NASHVILLE PUNK DUO GOES GENRE-FLUID ON NEW ALBUM

The raucous ever shifting musical landscape of ‘This Never Happened’, the new album by Nashville punks The Frst, packs enough genre diversity to keep even the most caffeinated listeners entertained; credit to the constantly changing soundscapes of guitarist/vocalist Mikei Gray and bassist/vocalist Laura Dobransky, no doubt. With a storied past as a session and touring guitarist, playing everywhere from The Vans Warped Tour to The Grand Ole Opry, (even going so far as to give Ricky Skaggs a guitar lesson), Gray founded The Frst as a no-holds-barred creative outlet that could span the entire gamut of musical styles, intentionally leaving out the “i” to keep in line with their DIY punk ethos. While primarily Alternative driven, he elaborates with “If we want to do a rock song, we do a rock song… if we want to do a funk song, then we do a funk song. It truly is that simple for us. But it always starts with a guitar riff. That’s the commonality between it all."

Dobransky on the other hand, spent her early childhood attending punk shows at the legendary CBGB's, and eventually linked up with Gray in Nashville supporting artists such as reality television rapper, Big Smo. The two quickly became inseparable and Laura was indoctrinated into The Frst by a literal flash of lightning. "Mikei said

‘Oh my god, Laura! You're going to be the new bass player!’ and at that exact moment, a bolt of lightning struck the house!" Laura recounted.“We both took it as a good sign, and even got lightning tattoos as a commitment!” she adds.

With veteran producers Matt Malpass (Blink 182, MGK) and George Perks (Skindred, Enter Shikari, Public Image Ltd.) behind the controls, the track-list to 'This Never Happened' is a virtual who's-who of Alternative Rock, featuring members of Eagles of Death Metal, Bowling For Soup, Sleeping With Sirens, The Dangerous Summer, The Almost and Chiodos, it's easy to see why The Frst has quickly built an online presence, even becoming the most popular independent band on Giphy with over 170M views to date. Part of that attention is due to a unique instrument utilized by Gray- a self-built DIY hubcap guitar, fashioned from a 1950’s Buick hubcap. “I wanted to prove that it’s more in the hands than the instrument….So I went to the pawn shop, bought the cheapest guitar there (a Gibson-Maestro Les Paul Jr copy) added Slash’s signature humbucker, authentic Gibson SG electronics, and for good measure- casino dice for volume and tone knobs. We joke that it’s literally a ‘heavy metal guitar’, although somebody once asked if it was a UFO guitar, and I like that even better! (Laughs)

For now though, the duo have their eyes set on the road..."We're going to be zig-zagging around the US on tour for the rest of the year..." Dobransky shares. As for any signs of what's next? "Oh yeah, the next record is well underway, and it’s easily the heaviest thing we’ve done yet.”

AXOLOGY:

GUITARS-

Fender Modern Player Pro

Telecaster, PRS Custom 24,

Schecter Diamond Series C1, DIY Hubcap Guitar

Ernie Ball Music Man Bass

AMPS-

Orange Dark Terror, Randall RM100,

Matchless Clubman Reverb 30, Ampeg SVT Classic

About The Frst:

[Via Wikipedia]: After sharing stages with acts such as Portugal. The Man, Sublime With Rome, Florida Georgia Line, and in venues ranging from The Grand Ole Opry to the Vans Warped Tour stages, Mikei Gray founded The Frst intentionally leaving out the "I", due to the project's changing nature and revolving lineup.

Since then, Gray has elicited the support of featured artists such as Kellin Quinn and Matty Best of Sleeping With Sirens, AJ Perdomo and Josh Withenshaw of The Dangerous Summer, and Jesse Hughes & Jennie Vee of Eagles of Death Metal amongst others including bandmate Laura Dobransky (Bass-Vocals) to realize a fun and fierce alt-rock vision, which Alternative Press heralded as "full of angst-ridden vocals and heavy guitars that are keeping grunge very much alive."

Follow The Frst

THE FRST PRESS CONTACT:

info@thefrst.com

THE FRST - PRESS RLEASE