In an interview with WNYO 88.9FM, The Q-Tip Bandits, a young indie-rock group hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, discussed their artist experiences, inspirations and processes.
This five-member group formulated in 2018 consists of guitarist Leo Sun, bassist Claire Davis, trombonist Hoyt Parquet, trumpeter Maclin Tucker and drummer Dakota Maykrantz.
In collaboration with WNYO 88.9FM, The Oswegonian is providing an excerpt from the interview, which originally aired Saturday, Nov. 21. Kazashi McLaughlin and Abigail Connolly, alternative director and programming director, spoke with Leo Sun and Claire Davis, co-fronts for the band.
Listen to the full interview with The Q-Tip Bandits from WNYO here:
I am Kaz McLaughlin, and I am here with The Q-Tip Bandits and Abigail Connolly. And if you guys would like to introduce yourself, please go ahead.
Leo: Yeah! I am Leo Sun, co-front person and lead guitarist of the Q-Tip Bandits
Claire: And I’m Claire Davis, bassist and also co-front person. And yeah, we got three more members and we are the Q-Tip Bandits.
Abigail: Well we are really excited to have you guys here with us today, and thanks so much for reaching out, we really appreciate it. So, we are just going to get into some of the questions we have for you!
Leo: For sure!
Abigail: So you are all out of Boston? Is that right?
Leo: Yep!
Claire: Yeah!
Abigail: So how did you all get started? Like, how did the five of you meet and start making music?
Leo: We were all classmates at Berklee College of Music. Claire and I were the first to meet. I think upon entering school I had all these songs that I had written prior, and I had really wanted to find people to play those songs with. Claire was not a part of the first group of people that I found, but I met Claire through a mutual friend and we ended up having a jam session and having a rehearsal. It was really refreshing getting to play with Claire — just the way she approaches music is very thoughtful and simple. And from there on, we just — it was like Maclin, our trumpeter, was best friends with someone who lived a floor up from Claire.
Claire: It was all like very, you know how people meet in dorms.
Like, “You live above me. And “You live below me.” And “You play this instrument?” “Oh cool! We need this instrument.”
That sort of feeling.
Leo: Yeah, and our drummer was a friend that I met just because his band was rehearsing in a rehearsal room before I was going in to do a school project, and he was like, “Can I just hang out with you guys? If you guys don’t have a drummer then I’m just [going to] play.” And I was like, “Oh this kid,” like he just had so much energy! There’s just some people that just play with like chops insane! Dakota, when he plays he just — when he plays you can just feel the warmth coming off of his body from the other side of the room. Our original drummer started working on electronic music, our second drummer moved to L.A., and we were out a drummer, and I was like, “Oh we should ask Dakota, he’s our guy.” And our current trombonist, we put out an ad on our social media more or less, being like “We’re looking for a trombonist,” and he was like “I play trombone! You guys need a trombonist, this is [going to] work.”
Abigail: That’s awesome! That definitely feels like the college way to meet and form something, so that was really cool that it was just generic like that.”
Kaz: Yeah, it seems like Berklee is just like a really cool spot — for like young musicians too — to like get together and you know, and really explore your sounds and stuff. You said Claire was into that really [kind of] simple music and everything. And I hear that a lot in your songs, it feels very loose and there’s a lot of space, and I love listening to it.
Leo: Thank you.
Claire: Yeah, thank you!
Leo: It’s one of those things. I did not finish my time at Berklee, but because of the people that I met, I owe everything, musically that I have right now, when it comes to the band and everything to that school and facilitating that connection.
Abigail: That’s awesome! And then in that email that you initially contacted me with you listed some of your inspirations, and you listed Hippo Campus, and I was like, “OK, I am going to love them, like I already know.” So like, where else do you draw your inspiration from? Like maybe other bands, or like you were saying the college campus life and all that [kind of] formulated everything.
Claire: Yeah, I think that as a band, as individuals, our individual members have such varied musical tastes. Like, I like to make the joke of like when we are traveling to gigs, or when we are all in the car together, you know who has the aux depending on what music is playing. It’s like very specific.
Leo: There’s been a few times where individuals will be like, “Hey I know we’ve been on this vibe for a long time, and this is my personal vibe, so the longer I go, the deeper I get into this rabbit hole. Is everyone cool with it or should we switch it up?”
Claire: Yeah, but I think that all kind of conglomerates. Like our drummer is very into heavier, more emo music and we are huge fans of like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and that sort of funky, groovy sound. And then our horn boys, our trombone and trumpet players, got that R&B flavor of music that they listen to.
Leo: Right, right. Just recently I found out that Hoyt, our trombonist, is also really into like that Paramore era rock.
Claire: So I think it all kind of comes together in this melting pot of music where we draw our inspiration from. And it’s nice because we’re not trying to be anything specific, you know? We’re not trying to copy a specific sound or band, but we’re just kind of getting together and playing music and see what comes out.
Talking with Claire and Leo feels like you are reconnecting with a pair of old friends, their passion for their music creates a warmth one could feel through a computer screen. This passion is absolutely reflected in their music. Openness, warmth and charisma best describe The Q-Tip Bandits. With their debut single “Willow,” The Q-Tip Bandits achieved a complexity with transparency. The groove and rhythm that makes listeners want to hear more. The intimacy that comes with these sounds is an impressive feat and it is no wonder that their debut album, “Melancholy Flowers,” set to be released in early 2021, is so highly anticipated.
Photo from The Q-Tip Bandits via YouTube
