Artist Spotlight: Two Eyes Open

Charlotte, NC pop-punk/alternative rock act Two Eyes Open has released their new song, the emotionally poignant ‘Good Gone Away‘. The track is the fourth single from a planned seven song EP entitled Satellites, but it is the sixth song overall that Two Eyes Open has released in 2020.

We got a chance to catch up with singer songwriter Dustin Parlier and chat about the single.

Refrain: What is the meaning behind Good Gone Away?

Dustin Parlier: So I think the song could be about a lot of things, and I didn’t really know myself who or what it was about really until it was completely finished. A lot of songs are like that for me; I think I pull things from my subconscious that later materialize in my day-to-day life. I wrote the song essentially in two sessions; one at the beginning of 2018 and later on in the summer of that year. I never try to force it when it comes to songwriting; nothing felt right after that minute and half mark or so. But a friend of mine passed away during that summer and I was wrought with grief. I just felt like screaming. That’s when the last half of the song beginning with “I felt like I needed to be alone” came about, and the soft middle section tying the first half to the last basically wrote itself shortly thereafter. In general though I think the song could be about anything that you may miss or be nostalgic for. Perhaps missing out on your shot with your soulmate. I’ve had a people tell me quite a few different things.

Refrain: If you could play a concert with one artist, who would it be?

Dustin Parlier: Opening for Sum 41 would be an absolute dream. And if they would want me to, I’d love to come out for the encore as well because I know every word and just about every note on the guitar to their songs, haha. I’m a huge Sums fan. I had the opportunity to talk to Deryck, (their singer) for an extended period of time when I was younger and that really shaped me as someone who could potentially have a platform one day. They’re doing better than ever as a band now and I couldn’t be happier for them.

Refrain: You recently did a cover song and it turns out the original artist digs it. How did that come about?

Dustin Parlier: Yeah, after hearing Trivium’s newest album, What the Dead Men Say, I felt really inspired to do an acoustic version of their song Sickness Unto You. I could just hear it in my head, you know? I redid it in an hour or so, set up the camera the next day, and sent Matt Heafy, their frontman, a link via Cameo. Surprisingly he really seemed to like it and after I shared his reaction on Reddit and Facebook I had people asking me to record it for real. So that became something from nothing real quickly and I put the song out on streaming platforms. They are some of my heroes as well so I got chills when I was putting my name next to theirs in the song credits for my distributor, as silly as that is.

Refrain: What’s something people don’t know about you or something you like to do when not making music?

Dustin Parlier: Hmmm. I really like to cook when I have the time; I make a dope fettuccine alfredo with homemade sauce and cajun lime shrimp. For that reason I do enjoy cooking shows a lot; I love to learn new things. Really hoping to get into making my own sushi one day.

Refrain: What’s coming up next for you?

Dustin Parlier: It’s always hard to say with how this year has gone. I originally had things very structured but two of my released songs were not planned and were made sort of in reaction to things (Face the Light and Sickness Unto You).

With that said, currently I’m finishing up work for my debut EP Satellites, which will have a total of seven songs. Disregard, Inconvenience, The Summer, and Good Gone Away are a part of this EP, but some of those tracks will receive some facelifts here and there to make them even better/more fresh, and then there will be three new songs no one has ever heard so I’m really excited about that.