Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Better Eyes (Nashville Pop-Punk)
Victoria Draovitch - Vocals
Aaron Lensch - Guitar
Tyler Wells - Guitar
Austin Testut - Bass
Ryan Jensen - Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Better Eyes? How long has the band been around?
Victoria was the vocalist for Shirts Vs. Skins out of Greensburg, PA. Austin played bass in The Urban Stacks from Franklin, TN. Ryan played guitar (and drums for 2 shows) for Listen To Reason, a metalcore band based out of North-Central Illinois. Better Eyes formed within our first full month of coming to college here in Nashville. We all lived in the same dorm and that's how we met. Aaron, Victoria, and Austin met in the lobby and jammed a few times before Ryan joined. Tyler joined as we recorded our first two demos in Ryan's dorm room. We're just under a year old!
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Our name (Better Eyes) comes from one of the first songs we wrote as a band. It was the bridge of a song we demoed. "I hope you see the world through better eyes than what I got to." So instead of changing our band name, we deleted that abomination off of the internet and have never played it since our first show.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Aaron has an incredible amount of ideas so he wrote a fair majority of our first EP. However, we all have input on our parts and each of us offers creative suggestions because, in the end, we end up playing our own thing. We're currently working on new material and it seems much more balanced. Lyrically, we try to really hit home with our songs. It seems like a lot of our older stuff is stereotypically "pop-punk" as some people might say, but sometimes that's what gets to people. We're really pushing ourselves on the new stuff.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
We draw a huge inspiration from early-to-mid 00s pop-punk (blink-182, Paramore, etc.) and we fuse that with the newer and younger sound of pop-punk (The Story So Far, State Champs, etc.). Having Victoria on vocals also gives us a unique sound that separates us from the rest.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
A majority of us were in bands before. Much of this was a continuation and a fresh start of what we had been working on already.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
We don't really have any special rituals or anything. We do try to meet some of the people coming to the show and talk with other people in the bands. It's always nice to get to know the people coming to support you. Too many times bands slink off in a corner, don't watch any other sets, play their set, and go straight back into hiding. Post-show Cookout is real though. I can't think of a time that we didn't go to Cookout after a show other than when we played out of state.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
We just played the Nashville stop of Warped Tour! The rain delayed our set for an hour. We played two and a half songs and we got stopped again for the second rain delay. They let us come back for one more. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, we had a lot of fun and made a lot of new friends. Not too many people can say they've played three and a half songs on Warped Tour.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Paramore or blink-182 would be absolutely unreal. They are true legends in this genre and we draw a lot of inspiration from them. Also, after playing one stop of Warped, we wouldn't mind playing the whole thing at some point in the future.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Be on the lookout. We'll have new music, new videos, and potentially more regional shows in the next few months. Thank you so much!