An Interview with Gam Solub

GETTING TO KNOW GAM

By Sahm Schiller

The fresh and unique sound of Neo-Soul band Gam will no doubt pique the interest of contemporary and classic music listeners alike. Formed at Tufts by Tim Holt, Sam Golub, Nate Hirsch, Ethan Isenman, and Joel Appel-Kraut, Gam blends Funk and R&B, adding a modern twist in the process. We sat down with band members Tim, Sam, and Nate to discuss their history, songwriting process, and recent single “Playground.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How would you describe your songwriting process? Is it collaborative? Sam: The way we started this band was out of us jamming. Well, technically we started because Tim was like, “Do you want to do this Halloween show?” And then I lived with Nate, and Ethan was our neighbor as well, so we ended up doing a show together. I feel like our songs came out of our early jams, just sort of playing and seeing how our ideas flowed. We’d be inspired by playing with each other, and then Nate would go back and have some ideas, like a chord progression, or I would have something and show it to people. It was just very natural.

That’s very interesting. Is that how it’s going to work for the next release? Tim: I think our model in the future is likely going to be singles, but released more frequently. We took a lot of time to write and get those tunes down, but the thing that was so easy about going into the studio for that EP is that we’d been playing live a lot. I think at the end of Sam and my sophomore year and into our junior year, we’d had a lot of gigs on campus. We were really a well-oiled machine when it came to playing gigs. We’d come up, and we’d have those tunes that are on Moments and Spirals. Those we had downpat, it was easy. So when we got in the studio, we basically recorded everything live in a few takes and then layered the vocals over it. That was a straightforward process because we already had the forms and everything.

The most recent single that we just released, “Playground,” came about more so in the studio which I think is going to be more of our model in the future. And that’s definitely what’s happened with the most recent single we’re working on called “Muscle Tee.” Sam and I came up with lyrics, melody, and chord progression while we were abroad in Australia. It’s very beach themed. There are a lot of parts that weren’t really there when we started. It’s been more of a production process, building off things in the studio, while we’re laying it down.

We work a lot with Alex Friedman – a junior at Tufts, amazing producer. He’s got a studio in his basement. With the Moments and Spirals stuff, we recorded it in a few takes and it sounds like how it’d sound live. But with “Playground,” we’re taking liberties that we don’t have the chance to do outside the studio. Things like layering. We also have a glockenspiel on it and all kinds of funny synths. It’s just really fun to get experimental like that in a way that you can’t do live.

Can you talk more about your experiences playing live? Nate: I think all three of us live for playing live. My favorite moments in college have just been having a really fun house party and playing an awesome live show. And there’s definitely a difference with recording stuff to playing live. When you get there

and you’re in front of a group of people and you’re playing your songs, I feel like the truth about your songs really comes out. On the recordings, you’re trying to get that refined sound that people want to listen to on their phones or whatever. But when you’re actually playing your song live, it’s sort of like you’re having a conversation with the audience – it’s something really cool. It’s definitely where I feel like I can be honest with, I don’t know, how I’m feeling or talking to the audience.

"When you get there and you’re in front of a group of people and you’re playing your songs, I feel like the truth about your songs re ally comes out."

Sam: Yeah, I consider myself a nervous player live. In high school, especially if I was gonna solo, my hands would be shaking. It'd be like a measure before and I'd be like, “Okay, here it goes,” and the lights would come on me. That’s what happened from time to time while playing live, but when you're feeling music with your band and you're really into it, no matter how many people are in the audience, I'm not focused on their reactions or what they're thinking. It's just completely flowing. And it's in those moments where I'm not caring how I'm sounding and I'm just vibing, I’ll look over and see my bandmates, I'll turn around whatever I'll do, and anything can happen. It's in those moments that true expression comes out. Those are the moments that I totally miss about live playing: interacting with the crowd and having them respond to what we're doing, and being totally dedicated in that moment to producing something really cohesive.

Your view of music as being honest, letting it flow — was that always there? Nate: My view of music has shifted so much over the time I've been here at Tufts. Honesty is something that I feel like I've always come back to. When I used to play a lot of jazz I felt like it was getting to a place where it was being less honest and true, and I was doing things just for the sake of having them be complicated or colorful. But now I'm trying to be more frank in my choices when I'm writing a song and what colors I decide to use. I think the ultimate goal of music is to say something, to put whatever you're saying on some sort of platform, and then everything else is to support that message. So whenever I want to say something, I'm like: is this really truthful? Is this how I feel? Or do I need to flesh this out a little bit more? Then when I come up with a piano part to support that, I ask myself if this is something that I play because I thought it sounded weird and interesting, or is it something that I feel is honest and frank and cut down to support the thing I'm trying to say? As I've played more and more I've come to appreciate playing less – like the ability to be content with something really simple, because I think it's the simple aspects of music that we're all drawn to.

"Honesty is something that I feel like I've always come back to."

Tim: Space is something that I've come to appreciate more. There's so much musicality, just like Nate’s saying, the notes you don't play and being deliberate. As musicians, it’s important to give yourself breathing room. If you're gonna make a statement, don't make something crazy right afterwards - you don't want to take away from deliberate choices you’ve made.

Check out Gam’s most recent single “Playground” on Spotify and Apple Music. Also be sure to follow them on Instagram @gamtheband.