Meet Fieldrush: A West-Coast Emo Band
Fieldrush is a three-piece post-alt west-coast-emo band from San Diego, California. When I first saw Fieldrush live in 2021, I was wildly impressed by how tight the band sounded. Let’s look at what Fieldrush says about being in a local San Diego band.
Photo taken by @wanderlust.izzy on IG
MEMBERS’ NAMES AND WHAT EACH PERSON PLAYS
Fieldrush consists of three members, Jin Salamack (bass + vox), Trevor Johnson (guitar + vox), and Diego Guardado (drums + backup vox). In this interview, we will hear what all three members have to say.
WHEN, HOW, AND WHERE DID FIELDRUSH START?
Diego: “The band officially formed at the end of 2021 after we had written a handful of songs and played our first local shows. However, the 3 of us met a year before to hang out and jam as a group. We were already friends from having played shows together in other bands dating back to 2017. However, we had never played music together until that day in 2020!”
Trevor: “Yeah, we jammed that one time in 2020. It was cool. And then we didn’t talk about jamming again for almost a year for no real reason.”
WHAT INSPIRED THE NAME “FIELDRUSH”?
Jin: “I was looking at an old tablecloth I dug up. It had images of desert plants. One of those names that stood out was a type of weed called Field Rush. It sounded cool and was described as a plant that could withstand all seasons. So we wedged the two names together to create Fieldrush. Everyone agreed.”
Photo taken by @emma.goes on IG
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR MOST RECENT RELEASE, “MOTORCYCLE.” WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE? WHAT IS THE SONG ABOUT?
Trevor: “There’s a couple of themes. Part of it is dealing with disappointment in the quality of American universities. I could talk about that for too long. The rest is mostly adjusting to long-distance friendships. Y’know, emo stuff. We recorded everything in the studio, AKA Jazzophone TV, AKA our garage, so it was cool to take our time and do things one day at a time and let the song develop. For example, I wanted to record the guitar on a Roland JC-120 amp, but then I thought the riff sounded better on a MusicMan 112RP. So I decided to add a second guitar part with the JC-120 while the main riff went through the MusicMan. It was also cool automating some overdrive on the bass guitar through a certain point in one of Jin’s bass riffs. That was Jin’s suggestion. And, of course, I always clear how the snare sounds with Diego. So our writing and recording processes have been a single collaborative process. It’s super fun.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHOW MEMORY/FAVORITE SHOW YOU HAVE PLAYED?
Diego: “A recent favorite memory that I’m sure the other guys will relate to was opening for the Dune Rats at a sold-out Casbah show. It was a very fortunate opportunity that Jin managed to set up. We had many close friends come out, and we had a great time hanging out and chatting with everyone. Another one I hold close to my heart was our first show at the Pitchfork in 2021. It was an intimate show, having only played to a handful of homies. But everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves. I remember feeling very validated and certain that I could continue to make music with these guys.”
Trevor: “Playing with Dune Rats almost doesn’t feel real when I look back at it. Chastity Belt played too, so the bill that night was three bands from 3 different countries. It felt good to rep San Diego. Hella homies came through, the bands were all super friendly, and the show even sold out.”
Photo taken by @annabehrens_ on IG
WHAT TYPE OF MESSAGE DO YOU WANT TO SEND THE MUSIC YOU MAKE?
Diego: “Currently, as a non-lyricist, I aim to always leave a smile on everyone’s faces, especially during our live performances. The recordings are rad, but it’s the live element where people can really get a sense of our chemistry as bandmates and vibe off of that.”
Trevor: “Just something meaningful. Some people hear lyrics or melodies that mean a lot to them. Some people go to shows that end up meaning a lot to them. I hope people listen to our songs again later in their lives and that it invokes good memories and good feelings when they listen.”
Jin: “I’ve been in this scene long enough to see patterns. I love the San Diego music scene’s history, especially in post-hardcore and solid indie alt-rock bands. We want to carry on that torch but run with it with our own originality, and if it bites, then we’re stoked to be a part of it. I want to add that it’s great to see our scene flourish again. It’s been too long.”
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU GUYS IN THE FUTURE? ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE LOOKING OUT FOR?
Diego: “Hopefully, some videos and new music will be out soon! Releasing a split with another band would be sick….”
Trevor: “We’re working on a music video for ‘Motorcycle’ and another video for an unreleased song. We’ve also got a bunch of heater songs on deck. Like. A BUNCH.”
Photo taken by @_commonconcerns_ on IG
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