The alt-rock band on opening for the The All-American Rejects at Sheetz, their new EP, and playing their first show in NYC
It’s not everyday that your band opens up for The All-American Rejects at Sheetz. This is true for Pittsburgh’s alt-rock band Eyewash. They’ve rocked local venues, from Mr. Smalls Funhouse to Bottlerocket Social Hall. This past summer they went on tour and played their first show in NYC. Their awesome new EP, Dividing Line, features powerful vocals, loud guitars, and searing synths.
Over a phone interview, I talked with the band about their Sheetz experience, new EP, and playing their first NYC show. Band members are Rachel Hines—vocals/bass, Gin Garner—synth, Jake Curran—vocals/guitar.
Opening for The All-American Rejects at Sheetz!
Josh: What was it like opening for The All-American Rejects at Sheetz?
Rachel: I can say it was pretty crazy. I felt like it was our biggest show to date. It was very professional. They had a very legit crew.
Gin: We got our stuff carried for us and that was nice (laughs). We don’t have that type of treatment usually, so that was a lot of fun.
Rachel: The crowd was definitely unique to me. It almost felt like we were playing Warped tour. I mean that’s obviously an exaggeration, but it just kind of had the same energy. Definitely a lot of different kinds of people, so that was kind of cool getting exposed to people who probably wouldn’t have heard of us otherwise.
Jake: Yeah, it was just an insane experience overall. It was so well put together for something that we kind of realistically found out barely a week beforehand.
Josh: How did this happen?
Rachel: Someone from their team sent us a DM on Instagram asking if we wanted to open for them, and we were like, ‘Yes we do.’
Josh: Did you get to tell your friends and family about it or were you sworn to secrecy?
Rachel: No, we weren’t allowed to. The day of, a lot of people were finding out before we were supposed to announce it. I think someone leaked it on Reddit. We weren’t allowed to post about it till like 7 p.m. So we’re like, ‘Yeah you just gotta find out through the grapevine.’
Jake: There were a crazy amount of people there. The area they had blocked off was for 300 people.
Gin: I think 3,000 people were there. Yeah, it was funny.
Rachel: I remember listening to The All-American Rejects as a little kid. It was on Kids Bop or something like that, that ages me maybe.
Josh: You were like, ‘One day I’m gonna open up for them at Sheetz.’
Rachel: Right, definitely, exactly what I thought.
Josh: So it’s safe to say you’ll never look at Sheetz the same way again now.
Rachel: I have a lot of love for Sheetz. The fried apps are amazing.
Touring and Playing Festivals
Josh: You just went on tour in June and played a stretch of dates.
Gin: It was really fun. Our shows went amazing this past tour. I feel like every show this past tour in June exceeded our expectations.
Rachel: I would agree 100%. We got to play Pug Fest in Ferndale, Michigan. It was cool getting to play a fest in a different city. We made a lot of friends and saw a lot of friends, so that’s really all you can hope for.
Josh: Any fun stories from that trip?
Rachel: One of our hosts had Redbox DVDs.
Gin: Oh, that was nice.
Rachel: That was cool. We haven’t seen those in a while.
Jake: The Grand Rapids show was really cool. We played in a detached garage at this house, there were a ton of kids there that seemed to be having a lot of fun. At least five people managed to crowd surf in this small little garage.
Rachel: They had South Park on a TV outside.
Gin: Yeah, this is the Redbox DVD guy.
Josh: This almost sounds like a music video.
Rachel: I know. It should have been filmed.
Making a Music Video
Josh: Have you guys ever thought about filming a music video?
Rachel: We are working on a music video. Funny that you ask.
Pre-Show Routines
Josh: Any pre-show routines you do before a show?
Rachel: We don’t have anything ritualistic. We definitely make sure we get some good eye contact. A firm moment of affirmation, you know, like a quick acknowledgement.
Gin: Before The All-American Rejects, we put our hands in for one second and said ‘Eyewash.’ We did it kind of as a joke but also because I think all of us were really nervous. I think it was nice just to be able to have a moment together just before we did it.
Eyewash Show Experience
Josh: What can fans expect at an Eyewash show?
Rachel: I mean, I don’t want to hype us up too hard, but sometimes people are moving around.
Gin: (laughs)
Rachel: Every once in a while we get a good crowd surfing pit type moment. You need your earplugs, that’s for sure.
Gin: Ear protection.
Rachel: Yeah, ear protection.
Behind the Scenes of Their EP
Josh: Congratulations on your new EP, Dividing Line.
Rachel: Thank you.
Gin: We feel great about that one.
Josh: The song “Brine” has such a good breakdown. Did you write that in rehearsals?
Rachel: I mean, honestly, yeah. That song has been around forever. I wrote the shell of it. I was kind of like, ‘This is something I have, it’s definitely not done.’ I brought it to our practice. I feel like a lot of our songs work that way. Someone sort of creates a shell of a song and then a few people add some flourishes on it, and that really helps it come together.
Jake: You kind of hit the nail on the head. Someone will bring in most of something and then everyone kind of adds their own little ideas to it.
Rachel: I feel like there’s nothing better than a second opinion. I wouldn’t feel as confident if I didn’t collaborate with people.
Josh: I love the song “Clouds of Sils Maria.” Gin, the synth is awesome.
Gin: Oh well, I’m actually not the one who wrote the synth part of that specific song, but I can say I do enjoy playing it a lot. I think it sounds great.
Rachel: We actually asked August Axcelson who produced the EP to throw some synths on top of it. I loved what he did with it.
Playing in NYC
Josh: You have a show in New York City.
Gin: [It’s] so awesome. We got asked to do that. We’ve been wanting to play forever, so that’s a great opportunity. Other than that, we’re probably gonna take a short break to get some recordings in.
Josh: Playing a show in New York City is a huge accomplishment.
Rachel: Definitely. It was really cool that they asked us to. We didn’t have to go looking for it. We’re feeling super excited.
Gin: It’s a good mix of bands from Philly, Canada, New York. So it’ll be cool to get to meet some new bands.
You can find music by Eyewash on streaming platforms and follow along with them on Instagram.
Check out the August artist of the month here!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
