Follya, the new life of Dear Jack: “We fell in love again”

For Alessio Bernabei, Francesco Pierozzi, Alessandro Presti and Riccardo Ruiu, getting back together after Alessio’s divorce from the Dear Jacks and a bumpy ride very similar to a roller coaster was madness, and that’s why, when they decided to give new life to the group that marked their success in the ranks of Friends in 2013they had no doubts about the name to be given to the operation: Follya, precisely. “It was madness to get back together. We know that many people will think that we are hypocrites after all that has happened, but it is right to take some risks, to get out of the comfort zone “, tell the Follya in connection on Zoom from the Universal studios in Milan, engaged in the promotion not only of Dead for youtheir first single from reunited, but also of the new association that they have decided to forge by burying the misunderstandings of the past once and for all.

“We are not hypocrites precisely because we have decided to change our name: we believe so much in the project that we are free to think, to create, to compose. We do not have any kind of obligation: Follya is all this “, they explain, adding that the biggest risk today is that their work is not appreciated but that, after all, it is a relative risk:” We are doing all this having fun. Our work is a risk regardless, there will always be criticisms and insults. Before we were a teen band: to resume now, after 7 years, is a risk, but the desire to get back together on stage overcomes everything “, underlines Bernabei, who says that he missed the boys so much. “It’s like not seeing a person again for so many years and feeling the urge to get back to him. It all started with a Whatsapp message that restarted the infernal machine: we fell in love again ».

Having overcome the problem of trust – «I knew them better than I knew them before», says Alessio – and rediscovered the value of friendship – «We spoke often, it was a bit of a magnet. Every now and then I saw his posts and I said to myself: “But look at this asshole, why don’t we play together anymore?” the Follya start again from the music and, in particular, from the toxic love they describe in Dead for you, understood as rebirth and the desire to leave after a blow. Exactly as it happened to them: “Art is made to face the demons and the shadows of the past: if you don’t feel bad, don’t write”. It remains that the two years of the pandemic have undoubtedly influenced the idea of ​​giving the Dear Jacks another chance: «They were a blow to awareness. The lockdown brought us all back to the same level, changed us and gave us a crazy charge: when you lose everything, you realize what you are missing, and we lacked this “. Taking advantage of this “unrestrained freedom”, the Follya write, experiment, compose, and admit that they have made peace with everything they had left – “Music gives you many gifts, but also many slaps” – dreaming of returning soon to the live of which we had a taste just a few weeks ago on the stage where it all began: that of Friends.