Hailing from all over Rhode Island and Massachusetts, alt-pop band Sporting are ready to share their next release with the world. What started as a solo project by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jake Harris has become a full-band alt-pop powerhouse with a sound that will make you nostalgic for where you’ve been and excited for where you’re going all at once.
Jake Harris (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Ben NeJame (lead guitar), Anthony Hefler (bass), and Robbie Desousa (drums) are back with a brand new single called “Ordinary Love”.
Back in July, Sporting hit the road on their first tour with DJ Leel, an indie artist. On the tour they visited Jersey City, Boston, Queens, and Providence and had the best time not only celebrating Leel’s album release but their own successes, especially their 2019 single “The Words That’ll Make Me Change” and 2020 single “Tongue Tied.”
Want to see Sporting live? They just announced two upcoming shows! They will be playing at Paragon Boardwalk in Nantasket Beach, MA on October 2 and Alchemy in Providence, RI on October 31.
This new single paired with a music video essentially tells the story of a scenario where you are loving someone who loves you back, but they don’t love you the same way that you love them.
Harris shares, “The song is about dealing with that and learning how to respect that while being able to respect your own emotions.”
Sporting’s dreamy guitar riffs and soaring choruses will serve as the soundtrack to all of your best memories, past, present, and future.
“The funny thing is this is actually the first song that I recorded for Sporting before it was even Sporting or anything close to that. Recording all the instruments on a song was something I never tried until then so that whole experience created a personal level of sentimental value towards this song for sure. I think I had this overbearing excitement making this song the entire time because it was the first time in forever that I was able to go to the studio and work on a song without any expectations at all,” Jake Harris says about the writing and recording process of “Ordinary Love”.
View the exclusive video premiere on For The Punks today and continue reading for an interview we had with vocalist Jake Harris!
Hey Sporting! Thanks for taking a second to talk with us about your new single and music video! Could you take a second to introduce yourself? What makes you, you?
Hey, it’s a pleasure! Thank you so much for having us! I’d say one thing that truly defines us is our dreamy poppier sound. I (Jake Harris, vocalist and rhythm guitarist) started this whole project with the idea of trying to step outside of a box I felt I was in musically and I can proudly say we’ve achieved that. That’s what keeps us excited to make more music!
Your new single “Ordinary Love” tells the story of a scenario where you are loving someone who loves you back, but they don’t love you the same way that you love them. Can you talk more about the writing process of the single and what you hope listeners will take away from this release?
I wrote this song back in 2019 originally and it’s finally seeing the light of day now! It was special because this was the first song I wrote for this band and the first time in a long time that I sat down and wrote something without feeling limited musically.
I hope people are able to relate to the general feeling of this song though; really it was about a situation I was in where I felt I was IN love with someone who simply loved me as a person.
The music video looks like it was very fun to film and it’s so colorful! Can you give us a little inside look to the creative process behind the video and how you filmed it?
Thank you so much for that! It honestly was the most fun we’ve all had in a very long time. Our great friend Connor Lenihan was the mastermind behind all of it. We just really wanted to be able to film something colorful and smash stuff, and we did! (laughs)
How does this release compare to your past releases? What have you learned about yourselves individually and as a band?
So we became a band right before the whole quarantine/lockdown period of time happened and we had only played one show and released one song at that point. We released one other song during lockdown but this track is really the most prepared and anticipated single we’ve been able to release so far.
Throughout the lockdown period, we practiced nearly every week when we were able to and just got a lot closer as friends. Knowing we put all of that time and work in makes us especially proud of this release.
Along with this new release, I saw you played some shows back in July! How were the shows? Tell us a favorite memory.
Yes, we did! Those were our first shows in about two years and we had the time of our lives. Literally could not have gone any better.
How have you changed the setting of your shows because of COVID? Is anything easier or harder to do when it comes to booking, rehearsing, performing, etc.?
Fortunately, all of our members are vaccinated so when it comes to getting together as a group there’s a lot less stress within that. All the shows we’ve played so far since returning have been outdoors aside from one show in New York City and even there everyone was wearing their masks and staying within their own little groups of people. I do know that since we last played there that venue updated its policy to require a vaccine card at the door, so that’s promising!
We play our first show in Providence, Rhode Island next month at an indoor club called Alchemy so that will really be our first intimate indoor show back. We’re hoping for the best!
Combining the idea of both your shows and your new music, how do you catalog your memories? You’ve created a lot of memories recently so are you journaling, taking photos, vlogging, etc.? We love when bands share some of their memories and BTS, especially on social media!
Our friend Jaylen came on tour with us back in July and took photos and videos of everything, which has been a nice way to look back on it. A lot of that is up on our socials!
After the “Ordinary Love” release, what can we expect from Sporting in the future? Is there more new music coming? More shows or special collaborations with anyone?
It’s only up from here! We have a LOT more cool stuff we’ll be announcing in the next few months!
If you had to share one last thing with us and our readers it would be…
You can find us on Instagram and Twitter @SportingBand. We have two shows coming up, on October 2nd we’ll be playing Boardwalk-tober Fest at Paragon Boardwalk in Nantasket Beach, MA, and on October 31st we’ll be playing Hammer Halloween Fest at Alchemy in Providence, Rhode Island. Thank you to whoever took the time to read this!
Such a dope band with a lot of heart!!! I can’t wait to continue to follow and support these really talented individuals. Their music has made such an impact on me!