Surfaces talk Elton John collaboration, success of “Sunday Best”: “It hasn’t really hit that hard”

Grace Quinn”Sunday Best” duo Surfaces has released an uplifting song called “Learn to Fly,” featuring none other than Elton John.  The duo’s Forrest Frank says working with Elton was their management’s idea, and they could…

By ABC Audio on June 17, 2020

Grace Quinn“Sunday Best” duo Surfaces has released an uplifting song called “Learn to Fly,” featuring none other than Elton John.  The duo’s Forrest Frank says working with Elton was their management’s idea, and they couldn’t believe he actually said yes.

“We were just going to put it out on our own, and then our managers were like, ‘You’ve never had a collaboration. What if you…got someone else on it?'” Forrest tells ABC Audio.

“So they just kind of sent it around to some people, and one of those people happened to be Elton John. And he said that he loved it and wanted to be a part of it.  And so he hit us up…and I think in, like, four Zoom sessions, we had it done.”

But Forrest is just as happy about fans’ reaction to “Learn to Fly.”

“We get a lot of DM’s from people saying this is exactly what they need right now..a light in a dark time,” he notes.

Out of respect for the fact that people are focusing on social justice, Forrest says the song “is there if people need it. But we’re not going to just shove it down people’s throat[s] right now.”

Meanwhile, “Sunday Best” is climbing the charts, Forrest says he and band mate Colin Padalecki don’t feel like they have a hit because they’re in quarantine.

“I keep hearing updates about how big it is, but…I’m just sitting in my house,” he laughs.

While friends tell him they’ve heard “Sunday Best” in Target or on the radio, Forrest says what would make it feel real for them would be “doing some huge festival show” or “seeing a crowd of people singing the song.”

“We haven’t really had that,” he admits. “So it hasn’t really hit that hard.” 

By Andrea Dresdale
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