“American Idiot by Green Day was the first CD I remember stealing from my sister, and I listened to nonstop,” says Louis Petrella of Sorry, It’s Over. Petty theft from siblings is a rite of passage for both swipers and swipees — the youngers see what's cool and aspire to possess it by any means necessary, simply because it's cool. The elders get the privilege of dictating taste. For Petrella, the album sparked a Green Day obsession fierce enough to make him plunk down his own coin. “Eventually, I acquired every Green Day album created with any loose change I could find, and made it a goal to learn each song. Billie Joe Armstrong is still one of my favorite songwriters.”
It’s telling that Petrella still uses the word “albums” in conversation, a callback to physical media from the pre-streaming period. Interesting for a band that broke on Spotify with a few singles before earning 200,000 streams on Spotify with their 2021 self-titled debut album. The cohesive collection of tracks establishes and maintains a mood throughout — a reflection of his own listening habits. Talking of which: “We’re planning on printing CDs for our upcoming tour, but it would be nice to have vinyl options also," says Petrella. "I still personally like listening to full albums, but it seems like it’s more popular just to know the main hit singles.”
While stealing a Green Day disc may have been the first step on the road to becoming a professional musician, his band sounds nothing like them. Sonically, Sorry, It’s Over is dreamy, with a healthy dose of angst, though willing and able to incorporate a searing guitar solo into a song if it serves the tune. (Their early single “Handkerchiefs and Hand Grenades” does evoke the cover of American Idiot, with its hand grasping an explosive projectile.)
Over the course of its brief life, Sorry, It’s Over has already undergone an almost complete change of band members. “Currently, Jonah Doucette is on the drums and Evan Funk — is there a cooler name for a bassist? — is on bass. Jonah actually started in the band playing bass, but after the last drummer ended up not being able to make the tour, he was cool with switching to drums.”
Though he's capable of playing multiple instruments, and of writing and recording songs without others, Petrella welcomes the communal approach that a band provides. “There have been times it has been nice to be able to record all the instruments myself, to be able to get my ideas out as quickly as possible. But it also can be fun and helpful collaborating and finding out what others think. And yes, they [Doucette and Funk] played on the new songs coming out soon. A couple of the older recordings had the old drummer Josh Askin on it, and Jonah played bass.”
Their recently announced tour will begin in Arizona and trek through New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee. “Recently, the most memorable show was in Seattle for our last tour at the El Corazon Fun House. It was just a really fun night playing there for the first time at the same venue that Nirvana and Pearl Jam played at. Another memorable show was just being able to play the legendary Belly Up. The Belly Up was probably the coolest and my favorite of the venues in San Diego. The Soda Bar and Casbah are also great spots for local music!”
New music is coming, though not a full album. “I actually just got the master back for the newest single. The next two singles are going to be called ‘What Can I Do For You?’ and ‘I Need It.’ We’re hoping to get the first single released in the next few weeks.”
And what of the name? Is it some sort of existential response to the platitude “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened,” often attributed to Dr. Seuss? Nothing so deep and dark, as it turns out. “To be honest, there’s not a very cool story to the band's name. A past drummer named Johnny Starlord came up with the name, and it just stuck.” In the end, it's more funny than sad: “I find it kind of funny to end each show by saying, ‘We’re sorry it’s over.’”
“American Idiot by Green Day was the first CD I remember stealing from my sister, and I listened to nonstop,” says Louis Petrella of Sorry, It’s Over. Petty theft from siblings is a rite of passage for both swipers and swipees — the youngers see what's cool and aspire to possess it by any means necessary, simply because it's cool. The elders get the privilege of dictating taste. For Petrella, the album sparked a Green Day obsession fierce enough to make him plunk down his own coin. “Eventually, I acquired every Green Day album created with any loose change I could find, and made it a goal to learn each song. Billie Joe Armstrong is still one of my favorite songwriters.”
It’s telling that Petrella still uses the word “albums” in conversation, a callback to physical media from the pre-streaming period. Interesting for a band that broke on Spotify with a few singles before earning 200,000 streams on Spotify with their 2021 self-titled debut album. The cohesive collection of tracks establishes and maintains a mood throughout — a reflection of his own listening habits. Talking of which: “We’re planning on printing CDs for our upcoming tour, but it would be nice to have vinyl options also," says Petrella. "I still personally like listening to full albums, but it seems like it’s more popular just to know the main hit singles.”
While stealing a Green Day disc may have been the first step on the road to becoming a professional musician, his band sounds nothing like them. Sonically, Sorry, It’s Over is dreamy, with a healthy dose of angst, though willing and able to incorporate a searing guitar solo into a song if it serves the tune. (Their early single “Handkerchiefs and Hand Grenades” does evoke the cover of American Idiot, with its hand grasping an explosive projectile.)
Over the course of its brief life, Sorry, It’s Over has already undergone an almost complete change of band members. “Currently, Jonah Doucette is on the drums and Evan Funk — is there a cooler name for a bassist? — is on bass. Jonah actually started in the band playing bass, but after the last drummer ended up not being able to make the tour, he was cool with switching to drums.”
Though he's capable of playing multiple instruments, and of writing and recording songs without others, Petrella welcomes the communal approach that a band provides. “There have been times it has been nice to be able to record all the instruments myself, to be able to get my ideas out as quickly as possible. But it also can be fun and helpful collaborating and finding out what others think. And yes, they [Doucette and Funk] played on the new songs coming out soon. A couple of the older recordings had the old drummer Josh Askin on it, and Jonah played bass.”
Their recently announced tour will begin in Arizona and trek through New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee. “Recently, the most memorable show was in Seattle for our last tour at the El Corazon Fun House. It was just a really fun night playing there for the first time at the same venue that Nirvana and Pearl Jam played at. Another memorable show was just being able to play the legendary Belly Up. The Belly Up was probably the coolest and my favorite of the venues in San Diego. The Soda Bar and Casbah are also great spots for local music!”
New music is coming, though not a full album. “I actually just got the master back for the newest single. The next two singles are going to be called ‘What Can I Do For You?’ and ‘I Need It.’ We’re hoping to get the first single released in the next few weeks.”
And what of the name? Is it some sort of existential response to the platitude “Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened,” often attributed to Dr. Seuss? Nothing so deep and dark, as it turns out. “To be honest, there’s not a very cool story to the band's name. A past drummer named Johnny Starlord came up with the name, and it just stuck.” In the end, it's more funny than sad: “I find it kind of funny to end each show by saying, ‘We’re sorry it’s over.’”
Comments