Alexandria's FeelFree Finding a New Blend

A couple of years ago, a band like FeelFree would have had a tricky time staying together. With its members scattered around the country at different colleges, the ability to practice and work on new music would be extremely difficult.

Now, thanks to the ability to digitally record and send music, the four members of the band—Evan Hulehan (guitar and vocals), Andrew Pfeiffer (guitar and vocals), Bryan Frank (drums) and Garrett Clausen (bass and keys)—are able to stay on top of their game.

“We’re in separate corners of the country, but we’re able to send music to each other over email,” Hulehan said. “We record all of the music ourselves.”

Still, there's no replacement to practicing together in one place. This summer, the four T.C. Williams High School graduates are all back in town working on new music.

The band is playing at as part of Del Ray Music Week and again on the side stage during Saturday’s .

FeelFree’s sound is an amalgam of many different genres. Hulehan said he and Pfeiffer were initially into the blues and rock, but were inspired to add reggae into the mix after attending some shows in Arlington.

“We’re trying to add more bluesy, funky guitar feel on top of the reggae,” Hulehan said. “Our evolution is probably not done yet. Our musical tastes are changing. We want to add more styles to our blend. We are still working on getting more instruments involved.”

In the spring, the band climbed the reggae charts on ReverbNation, a social networking site that allows musicians to post and share their music. Check out FeelFree’s profile by clicking here.

Hulehan said the band hopes to have five or six more songs recorded before the members return to their respective schools. Several members are studying music or audio production in college, so the band will continue to hone its craft.

“Hopefully in the future we’ll all be in one place working on this again,” Hulehan said.