Harrison Pugh figured the Georgia Theater might happen by senior year, if they got lucky. It happened in sophomore year. The Seven Two, named after the worst starting hand in poker, played the room for the first time, then signed their names next to the artists who get them through their bad days. We talked with them right after the set about the night, the Athens crowd, and the next bet they want to make.
You guys just played Georgia Theater for the first time. How did tonight feel from the stage?
Harrison Pugh - Man, walking out there, knowing the stage we were on and the artists that have come before us to also stand in that same position is absolutely incredible. When we moved up to college, I said, "Look, we're in Athens. We're going to have a lot of opportunities. I'm sure by the time we're seniors, maybe one day we'll get the opportunity to play the Georgia Theater." I didn't think it would come when we were sophomores in college. That part kind of blows my mind. And it really brings a tear to my eye, just the amount of work we've put in, the sleepless nights we've had on the road driving across the country, and staying up late to work on new songs. And it really makes it all worth it when we get an opportunity to do something as awesome as this.
John Elliott -Yeah, Georgia Theater was really good, and I thought it was really cool to play somewhere with the legacy that it has and the history. And it was really cool to sign my name next to people that I know and listen to on a daily basis, even on my bad days. So it's really cool to kind of be in the same club or fraternity as some of those guys, and I really enjoyed it. So it's really cool to kind of be in the same club or fraternity as some of those guys, and I really enjoyed it.
Was there anything about the Athens crowd or the atmosphere here at Georgia Theater that surprised you playing here for the first time?
Harrison Pugh- We're from Athens, and we've also played all over the country. We've played Texas. We're going to Oklahoma next month. We've been to Virginia, North, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, a lot of really cool places. Nobody does music like Athens, Georgia. I mean, just the music scene here and the folks here in the crowd care about music so much. Compared to these other places we go, they might bob their head or whatever. You can tell they kind of enjoy it, but the people in Athens really get into it. Did it surprise me? No, because I know that Athens is great for being a great crowd, always. They're always very into it. And a lot of these other places we go, they're not so much into it. They're into it, they're having a good time, but I mean, Athens is just off the charts in terms of being locked in. And you look out and lock eyes with people, and it's an awesome feeling because you can tell how much this city cares about live music. I think Athens is one of the places in America that's really keeping the smaller scale live music scene alive still.
River Hardwood- I'll second that there is no crowd like Athens, Georgia. They are just people who want to hear music, and that is such a huge thing for us. I absolutely would not call us a big band, but even we have people who know us and will come to our gig just out and about, and they'll yell our names. And every time it's like, you know who we are, that's insane that people already enjoy us and want to see more of us.
You guys are heading into the rest of the fall. What are you hoping this next stretch of shows brings for the band?
Harrison Pugh- I think right now our next goal, we're going across the country playing a lot of really cool events with some big crowds attached to those events. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that our next biggest goal is, for a band about The Stew's size to say, "Hey, guys, we see something in y'all. We want to bring you on the road with us. If someone would take us on a run, maybe, I don't know, eight or 10 shows on a tour across America, I think we could start breaking some ground and that could be our next big step. If someone would just take a chance on us and let us spend a month, two months with them on the road. I mean, shit, I would take a semester off of school. I'd do it in a heartbeat. If you tell me, "hey, we want to take you on the road for a month, two months," I don't care if I have to fucking drop out. I'd say, "look, man, let's do it. Let's bet it all on The 72. We're going all in." I ain't always going to be able to be in a band with my best friends and... So, our next big goal is just to... We want to travel, man. We want to get in front of as many people as we possibly can and let them know what we're about, give them a little taste of Georgia, and hope they don't hate our songs.
Nathan Sickman- It's the main goal, the main plan. I would love to travel, just to have a chance. I think that's all we need is just one chance, and that would be enough.
Find The Two Seven on Instagram