As the year comes to an end and the Juniors start to think about their senior year and ending this chapter of their life, they start to ask themselves ‘what’s next for me?’ and ‘Is college what’s right for me?’ But many people have graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School and became successful without going to college. Origami Angle is a band that was formed out of DC’s emo scene, with their breakthrough album Somewhere City (2019). Throughout the duo’s discography, you really get a sense how Greenbelt and DC have influenced their music. I interviewed Rhyland Heagy, guitarist and vocalist, and Pat Doherty, drummer, from Origami Angel to talk about their success after high school and how they got to where they are now.
In 2016 Ryland Heagy met Pat Doherty in his senior year of high school when they were asked to be in a band by a mutual friend. While that band later broke up, Heagy and Doherty decided to continue as a duo together. They began with releasing EPs together, emphasizing a heavy DC sound inspired by bands like The Obsessives, Weezer, Yes, and Prince Daddy & The Hyena. Their breakout album Somewhere City(2019) was toured around DC’s local DIY scene.
Building a career in music while bypassing the traditional college route required a huge amount of dedication and a relentless DIY ethic from both Heagy and Doherty. In the early days of Origami Angel, the duo balanced the demands of the band with the necessity of supporting themselves. They both worked full-time jobs to pay for the recording process and equipment. In an interview Heagy recalled writing much of the material for their debut album during any spare moment he could find. They pool every cent of their income back into the band.
Their hard work culminated in the success of Somewhere City (2019), which was called one of the best emo albums of the decade by critics. The album’s recognition propelled the band from local D.C. basements to international stages, and instead of 
following a textbook path, the duo refined their sound through constant experimentation, eventually releasing the ambitious double album Gami Gang (2021), which was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this evolution, they never lost touch with their roots, frequently referencing their upbringing in Prince George’s (PG) County and the D.C. area in tracks like “Greenbelt Station” and “My PG County Summer.” Even though they’ve moved onto bigger stages in the world, the influence of the area they grew up in is rooted in their music.
Today, Origami Angel stands as a pillar of the fifth-wave/easycore emo scene, influencing a new generation of musicians who look up to them as veterans of the genre. Their most recent album, Feeling Not Found(2024), saw them collaborate with producer Will Yip. Their journey shows that for those with a clear vision and the willingness to work for it, there are many ways to find your own path.
