'Every part of the song is meant to allow the vocalist to tell the story. 'The song has a progression that keeps building,' Collins adds. The song tells the story musically of someone dealing with that.' 'She had to deal with heavy stuff, like talking kids through bringing a friend down who hung himself and giving him CPR. 'I had a friend who was an emergency responder at the university,' he says. deCasa wrote the lyrics while a student at Texas A&M. The band's second single, 'Nicotine Dreams,' comes out on Friday, August 26, the same day as the show at Gramps. 'We play heavier music there's psychedelic elements we get experimental.' 'Every element gets explored in that song,' Nic explains. The quartet had recorded other songs, but Collins thought that song was a perfect reintroduction to the band. So far, Better Strangers has released its first single, 'But I Don't Know Your Name,' in April. 'But I travel to record and for us to go on the road.' 'It's kind of a modern take on a band since now everything is remote,' deCasa says. 'The only problem is I live in Texas,' deCasa adds.īut the chemistry was strong enough that the band was willing to try a long-distance relationship. The evolution of Better Strangers began when singer Ricky deCasa introduced himself to the band via Instagram. We wanted to sound more like ourselves,' Rodriguez explains. 'We were too concerned about sounding like our influences. What You Know played anywhere in Miami that would have them, with sets heavy on cover versions of the members' favorite bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.ĭuring the pandemic, the three friends decided they wanted to take a different approach to the music they were making. Flanked by guitarist Joey Rodriguez and bassist Yang Waingarten, Nic was part of the band What You Know, named after the very first song the trio played together, a track by Two Door Cinema Club. New Times first spoke with Nic in 2016, when he was 14, for his first-ever interview. With our band each of us is on display, so that can be a lot more nerve-racking.' 'For that, I just have to worry about drumming. 'At arena shows, I sit behind decades of music,' Nic tells New Times. Still, the Miami native swears he's more nervous about his upcoming show at Gramps with his band Better Strangers than he was playing at London's O2 Arena for a sold-out crowd. He got to keep the beat to pop smashes 'Invisible Touch' and 'Land of Confusion' at Madison Square Garden and received rapturous applause from audiences and critics. Recently, Nic got to play drums with his dad, Phil Collins, of the rock band Genesis. Not many musicians who have performed at massive arenas would sound as excited to play a smaller venue, but Nic Collins is.

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