5 minute read
Madam Bombs
from Highwire Daze #146
by highwiredaze
The Explosive Madam Bombs
Interview by Ken Morton - Photo by Jack Lue
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Madam Bombs is a power trio from Simi Valley, whose fierce brand of alternative punk rock and roll is gaining the band a good deal of notice throughout Southern California and beyond. Their high octane music has even caught the attention of the legendary Youth Brigade, who personally invited Madam Bombs to play this year’s edition of Punk Rock Bowling in Las Vegas. Madam Bombs recently did a photo session with Jack Lue at Dystopian Studios in Downtown LA. Highwire Daze caught up with the Madam Bombs trio right after the shoot to find out more about their explosive music. Read on…
Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in Madam Bombs.
Claire: My name is Claire FitzGerald and I play guitar and sing. Marlowe: My name is Marlowe Shachory and I play bass and sing. Samara: And my name is Samara Ellis and I play drums and sing backup.
Give me a little background on the band and how long the band has been together.
Claire: Samara and I have been going to this music school since we were little, and there was a band program there, and that’s kind of how we met. And eventually, we grew out of it, and we’ve gone through a few members to meet Marlowe – who’s a perfect fit for us. And we’ve just been a trio. Samara: And we’ve been playing together for almost three years – and just us three for the past year.
Let’s talk about the Madam Bomb songs. (Not) With Me – what is the inspiration behind that song?
Claire: It’s kind of a silly concept. It’s kind of about
a girl that is obsessed with this guy, and she’s trying to get his attention, she knows all about him and he doesn’t know who she is, and she’s kind of a stalker. That’s kind of what the concept is. And it’s not autobiographical. It’s just a funny story. Samara: It’s just kind of a deeper look into clinginess.
You also have a song called Get Me Out – tell me about that one.
Marlowe: Get Me Out is about not wanting to be like all the other people at school. Samara: It’s about standing out and feeling comfortable in your own skin and wanting to be able to embrace the difference in yourself. It’s about individuality.
What was it like playing the world-famous Whisky A Go Go?
Samara: It was awesome! And at that show, we actually got to collab with another amazing artist Lava Diva. We wrote a collab song together – an original – we performed it there and it was amazing! It was so cool! Claire: We’ve gigged out a lot and we’ve had good shows and bad shows, but for me personally, I think that was my favorite show that we’ve ever played. It was such an ethereal feeling. Marlowe: It was a really good energy at the show. And for me at least, it was the first time I played on a stage that was raised. It’s so raised – I had never been over the crowd before – and so it was really weird. And it was packed because we and all the other bands that played promoted it so much! And a lot of people came out, so that was really fun.
How did the Lava Diva collaboration come about?
Samara: We played their reunion show at The Federal in NoHo in January – and afterwards we talked to them and said, “Oh my gosh, you guys are so cool!” And they thought we were cool, and we though “Okay, we should get together and write a collab song.” And then we actually did, and it was really, really cool. It turned out really great, and hopefully it will be released soon.
The big news is that Madam Bombs was recently added to the Punk Rock Bowling show! How did that come about and what are you looking forward to the most about that show?
Marlowe: So Punk Rock Bowling – we got a DM from Youth Brigade on Instagram out of the blue. They DM’med us asking us to play and that their booking agent would reach out to us. And later once the booking agent did, we found out that our friend Andy at Corbin Bowl actually recommended us to the people who were putting Punk Rock Bowling together. It was so amazing we received this opportunity! We are forever grateful to Andy. And I’m so excited to play it. I love all the bands on it! It’s crazy that we’re even sharing a flyer with bands like Bad Religion and L7. Even if our name is miniscule at the very bottom of the flyer, the fact that we’re on the flyer with these bands that we look up to is amazing to us! It’s a step in the right direction.
If Madam Bombs could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
Marlowe: I would love to open for Bikini Kill - or L7. I can’t believe we’re playing Punk Rock Bowling with L7. Samara: I also agree Bikini Kill – that would be amazing! Or any inspirational girl band like the Go-Go’s. But 7th grade me would be so proud if we played on a stage with the Offspring. I love the Offspring so much – our music style isn’t similar, but it goes together in a way. That would be awesome! Claire: Honestly my answer is a mix between theirs. Honestly just sharing a stage with any other major band would be amazing! So, any opportunity that could come by would be amazing! Samara: And honestly, sharing the stage, it would be like more with the local scene that we have – like Lava Diva – we love playing with them. Or Speed Of Light. All those bands are really inspirational to me personally. And it’s really cool that we’ve gotten the opportunity to play with them and know who they are – and they’re great people.
What’s up in the New Year for Madam Bombs – in addition to Punk Rock Bowling.
Samara: We’re thinking about releasing a single every month. Marlowe: Hopefully writing new songs and recording some more. And just having fun. Claire: We’re just going to try and gig out as much as possible. We’re finally at a point in time where we have more availability, so I think we’re going to make a push to play more shows.
