By Madison Brown |Online/Design EditorChris Freiberg, the keyboardist for the Athens, Ga. based band, The Orange Constant, spoke with The Bell Ringer on Tuesday, Jan. 23. He spoke about the history of the band, focusing on his experiences in the group, and discussed the various musical influences that they have as well as some of the goals that they have for the new year. They will be touring with Perpetual Groove and have an upcoming show in Augusta on Friday, Jan. 26 at Sky City.I know you probably get this question a lot, but I have to ask: Where did the band name, The Orange Constant, come from?Sure, so the original practice space had this stack of egg crates, these reddish-orange egg crates and when they practiced it was always in the afternoon, at the golden hour and the sun would pour through the window and create this orange glow in the room.Where did you all meet and how did you become a band?So, again, the band started in Statesboro and my involvement with them began about a year and a half ago, maybe a little bit more, after they moved to Athens. I had gone to school in Athens, so I was playing in bands and looking for a more serious project and saw that they didn’t have a keyboardist, so I got in touch with them. But Nick and Andrew, (Nickalous Benson & Andrew Brantley) they met in college at Georgia Southern.Who is the main songwriter in the band or is it more of a collaborative effort that everyone is a part of?It’s all of that. Sometimes a member comes to the group with a song that they’ve pretty much already written. Sometimes the song is kind of just born out of a show, even with a jam, so it really is a mixed bag. I would say, as far as the recorded material, it comes mainly from Nick and Andrew, but since we’ve had this most recent lineup change, we’ve all kind of brought songs to the table. It shows I would say, the different songwriting approaches show the variety in our sound.Speaking more on the sound of the band, how would you describe your sound?That’s a tough question. We’ve kinda gone with this vintage rock and jam-band idea. But there’s some southern rock in there, some hard rock and a progressive, jazz-based instrumental sound in there. In general, though, I do think we have a fairly dark sound. The live show can be extremely psychedelic. And there’s a little bit of reggae influence and that comes from Andrew.Are there any artists you see yourself influenced by or inspired by?Again, it changes with every member. Nick, for example, he’s very good at minimalism and simplicity and I think he draws a lot of inspiration from songwriters like Tom Petty. But we also have influences from Steely Dan and Pink Floyd. Also, Widespread Panic, they’re from Athens and they’re definitely a big influence on some of the members.If you had to pick one artist that you’ve been compared to more than any other artist, who would that be?We’ve gotten some comparisons to Widespread Panic, but that’s only one side of us. Actually, it’s funny you say that because we’ve been compared to Perpetual Groove, which is why we’re so excited to join forces with them. Their crowd and our crowd are really going to mix well. The goal though is that we are The Orange Constant, we’re always chasing that original and authentic sound.Going more now to the songs themselves, what are your favorites from your albums “Point of Reference” and “Time to Go”?Well “Time to Go” I wasn’t involved in recording, but obviously I do play the songs. “Breeze” is really nice. I like “Squid” a lot and it’s an instrumental, we have a whole side to our band that’s an instrumental side, and I think “Squid” is a window into that. As far as “Point of Reference,” I did record on that with them, “Red Ryder” is my favorite and a lot of that had to do with how we recorded it. Typically, when you record, you’re building parts in layers, but with “Red Ryder” we were all in the same room doing a live take, and I want to say we took two passes at it and the second one we kept. When you listen to it you can feel the raw energy in the room, so that one always had a special place for me.What are some of your goals for the new year?Besides touring, I mean touring is definitely number one. We have all of the pieces in place in our personal lives and we are trying to expand from the southeast and make it to Colorado and Texas and maybe California. I guess it would be to see new places.Is there anything in particular that you want the readers of the Bell Ringer to know about The Orange Constant and your upcoming tour?We’re really excited to join forces with Perpetual Groove and we’ve got a hell of a show planned, just come check us out. Contact Madison Brown at madbrown@augusta.edu