There might be 291 days until Halloween, but we can never celebrate too early! This is something The Frst seems to agree with, given the content of their first single of 2023, “Scary Movie”.
It’s perfectly timed, too, given the fact that the song dropped today–on Friday the Thirteenth.
Oooh, how spooky.
Stream the quirky genre-defiant indie rock bop on Spotify, below, and read on to find out a little more about the true story that inspired the horror-adjacent track.
“Scary Movie” by The Frst on Spotify:
“Scary Movie” by The Frst isn’t so scary…
The band describes this new single, which is a collaboration with keyboardist Ryan Prewett, as “an ode to scary teen movies, but with a more chill and psychedelic vibe [that conjures] up dopamine in a unique and genre-less way.” I would have to agree– unlike with most ‘scary movies’, this song did not inspire my heart to start beating out of my chest.
I suppose its title is definitely more of a reference to Scary Movie than the horror films that follow the tropes that Scary Movie parodies. You won’t leave this track feeling the same way you would if it sounded like it belonged on a Silent Hill soundtrack or something--don’t worry.
The Frst once again demonstrated their commitment to fun with this track. When I first listened to it, I thought about how they continue to create the perfect road trip music… and just how badly I want to go on one. Then I’d have an excuse to just pop on their entire discography and vibe.
I suppose I can do that on my work commutes, too.
… but the backstory is a bit unsettling.
While the song was, in part, inspired by the time that Mikei Grey and members of The Frst’s live band spent on a horror movie set, the vocalist also has real-life experience with actual horror tropes, as it turns out.
Lucky for us, we were given all the details.
Content warning: firearms.
“The song itself is actually based on a true story of mine.
When living in Miami [at about 19 years old], I was in the bathroom, next to the shower, when I spotted two gunmen outside in our (fenced-in) backyard, slowly approaching, and whispering, as they grabbed the door handle to the room directly next to room I was in…
What would YOU do next?!”
Mikei continues, “So, make matters worse, this was Miami, so the whole house was glass! Silly architecture.”
“I started to run and scream in the opposite direction, hoping they’d get spooked. My roommates and I huddled behind the kitchen counter island–because, again, the house is glass, it was the only place mildly safe from a gunshot.”
“We grabbed the phone, and for the first time in my life, called the police. They say, they’ll be right there, try to stay calm.”
“We wait, shaking, panting…
…They never show up.”
“We pick the phone up again. We call 911 again.”
‘911 what’s your emergency?’
“‘WE just spoke! There’s two gunmen here–we need help NOW!'”
‘OK, please try to stay calm, We’ll send someone now.’
“‘That’s what you said last time!'”
‘I understand, please try to stay calm.’
“Can you guess what happened next? They never, ever showed up. Either time. So, we each grabbed a knife and began to slowly explore the house… and… well, the rest of that story I should save for another time [laughs].”
We’ll be holding you to it, Mikei.
Meet The Frst
“After sharing stages with acts like Florida Georgia Line, Portugal. The Man and Sublime With Rome, from venues all over like The Grand Ole Opry to the Vans Warped Tour stages, The Frst founder Mikei Gray was looking to fill the gap between his spectrum of experiences and focused on forging a project that encompassed hard rock riffs and meaningful songwriting.
In 2017, Gray founded The Frst, intentionally leaving out the I, due to the band’s changing nature and revolving lineup. Since the formation, Gray has elicited the support of featured artists like Nathan Cogan of Taking Back Sunday along with Andrew Leahey (Thirty Tigers), Jeff Hutchins of Insane Clown Posse, Justin Smith of Rodney Atkins, Eric Barfield (Evans Blue) and others to realize his ideas for their debut album Prelude, pegged by the single “Ammo” which peaked at No. 1 on Soundcloud Rock Charts and and “Tarantino” which also climbed to No.1 on US FM Radio (KXFM) and No. 78 on iTunes Top 100 Rock Songs Chart.
Subsequent albums like 2020 Record Store Day special ‘Bees’ and recent singles like “Small Talk” and “This is me Now (feat. KID BRUNSWICK) were equally as successful and paved the way for Gray to continue down his experimental creative path that boasts the meaning of songwriting and collaboration while blurring the line between genres.”
– bio as provided by the artist.
Keep in Touch with The Frst:
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Stream The Frst’s music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, and YouTube.
Keep up with The Frst via their website.
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