In this exclusive interview with A&R Factory, Out in Front discuss the remarkable success of their debut single “Golden State” and their exciting new release, “Happy Graduation Day.” The band opens up about their unique songwriting process, the emotional inspirations behind their music, and the dynamic energy they bring to their latest track. As they navigate the challenges of adulthood and channel their experiences into their songs, Out in Front is rapidly emerging as a promising force in the music scene.
Out in Front, welcome to A&R Factory! Thanks for the opportunity to sit down with you ahead of the release of your sophomore single, Happy Graduation Day, but firstly, we can’t ignore how much of a worthy phenomenon your debut single, Golden State became. How did it feel to hit the ground running like an Olympian with the single?
Hi guys! Thank you so much for having us! We are so excited with the response we have received after we released our first song “Golden State” and it makes us so happy to hear people are connecting to it and sharing their stories with us on social media. It is pretty cool to see and knowing this song has already helped people get through some tough situations is amazing to hear. “Golden State” is so special to us and we were so excited to have that one be the first out the gate.
Will Happy Graduation Day show us a different side of out in front?
We think the “Golden State “fans should get ready for a different side for sure. “Happy Graduation Day” is lyrically similar and incredibly story-driven like “Golden State” but fans should get ready to jump up and down and lose themselves in this song.
What was the writing process like for Happy Graduation Day?
Crazy enough, “Happy Graduation Day” was the first song we all wrote together as a band. This song came to be after Ryen’s dog sadly passed away and he went home and sat down with his bass and began to play to help him get through. Isaiah and Madie were hanging out when they received a new voice note from Ryen with one of the greatest hooks they had ever heard. In that moment they knew they had to turn it into something. After finishing the song, we took it to the amazing and talented Drew Allsbrook to record and mix and the insanely gifted guitarist Horrace Bray added his incredible touch to the song and “Happy Graduation Day” was born.
What inspired the single?
After hearing about Ryen’s dog passing away and the incredible bass riff Ryen wrote soon after, the band hit the studio to begin crafting this song together. Isaiah, who is the drummer of the group, had the vision for the layout of the song and instantly knew the energy this song needed as he added heavy and jumpy beats on top of Ryen’s hooky riff.
Madie is the main melody and lyrical writer and wanted to craft lyrics that the whole band could relate to and what better thing to write about than the struggles of growing up. All three of us are in our mid-twenties and know the pain of losing a dog when you get older, but there are also a lot of things that change as you enter adulthood as well. Student loans kick in after graduation, you experience heartbreak, relatives start passing away, and mental health and anxiety battles begin to kick in as you learn to navigate your way through the challenges that adulthood brings us. “Happy Graduation Day” is the anthem for the people who want to scream and jump around while singing about how growing up isn’t what it was all cracked out to be like we thought when we were younger.
Was Happy Graduation Day an easy choice for your sophomore release?
Definitely an easy choice for us especially with all of the seniors graduating this June and we really wanted to surprise all of the new fans with a different side to Out in Front.
Clearly, you’re a band with immense synergy; how did you guys meet each other, and how long was it before you were sure you had a sound worth bringing to the airwaves?
The story of how we all met definitely plays a huge part in our journey together as a band. Isaiah and Ryen met playing college tennis at Cal Lutheran and after graduating Isaiah began his coaching career at Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, CA. Madie went to college in Nashville, TN studying Songwriting and Music Business and made her move to LA in August of 2022 where she also began working as a tennis coach at Braemar. It took 6 months for Isaiah and Madie to realize they were both musicians and decided one day to put down their rackets and jam in Isaiah’s garage together. They knew they had the start of something special. Isaiah and Ryen tried forming a band while they were in college and Ryen always told Isaiah “If you can find someone who can actually sing, I’ll join a band”. Nothing stuck for the two of them in college but after graduation -and with us all working together at the same club – Ryen gets a call from Isaiah saying “I found a singer” and Out in Front was officially born.
Which artists are your biggest inspirations?
All three of us have such different musical inspirations but we think it is what makes our sound so unique. You’ll find Isaiah going crazy on the drums playing along to metalcore band Amity Affliction, Ryen vibing out to Australian rock group Spacey Jane, while Madie grew up heavily inspired by the amazing lyrics and sounds from the English rock group Florence and The Machine.
Aside from other musicians, what inspires Out in Front?
Besides listening to music, we are all inspired by our everyday life and events that happen in this world. Every lyric Madie writes is something her or the boys have been through and we believe the best songs are about real life situations that we go through. Writing music is therapy and we hope these songs we release into this world can be the listener’s therapy as well.
What else does the future have in store for Out in Front?
We cannot wait for all of the exciting things ahead. We want to play as many shows as we can and we hope to be able to go on tour someday soon to do just that. We have so many songs ready to be released and we cannot wait for this journey to continue! We appreciate all the support we have received so far and can’t wait for what’s next.
Listen to Out in Front on Spotify, and follow their journey on Instagram.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast