MESH – Interview – Thanks for Asking!

MESH – Interview – Thanks for Asking! – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Where do you see yourselves in the next year/5 years

Calus: Well as a band we have a lot of different goals, first would be releasing more music. Especially with the progress we’re making on our second EP, we’re really starting to hit a stride in songwriting. After the EP we also have plans of making a full-length album so hopefully those will both be out within the next year. Within the next year we’d also definitely love to start turning the band into a more stable project by playing more live shows, especially on campus (at University of Delaware—we’re mainly based in Newark now). With the amazing community we’ve found we really feel like the UD scene is a place we’ll flourish in. There’s plenty of bands who share our influences and amazing venues like The Tire Shop. Lastly, social media is very important to us so hopefully within the next year we’ll be much more active on TikTok. We’ll also be expanding to other platforms like YouTube with larger video projects so people have a way of getting to know the band and get insights into what we do. All of those are also important when thinking about the next 5 years of the band. Within 5 years we’d definitely want to make the band a full time career by getting a deal with a music label.

RRX: Is there a song you wrote that really died on the vine? Something you all like but somehow just couldn’t make it work. You swear never to play it live, that sort of thing?

Dylan: I think we sort of have something similar to that. It started awhile back in like July; I had this chord progression that I just like, wanted to use in a song really badly. It sounded kind of indie-ish, which wasn’t really our thing considering our drummer/vocalist at the time was turning away from his other band which was mainly indie. But it didn’t matter because the other songs that this track ended up going alongside made up for it. The song is called “Aloe”—and to be honest I wrote this about a relationship I had a while ago. I didn’t really write it because I missed that relationship, I wrote it to get back at the person I was with while I was writing it. All in all, those feelings are dead now and I’m very self-conscious about my voice. I think the lyrics are corny and stuff like that, so we’ve only played it live once in our year or so of being a band. I also didn’t enjoy the production and how it sounded overall, but apparently everyone but me does so yea.

RRX: What was the very first reaction to your music, from the first person to ever hear so much as a practice jam or the demo of your first song?

Rocco: The moment I consider the most when I think about this question is my first time hearing samename (our most recent single) outside of the studio. It honestly felt surreal to have been a part of a fully legitimate and published song as this was my first experience with the whole process of semi-professionally making music.

RRX: With the exception of singing, everyone has an instrument, an inanimate object that has the distinction of being a lifelong friend. Smooth or temperamental, these objects have a character. So pick someone to answer, can you tell us something special about what you play, your technique, your instrument?

Dom: My baby is named finger machine. Finger machine is my bass. Finger machine is so beautiful and smooth. I couldn’t ask for a better bass. I hope I get to play finger machine for my whole life. Especially being a gift from my dad, finger machine holds a special place in my heart.

RRX: Let’s talk about your next project, your next few. Just not the ones you’re working on now. The ones you have your eyes on for the future. What’s coming to us?

MESH: Well it’s hard not to talk about our 2nd EP which we’re working on now, however we’re also planning to expand into social media projects like video and hopefully we’ll be working on a full length album afterwards. Ideally we’re gonna have 5 or so songs on the next EP, but it’s gonna be different to our 1st—and I mean that’s because a lot is different now compared to when we made our 1st EP. Our guitarist is now also our vocalist, and we have a brand new drummer and bassist (Rocco and Dom), so our songwriting process has also changed. We wanna stay in touch with our roots but also see what we can change and how we can utilize the strengths of our new members for our music.

RRX: How does practice go? Is the road practice enough, or do you have a practice shack? If so, how does it look? What’s on the walls? What cool sh*t is in there?

MESH: It’s not much to write about to be honest, we usually just go to Rocco’s house and set up our gear. Sometimes we warm up with a song of ours or a cover, just depending on the mood. We try to be strict about our rehearsal schedule but the way we think and our plans are constantly changing, so it’s hard to nail down what we want. What we always try to make time for is media creation at the end of rehearsal—so for TikToks and stuff like that. It really helps with our social media presence.

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