PREMIERE: Driver Friendly return with infectious "I Can Take It"

Driver Friendly is an pop-rock band from Austin, Texas, gearing up to become something more of an active band again. In case you’re unfamiliar, the band caught the attention of Tom Hanks in 2012 with heir music video “Messidona,” which serves as a tribute to Hanks.

Driver Friendly wound up signing to Hopeless Records and releasing their full-length Unimagined Bridges which featured Dan Campbell of The Wonder Years on the song “Stand So Tall.” This catapulted them into the national spotlight, including cross country runs with acts like Motion City Soundtrack, Seaway, and The Wonder Years. After all of this, the band decided to take a break and return home, in which they finished degrees, got married, started families, got “real” jobs and moved on with life.

However, something kept pulling at them to get things moving again with Driver Friendly, and after nearly 4 years since their last release of new music, they will be releasing a new EP on January 25th. The EP will be called Ceremony, and will serve as a homecoming of sorts for the band, as they plan on having an EP/reunion show on February 2nd in Austin, Texas.

“We always felt bad about disappearing a few years ago. To make up for our ‘ghosting’ we want this EP release and show to serve as a ‘thank you’ to our amazing fans. As of right now we’re not sure what the future holds for us. While we are happily pursuing other avenues of life, we know that the band will always be an essential part of who we are. But let us be clear: we’re not closing any doors to the future and this is not the closing ceremony. Rather we hope this release satisfies and energizes our audience to push us towards that next project – whatever musical form it might take,” Driver Friendly shares.

Today, we are excited to team up with the band to premiere a new single from Ceremony — “I Can Take It.” It’s an infectious pop-rock song that shows Driver Friendly haven’t missed a beat in their time away. “This song is special to us because it was co-written with our good friend Matt Hines (Eastern Sea, En Banc, Alaska is for Players), who we’ve known since the band started playing shows in the suburbs of Houston. Lyrically it was inspired by the experiences we had after spending several years touring extensively,” the band shares. “Anxiety had really become a powerful controlling force in my life. Instead of opening up to the people closest to me, I became really good at bottling things inside and just “taking it” if you will. I thought for some reason that by shouldering the burden of this condition by myself, I was protecting the people I cared about the most. So the song is half a question and half an anthem: How far can I push myself before I fall apart? But, also, let me take this– because I got it.”