Freight, a popular rock band at the University of Dayton, recently released their new single, "Welcome to the Ghetto." Catering to UD students, fans are calling it an "anthem." It pays tribute to UD's campus, and is intended to give new students an introduction to the UD community.
Freight has been extremely busy since the release of their album "Start the Night off Easy" in the spring. Over the summer, Freight has been rehearsing and writing new music. These songs were demoed at a house show as well as a few venues in Chicago, as the band took a trip to perform at "YESfest," an arts festival in Elmhurst, Illinois. Freight also performed at UD's Welcome Back concert at Art Street in August, when UD students returned to school.
In addition to writing and performing, Freight has been working on many music videos, including videos for both old music and "Welcome to the Ghetto." For their new single, they plan on filming around the student neighborhood to capture what UD is really like, and involve the students in the music video itself.
The process for writing music is very collaborative for the members of Freight. They also love to improvise, with each piece being a little bit different every time.This is especially evident in their live shows where they add unique changes not found on the recordings. They incorporate a lot of genres into their music, from rock and funk to jazz.
This summer, Freight welcomed two new members: Caleb Elliott, a guitarist, and Caleb Vanden Eynden, a vocalist and trumpet player.
They joined members Matt Stevenson (drums), Ethan Steinmetz (guitar), and Adam Knox (bass). This change came after the departure of Tim Schroeder, who recently graduated and Matt Huntington, who is currently studying abroad.
Freight is currently working on their next full-length album, and is preparing to compete in Battle of the Bands, an on-campus competition, in October. They are also performing regularly around the Dayton area.
"Welcome to the Ghetto" is available to buy or download on most streaming services including Google Play and Apple Music.