass, keys), Chase Wofford (drums) and Charlie Greene (vocals, guitar), who met during their college days at Belmont University. COLLiDE caught up with them ahead of Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before‘s release to ask a few questions.
How was it shooting the video for “July” while still in quarantine?
It was an experience for sure. We had originally planned to do it in an abandoned prison with tons of extras but obviously had to rethink everything after covid hit. We ended up doing pretty much all of the video from our house, and it all ended up working out for the best.
There was a wind storm that hit Nashville a few days before the shoot so we covered our entire 1st floor in leaves/branches to help bring the set to life. We’ve been doing all of our recent videos with our friend/director Joey Brodnax, so we were used to working with a small crew.
The “magic” from the video came from our friend Max Lennox who was a lightning director we’d met on tour with Kaleo a few years back. We had him bring his laser rig over and trigger it to the song. We honestly just kept following our instincts throughout the shoot and feel like we made one of our best videos ever.
Do you have any upcoming music videos fans should look out for? Would you shoot those in a way similar to the “July” video?
Yes! The “Pleasure” music video is out October 16th with the EP. We went out to Joshua Tree, CA and rented a house with Joey and shot the whole thing in the desert over the week. It’s a bit more playful than the “July” music video but we made sure to throw some lasers in there too.
How has the extended quarantine this year affected your creative process? Did it affect the outcome of Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before?
It’s had its ups and downs. We’ve definitely made tons and tons of music but I think we’re itching pretty hard to get back on tour. We actually started recording the EP with our producer just a few days before COVID hit the US and had to finish out a lot of the record from our basement, sending him tracks along the way.
You all met at Belmont and now it’s been a few years and you’ve been signed to Atlantic and are releasing your sophomore album. Has it felt like a fast transition? What kind of growth have you been through?
We’ve definitely grown so much since being signed. Our process back in college was pretty much just plugging in in our garage and jamming out/writing songs that way. Over the past two years, we’ve really worked hard at getting into production and writing. A lot of our favorite artists like The 1975, Tame Impala, and Phoenix work that way and we wanted to start exploring sounds outside of our regular instruments.
What are you most looking forward to in these last few months of 2020?
Definitely getting this record out, it’s been such a big part of our year recording this record and getting all the assets behind it ready. We’re working on putting together some type of virtual live concert to play the records all the way through so that’s where we’ll shift our focus for these last 3 months.
What’s your next big goal as a band?
We’d love to keep growing and expanding our reach. I think once touring comes back around we’d love to do a sold-out tour or be lucky enough to support an artist we love. We’re just having a blast creating music and living together as a band. As long as we can keep writing stuff that excites us I think the rest will work itself out.
Check out the videos for “July” and “Pleasure” below:
Stream Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before today:
