Interview: The Energy

   Brooklyn based rock band The Energy have recently dropped their 5th album When We Were Young and we took some time to get the scoop on the newly released effort.
With a dynamic group of musicians The Energy produce music full of electrifying momentum and heart racing beats. They have had the opportunity to open for major headliners such as 3 Doors Down and Eve 6, and have been featured on ESPN and MTV.

Read our full interview with frontman Adam Wolfsdorf the band below!​

Shannon Rae: Lets start with the back story, how did The Energy form? What is the inspiration behind your name?
 
Adam Wolfsdorf: We started as a cover band just over 10 years ago.  We all loved music and started out by covering the songs of the bands that we’d grown up listening to- U2, Tonic, Vertical Horizon, Bon Jovi.  But then we got bored of playing other people’s music and decided to start writing our own tunes.  We were playing out a lot and people would always tell us how much “energy” we had on stage- we like to jump around and go nuts on stage.  So we thought, “why not ‘The Energy’?”  And the name stuck.
 
SR: Was it the original plan for the group to be a cover band or was that just a way to start playing together?
 
AW: It wasn’t always the plan, no.  I think it just happened over time.  We realized that rather than just loving other people’s music, we wanted to create our own and say things that were important to us.  I don’t think there was ever one particular moment where we realized that we wanted to be an originals act.  I do remember that we started throwing an original or two into a set of covers.  Then three or four.  Once more than half the songs in the set were our own, we started to realize that this is where we were headed.   
 
SR: Who are some of the bands influences, musically and performance wise?
 
AW:Each of the four of us has his own influences and musical tastes.  For me, it’s U2.  They’re one of the only bands I can think of that really says something significant about the world we live in.  It’s not all about sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll for them.  It’s about doing something meaningful in the world- being responsible to the greater society.  I value those ideals.  Every time I’ve seen them live it’s like a religious experience for me.  
 
SR: When We Were Young is your 5th album, and there is always a bit of an evolution from the first to the most recent. What would you say has been the most evident difference in your abilities or style from your first release to the tracks found on the new album?
 
Aw: I remember when we started working on this album, I kept feeling like the songs we were writing weren’t really “us”.  I mean, the riffs and musical ideas were really cool and they interested me, but I didn’t think they were consistent with some of the other tunes and styles we’d created in the past.  I was almost like, “yeah, these are amazing- but for a different band.”  But then I started realizing that it was us- a new us- almost like we had grown a new limb.  This collection of 10 songs is undoubtedly the best music we’ve ever created.  It’s hard driving, intense but artsy, lyrical, and sonically innovative.  It pushes boundaries but stays true to its roots.  It shows a major progression for the band.
 
SR: What was the mission with When We Were Young, was there a statement you wanted to make? What inspired the album title?
 
AW: It emerged over time, but basically was a celebration of our time together.  Making it 10 years as a band is impressive, especially in this day and age.  There’s something that being together and playing together for so long teaches you that nothing else can.  So for this album we wanted to move forward by looking back and appreciating how far we’ve come.  From a group of guys who were friends and played cover tunes at local dive bars in Brooklyn, to a band that has been featured on NBC, had over 100 placements on MTV, toured extensively with major national acts, sold out some of this country’s most prestigious rock venues….. that’s something to celebrate and be proud of.  So that’s what we wanted to take a look at and reflect upon.
 
SR: We’ve talked to a handful of self-releasing artists and many say that there is an extra feeling of satisfaction to doing it yourself, do you agree with this? Will you continue to self-release your work? 
 
AW: I think so.  I mean, don’t get me wrong- during our 10 years together we’ve worked with managers, agents, tour managers, publicists, licensing executives, etc., etc., etc.  We’ve pretty much seen it all, and there are a lot of crooked people in this industry- even some of the ones that have helped us have also been really difficult to work with.  For this album it was important for us to do it on our terms, and I think the product speaks for itself.  Rather than being pushed to meet somebody else’s standards, we made sure that the work met our standards.  So, yes, it is satisfying.
 
SR: If you could pick any one of your songs that would best represent what the band is about, which would that be and why?
 
AW: The title track, 'When We Were Young'.  I think it really encapsulates our growth and our pride in what we’ve become.

​SR: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions!