Failure, Rejection, and Heart Therapy

Photographs By Alan Arvizu, Rudy Torres, and Amanda Tapia

Los Angeles band Ear Ringers open up about being rejected, getting a flat tire while on tour in Texas, and their latest single, “Friendzone”.

Los Angeles, USA

How did you all begin your journey as a band?

We all met at our highschool which was a school centered around performing arts. We all knew each other and realized we had similar interests in the same types of music and bands. We decided to meet at Miguel’s house (our vocalist) and the rest is history. We haven’t stopped playing together since.

What have you learned along the way?

Nothing is given to you easily in this industry and you will fail a lot. It takes an immense amount of dedication and focus to even have a small win in this business. You have to appreciate the ones you get because you really don’t know when you will get another one. Continue building from that small win and stay patient.

You released your debut album "Heart Therapy" in 2022. How does the album represent this era of Ear Ringers?

The “Heart Therapy” era was a time when many aspects of our songwriting matured. We were not trying to be the easy going indie rock band on that record, we were trying to add more depth to every aspect of our music. The lyrics written by Miguel were more personal and relatable. The songs were arranged with a greater attention to detail with some of the songs being worked on for months before finally being recorded in the studio.

Last year you hit the road on your "Summer Ringing Tour". Where did you go? What were some of your favorite memories from the tour and greatest struggles? What would you do differently next time?

On our “Summer Ringing Tour” we passed through parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The best parts of the tour were mostly in Texas because the people there were very welcoming and actually listened to our sets. The best individual spot we hit however was Flagstaff in Arizona. That town was beautiful and the nature surrounding the area was, literally, a breath of fresh air for us considering we live right outside Downtown LA.

The hardest part of the tour was honestly the heat. It was between 110-115 degrees everywhere we went which was something we were not used to at all. We also got a flat on a nine hour drive to Texas and didn’t have a spare with us. Next time, I think we’d be more mindful of our driving times. We pulled two all nighters driving with nothing but us and the road for hours….that was probably dangerous.

You recently released your single, "Friendzone". What is this song about?

Funnily enough it’s about exactly what it's titled after. Being rejected sucks and being put into the friendzone has gotta be top five on everyone’s worst fear list.

How does "Friendzone" demonstrate your growth as a band?

I think “Friendzone” is a great mesh of our older sound and our more mature sound after “Heart Therapy”. The song still has the energy and catchy lyrics of our older music but also has that same attention to detail that our new material shows off.

What's next for Ear Ringers?

We are currently working on getting more new music finished that will be coming very soon. We also have more plans for touring in the near future and are waiting to get that sorted out so we can let the fans know where to find us next.