By Kreig Marks, June 2025

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TRR:  Garrett, your vocals in FEEL blend emotional depth with raw energy—how do you tap into that balance when you're writing or performing?

 

Garrett:  It’s all about what the music and the moment call for. It’s not like I’m on a different plane, listening to the Earth’s frequencies or anything like that. It’s just a passionate balance between what vibrations feel good when they’re coming out and how they fit within the song. I don’t wanna settle for “That works.”
 

TRR:  FEEL's sound has been described as both nostalgic and forward-thinking—what influences from the past and present shape your creative direction?

 

Garrett:  It’s a collaborative effort between Tyler and I as songwriters. Tyler likes to say our influences range from the ’30s-’80s, and while not wrong, it’s not all true. I take great influence from the ’90s & 2000s. There was an undeniable authenticity and attitude that surfaced in those eras ranging from vulnerability of Elliot Smith and the campy, unique existence of Limp Bizkit.  So, to answer the “past influences” portion: everything.Our present influence is simple:  It’s whoever we are, and whatever we are going through now — Or in the case of the listener, then.
 

TRR:  What’s a personal experience that directly inspired a FEEL song, and how did that moment translate into music?

 

Garrett: Tyler could better directly answer this question as it is how he writes. I cannot because that is not how I write. Lyrics or melodies come out of me because that is what I’m feeling in that moment. Not to get too spiritual - but it’s like inspiration from a Muse. All I can do is trust that the culmination of all my experience justifies and comes through whatever I’m writing.  To put a bow on all of this, I don’t like the pervasive culture of “Give me the answer.” We don’t properly learn from it. Lessons don’t get internalized. I prefer folks care about the songs and read into the lyrics. From there, I happily welcome folks to personally geek out with me.  If I give my answer, it invalidates everyone else’s interpretation - and that’s not cool.

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TRR:  When you’re not on stage or in the studio, where do you go—or what do you do—to recharge your creative energy?

 

Garrett: Aw, man. Being alone, gaming, really just doing what I want without worrying on another’s is awesome. In that same breath, when friends invite me to hang, I’ll always be there; A little late perhaps, but there nonetheless. I’ll do or go to wherever. Each decision has a cornerstone formed by my want.

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TRR:  How does your dynamic with the other band members influence your songwriting and performance style?

 

Garrett: Well, for performance, you always trust the dudes know their parts and stay in time!  I know folks like a story of overwhelming connection and camaraderie (not that they aren’t present), but I prefer my performance not hinge on how anyone else is.  I just want to be me out there.  As for songwriting, unless it’s an idea I present, I’m always at the mercy of whatever’s pulled from Tyler’s ether. See, I originally began songwriting with my brother-in-law, Greg Narducci, when I was 20. He was my first introduction to any meaningful pursuit in music. Growing with him as my mentor, best friend, and father-figure made me, in many ways, an extension of him. It made songwriting between Greg and I stupidly easy! Songwriting with Tyler is different; It requires I hang more from a branch of attention rather than one of intuition and anticipation. We’re learning each other, you see. And the more Tyler and I songwrite, the easier it gets.

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TRR:  Can you tell us about a live show that changed the way you view your own music or connected you to the audience on a deeper level?

 

Garrett:   I don’t know about a specific show. I get lost in what I’m doing and, apologetically, I’m not too focused on the crowd while the music is going.  When you’re an opening band in a seated venue, however, there’s always a big question mark in the air. “Do they dig us?” You never know ‘cause the motherfuckers are always sitting through your set. But when we lay our last tune down and say, “We’ve been The Band Feel”, and all the crowd rises with warm applause, I feel that overwhelming emotion of, “Maybe there’s something here.”
 

TRR:  What’s a lyric or line from a FEEL song that you’re particularly proud of, and what’s the story behind it?

 

Garrett:  I wish I could speak on an unreleased tune. (Let’s do this again)  Off our newest album, Into the Sun, the opening track “Icarus” houses the ending lyric, “Weather, Winnow-”.  It was originally just this cool little falsetto-nothing I’d come up with, but it queued a cool melodic shift that I really dug and felt blew the ending wide open. So, I really stressed myself to keep the pronunciation and attach proper words to lend more meaning to its accompanying line, “I’ll go right in by the sun.” I like to think I found it all right. Music is just awesome.

 

TRR:  How do you want listeners to feel—pun intended—after they experience one of your records or shows?

 

Garrett:  I want them to go, “Hey, that’s cool. Why is that cool?” If they ask why, it means they care - And that’s all most of us want.

 

TRR:  The music industry can be intense—how do you maintain authenticity while navigating its pressures and expectations?

 

Garrett:   I’m not - nor is anyone else - obligated to adhere to the expectations or pressures of others. I’m just gonna run with what I dig for as long as I feel.  “I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die… so let me live my life… the way I want to.”

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TRR:  If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and what kind of song would you create together?

 

Garrett:  I would collaborate with Greg Narducci - And it would be a kind of song both him and I love.

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