Check out our great new interview with Ostrich Run about their new single, “Everyone Pretends”.
Why did you select this song as your current single?
Everyone Pretends is the song that brought us all together. Joel brought the song to the table and Mark liked it so much that it made him want to start writing with Joel. Because of the song’s ability to bring Mark and Joel together it only made sense to have Everyone Pretends be the public’s first impression of Ostrich Run.
How does this single relate to the rest of the EP?
Everyone Pretends, Steel, and Time Helps are all about a relationship that I (Joel) had with the girlfriend that I grew up with. Boundaries’ lyrics were written to inspire myself to overcome the boundaries I set in my life and to stop pretending that those boundaries are not hindering me.
What was the writing process for this song?
The song was completed on the acoustic guitar, and I had always envisioned a quartet being the driving force throughout. The sound engineer on the project, Kerie Roark, helped me put together a rough draft, which had programmed strings and drums. While delivering pizzas to earn some cash, I listened to it again and again. Over the course of about 3 months, I had composed what the song is today and took it to Mark who added his own flavor to the lead guitar.
What do the lyrics mean to you?
The lyrics represent my huge tendency to bottle things up and not deal with what’s bothering me. A lot of times it’s easier for me to act like everything is ok. But in the end, I’ve found it just makes things build up and get worse. I think this song really captures my struggle to be brave and face a tough situation.
What is it like to see you in person performing this song?
I always get pumped up when I know Everyone Pretends is the next song we are going to play. It just has so much energy live and that energy definitely surges throughout the audience. Our violinist, Jonathan Lewis, goes crazy, and if you’re ever in the audience be looking for his famous “duck face”. And trust me, you’ll know what that is when you see it!
Could your fans summarize who you are as an artist by this song?
Yes, I would say so. I’m very transparent as an artist, and what I write is what I feel. Everyone Pretends is a great example of that transparency.
What was the idea/inspiration behind the video?
We already knew what the song made us think and how it made us feel. Our curiosity for what the song made other people think and feel is the reason we wanted to make the video. So we thought it would be interesting to give another artist – one who makes art by means other than music – to illustrate an interpretation of the song.
One last question, what is your motivation behind your music?
My motivation behind my music is the comfort I get from expressing the things that I bottle up inside that wouldn’t be expressed otherwise. Whether it be bad or good, It’s such a relief to let things out through music. Whenever I listen to a song from someone else that hits home, it always has the same relieving effect. Another motivation is to make songs that can hit home for other people and give them the same relief the song gives me.
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