{"id":5793,"date":"2016-07-10T18:33:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T23:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/?p=5793"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:51:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:51:34","slug":"interview-sam-sammy-and-steven-ofdont-feed-the-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/?p=5793","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Sam, Sammy and Steven of Don’t Feed The Birds – July 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"dftb<\/p>\n

We reviewed Don’t Feed The Birds EP,\u00a0Hatchlings,<\/em>\u00a0last month<\/a>, and we loved it! We recently got a chance to chat with DFTB about their start, touring life and a possible new member!<\/p>\n

The Entertainment Outlet<\/strong>: \u00a0Looks like the band started in 2014. How did Sam, Sammy(Oakley) and Steven\u00a0become\u00a0“Don’t Feed The Birds”?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: Well I started the band in Orlando a couple years ago with friends\u00a0from college.\u00a0 Over time members came and went as they usually do in a\u00a0band.\u00a0 Steven (drums) is my brother and [Sammy] Oakley (guitar\/screams)\u00a0I\u2019ve known for many years.\u00a0 We all played together in church growing up so\u00a0it felt like a natural fit.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: I\u2019ve known Sam for many years, one day while he(Sam)\u00a0was visiting family back home in\u00a0Texas we were talking about music and band stuff. During the conversation\u00a0he off hand was like\u00a0\u201cmove to Orlando\u201d so i did. Not too long after I joined the band as a\u00a0member, when we found ourselves in need of a drummer Steven was the obvious choice.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: They were like \u201cHey, you wanna join the band?\u201d and I was like\u00a0\u201cSure\u201d.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: How old is everyone? How long have you been playing music for?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: I\u2019m 25. I\u2019ve been doing it since I was a kid.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: I\u2019m 22. I\u2019ve been playing music since I was 4, I\u00a0started on the violin. Once I heard U2\u00a0I knew I had to learn to play guitar.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: I\u2019m 21 and I\u2019ve been playing drums for almost 10 years now. Before\u00a0that I took piano\u00a0lessons for a couple of years, but music in general has been a part of my\u00a0life for as long as I can remember.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: Who writes the songs? Is it a group effort between lyrics and music, or is\u00a0one person in charge?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: Most of the time it’s me doing the writing.\u00a0 I do the\u00a0recording\/production so it all goes hand\u00a0in hand.\u00a0 I play guitar, drums, and bass so I\u2019ll have a complete song done\u00a0in a day or two.\u00a0 Then\u00a0I\u2019ll go to Oakley and discuss the lyrical ideas or Steven and let him add\u00a0fills or beats.\u00a0 Its great because we get to take as long as we want and\u00a0really revise over and over until it’s what we want it to be.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: Yeah Sam does all the work, I just yell stuff.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: How is touring? I saw the picture of the van you said you would be\u00a0sleeping in, is touring worth the discomfort?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: What discomfort? Touring is great!<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: I love being on tour, what more could you ask for,\u00a0visiting different cities, trying all sorts of\u00a0great coffee, and of course playing music with my friends. I\u00a0don\u2019t really find it uncomfortable, it kinda\u00a0feels like summer camp all over again.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: I didn\u2019t get to go on the last tour with these guys but I have been\u00a0known to go great\u00a0lengths between showers, so I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be right at home.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: I’ve stated that “Ghost” was the standout track on the EP. What’s your\u00a0personal favorite?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: I think mine is \u201cYou\u2019re So Scared\u201d.\u00a0 But they all have certain\u00a0sections that are my \u201cfavorite\u201d.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: \u201cFind Your Way Back\u201d is my favorite, I feel like the\u00a0message behind it is something people can relate to. That\u2019s the song that fans tells us helps them\u00a0keep going. To me that\u2019s what DFTB is all\u00a0about.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: \u201cA Million Miles\u201d is fun to play because it\u2019s a little different\u00a0from the rest of the songs on\u00a0the EP being the \u201cballad\u201d track. It gives me a chance to throw in some\u00a0different flavors in terms of\u00a0style and fills. It\u2019s a powerful song and the crowd usually responds pretty\u00a0well.<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: It makes the drunk girls cry!<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: Do you see yourselves sticking with the\u00a0Electronic\/ Metal sound, or do you think you will branch off into other genres?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: Well I think the great thing about what we do is it has 3 genres in\u00a0one. Metal, EDM, and\u00a0Hard Rock.\u00a0 With an EP you are kind of just mushing everything together as\u00a0a sampler of what you are capable of, so its like three toppings on one pizza.\u00a0 But for our\u00a0album that we\u2019ve been writing we get the chance to explore all of those\u00a0individually, without getting too far away from our sound.\u00a0 But yes,\u00a0apparently the electronic thing is the future so we\u2019re sticking with it.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: The electronic sound gives us more options, and a wide\u00a0variety of dynamics, i think it\u2019s a\u00a0keeper<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: What made you want to cover a Taylor Swift song?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: We actually had the idea a long time ago.\u00a0 Me and our old drummer\u00a0Steve (Yes another\u00a0one) were in PacSun and we heard \u201cNew Romantics\u201d.\u00a0 We were like let’s cover\u00a0it!\u00a0 I love covering pop songs because they already have everything that we\u00a0do in them.\u00a0 Big choruses, electronics, and good energy.\u00a0 But all the\u00a0rockers are like \u201cthat\u2019s weak!\u201d\u00a0 Doing a heavier version breathes new life\u00a0into an already good song and then people like it better than the original.\u00a0Go figure.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: I love \u201cT-Swizzle\u201d so when Sam suggested covering one\u00a0of her songs I was so happy my\u00a0eyes puddled up. It was fun doing something different.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: What does it mean to you to have fans? When someone says they love your music, what goes through your mind?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>:\u00a0 My first thought is me wondering if they are joking or giving me lip service!\u00a0(laughs)\u00a0 Even though I like the music I make I\u2019m always thinking of all\u00a0the reasons why \u201cthe scene\u201d will nit pick and say \u201che doesn\u2019t sound like\u00a0so-and-so, this sucks!\u201d\u00a0 But then they will start talking about what the\u00a0song means to them and how it speaks to them.\u00a0 Or even just that they\u00a0listen to it at work.\u00a0 I relate to them on that level because that\u2019s how it\u00a0was for me when I first heard my favorite bands. Like I couldn\u2019t get\u00a0enough.\u00a0 The right music will lift a person\u2019s spirits in a way that spoken\u00a0words cannot.\u00a0 That\u2019s the reason I do this.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: It usually comes as a bit of a surprize but it\u2019s definitely an\u00a0honor. As a kid I always wanted to make music that people enjoyed, but at\u00a0the same time had a positive influence. When people say they like what\u00a0we\u2019re doing, it makes all the hard work worth it.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: I think it\u2019s crazy. Growing up I always looked up to musicians in\u00a0my favorite bands, and to be on the other side of that is a little surreal.\u00a0I know how much influence bands and their music had on me and I hope to\u00a0give as much inspiration as I was given.<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: How important of a roll is social media playing in your music journey?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: It’s a million percent of growing any business or fan base.\u00a0 Social\u00a0media runs the world\u00a0now. It drives politics and news and trends and revolutions and\u00a0everything.\u00a0 Anyone is just a message away.\u00a0 I love talking to people but\u00a0it can get a bit overwhelming!<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: Social media is the new(ish) thing, it makes some things easier, but\u00a0at the same time it\u2019s\u00a0easy to get lost in everything.<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: Social media is a great tool. Sometimes I hate it, but I\u2019m always\u00a0on it. Memes are great\u00a0too!<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: Since everyone’s name starts with a ‘S’, and I’m Sara,\u00a0can I get a part\u00a0here? Cowbell? Triangle? Nose flute?<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: Can you play bagpipes?<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: You can be our bass player! You don\u2019t have to know how to play bass we\u00a0got that covered!<\/p>\n

TEO<\/strong>: I have a soapbox you can stand on if there is anything you would like to\u00a0say to our readers? This is your chance for a shameless plug or political\u00a0party push!<\/p>\n

Sam<\/strong>: Everyone needs to shut up and quit whining.<\/p>\n

Oakley<\/strong>: Let\u2019s all be friends, if we try hard enough hopefully\u00a0we can make this world a better place.\u00a0God bless<\/p>\n

Steven<\/strong>: Chill out and be good people. Take time to just relax and ponder\u00a0the world. People today\u00a0are always on the go, looking at screens, and trying to compare their lives\u00a0to those of whom\u00a0they\u2019ve never met. Learn something new, discover things for yourself and\u00a0don\u2019t let society weigh you down. Live slow and try to get a good night\u2019s rest!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

TEO<\/strong>: Thanks guys! We are looking forward to new music and catching you on tour!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We reviewed Don’t Feed The Birds EP,\u00a0Hatchlings,\u00a0last month, and we loved it! We recently got a chance to chat with DFTB about their start, touring life and a possible new member! The Entertainment Outlet: \u00a0Looks like the band started in 2014. How did Sam, Sammy(Oakley) and Steven\u00a0become\u00a0“Don’t Feed The Birds”? Sam: Well I started the band in Orlando a couple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[197,201],"class_list":["post-5793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-dont-feed-the-birds","tag-interview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3mENz-1vr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5793"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24208,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793\/revisions\/24208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theentertainmentoutlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}