Mariela is a four-piece indie rock band, from Nashville, TN. The band is formed by Thomas Harbin (singer and keyboard player), Tommy Nixon (bass guitarist), Luke Gibson (lead guitarist), and Jordan Morrison (drummer). As said on their Spotify; ''With soaring synth leads and electric piano riffs, their sound and stage presence evokes influences like The Killers and The National'', so if you enjoy those two bands, you'll love this one!
I got the chance to interview Thomas from the band, here's the interview!
Firstly, introduce yourselves and what your roles are in the band.
Thomas: I'm Thomas Harbin, the lead singer, keyboard player and primary songwriter. Tommy Nixon is our bass player and producer. Luke Gibson is our lead guitar player and also writes for the band. Jordan Morrison is our drummer and sings.
You recently released Misshapen Shadows, what came first while making the song?
Thomas: Misshapen Shadows started like most of our songs as a Logic demo I wrote and recorded at home before taking it to the band for everyone to start fleshing out their parts together. We were selected as a band to perform for a recording class project at SAE here in Nashville so we took Misshapen in. We pretty much only used the drums and lead vocal from the studio that day, but they gave us their session file and we took it home to keep recording and layering all of the parts that made it onto the final recording.
Who are your musical influences?
Thomas: Our biggest musical influences include Bleachers, The Killers, The National,
St. Vincent and John Mayer.
You also have an acoustic EP, what inspired making one?
Thomas: When we were in the studio recording Misshapen we met another talented young engineer named Kayleigh Rogers who wanted to work with us. Tommy had always thought that we should do an unplugged project and we were really captivated by the idea of re-imagining forgetting one Luke joined the band full time, so we went back to SAE to record the acoustic record with Kayleigh.
Do you have anything you want to accomplish in 2019?
Thomas: In 2019 we want to tour a lot more. We released a new EP beginning in January and want to spend the year getting out there and sharing it with people. By the end of the year we want Mariela to take a giant step forward towards becoming a self-sustaining career.
How did you come up with the name of the name?
Thomas: The band is actually named after a good friend of mine that I lived with in Spain back in 2012. I was spending the summer abroad after college and my housing situation fell through and Mariela offered to take me in and let me live with her and her husband Omar and their daughter Delfina.
What can we expect from the band musically?
Thomas: The first Mariela EP was really an experiment. I had always wanted to start a band and be the frontman, so the first EP was really trying to see if I could write and record music. Once the songs started to unfold, I started booking shows and asking my friends to play with me. That slowly evolved into a real band cover the last year going out and touring and releasing music all together. Now that we have a solid lineup of band members, we've started writing and producing the music together and our sound has evolved a lot and we're learning how to actually say what we feel with the music. The first track off of the new EP is coming in January, but we have a surprise New Years treat cooking at the moment which might be coming to you around Christmas! (<------ interviewed in November 2018)
Message to your fans who may be reading this/people who seem interested in your music.
Thomas: We love writing and recording music, but it isn't meant only to be heard through headphones. We want to experience real music together, live in a room with you. But we need help spreading the word. Fans are our most valuable asset to help book shows and get our music out there!
Mariela's social medias!
-Website: https://www.mariela.band/
-Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0fOdB0OUb1fBfHf8V4N3Hy
-Mariela playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/tmvxb8hp5x1omcpejp1octa5t/playlist/1XBBNliVESoSeVkQVsWhSW?si=79jMO1METausPMcWY0AH_g
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