Some songs have a way of feeling familiar from the very first listen, capturing the nostalgia of an old favorite while introducing something entirely new. It's that unmistakable connection to music, the kind that stays with you long after the song ends, that San Diego-based band The 805 hopes to create.
Sydney Merchant
"I mean, the nostalgia of sound like a song from a time that you forgot about," Matias Torreblanca explained, describing the nostalgic feeling he hopes to capture in the band's music.
It's an idea that sits at the heart of "From Heartache," the debut single from San Diego-based four-piece CJ Clemente, Matias Torreblanca, Marc Renobato, and vocalist Dean Lefkow. Drawing inspiration from the heartfelt rock songs of the early 2000s, the track carries a sense of familiarity without simply recreating the past. But behind that nostalgic sound is a much more personal story, one that unfolded over two years of writing, changing perspectives, and the band's own evolution.
In a way, the song became a place to hold everything that was changing, both in the lives of the people creating it and in the band they were becoming.
The 805 began as a project founded by Clemente, eventually finding its current lineup through musician networking apps, school connections, and several changes along the way. Even the name came together somewhat unexpectedly, inspired by the San Diego freeway near Clemente's home when the band needed a name for an upcoming show.
As the lineup evolved, so did the music, and what initially seemed like a spontaneous name became an unexpectedly fitting representation of the group's creative identity.
"Because our name is so ambiguous, so is our music," Clemente explained. "We don't have one, like, style or genre."
It's a sentiment that becomes increasingly clear when discussing the band's influences. Renobato credits The Neighbourhood as a major inspiration, while Lefkow's musical upbringing began with The Beatles before expanding into indie rock. Torreblanca draws from the emotional familiarity of early 2000s rock, and Clemente brings an equally varied musical perspective to the group's arrangements.
Rather than trying to force those influences into one recognizable category, The 805 has embraced the freedom to let them coexist.
That willingness to evolve is especially apparent in the story behind "From Heartache."
Torreblanca began writing the track approximately two years before its release, starting with a chorus while attending school in Santa Cruz. As the band navigated lineup changes and struggled to find the right arrangement, the song remained unfinished, slowly developing alongside the people creating it.
At first, the extended process was frustrating.
"I was looking at this two-year-long process being like, 'Wow, I suck. I need to get better,'" Torreblanca admitted.
But as time passed, the song began to take on an entirely different meaning.
The original chorus was written during a period when Torreblanca struggled to maintain emotional connections in relationships. By the time he returned to write the verses nearly a year later, he found himself experiencing the opposite.
"I started them when I was, like, really trying to pursue someone and throw everything into them emotionally, and kind of wasn't getting that back," he explained.
The song became a reflection of what it means to want someone so badly that even an unbalanced connection can feel worth holding onto.
Sydney Merchant
"A lot of it is just about putting in a lot of emotional energy into something, and if you don't get it back, still sticking around because having some of someone is better than having none of them."
It's a particularly vulnerable sentiment, one that captures the complicated reality of relationships without trying to simplify it into a traditional heartbreak narrative. Rather than describing a single experience, "From Heartache" brings together two different stages of Torreblanca's life, allowing the song to reflect the way his understanding of connection changed over time.
The person who began writing the song was no longer quite the same person finishing it. And as the music found its final form, the band was finding its own, too.
What once felt like an obstacle in the creative process eventually became the reason the song carried so much meaning.
"I grew with it, and it grew with me," he reflected. "I never want to spend two years on a song again, but I'm happy that we did."
In many ways, that same sentiment could describe The 805 itself.
The band has spent years navigating different lineups, developing its creative identity, and learning how to collaborate. Their debut single is the product of that evolution, making its release particularly meaningful for everyone involved.
There is something especially meaningful about releasing a song that has been present through so many versions of your life. For The 805, "From Heartache" represents not only the music they created together, but the people they became in the process.
For Lefkow, who grew up singing in choirs and cover bands, hearing his voice on an original, professionally recorded track represented something he'd been working toward for much of his life.
"I have dreamed of having my voice professionally recorded and in a space that people can hear it in the way that I want them to hear it," he shared.
For Renobato, the response has been equally rewarding, particularly as people from different stages of his life have reached out to celebrate the release.
"It's been pretty surreal," he said, recalling messages from people he hadn't spoken to in years. "It's pretty validating."
But perhaps the most exciting part of the release has been watching their audience grow beyond the people who already know them.
For much of the band's history, their shows were supported by friends, family, and familiar faces from the San Diego music scene. Now, listeners are discovering The 805 without any personal connection to the members, responding simply because they enjoy what they're hearing.
"We are starting to build, like, an actual fan base," Torreblanca explained. "People that don't know us, we don't know them, but are genuinely just interested in our music."
For a band that has spent years investing time, energy, and resources into something they believe in, that shift feels significant.
"It's just cool to see people resonate with a piece of art that you have created with your friends," he added.
And perhaps that's what makes this moment so rewarding. Something that began as a personal experience, written long before the band knew exactly what it would become, is now finding meaning in the lives of people they've never met.
And while the debut single marks an important milestone, The 805 has never viewed recorded music as the entirety of what they're creating.
From the beginning, Clemente has been determined to make their live performances feel like an experience, incorporating themed shows, visuals, confetti, instrumental interludes, and production elements that go well beyond what audiences might expect from an emerging band.
"We try to put on a fucking show," she explained. "Anything that we can think of that makes people lean in a little bit more, we try to do that."
That ambition has occasionally created challenges, particularly when the band arrives at smaller venues with a technical setup that exceeds the space's capabilities.
But for The 805, the limitations of a venue have never been a reason to limit their vision.
"How can we make this backyard feel like a venue? How can we make this venue feel like a stadium?" Torreblanca asked, describing the philosophy behind their performances.
It's an approach that reflects the band's determination to create something memorable at every stage of their career, rather than waiting until they've reached a certain level of success to take their performances seriously.
Clemente is especially enthusiastic about the possibilities, from incorporating choirs and orchestras into their performances to experimenting with increasingly elaborate stage production.
"Who's playing with an orchestra and a choir? Who's doing that? We're doing that," she said.
That confidence is part of what makes The 805 such an exciting project to follow. They're ambitious about where they want to go, but equally invested in making the most of where they are now.
And beneath that ambition is a friendship that has become central to the band's identity.
Sydney Merchant
For Renobato, the relationships between the members have changed the way he views the project entirely.
"Initially, at least for me, when joining the band, it's like these people are kind of like coworkers," he explained. "And it's crazy, like over time, it's like these guys are my fucking best friends in the fucking world."
That closeness has shaped the band's creative process, allowing them to approach writing and performing with a sense of trust that goes beyond simply working together.
Much like "From Heartache," those relationships weren't built overnight. They developed through shared experiences, creative challenges, and the decision to keep showing up for something they believed in together.
For Clemente, it's also a reminder of why the project matters in the first place.
"It's not like a business to us. It's more like we love what we're doing. We stand by it."
That dedication comes with its own challenges. The members recognize the pressure of pursuing music professionally, particularly while watching younger artists find success and wondering when their own opportunities might arrive.
"That time pressure is real," Clemente admitted. "But we're gonna hold on to it as long as we can."
It's a sentiment that captures the determination behind The 805. They understand the uncertainty of pursuing music, but their belief in the project, and in one another, continues to outweigh it.
"I hope they feel the love that we all feel for each other, and kind of the love of our crafts," Renobato shared. "I only wish that they can feel the love and the passion."
With more unreleased music, a music video for "From Heartache," and increasingly ambitious performances ahead, The 805 is entering a chapter that feels full of possibility.
Their debut offers listeners an introduction to one side of their musical identity, but the members are excited to continue experimenting with sounds that may take them in entirely different directions.
For a band that has spent years finding its footing, that creative freedom is something worth protecting.
And perhaps that's what makes "From Heartache" such a fitting introduction.
The song began as one thing and became another, shaped by the experiences, relationships, and changes that unfolded throughout its creation. Much like The 805, it wasn't defined by where it started, but by everything that happened along the way.
Now, the band is finally getting to share that evolution with the world.
After years of creating, experimenting, and growing together, "From Heartache" feels less like the end of a long journey and more like the moment everything they've been building finally begins to reach beyond them.
For The 805, the hope is that their music will become something listeners carry with them, something that reminds them of a moment, a feeling, or a version of themselves they haven't thought about in years.
They're chasing the nostalgia of the music they grew up with, while creating something that might someday inspire that same feeling in someone else.
And with "From Heartache," they're just getting started.