by danielle holian
photo by joey brodnax
Nashville-based alt-rock group Betcha have released their brand new single “Déjà Vu,” and are about to release their upcoming sophomore EP, Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before. Having toured alongside and received co-signs from the likes of Matt Maeson, Illiterate Light, Kaleo, Judah & The Lion, Kings Of Leon, and Briston Maroney, the band are on the rise to something great in the music industry. The quartet are Charlie Greene (vocals, guitar), Ben Booth (lead guitar), Taylor Dubray (bass, keys), and Chase Wofford (drums).
Unclear Magazine caught up with Betcha about the band’s musical background, new music, and more below.
For our readers, please tell us a bit about your background in music.
Betcha: “We’ve all been super into music, especially bands, since we can remember. Basically all started diving into instruments around middle school. Luckily we all decided to keep pursuing it in college and met at Belmont University. From there we just really started diving into songwriting and learning how to work as a band.”
What inspired the band’s name, Betcha?
B: “BEn, TAylor, CHAse, CHArlie. We used to be under the name Wilder which is Charlie’s middle name, but ended up wanting it to be something that represented the group and so BETCHA was born.”
Who or what are your musical influences?
B: “Really love Phoenix, The 1975, and Tame Impala at the moment. We’re just really into bands in general.”
What inspired your latest single “Déjà Vu?”
B: “I think I was in a place where I felt like my days were becoming a bit repetitive and almost predictable. I wanted to apply that to a relationship or connection that plays on repeat. ‘It feels like we’ve been here before’ was the first lyric that came to me which kinda inspired the whole song and ended up being the perfect name to sum up the EP.”
And what influenced your upcoming sophomore EP, Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before?
B: “So many influences brought this EP together. Most of the songs we started tracking two days before COVID hit, so we ended up doing a lot of the record from our basement and sending stems to our producer to work with. I feel like it gave a super mystique energy to lots of the record that wouldn’t of been there before. But it’s basically a culmination of songs we wrote over the last year. I feel like it’s our first true statement of who Betcha is. It’s definitely got a lot of diversity through the songs, but we strive to be band that can chase whatever sounds come our way.”
Can you describe what your songwriting process is like? And how do you divide the creative process between you?
B: “We are a very collaborative group. We like to approach songs from every angle, so they can start with a drum groove, melody, or something written on an acoustic guitar. We all have different strengths that play into the process. Once we have a solid foundation and vibe for a song, Charlie will usually start lyrics and the concept for the song while Doobie, Ben, and Chase keep building up parts in the track. We have also been collaborating with other talented writers and producers that help us push songs to the finish line.”
How has your sound, taste, and energy progressed since the band began?
B: “We have come a very long way since our founding! We actually used to be called Wilder, and were inspired more by standard rock bands and we even had some folk influence. In the past few years we have been growing into a sound that represents a lot of the bands that we all loved growing up like The Killers or U2 mixed with more modern artists like The 1975, or even Frank Ocean, that we draw from creatively to try and have a more modern sonic identity.”
What would you say was your biggest challenge breaking into the music industry?
B: “Obviously one of the hardest parts is getting noticed, whether that is by labels or managers. But another big challenge we have been facing is just writing and releasing music until a certain song really starts to catch fire. With most artists, just one or a few songs are what really launch careers into the next level, and even though we have a great team around us we are continuously working and writing to try to create music that people really enjoy.”
What do you want the listeners to take away from your music?
B: “One big aspect of our music is the honesty of the songs. All of our songs are very reflective of things that we have been through or experienced together or at some point. So much of the music that we listen to is music that is very transparent and feels like you connect with the lyrics and vibe very easily, and that feeling is what we hope to create when we are making music.”
And finally, what does 2020 hold in store, thus far, for Betcha?
B: “We have an EP coming out in October called Feels Like We’ve Been Here Before. This is a collection of songs we have been working on for the past year and are super excited to release into the world. We also have been working on a music video for our next single that we are really excited about. This collection of music is a sound that feels very reflective of where we are headed both sonically and aesthetically as a band.”