Magnolia Park are one of the hardest working bands in Florida right now. At a time when it seems like many acts are laying stagnant, MP remain at the top of their game, outdoing themselves with each release.
In the spirit of growth, the band have just released a new single, “Love Me”, featuring Kellin Quinn (Sleeping With Sirens).
I spoke with Freddie Criales (Guitar) about the origin of the band, adapting to life in 2020, and more:
TC: How did the band originally form? Are you all from Orlando?
F: “The band started with just me (Freddie) and Tristian. Then later we asked Josh to see if he wanted to join. After that it was just a matter of calling our friends, which is how we got Jared and Joe, who are amazing members.”
TC: What’s the significance of the name Magnolia Park?
F: “Magnolia Park was just a place where Tristian and I used to skate a lot when we were younger with all of our friends.”
TC: There are so many great acts to come out of Central Florida. Who’s a band from your hometown you think people should know about?
F: “It’s tough to pick just one. So I’m going to name drop a few. You should for sure check out Meet Me @ The Altar. They just got signed by Fueled By Ramen. Other amazing bands are Grieve, I Met A Yeti and Raising Cadence. Go check ’em out when you’re done reading this.”
TC: You guys have stayed pretty busy at a time when most of the music industry doesn’t know what to do. How have you adapted to all of the changes that came with 2020?
F: “Yes, we have. Thankfully Andrew Wade who records bands like Neck Deep and ADTR lives in FL. So we are able to record music easily with him. Also, just posting a lot on social media like Tiktok and Instagram has helped boost our popularity.”
TC: What kind of alternative ways have you found to connect with fans?
F: “We have tried a couple of ways but the most effective way is going live on IG. A lot of our fans have joined us there.”
TC: Your sound has evolved a lot in just two short years. To what do you attribute that growth?
F: “Thank you for that compliment, it means a lot. So one thing that helped was we spent our first year watching videos on Youtube about songwriting. Pretty much re-learning all the basics. The second major contribution is working with Andrew Wade. Just watching him work and seeing how he writes, we learned a lot.”
TC: How did you end up linking up with Andrew Wade in the first place?
F: “So we sent him a demo of our first song, and he sent us to work with his assistant, Andy. Then he heard our music and slowly let us work with him more and more.”
TC: Similarly, how did you end up with a Kellin Quinn feature on this new track?
F: “When it came to Kellin, he’s on a website called Featured X and we contacted him. He ended up loving the track and he went above and beyond for us with the harmonies and vocal layers. He’s even in our music video.”
TC: What is one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a group?
F: “One challenge we face is making our music videos happen. Not because it’s difficult to get videos done because we have a great videographer on our team. His name is Evan Draper and his company is called Psylo Digital (so if you live in FL hit him up). But we have really big ideas and equally small budgets. So it’s more of finding creative ways to make our ideas happen.”
TC: Do you have any advice for independent artists who are new to the industry?
F: “Yes! Release music every 4 – 6 weeks. This is important because having releases lined up helps build your band’s fan base. It also keeps you relevant because these days you’re forgotten in a matter of minutes. Also, Spotify likes it when you release frequently. It helps your odds when it comes to getting on editorials.”
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