Today we’d like to introduce you to 8eyes.
Hi 8eyes, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
We met at UCLA (go bruins) in a college a cappella group called Bruin Harmony. We became friends, and ended up moving into an apartment together with five other members of the group. There were a lot of musicians in a very small space, so we had non-stop jam sessions going on. People were constantly writing songs together, most of which made no sense at all. We found that we had good songwriting chemistry together, so when our a cappella group put on a cabaret style concert where members could sing whatever they want, we decided to sing an original song that we wrote together called “Our Song (Be Mine).” It’s available on all streaming platforms if you’d like to listen to it!
That concert was in February of 2020. A couple weeks later, we went into COVID lockdown. We were stuck in a college apartment with nothing to do and nowhere to go, so we wrote more songs! By the time we graduated, we had an album’s worth of songs. We moved from that apartment in Westwood, to a place in Mid-City with only three other musicians, instead of five. We wanted to make a career in music, but neither of us believed that to be possible. We decided to try anyway, and here we are! 5 years later, and still going strong!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We consider ourselves very lucky to have the career that we do, but there are definitely some challenges. Our biggest obstacle is time. The money that we make from 8eyes projects all gets reinvested back into making more music, which has some incredible benefits. It means that we can take risks without worrying about going broke, and it means that we’ve been able to put out a decent amount of music independently. But it also means that we have to work full time to support ourselves. At this point, with how much 8eyes has grown, we are basically working two full time jobs. It’s a struggle to stay energized, especially in the down times. Music is an ebb and flow business. There are some times where everyone is listening to you, and watching your content, and reaching out to collaborate or connect. And then there are times where it feels like you are singing into the void. In those times, it’s difficult to finish a full work day, and then go straight into 3-5 hours of 8eyes work (which is our normal routine). That’s when we really have to remind ourselves why we do this. We want to make music for the rest of our lives. We want to support our families by making music, and we are willing to put in the hours to make that happen.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our passion is writing and performing music, especially original music. We just released a 5 song EP called “if you say it’s perfect…” on all streaming platforms. For us, this project was all about letting go of what we “should” do, and focusing on what we WANT to do. In the past, we have limited ourselves. Our early music was a lot of classic, emotional power ballads, and for the sake of branding, we didn’t let ourselves explore other genres or song structures. For this EP, we let go of that. We just wrote what we felt. That’s where the title came from. If the music was perfect to us, then we just let it be.
We are known for our covers on social media. We started posting on social media in 2021, and we were lucky enough to find some success pretty quickly. We posted videos of us harmonizing with an electric toothbrush, and a few of those went viral. Our following was still pretty small, but those little successes gave us the energy to keep posting. A year later, in 2022, we started posting our “songs as conversations,” where we mash up two different songs, and sing them in conversation with each other. Those videos blew up, and connected us with so many new people from all around the world. To do this day, we are stunned by the response that our music has gotten.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to support us is to listen to our music! Check out the new EP wherever you listen to music, and if you like it, come follow along as we make more! We are also always looking for more performance opportunities and opportunities to collaborate. If you are a music maker, or in the music industry, reach out to us! Maybe we could make something awesome together!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.8eyestheband.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/8eyestheband/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@8eyestheband
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vqCfKFVsezExNBz3Bzv8k?si=HeynRJ5sSJS1SaUe_Zz9Xg
Image Credits
Makela Yepez
