How Indie Band The Phoenix Within Made the Rock Music Chart
Omar Feliciano, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of The Phoenix Within, shares the origin of his band’s name and how their recent single “Pessimist” reached #9 on Apple Music’s rock music chart.
Before he created The Phoenix Within, an acoustic rock project based out of Queens, New York, Omar Feliciano performed mainly as a solo acoustic artist for most of his musical career. Since founding The Phoenix Within, the band has released two full-length albums, several EPs, and has toured 15 states in the US.
Omar Feliciano of The Phoenix Within featured on the Offstage Tunes Live show
The curious name of the band was sparked by a conversation Omar had with a fellow undergraduate student. “We started talking about horoscopes,” Omar explains, “and he [said] how Scorpios have different levels and whoever’s a Scorpio can either be the Scorpio symbol or molt and change into the phoenix. And I said, ‘Oh, so you have a phoenix within?’ And as soon as it came out of my mouth, I jotted it down. I had a whole album written, but I didn’t have a name for the project…and that was the birth of [The Phoenix Within].”
Omar currently collaborates with three musician brothers under The Phoenix Within. Since these brothers have a strong relationship, they can push each other to create a stronger product. “That, for me, alleviates a lot of the workload,” Omar says. However, Omar jokes that they argue among themselves a lot but prefers to call it “talking.”
This “talking” is an essential part of their creative process. During production, Omar and the band were wary of the length of “Pessimist.” Knowing that most rock songs these days range between three and five minutes, they wanted to trim the music to fit within the average length of a song. “It just kept evolving, and at the end, we had this five-minute-and-change song,” says Omar. “We stuck to it and we’re proud of it.”
As an indie band, they had to do their own marketing for the single after it was produced. Omar recalls his grassroots efforts in promoting “Pessimist” as a downloadable song. “I was texting everybody. Please, just give me 75 cents!”
In the end, he and his band’s collective efforts have paid off. “Pessimist” has been extremely well received and reached top ten in the rock charts soon after the song was released. “We rode through the ranks, and for four days we remained there. It was a really great accomplishment for us!”
And just like that, The Phoenix Within has risen.
Interview conducted and written by Louise Lau. Connect with her on social media @offstagetunes
The interview was from episode #5 of the Offstage Tunes Live – The Brunch Series.
Visit The Phoenix Within on Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter