Are You Watching? - Glazed
Glazed talks about their hat trick: A Release, A Tour, and FEST 22!
Do you ever come across a band and think, “How the hell aren’t they opening every other tour for the big names in Pop-Punk and Emo?” Well, this is one of those moments. Glazed is a 4-piece Pop-punk/emo band from Jacksonville, Florida. I’m sure some folks have differing opinions about the state as a whole, but one thing that isn’t debatable is the quality of bands they have produced and continue to produce.
If this is the first time you’ve heard about Glazed, you’re jumping into their story at an incredible moment. Glazed are: releasing a split, going on a two-week tour (kicks off 6/15/24 in Atlanta, GA), and playing Fest 22 down in Gainesville, Florida, later this year in October.
I was fortunate to hop on a call with Justin Belichis (Vox/Guitar for Glazed), to discuss their hat trick before they departed for the Cool Being Through tour.
Alex (DD): Hey, thanks for sitting down with DIY DISPATCH. Would you mind giving some background on Glazed? How’d y’all start?
Justin (Glazed): “Glazed formally began in 2014; I wish it was a cooler story; we are all childhood friends who went to hardcore and punk shows in places that weren’t supposed to have hardcore and punk shows. We found each other and started a band, and we are still here.”
Alex (DD): In your mind, what’s the biggest achievement y’all have made so far?
Justin (Glazed):
“For me personally, it’d probably be opening for The Get Up Kids, that’s a band that I love so much, and to hear their singer, Matt Pryor, thank us and say our band name on stage was a full circle moment for me. In addition to that, the most meaningful thing we’ve done… is getting on the FEST here in Gainesville. After a band practice early on, Liam (Drummer) and I were hanging in the back of my mom’s van with our friends, and they started telling us about how crazy it was; they showed us a video of generator shows that would happen after hours... and I remember watching that and thinking that’s really what we should do.”
Alex (DD): Who do you think would like Glazed?
Justin (Glazed):
I think who would like Glazed, are people who have never listened to underground punk, pop-punk, or emo music. We call ourselves “the gateway band” cause so many people, after seeing us play, come up to us and say, ‘This is my first show, and like, I’ve never heard anything like y’all.’ These are the type of people I love to play for; it’s a pure reaction, but you know, then we introduce them to a whole slew of other artists who are doing the same thing.”
THE SPLIT
First things first, today (6/14/24) marks the release of Glazed’s split with New Jersey’s Sleep In. Glazed provided two songs for this split: “Cool Being Through” and “Cursed”. With a combined run time of just under five and a half minutes shared between the two songs, Glazed wastes no time sinking their hooks in.
The band kicks in on the first beat of “Cool Being Through” with full force, like a sprinter with their eyes on the gold. The good news is they don’t take their foot off the gas for even a second, from blaring guitars ripping through at a blistering pace to the major lift that peaks its head up through the cacophony before diving head first back into aggressive riffs throwing you back into the blender.
The second song, “Cursed,” continues to show Glazed’s intentional decisions and craftsmanship, utilizing the ending of “Cool Being Through” to dive straight into the song, having the guitar feedback connect these two pieces to feel like a continuation of a piece, not just a “throw-away” song to tack onto the split. Although it’s always fun to dissect the meaning of a song on your own, I was lucky enough to have Justin walk me through the songs.
Alex (DD): How did this split come about? Who reached out to who? Any history between Sleep In and Glazed?
Justin (Glazed):
“For this one, we wanted to go back to basics, you know, just plug in our amps and have it sound like we’re playing in the room the listener is in, really loud, really fast, simple.
So it’s funny we had no true relationship with Sleep In before the split was planned. I’ve listened to Sleep In since they came out with their album back in 2014, I listened to that a ton and really admired that band, but when we put out our EP Chillogy, our friend Scott - who plays in Dikembe, reached out and said ‘Do you know this band Sleep In? Their singer texted me and said I really fuck with the sound.’ So, they became aware of us from that EP.”
Alex (DD): What was the process of recording these songs?
Justin (Glazed):
“So for our songs on the split, we recorded with a guy named John Howard out of Gainesville, just recording in Gainesville; there is something in the air up there. John is a guy who records a bunch of hardcore bands, like strictly. Cause we wanted to go for this more raw live sound for our songs, we wanted to record with someone who was used to doing that for heavy bands, so basically, Glazed went to a guy who records a bunch of hardcore bands, and that’s how it sounds.”
Alex (DD): These songs felt very introspective. Would you care to share a little of how they came about? What influenced the subject matter?
Justin (Glazed):
“I almost feel like I’m snitching on myself to a degree. The first song “Cool Being Through” is very personal; it’s ultimately about saying goodbye to a good friend because being friends is kind of just toxic, and no one is really growing from the friendship; part of being a good friend is learning how to say goodbye to give some space for growth. So it’s kind of like a break-up song but for friendship. We’re not all gonna be friends forever, but that love never goes away even though we’re not friends; the song is about tough love.
A song like “Cursed” is about the relationship between wanting to pursue music full-time and having to lead this separate life of paying bills, having friends, having a family, and having your health to maintain. It’s about the dichotomy of what it is that we are doing as artists. As an artist working full-time but trying to squeeze in a two-week tour when I can to promote the split cause, it’s all I know how to do. It’s called “Cursed” because it’s this curse we get exposed to that we fall in love with doing, and because of that, we’ll never really be normal.”
THE TOUR
One thing I’ve enjoyed about Glazed from the get-go is that as much as they are DIY, they are deliberate and thoughtful. Nothing shows that more than lining up a tour to start the day after a release. Taking full advantage of that piping-hot iron, they hit the road on June 15th in Atlanta.
Glazed begins their two-week tour with a cast of rotating bands as they climb up to Philadelphia, PA, to link up with Camp Trash (Another great Florida band). For people in the Boston area, you might notice that they are coming through on June 23rd (TIX) to The 4th Wall in Arlington, MA. It might be my personal opinion, but… this is one you can’t miss, especially when the hometown juggernauts Return Address are providing local support for Boston’s date. (P.S. I’ll be there - say hi!)
Alex (DD): I’m noticing a pattern of thoughtfulness to everything y’all do; how long has the release and tour been planned?
Justin (Glazed):
”In the history of our band, we’ve never had a proper shot at promoting something on a tour - with this one, we recorded the songs in January, we knew we wanted to do the split with Sleep In, and from that point, the label putting it out, Negative Progression, we worked with them to tie it all up so that we could give a proper shot at sending this. Let’s put it out, tour two weeks, and see what happens.”
Alex (DD): I can only guess that you’re going to have a blast playing with Camp Trash for a week straight, but have you been introduced to any locals who have caught your ear while booking this tour?
Justin (Glazed):
“There is a band from Atlanta called, Envi Little, they are putting out an EP Friday, the same day we are. I love that band they play this moody-mysterious rock that is so cool. I’m also looking forward to playing with that band 95’ Corolla in Nashville; they just put out a record. Also, Cheem - that’s a band I’ve been listening to since last year, I love their new EP “Fast Fashion,” it sounds like if forever sickest kids listened to System of The Down as kids with Fueled by Ramen Vocals.
Alex (DD): I know this isn’t y’all’s first tour, so I’m curious: are there any cities you’ve hit before that you’re looking forward to returning to on this tour?
Justin (Glazed):
”We are excited to return to St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta - these places we went to last year; it’s crazy to think this will be our second time in St. Louis. Someone commented on a photo saying they’re excited for us to swing through again, and I’m so stoked to meet this person. We are also heading to so many new places that we’ve never played. Like, we’ve never played Boston, but I love Boston and have so much respect for the scene up there.”
FEST 22
Finally, after everything, it’s time to FEST. For those not in the know, FEST is a yearly music festival held in Florida. Bringing together some of today's and yesterday's mainstays of “the scene.” They also fill out the rest of their lineup with upcoming acts that are on track to break through to the next level, so it should be no surprise to see Glazed on the lineup for this year. From October 25th to October 27th, Gainesville, Florida, will be home to a higher-than-average amount of SSRIs and skinny jeans. Luckily for residents and visitors, they will have every opportunity to interact with their community and drown in serotonin as Glazed (+ many more) fill the air with music.
Alex (DD): Living in Florida, FEST must be a big deal, right? Have y’all had a chance to play before? How do you feel about being able to share the stage with so many great bands?
Justin (Glazed):
“FEST is one of the last places in Florida with magic in the air, truly. It’s an incubator for new bands who want to try this out and a torch-barring ceremony for legacy bands. To just be in the mix is truly an honor; it’s unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. At FEST we’ve made friends with bands who we later got to tour with (Kerosene Heights), and that’s where I asked Marty from Acrobat Unstable Records to put a tape by Glazed out, and it happen. It’s a bit of validation, we feel seen at FEST. It celebrates community, it champions it, and we are honored to be a part of it.
I think FEST18 was our first FEST, maybe FEST17 - we were on a backup list for if bands dropped, and that’s what happened - we played in front of maybe four people, but we were stoked and happy to do that - and we hoped it’d solidify a place for us in the future.”
Alex (DD): Are there any specific up-and-coming bands you’re excited to catch when you’re not performing?
Justin (Glazed):
“I really like this band, The Arrival Note, from St. Pete, Florida. They’re doing emo music right now in a fresh way that sounds so familiar, but no one is really doing it right now. Also, the band Woolbright, I love them too, they’re from south Florida. I’m looking forward to hearing what album they put out; they’re writing and recording it right now. So, I want to see how they progress over the next year. I’m leaving out so many - so I’m sorry!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Glazed will end the year with a bag full of achievements: a release, a tour, and FEST. If you’ve been in the know, I’m sure you’ve been cheering them on. You know how much work and time they’ve put in to get to where they are. Sadly, for bands, work is never done, and if you want to keep climbing, you’ve got to keep moving.
Alex (DD): It might be too early to tell, but what is next after a year like this?
Justin (Glazed):
“We’ll write more music because we want to put out an LP next year. We’ll probably be taking a break from shows and focusing on writing for the back half of the year, but some shows might pop up around FEST, and we'll probably play some Florida shows in December. This (Lickity Split) is the first music we’re putting out with our new guitarist, Brian, where he is writing on the tracks; this is really an ushering in of a new era of our band so wise.”
Alex (DD): What goal are you looking to hit in 2025?
Justin (Glazed):
“I think we want to put out an LP that defines who we are as people now. Our first LP we put out was in 2016, and I feel like I’m two different people since then. I know who I am a bit more and what my values are, I think I speak for the whole band that we are all creatively in different spaces, I want to collaborate with this group of people and write the next Glazed album and really send it, try to hit the west coast for the first time. If we are lucky, we get offered a support slot on a bigger tour; we think that’d be amazing - right now, we are putting in the work to make that next step.”
Alex (DD): Anything you’d like to say before heading off on the road?
Justin (Glazed):
”If you can, start a band. It will change your life for better or for worse, but either way, you’ll be cursed.”
THE END
Thanks for reading! You can follow Glazed on almost every social network (click any mention of “Glazed” to be directed to their link). As mentioned, they will be touring throughout the back half of June - if they are coming to a city near you, free that date up so you don’t miss them!
As a side note, we must give some love to our Northeast Homies, who will share FEST with Glazed this year. If you’re free, make sure to check out Cape Crush, Rebuilder, Hell Beach, and Career Day (toured with Glazed)!