Congrats are in order to local band The Ones You Forgot for recently winning the Starland Ballroom Battle of the Bands. Having been there for their performance, it was very deserving on a day filled with so much talent. Each band I saw was amazing! The Ones You Forgot won tons of prizes including cash, opening a future show at Starland, photography sessions, and of course, an interview with The Aquarian Weekly! I recently chatted with the band about their victory, history, and so much more. Check it out!
First off, please introduce yourselves, and tell us a brief history about the band! Spill the beans.
Jenna: I am Jenna Bruno and I sing.
Matt: I am Matt Thompson and I play rhythm guitar.
Ferd: I am Ferd Benauro and I play lead guitar.
Lance: I am Lance Nelson and I play bass.
Justin: I am Justin Rodman and I play drums.
Matt: A little history of the band. So, Ferd and I have been friends for quite some time, and one day we decided to jam and cover some songs. We wanted to cover “A Part Of Me” by Neck Deep and “Need I Remind You” by Major League, however, we had nobody to sing the female vocal parts in the songs. We both saw a video that Jenna posted the day prior of her singing and thought she was insanely talented. We asked her to come and jam the songs with us and she was totally down. However, the first time Jenna, Ferd and I hung out it was extremely awkward and Jenna was afraid to sing in front of us. After some time passed, we all got comfortable playing music with each other and we decided that we really wanted to start a band. As some time went on we found our original drummer, Andy, who referred us to Lance to play bass. About a year ago we parted ways with Andy and found Justin over that summer. After weeks of working with Justin, we asked him to become a permanent member of TOYF. Which brings us up to date with our modern lineup. Everything from Justin joining till now was just lots of writing and a bunch of shows and awesome opportunities.
Where did the name come from, because once people hear you, I don’t think you are the ones they will forget!
Jenna: To be honest, it was pretty random! I wrote down a bunch of phrases that I liked and showed them to the band. We were back and forth on a few, but eventually settled on The Ones You Forgot (and good thing we did, some of those names were so cheesy). Most of the time people just call us TOYF, which I feel we have grown attached to as well.
You recently competed in the Battle of the Bands at Starland Ballroom, and were crowned the winner! Tell us about that day.
Matt: It was definitely an awesome day, however, it was a really long one. We played Kan Jam until the doors opened, watched a bunch of extremely talented bands, and played some Cards Against Humanity at the merch table. It was totally crazy hearing our names announced as the winners. Also, we got to live out a dream of ours by playing Starland Ballroom. Playing Starland was such an honor and we can’t wait to play there again.
Did you guys have a feeling you might win?
Matt: To be completely honest… No, we didn’t. There was not any point in that day that we were like, “This competition is ours.” All of those bands were incredibly talented and it seemed like any one had a shot at winning.
The grand prize was opening a show at Starland Ballroom. If you could open for any band, who would it be?
Matt: I would literally cry if we opened up for The Wonder Years.
Ferd: I would love to open up for Sum 41 or Paramore since they were both heavy influences on my writing.
Lance: I would like to open up for PVRIS or Tonight Alive.
Justin: Opening up for Paramore or ADTR would be awesome!
Jenna: For me, probably the Foo Fighters.
Your sound, tell us about it. What comes first, lyrics or music?
Matt: Well, we all have diverse music influences and it reflects our music. We have the pop punk influences and a heavier rock influence and we merged them together and that gives us our pop rock sound. As for the writing process, the music comes first and then Jenna writes the lyrics.
What would you say you prefer more, live shows or studio time?
Jenna: I can’t choose, I love both!
Matt: I’m going with live shows. The energy from shows is probably the best feeling in the world.
Ferd: Live shows! The feeling and adrenaline you get up there is something you can’t feel anywhere else.
Lance: Live shows! It’s so fun being up on stage.
Justin: Live shows! I live for that adrenaline rush!
If you had to describe your band in three words, could you?
Jenna: We are weird.
Ferd: We love hibachi.
Justin: A good time.
Matt: Justin likes beer.
Lance: Very tasty jams.
For those who are unfamiliar, where can people access your info and music?
Matt: You can find our music on Bandcamp, iTunes and Spotify, and more! Just search our name. As for info, you can find all that on our social media accounts—Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and even Snapchat! (Facebook.com/theonesyouforgot; Insta: Theonesyouforgot; Twitter: @toyfmusic; Snapchat: Toyfmusic)
Aside from winning battles, where else will you guys be at this summer that we can catch you live?
Matt: You can catch us June 25 at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ, and July 2 at the Stanhope House in Stanhope, NJ.
