If we asked you what’s been your go-to summer song this year, what would it be? Or better yet, what songs would you have had on your summer 2017 playlist? Would “Capsize” by Frenship be on it because sames. It’s without a doubt we heard this track playing on the radio a bunch of times that you couldn’t help scream “Yeah I’m fine! Drop tears in the morning!”
Well round of applause to James Sunderland and Brett Hite AKA Frenship. We highly recommend you check out the rest of their Truce EP because there’s more to them than this song. Don’t think of them as a one hit wonder. In fact, they’ve taken full control of this summer by performing non-stop at several music festivals. We had the chance to chat with ½ of the duo, James Sunderland, to talk about their Lululemon days, their thoughts on “Capsize”, and more.
The Young Folks: Let’s talk about you two first! I’ve read multiple interviews you both met at Lululemon. I was curious as to how each of you ended up working there in the first place versus any other store?
James Sunderland: Spandex is king. Also, the store was a few blocks from my house so it was a lazy decision for me. I could walk to work and not have to sit in traffic. I think Brett applied to a bunch of different jobs and Lululemon was the only one that would hire him.
TYF: How did you two decide to finally team up and make some music together? Do you remember what it was like to work with each other for the first time?
Sunderland: After becoming friends for a few months we eventually decided to try making a song. That first song, “Kids,” was pretty decent and our friends liked it, so we thought we had the beginning of something. We both filled each other’s gaps in writing, production, etc so it was a good partnership from the beginning.
TYF: What have you either of you learned about yourselves since you’ve joined together as FRENSHIP?
Sunderland: I think we’ve learned to listen to ourselves as much as possible. When you start having a bit of success, a lot of people try to tell you how to do things or how to make music, etc. We’ve learned to listen to our guts.
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TYF: To this day, “Capsize” is still my jam. Before you released the track, what were your thoughts on it? Did you think it’d blow up as it did or did you put it out there without even second guessing?
Sunderland: Happy to hear it! We liked it! It always had a special feel to it, but we had no idea it would end up taking off. We were both pretty burnt out before we released “Capsize,” so we kind of just threw it up online and hoped for the best.
TYF: Since “Capsize” was a huge summer song, what’s been your go-to summer track this year?
Sunderland: So many. A lot of throwback songs, some Peter Gabriel songs, some from the new Haim record, Zedd’s “Stay,” “HUMBLE.,” too many to count.
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TYF: What did you two do in order to get ready for your performance from Life is Beautiful?
Sunderland: We slept a lot! We were coming off of tour and being sick so we all rested up for a few days before. I lost some money at the casino the night before too.
TYF: How long did it take you two to get used to the feeling of performing in front of hundreds to thousands of people on stage?
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Sunderland: It took us 20-30 shows to feel comfortable as a 5 piece band in front of people. We’ve really hit our stride this year in terms of stage presence. It finally feels like we’ve jelled this summer at festivals.
TYF: It’s been about a year since you released your EP, any chance you’ll be debuting a full length album anytime soon?
Sunderland: We’re gunning for it! We have a ton of songs to finish this year and we hope it’ll lead into a full length or bigger body of work by summer of next year. Hang tight, it’s coming.
TYF: How do you envision FRENSHIP in 2-5 years?
Sunderland: We want to be playing stadiums within 5 years. We want to share our music with as many people as possible.
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