By Giulia Campora
Staff Writer
Jake Floyd, in a special interview, shared the meaning behind The Orphan The Poet’s new single “Carolina Reaper,” how they met the group “The Driver Era,” the band’s pre-show rituals and so much more.
Floyd first spoke about the band’s most recent single, “Carolina Reaper,” which features an alternative-like sound, filled with guitar riffs and strong vocals.
“Like a lot of our songs, ‘Carolina Reaper’ kind of started with a little bit of guitar and bass riff which I showed to David Eselgroth right after,” Floyd said. “So, one day, we did a Zoom meeting with our producer, just like this one, and we came up with the song’s tune, so me and David went to the studio and produced it. I am thrilled with how it turned out.”
One way the band has found inspiration is through making a playlist that includes big musical influences.
Floyd stated that they created a playlist of songs to use when the band needs inspiration to write new music by saying there are a few Miley Cyrus songs on it, as Floyd continued speaking about the biggest inspiration behind the band’s music.
“A huge inspiration is definitely Twenty One Pilots, because we are both from Columbus, so seeing another band from our same hometown, making this seem possible, was cool,” Floyd said. “We fall in love with different artists, and they take over our lives, so I would mostly listen to the same song 10 times a day.”
The band The Orphan The Poet is currently going on tour in a few U.S. states. The tour began in Chicago on Dec. 1, and will include 10 shows, ending in Covington, Kentucky, on Dec. 16. The tour will also include one stop in New Jersey, at the Musicians Workshop in Manalapan, a venue in which there are a few rock concerts throughout the year.
Life on tour is full of memorable moments, as Floyd shared the group’s funniest moments while on the road.
“We definitely have very funny moments on each tour,” Floyd said. “There is a lot of joking around before a show and we laugh a lot, so these can be seen as definitely funny tour moments.”
For the group, performing shows means a lot to them, and the most important thing for the band is when fans are having fun alongside them.
“We want the crowd to know that we are having a good time, so they have a good time because it’s our favorite thing in the world,” Floyd said.
As for the group’s fans, Floyd believes that it’s crazy how they do a huge amount of traveling just to see the band perform.
“Seeing them traveling from all over the country for us, is unbelievable. A lot of them would come to multiple shows, so it’s cool that they are kind of on tour with us. If you have been to a million shows or if this is your first show, you are in our family for sure.”
The Orphan The Poet has gained more fans this year since they have been the opening act for the group The Driver Era.
These two groups didn’t meet at all before the shows but they did meet on the same day of their first show.
“We didn’t meet them till we got to the shows. But we have been listening to them for a while and it was really exciting for us. We got asked to open for them a week before the shows began, and it was kind of last minute, we basically created a group chat, in which we said ‘We can do this? Then let’s go!’ so we then drove to New York and joined them.”
Floyd shared that the band knew The Driver Era’s drummer Dave Briggs before then.
“That is because he was a drummer for our friends’ band,” he said. “But as far as the rest of the Lynch family, I met them for the first time and they were really great people to work with. Their fans are incredible, and they were nothing but kind to us.”
Floyd spoke about the band's alternative style with its first EP “Terrible Things” and its style today.
“I think more recently, after we put out our song ‘The Moxie,’ we think this was a shift for us as a band,” Floyd said. “We started getting more popular.”
Floyd described The Orphan The Poet in two words for people who haven’t listened to them before: fun and weird.
“I think fun is definitely one of the words, we want people to be in a good mood listening to our music,” Floyd said. “For the second word, I’d maybe say weird, probably because David is my best friend and I love being on stage with him. Just watching him doing his thing, because he is my favorite frontman.”
Floyd mentioned that The Orphan The Poet will release music very soon and that they might play new songs while touring.
