Private, Intense, and Raw

Interview and Photographs By Michelle LoBianco

New York City band Nara’s Room opens up about memorable shows, the Lizzie McGuire Movie, and quiet moments in your bedroom.

New York City, USA

How did Nara's Room form/ what is the meaning behind the band name?

Nara's Room formed forever ago in my bedroom. I grew up playing guitar constantly in my room. All of my songs are written on my acoustic guitar, a collection of songs from my room. The project has all the private, intense, raw feelings associated with quiet moments in your bedroom. The current iteration of the project formed out of a story I'll save for another time... I won't reveal too much... But I somehow found Ethan and Brendan, who found me too, now my closest friends and treasured collaborators. Despite being a three-piece, we're all maximalists, which contributes to a big, textured sound.

What is one of your favorite songs to perform and why?

For sure "Fountainhead." It ends on an improvised free-jam, based on feeling. We all completely let go when we play it, and we let it fall apart and come together again. We play it differently every time, so sometimes it's longer and sometimes it's shorter. It depends on how we're feeling each time. It's a catharsis every time for us all and I hope it is for the listener too.

What has been your favorite show/ venue?

Our favorite show was the last one we played before our spring break on April 7th at Bootleg Bar. I love DIY, it's what I grew up on and that's why Bootleg is my favorite venue. We packed the house and the crowd's energy was really special. It was our last show before our epic return on June 17th at Trans-Pecos. It also was our last show with our drummer Brendan before he's off to Vietnam for the summer. (He'll be back, don't worry! Our pal Trevor will be filling in). We played a few new songs that we only arranged a few days before. It felt great to play new songs, and I felt really lucky to have a band who can arrange and nail songs in just a few days.

I always bring an analog TV to shows we play and pop a VHS tape in. For this show, I was playing the Lizzie McGuire Movie. (My senior quote was "Lizzie McGuire, you're an outfit repeater!")

We gave our best performance of "Fountainhead." It was our most intense ending and such a release. I wanted to cry at the end of it. I felt really connected to Brendan and Ethan, and the audience, and Bootleg, and with myself.

Tell us a little about your latest single "When Will You Come Home?"

This brings me to my second favorite show, Love Song Time Machine at Trans-Pecos. It was a seven-band Valentine's Day cover show I put on with my friend Em of Emma Blue Jeans. I came to them with the idea, and we realized the show together. The event also had a photobooth, copies of a special Wett Butt Valentine's zine issue, and we sold candy grams to raise money for the grassroots organization G.L.I.T.S. Nara's Room was one of the seven bands who played, covering Galaxie 500. We released a cover of their song, "When Will You Come Home" as a part of the event. Galaxie 500 is one of my favorite three-piece bands and an inspiration for Nara's Room.

What are a few sources of inspiration when you write?

Like any other artist's body of work, my writing reflects a period in my life. The starting and ending points are uncertain, but a lot of my songs will reflect similar themes. I express myself through objects like glass and grape juice, and characters in literature. Stars, canyons, all that. Lately animals have been making their way into my writing--cows, horses, dogs. I don't really know why. Sometimes paintings will inspire songs, like "Fountainhead," inspired by Edward Hopper's painting A Woman In The Sun. It mesmerized me when I first saw it at The Whitney a few years ago and still does now.

Sonically, the music I'm listening to at the time will influence the period's sound. Shoegaze, Bristol Sound, and Alex G really made their way into the latest Nara's Room songs. Alternate tunings, too. Middle Eastern music, too, especially Armenian music. Lately I've been listening to a lot of obscure stuff on YouTube; it's fun to digitally crate-dig, it feels like a good way to counter Spotify's hegemony. I've been really into this 90's band Endive's "Discography 2," a 56-minute digital rip of their CD someone bought off of eBay and remastered themselves. My friend Trevor recently showed me Alvin Lucier's piece "I Am Sitting In A Room" after making the joke, "I Am Sitting In Nara's Room." You can listen to the whole thing on YouTube, too. The full performance of Umm Kulthum's "Enta Omri" is a huge inspiration for me as well, also on YouTube. YouTube rules.

What is next for Nara's Room? What are you all working on now?

We have our first EP and a music video coming out very soon. We also started recording our first full-length album this month. We've been taking a spring break, but we're making our epic return on Saturday, June 17th at Trans-Pecos with Kelsea Blums and Nyxy Nyx. Summer is going to be really cool.