Artists Spotlight: The Microblades
Meet The Microblades, a local San Diego band and our Artists Spotlight for May. In this interview, we will shine some light on The Microblades most recent release, 'Cowboy,' which came out on April 28th and is now on all platforms. So without further ado, let's take a peek into the world of The Microblades!
TO LISTEN TO THE MICROBLADES NEWEST SINGLE, “COWBOY,” CLICK BELOW.
Photo taken by @blaiseproductions on IG
MEMBERS' NAMES AND WHAT EACH PERSON PLAYS.
The Microblades consist of Giulietta Randell (guitar and vox), Imogen Collis (bass), and Lauren Deerinick (drums and backup vox).
TELL ME A BIT ABOUT THE START OF THE MICROBLADES. HOW DID THE BAND FORM? WHAT WERE THOSE FIRST COUPLE OF SHOWS LIKE?
Giulietta: "The band originally formed when I put out an advertisement for a drummer to start a band, and Lauren inquired. Although I knew Imogen first from school (we had a couple of French classes together), she didn't join until June 2022 when we started playing shows."
Lauren: "For me, the first couple of shows were extremely nerve-wracking, as they were my first time performing in front of an audience. Since I had also left to go to Los Angeles for college, I could only practice the day of the show when Giulietta would drive to pick me up. So the pressure was the highest for me for our third show at Soma, but as soon as we got into playing, the adrenaline rush was invigorating, and my nerves were gone."
Photo Taken by @phin.eas.j on IG
WHAT IS THE BEST LIVE SHOW YOU HAVE PLAYED? WHAT IS THE WORST LIVE SHOW YOU HAVE PLAYED?
Imogen: "My favorite show memory is when we first played at the Che Café in February. The Che has been nothing but good to us, and we've had so many wonderful experiences there, but this gig was the first time I felt comfortable on stage and was proud of my performance. Until then, I had been so nervous, focused on not messing up, and worried about my appearance. But on that night, I suddenly felt relaxed and truly enjoyed performing. It was so satisfying and euphoric."
Lauren: "The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about lousy show experiences is when we performed a DIY show under the freeway in the dead of winter, and it was so cold that we were shivering and could barely feel our hands. As far as our performance, we still played our best, and the rest of the night overall was super fun."
Giulietta: "The worst shows are the ones with technical difficulties."
TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR NEWEST RELEASE, "COWBOY," WHICH CAME OUT ON APRIL 28TH. WHAT IS THE SONG ABOUT? WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE?
Giulietta: "I wrote Cowboy after the first show I attended post-pandemic. I was deprived of live music, and this particular show was my introduction to the local music scene. The show was one of the most euphoric experiences I've ever had. While in the crowd, the excitement of watching the bands and the audience's energy made an impression on me. I've always been interested in how artists construct their persona for a performance. All artists have a persona to some degree, but some have it more than others, like Bowie. In the local scene, I've seen some incredible musicians and performers step on stage and execute such a command of the audience—almost like a messianic figure. The show inspired me to write my own song about that type of figure as it appeared in my eyes. 'Cowboy' is off the EP we're still in the process of recording. The project's overarching theme is the local music scene here in San Diego."
Photo Taken by @phin.eas.j on IG
DID YOU RUN INTO ANY CHALLENGES WHEN RECORDING THIS SONG?
Giulietta: "Our main challenge was getting the tempo right. Initially, we recorded the song way too fast, and it felt rushed. But, in moments of awe, like how I felt watching the show that inspired the song, it wasn't so much that the world was moving fast but that my brain could absorb the full extent of beauty in the world. I felt like I could perceive more that evening than I had felt all week. It was a peak experience that was truly incredible. So the tempo mattered, and it mattered that we got it right. 'Cowboy' as a song relies on its atmospheric and psychedelic qualities, and the lyrics can only say so much. The music needs to carry the emotional aspect that words and lyrics can't say."
AS A FEMME-FRONTED BAND, DO YOU THINK THE MUSIC SCENE CAN IMPROVE IN ANY WAY TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE? OR DO YOU THINK SAN DIEGO DOES A GOOD JOB OF BEING INCLUSIVE?
Lauren: "As a relatively new member of the San Diego music scene, I’ve felt from the beginning that it was a very safe and accepting environment, where everyone is welcomed to be themselves and come together for our collective love of music."
Giulietta: "Mostly, the scene has been pretty inclusive towards us. That really comes down to us being lucky. The promoters and organizers we've worked with actively call out problematic people and situations as they see them. In general, I would say I've had a pretty good experience. However, we've also had some situations arise with condescending sound guys and other musicians. We've also had people in other bands talk about their bad experiences with the scene, so there is work to be done. I've had a couple of situations in which cis-men musicians over-explain things to me, assuming that I don't know what I'm doing. There's an assumption that women don't know what they're doing until they prove it. It tends to be the other way around, where people assume men are experts until proven otherwise. I don't believe it's conscious, but I notice it occasionally. Once a guy tried to explain how to wrap a cable while I was wrapping a cable (while his was coiled 3 inches in diameter which is bad for the cable). I laugh it off now since it's so trivial. But, even if it's ridiculous, situations like that indicate there is still work to be done to make the scene more inclusive and more accepting towards women."
Photo Taken by @phin.eas.j on IG
WHAT CAN FANS EXPECT FROM YOU GUYS IN THE FUTURE?
Imogen: "We're working on an EP, which has taken a little longer than planned, but it'll hopefully be out this summer!"
Photo Taken by @phin.eas.j on IG
