Unseen Plays: Hey DONEFOR! Welcome to the Unseen Plays blog. Let’s get started by getting to know the band better. Who are all the bandmates? When did y’all come together as a band? Where are you from? And what’s your origin story?
DONEFOR: The band consists of Parker Shogren (Vocals and guitar), Zack Lulf (Scream vocals and guitar), Riley Stewart (Vocals and guitar), and Christian Molina (Drums). We are still looking for a permanent solution for a bassist. Our band is based out of Southwest Florida. The origin story comes with Parker Shogren starting on his solo music career as Parker Shogren Music. The first show the band played together was at Eagle Radio Music Festival in 2022 under this title. Shortly after this show, with the coming and going of some members, we established and solidified a group of musicians and elected to continue as DONEFOR. Since then we have all contributed to writing and creating music that we love and enjoy playing.
Unseen Plays: You’ve got around 3 releases which include Never Be The Same, Signal Fire, and finally You’re Welcome this year. Tell us a bit about your growth over the last year. The recordings even sound better! We can see you guys developing. How has that journey been for you? And what are the sort of things that have allowed this growth to happen so quickly?
DONEFOR: We were new to music with Never Be The Same and the track was mixed and recorded pretty poorly. With our newer tracks we have been able to work with incredible people like Jed Brewer from The Call Radio and Good Loud Media, who helped mix and get the songs mastered by Vlado Meller (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Etc). This has dramatically helped us improve the recording quality of our tracks. We also are trying to get a concise recording song with the many genres we do.
Unseen Plays: Okay, so you guys got plenty of single releases, any plans to have an EP or Album come out soon?
DONEFOR: We are finishing an album that has been in the works since July 2022. The album is genre-blending in terms of it featuring metalcore tracks to alt and pop rock songs! We have been focusing on creating the best product and can not wait for it to release! We feel that every person, regardless of what genre they like, can find a song to relate to it!
Unseen Plays: You guys have a pretty solid fan base, we’ve seen the photos of you playing live. Tell us a bit about that. How do you think you appeal to your fans and how much do your fans mean to you? What is your view on that?
DONEFOR: Our fans are everything. Not only are the fans our inspiration to continue doing what we’re doing, but they are letting us know we are making an impact. I feel like every show we play we each get people that come up to us or dm’s on social media telling us that our music speaks to them. It is a great feeling and worth of mouth has allowed us to become a favorite local band in the area to many.
Unseen Plays: We know you are playing at an upcoming festival (GoodSound Music Fest) but we will let you give out those details here with us now. Let’s talk about that! What’s this festival all about and what made you want to be part of it? What can we expect from DONEFOR at this live show?
DONEFOR: The GoodSound Music Fest is a product of what we try to do with all of our shows, and that includes the best local talent that goes undiscovered. We create music venues that often never have had a show before and work without promoters and try to create a new scene in SWFL. This is done by including and building a community of the best acts in the area, regardless of genre. This festival is curated by us, Noah Deassuncao, and others to bring a mixed genre festival of rap and rock that gives a stage for artists who never get the opportunity! This festival features a combined 1 million streams, 4 past tours, current fm radio airplay, and many accolades that need to be celebrated in our community!
Unseen Plays: Besides the festival, you guys seem to play quite a few shows. You are super active as a band. Tell us what is it like to be on the road with you guys. Let us in on a day with DONEFOR!
DONEFOR: Again we focus on building up a scene that benefits more than just us as we try to bring live music back to our SWFL area. We play very often and realize how we appeal to everyone from college sorority girls to hardcore metalheads. We try to play often to build a community that comes out to see us and becomes familiar with us and other bands. We travel for festivals and shows across the state and we are always surprised to find people who already knew of us and came to hear us play! It is always a great feeling unlike any other so that is why we do it so often!
Unseen Plays: Nowadays it seems like more bands and artists are recording from their recording studios. Is this the case with you? Or do you guys go to a recording studio to record all your songs? Is there a wizard in the band? We don’t want to assume! But we’re always so curious to get a glimpse of the process.
DONEFOR: We usually record at any studio that will help us out and believe in our ideas behind the music. We have been fortunate to have a lot of help from many studios and organizations to fund our music but that also makes it a slow process. We usually add many layers we never had thought of while we are in the studio. For “You’re Welcome” and other unreleased songs we just brainstorm and think “Woah this song needs a sax” or even instruments like rain sticks were used. Parker usually writes the songs but everyone adds their flair to the track that makes it more complete.
Unseen Plays: All right, let’s get straight to your new single titled “You’re Welcome”. What is the story behind the song? What can you tell us about it? What influenced this song?
DONEFOR: This track was written with the idea in mind of writing the most cheesy, commercial, and “anthem” song we could create. While it started as a joke we came up with lyrics that inspire people to realize they have a voice and to be who they are. Simple as that the track came together and created a fun hook of endless “Nah Nah Nah’s” where people who don’t usually listen to lyrics can still take something away and sing. While recording we saw a saxophone and figured, “What if we threw that in there for fun?”, and turned out to be a nice sound that only added to the song. Breakdowns were added to appeal to our heavier audience and we feel the ending chorus with the claps, group vocals and saxophone is what ties the feeling of the song together!
Unseen Plays: What is your songwriting process like? Take us into the rehearsal room with you!
DONEFOR: Parker usually comes up with lyrics and the guitar parts and we just build up the tracks after that. We add drums, bass, and more layers of guitars as well as figure out what breakdowns we want to add or solos and fills. Usually, when recording the track in the studio we add a ton of new portions and layers to songs that were previously not on the track.
Unseen Plays: What would you say would be your dream show? Who would you like to be touring with in the future?
DONEFOR: This is a very fun question. Our initial answer is Pierce The Veil, that’s like a no-brainer. They’re great guys who have plenty of experience in the scene and we think it would be a lot of fun to learn from them and travel with them. Another great band to tour with would be A Day To Remember, they have a similar style to ours and they inspire all of us. Other than those two bands, it’s tough, there are tons of great bands we would love to be on the road with, DM’s are open boys! In terms of a dream show, I would say headlining a Madison Square Garden show that is sold out would be incredible.
Unseen Plays: Okay, we’ve made it to the end and we have our most random question. Here we go! If you had the choice between two pills, one would give your band superpowers, and the other pill would let you eat whatever you want without consequences. Which pill would you take as a band and why!
DONEFOR: Seeing that we barely have band ability as it is we are gonna do the eating without consequences pill. Imagine, 4-pound burritos and just putting DOWN those things without your stomach feeling like a world war after.
Unseen Plays: Finally, where can people check out your music and where are you most active online?
DONEFOR: We are very active on Instagram (DONEFOR_Band) and Facebook (DONEFOR Band). Our music is on all streaming platforms as well… yes even Amazon Music.