Go Away Gray is a rock band consisting of Eric Hammell and Joseph Cosaluzzo, who both played together in a previous band called No Signal. Inspired by classic and punk rock, the duo moved from New Jersey to Nashville to pursue creating new music. In this interview, they share their experiences in music, their inspirations, and their upcoming projects.
Hey, thanks for chatting with us. Tell us a little about yourself.
Two guys (Eric Hammell and Joseph Cosaluzzo) who played in a previous band No Signal together in New Jersey moved down to Nashville to pursue creating a new band and sharing our music with the world. We’re from a beach town in New Jersey we grew up during the boom of skate culture. We love classic and punk rock. We grew up playing little league baseball together.
Who or what inspired you to start making music? And, when did you start?
We both wanted to be cool. Eric got his first guitar from his dad when he was 11, was raised on metal music, and ended up becoming infatuated with reggae in his teenage years to counteract all the metal from childhood. Joe, after listening to Eddie Van Halen, decided to buy himself a guitar and take lessons around 12 years old and studied jazz/blues. We both started playing music together in a band in 2015 called No Signal with heavy influences from The Eagles and Modest Mouse.
What is your biggest challenge as an artist?
The biggest challenge for us as artists is being able to let our egos and necessity for perfection go in order to let the world hear what we have to offer.
What is your favorite project or single you have released?
Who are your inspirations? What artists or bands are you listening to?
Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, The Eagles, The Beatles, Whitney, Blink 182, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
What’s the process behind working on a song like?
We usually like to buy a new piece of gear that makes a fun new sound, (i.e. guitar pedal, plugin, amp, guitar, etc.) that we try to incorporate into our own styles. We like to make loops of everything we could possibly make into the song and then strip it down until it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be.
Tell me about your upcoming music and what inspired you to create it!
Our next release is a song called Chicken Parm. It’s inspired partially by a breakup making you feel like you want to get back up on your two feet and say “screw you I’m going to live my life.” It’s also inspired by us missing our hometown by the beach in NJ while we are landlocked in Nashville.
What are your plans for 2023?
We are practicing with new band members right now in order to start playing local Nashville shows. We want to release Chicken Parm in March and have at the very least two more single releases after that. We’d like to tour the east coast as well as cities closer to Nashville later in the summer. Eric is completing an audio engineer apprenticeship that will be done in June so we want to start completely recording our own music as well.
Have any shoutouts?
- Bands: Real Estate, Hot Mulligan, Bonny Doon, Whitney
- Audio: Chase Bliss Pedals, Fender, MXR, Universal Audio, Zvex, Mesa, JHS, Yamaha, Waves Audio, Moogami, Schecter
- Fashion and Skate Brands: Baker, Nike, Adidas, Vans
- Airlines: Southwest, United
- Hotels: Hilton, Marriot
- Brands: Apple, Spotify, The Academy, Sweetwater, Guitar Center
- Food and Alcohol: Captain Morgan, Casamigos, Sargento
- Friends: Sam Wieczorek, Steve Dickey, The Machine (Producer), Julian Garguilo, Tony Kampert, Chris Boyle, Joey Lipari, Justin Striffler, Brannon Sweigart, Via Napoli (Lacey NJ)
Eric Hammell and Joseph Cosaluzzo of Go Away Gray have proven that their passion for music and their dedication to their craft can create a unique sound that resonates with fans. As they continue to work on new music, they aim to push past their own egos and perfectionism to share their music with the world. With the release of their upcoming single, Chicken Parm, and future plans to tour and record their own music, it’s clear that Go Away Gray has a bright future ahead of them.