An Interview with The Psyches
Interview by Sophia Fascenelli
March 4, 2024
The Psyches (Photo: Cadee Havard)
I had the lovely chance to interview The Psyches, an alt-rock psychedelic band from Nashville, TN and Washington DC. Here’s what the two had to say:
How did you two first meet and what inspired you to start The Psyches?
Drew - We met on a musicians app, and our musical interests lined up. I sent Trey some demos, we talked about them and immediately knew we wanted to start this project.
What are your roles in the band?
Drew - I sing and play lead/rhythm guitar, and write most of the songs.
Trey - I play bass, keys, and rhythm guitar, and also handle recording, mixing and mastering. Sometimes I’ll give Drew an instrumental or a chord progression to add lyrics to.
Drew (left) and Trey (right) (Photo: Cadee Havard)
Is there anyone specific that inspires your music? If so what’re your favorite albums/songs by the artists?
Our first connection was The Brian Jonestown Massacre. We love the song Pish and Fingertips, and have jammed on those at shows before. So BJM is kind of our jumping off point. We also discovered an artist called Jadu Heart, and love their album Derealized. Drew is really into Pixies, Pavement, Wilco, and Tom Petty. Trey is into Radiohead, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, STRFKR, and a lot of new wave artists like Talking Heads.
What’s the music scene like where you two live? I know you both live in different states so that must be difficult.
Drew - When I moved here, I thought Nashville was going to have a lot of pretentious musicians. It’s quite the opposite. Most of the musicians I have met have very communal mindsets. You’re definitely a small fish in a big pond, but people love music here. Live music is why a lot of people live here, whether they are a musician or not. You definitely have to put in the work and pay your dues, but I feel like once you find your scene it usually gives back.
Trey - DC definitely has a great music scene. There’s always something cool going on, and one of my favorite venues does an open jam once a month. It’s also been nice to network with other artists here, especially at American University, where I’m getting my Masters in Audio Technology. There’s a lot of talented musicians, and everyone is willing to help each other out. I still go back to Nashville occasionally to play shows or record, and we’re also planning to do more shows this summer, maybe even a short tour!
So far you have three songs out on Spotify, which are all amazing, which out of the three is your favorite? And what unreleased song are you most excited about?
Drew- My favorite is Let’s Keep the Television. I think it sort of defines our sound. My favorite unreleased song is going to be on our upcoming EP, it’s called Ego Island. That song has lived so many lives. Its been demoed in 3 different genres, but I feel like we finally got it where we want it. It’s got a really cool psychedelic ending, I’m excited to hear how the mix comes out.
Trey- Camo Kink is probably my favorite release, it was a ton of fun to make and it’s had a great reception so far. I also really love the song Flower Girl, which we’ve played at a few shows recently. That one will be on our first full length album, and is probably gonna be one of the singles as well.
What are your goals with The Psyches?
Drew- For me, it’s the music and the content. Playing shows are always a lot of fun, and we plan to play them when we can, but I’m not in the business of playing empty clubs just for the sake of it. We’re focused on putting out what we think is a good product, and scaling it accordingly. My goal is to build a good following in Nashville, Birmingham (where I’m from), and Washington DC.
Trey- For me, it’s all about seeing the songs come together. This project has been a great way for me to gain experience as an audio engineer, and I can see my skills grow with each release. It’s also been a fun creative outlet– I love the songs that Drew brings to me, and I get to push them that extra step. Drew’s also a talented songwriter, and has added lyrics to tracks of mine that would otherwise never be finished.
What do you guys have in store for this year?
Drew- In between all of that, we’ve been working on a slew of more electronic tracks, pulling inspo from bands like STRFKR and LCD Soundsystem. We’ll be putting those out after the EP and before the album, so definitely stay on the lookout!
Trey- Right now I’m wrapping up mixing our EP, which we are hoping to put out late spring/early summer. We’re also about to start recording our first album in DC at the end of March!