Indie pop/rock band Steal Away is ready to take the music scene by storm. The trio has announced the release of their new single entitled “Flower Shop.” “Flower Shop” is the debut single from the band which was mastered by multi­ Grammy Award Winner and sound engineer Chris Bellman (Credits include Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Diana Ross, Eric Clapton and Vampire Weekend just to name a few).

Check out “Flower Shop” for yourself below: 

The band originally from Tucson Arizona, is made up of brothers Matt and Chris Babers and their childhood friend Brandon Martin. The band draws inspiration from their own personal experiences such as their decision to move to San Diego.

PopWrapped got the chance to talk to the band about “Flower Shop”, the band and more.

PopWrapped: So let’s start from the beginning. What made you guys form a band?

Steal Away: I think being a rockstar is something every kid dreams of doing at one point, we just never really got it over haha. We all grew up playing different instruments and listening to all of our favorite bands that we still listen to today, and I just don’t think there was ever going to be a different path for any of us. Music is just the one thing that has always been the biggest part of our lives in so many different ways, whether it was writing, playing or just listening.

PW: Did you always want to be in the music business or did you start with a different career path?

SA: We’re all in our early 20’s still, so this is probably the closest thing to a career path any of us have had so far haha. We all grew up playing music and going to school together in Arizona, and after high school graduation we came out to San Diego to really give our music a shot. We’ve all held plenty of different jobs to make ends meet while we’re also going to school, but we definitely try to prioritize our music as much as possible.

PW: Who came up with the name Steal Away? Does it have a special meaning?

SA: My brother Chris and I came up with the name. It’s a secret reference to a Led Zeppelin song, “How Many More Times”. There’s a live performance at Royal Albert Hall that Led Zeppelin did in 1969, and me and my brother used to watch it over and over again. During this performance, Robert Plant comes back in after an incredible, extended improvised solo by Jimmy Page, and leads the band into the sickest riff of the entire song as he shouts “Steal Away”. It was always our favorite part of the whole performance, so we thought it would be a cool little homage.

PW: How old were you all when you started performing?

SA: Our first performances back in our hometown we’re around 16 and 17, we played at a few local spots around town bur there isn’t much of a live music scene in our hometown, so once we moved out to San Diego our first performance was at the Voodoo Lounge at The House of Blues. That was awesome, especially now that we’re performing regularly on the main stage!

PW: Who are your music inspirations?

SA: All of us grew up on the classics, from every genre. For my brother and I, we’re mostly classic rock guys at heart, and Led Zeppelin was obviously a huge influence for us. Definitely our favorite band of all time. Brandon’s a little bit more punk rock, and definitely loves The Offspring, who we’re actually seeing in concert this weekend which should be SICK. But everyone from Jimi Hendrix, to The Eagles, to Aretha Franklin or The Ramones, we can honestly say we’re literally into just about everything.

PW: Describe your style of music in one word or one phrase.

SA: We have a nice long winded phrase for this one haha. We’re an Alt Blues, Indie pop, surf punk, rock n’ roll band, with a little bit of folk in thrown in there. We love our acoustic guitars too haha.

PW: You guys were originally born in Arizona. What was it like to just pack up everything and move to California? Was it hard to do or did it just come natural to you all?

SA: By the time we actually made it out here it felt pretty natural, and we were definitely ready to get out here and give our music a shot. At the same time, when you’re making a big move like that in your life, there’s always that fear of the unknown, and sometimes the whole idea of taking that risk can seem overwhelming in the days leading up. But we’ve always believed that action conquers fear, and we’ll always take an “oh well” over a “what if” any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. We knew it was something we had to do, and fortune favors the bold, so really there was nothing to be afraid of.

So let’s talk a little more about your single Flower Shop.

PW: Can you tell me more about what inspired you to write Flower Shop?

SA: Chris actually wrote this song with our dog, Smurf, about two years ago. Chris was just hanging out in his room, playing guitar with the dog lying on the floor like usual, and found a weird version of the “B” Chord that the song starts on, and Smurf perked his ears up in approval. As Chris began to figure out the structure of the song, he knew he was onto something, melodically, if it was enough to get Smurf up from his favorite activity, lying on the floor. The lyrics for the song tell the story of a girl and a guy who secretly love each other, but are too afraid to make their move. Every day they buy flowers for each other in hopes of getting up the courage to give them to their crush, but instead they stand outside the flower shop and pick the petals off, in a never ending game of “she loves me, she loves me not”. It’s something that people can relate to on a literal level, but also on a more metaphorical level. Sometimes in life you’re going to have to make that moves that scares you half to death, and the chances are, it’s going to work out better than you can even hope for.

PW: How was it working with Brooke Ehlert?

SA: Brooke is awesome, and extremely talented. When Chris wrote “Flower Shop”, he wrote the song as a duet, but we didn’t have a female singer at the time. I was hanging out with one of my buddies who mentioned that his sister could sing one day when we were all sitting around jamming. He brought her over the next time, and she fit in perfectly as soon as she sat down. We recorded the song at a small local studio in Carlsbad, CA called Tilt Top Notch, and Brooke nailed her part in one take, and she just always sounds incredible. She was only 17 at the time!

PW: What is the writing/recording process like for you?

SA: The writing process for us comes pretty natural, and it’s something we’ve all been doing for a long time. We all have different songs that we’re always working on, some get finished quickly, some over the course of time. But having grown up together, and with all of us living together now by the beach, we don’t even have to try to collaborate or create, we have it set up so that it can happen naturally, so nothing ever feels forced or contrived. I think that underlying authenticity is something that people can sense when they listen to our music or come see us play.

PW: If you could perform anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

SA: Well if we’re in a fantasy world, it’d probably have to say Madison Square Garden, sharing the stage with Led Zeppelin. They’d definitely show us up, but they’re just the most legendary band that we’ve all looked up to for so many years, and that would probably be the coolest thing that could ever happen… to anyone… ever haha.

PW: Any tour plans?

SA: We have quite a few shows lined up around San Diego this summer, but we might head up the West Coast later this fall. For summer, we like to be beach side, so if you’re in Southern California come rock with us!

PW: So what is up next for you guys?

SA: We have an EP coming out at the end of summer as well, and after that it’s just taking over the world one ridiculous show at a time! Playing live is what we do best and where we feel at home, and everybody who come out to our shows are always amazing, they’re always dancing and singing and rocking right along side us, and we can’t get enough.

PW: Where Can people find you on social Media?

SA: Everywhere! You can check out our website, with links to everything at StealAwayBand.com, or find us on Instagram at StealAway_, (don’t forget the underscore haha) or YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, Soundcloud, ReverbNation, you name it! We’ll love you all forever!

Thanks to Steal Away for taking the time to chat with us. Don’t forget to check them out on all social media platforms.

And don’t forget to keep up with PopWrapped for all your Pop Culture news.