For this week's music feature, we spoke to the lovely members of @siamjem about recording their new EP, their favourite venues to play and other interesting things! We are very thankful to them for participating.
How did the band come together? Do you have any fun stories to share about your first days as a band?
Michaela: After a couple lineup changes, I met Nicole through an old friend, Sophie. Sophie suggested I hit up Nicole, so I did and we clicked and liked the same music and she was perfect, honestly. I met Nico through an old drummer and Nico just stuck around, and I’m so glad they did because I love Nico and theyre great musicians!! I met Paige through Nicole!! Also so glad to have met Paige. Everyone is so dope, caring, great musicians, and great friends!! Hard to come by.
Paige: I met y’all at the LMU gig and hitting it off with Nicole! First show I played was at DBA, I was timid and shy, but you guys were sweet, Nicole came through saying they vomited because they ate Popeyes and Mika wanted to see a pic of it! haha, that night I had a good convo with Mika and Nico was being very supportive and enthusiastically kind. Everyone seemed so authentic and I really felt I could trust everyone in the band.
What was your best show yet? And why?
Michaela: I think either the constellation room or the Fight Abuse fest at The Locker Room. The Constellation Room is always a dope venue to play, and the crowd loved it! We were so well received and it felt like hard work paying off. Same with Fight Abuse fest !!! The vibe was so great and we played great. Me and Paige got to rock out together at the very end and it was really cool! Oh, and Paige also gave a dope ass speech that I was a big fan of.
Nicole: I think our best show was probably either the Constellation Room or the Locker Room. It’s been my dream to play at the Constellation Room since I was a kid and I’ve been going there since I was young, so getting to play there was surreal. The Locker Room was awesome because it was one of the first shows with Paige. There were so many fun moments that night and the crowd was amazing.
Whats your favourite song off of the new EP, 'I Saw a Swan'?
Michaela: 'Death Machine', 'Dependency', or 'I Saw a Swan'. I can’t pick one, and I love them because I’m proud of how the instrumental came together, and also got personal with the lyrics.
Nicole: My favorite song off the EP is between 'I Saw A Swan' and 'Dependency'.
What was the process of recording the new EP like?
Michaela: I’ve been writing these songs for over the past year and a half. Once I knew exactly how I wanted the songs to go, me and Nicole went into the studio to record the drums, then I went home and recorded the rest over the drum tracks. Nico helped with a few aspects on Swan & Dependency, & Paige lended their voice for harmonies on a couple songs.
Could you walk us through what it was like to produce and release a full EP during the pandemic?
Michaela: Honestly, it sucked. I was getting frustrated that we weren’t doing anything because of the pandemic, so I wanted to release it. I wanted to actually put on a whole show to promote the release but we didn’t get to.
Finally, what's next for Siam Jem?
Michaela: After the pandemic, I want to write more collaborative songs. I wanna all jam and see what we come up with together. I wanna play bigger and better shows, and hopefully go on a full tour.
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