DECEMBER 2023 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: LUCID DREAM
Our last artist spotlight of the year is the local San Diego band Lucid Dream! Members Cami and Meena, both San Diego locals, were born on the same day and have been best friends since birth. This strong connection led them to start making music together at a young age. The rest of the band met through having the same music teacher, Mark Huls, and shortly formed the band in their first year of high school. Let's get to know the band, see what they have been up to, and what they have in store for the future!
Photo taken by Unknown
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MUSIC YOU MAKE?
"It can be hard to give a genre to your own music, but we feel we have a lot of roots in pop punk and punk rock. We find ourselves going in a more modern rock direction lately."
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME "LUCID DREAM"? HOW DID YOU COME WITH YOUR BAND NAME?
"Before our drummer Jake joined the band, Meena, Cami, and Alyson were throwing ideas around until one day, Cami came up with Lucid Dream. We all decided that was the least terrible idea from the giant list of awful names we had created."
HOW WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS WHEN CREATING MUSIC?
"Usually, Alyson and Cami will write an acoustic version of a new song independently and then bring it to the band. Everyone will add their own ideas until we feel the song is completed. We then record a demo or jam on it until it feels right. Playing it live is the best way to figure out a song."
Photo taken by @gilbertjrsoto on IG
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MOST POPULAR TRACK "PATHETIC." WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN INSPIRATION BEHIND THIS SONG?
"The song comes from a place of teenage insecurity. We wrote the song over five years ago now. Alyson wrote the first verse and chorus to express all of the anxieties she felt when she was 15. She then brought the song to Cami to write the second verse following the same theme. It's funny that one is our most popular because we have definitely written better songs since then. That one is always a fun one to play live."
YOUR BAND RELEASED ITS DEBUT ALBUM, "I THINK IT'S FINE?" THIS YEAR. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT CREATING THIS PROJECT, AND WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT?
"We recorded our album entirely independently. Our drummer, Jake Richter, recorded, mixed, and mastered the entire thing. It was nice to have complete creative control over our project. The hardest part was the amount of time it took to complete it. All of us were in school and working at the time. Our guitar player, Meena Aspeytia, goes to USC and was in LA most of the time we tried to record. All of that led to a long recording process of songs we had already been playing for years and were very sick of. We have been working on writing since then and cannot wait to release the new things we have been working on!"
YOU ARE ABOUT PLAY A SHOW; WHAT ARE THE TOP THREE SONGS YOU PLAY BEFOREHAND TO GET PUMPED UP?
"Plant Island, Five Nights at Freddy's by The Living Tombstone, and Zombies on Your Lawn!"
Photo taken by @s2e_creative IG
WHAT ARE SOME ARTISTS OR BANDS THAT INFLUENCE YOUR BAND?
"We all bonded over our love of old punk bands like Descendents and pop punk bands like Blink-182. Paramore is another huge influence of ours and the Foo Fighters."
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO UNWIND AFTER PLAYING A SHOW?
"After shows, we love to go to Denny's and eat too much food; it's a tradition. And then we go to sleep 'cause we all have to work in the morning."
Photo taken by @gilbertjrsoto on IG