(Photo Credit: Jay Ybarra)
We had an opportunity to speak with The Tiarras for an Artist Spotlight Feature! Check out our interview with this up-and-coming trio!
1. How did you come to pursue music and how long have you been at it?
Tori - "We have individually had our own journeys with music. To begin with, our father was into all types of music and he was a break dancer. Then he became a DJ when we were kids and we would always follow him to his events. We were exposed to a multitude of genres and different types of music. We fell in love with music because it connects people. It was a natural thing we were always into. We individually started taking lessons, Tiffany took piano lessons with our grandmother. Sophia would always make percussive beats around the house so our parents put her in percussion lessons. I became really interested in guitar when a teacher brought a guitar into school and I liked how it got me out of my comfort zone. We went on to decide to take lessons and decided to play together and the rest is history."
2. Could you walk us through your process of writing music?
Tori - "The songwriting process starts usually with me. It usually starts with a life moment that I feel really strongly about or a message that's coming up in our lives. I always try to keep my sisters in mind when I'm thinking of a song. We have so many collective experiences that we hold close to our heart. It's almost like we're the same person but different variations. So I always keep them in mind when I'm writing. Then I'll show them the skeleton of what I'm thinking about and Sophia will add a beat and Tiffany will add bass. We kind of just jam it out and edit it as we go."
Sophia - "Tori brings it to us and then I come up with a beat, and they'll tell me if they like it or they don't. Because we're sisters we're pretty open about sharing what we like or don't with one another."
Tiffany - "When Tori brings me her idea, I play along with just her and I and get the skeleton of my bassline. I try to push my creativity to make some different riffs. We all have different ideas and aren't afraid to share with one another what we're thinking."
3. What artists have inspired you in your career?
Tori - "It's kind of changed throughout our span of playing together. Growing up your influences shift. Selina is the first one. We listen to a little bit of No Doubt. I really love listening to Chicano Batman, they're one of my favorite bands. Kali Uchis as well. Each one of those, we take what resonates with us."
Sophia - "Selina, watching the family band aspect of it just resonates so much with us."
4. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them?
Tori - "My favorite piece of gear is my amp, it's a Fender Hotrod Deluxe. It's a tube amp and a lot of people love the tone. I love it because it has a very warm tone. I don't know if there are any stories behind it per se, but it's red. I play an Agile Les Paul guitar that I love as well."
Sophia - "We added a sample pad and it's my new favorite thing because it's added a lot of sound that I feel like we were missing."
Tiffany - "My bass. It has a really long neck because I can go a lot higher and it helps with a track we have where I do a bass solo. Even though it's really long and sometimes it looks as tall as me, I've gotten really attached to it."
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?
Tori - "We love to include a Latin feel, some rock, and a Selina cover here and there. I feel like our set is a storyline of our musical journey. We play some of the stuff that we first wrote, it's fun to play around with some of the stuff we wrote as pre-teens. We make our own twists on different covers we play. Our live shows are pretty fun. Connecting with the audience is really important for us, we feel if they connect it helps us."
"Personally, I really like the energy of a venue. If you look around and the venue is grungy but the people are really cool and happy and vibey. I love the people that show a lot of respect and manners. I love know that we're all for the same mission, to have fun and connect through music."
Sophia - "I agree with Tori, we feed off others vibes. As long as everyone there is chill and supportive and in good spirits it's always a good time."
Tiffany - "My favorite part of the venue is the lighting. The lighting makes the show more fun for us and for the audience."
Tori - "I love when they have a screen behind us with a projector behind us. We even had a show one time where there was a jumbotron behind us with a psychedelic background. It just adds to the experience."
6. What is one thing that you want the public to know about your music?
Sophia - "I feel like a lot of the songs we play and are making have really strong messages about the things that people don't want to talk about sometimes. When we play it, people are dancing, but when you listen to the lyrics you realize it's something way deeper. I hope the audience takes that away about how powerful their voice can be."
Tori - "I want people to take that our music comes from a deep place of intention. We have messages behind our music that are really powerful. We don't write about anything we haven't gone through, so it comes from a place of expression. We have a song called "Let Love Free" which was my coming out song. But then I realized the lyrics are really needed and are reflected in their (my sister's) lives and not just mine. We are young women and we are finding new power every year in our lives."
7. What’s next for you?
Sophia - "We're continuing to work in studio. We're planning on making an album. Ever since our name change, I really like the direction we're going in."
Tori - "Striving towards an album, trying to schedule studio time. and continuing to play live shows. While also trying to up our social game as much as we can. We're also trying to connect with more and more people and learning more about ourselves and music."
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