New England’s hidden boy band “Cheem” comments on how they defy and define music genre limitations, as well as the passion behind their craft as they forge forward in authenticity, appreciating the direction over the speed of success.
From the moment we saw them setting up in the basement of your average home with merch piled across the countertop we knew we’d found a hidden gem. The 5 member boy band Cheem, named during their high school construction in 2013, is currently in the midst of their 11 day east-side tour of the US. Sam Nazaretian takes the role of lead singer, Skye Holden plays guitar and directs energy with his singing, Gabe Weitzman takes the guitar, Nate Porter rocks the bass, and Sean Thomas brings rhythm through his drumming. Originating in New England, Connecticut, they first began playing DIY shows at local venues and underground house gigs, allowing them to broaden their scope over the past years. Drawing from both pop and rock elements, their newest musical edition to their discography “Guilty Pleasure” is brimming with techno beats and an overlaying pop lattice, lined with rock-rapping to get you jumping and out of your comfort zone. As Skye Holden expressed, “If you hear rapping in a song and are immediately turned off, those are the type of people we’re trying to weed out”. They are putting their all into their music, and take great pride in the sounds they are producing.
How long have you been playing music and/or wanted to pursue it as a career, so your “magic moment” that got you to where you are now?
Gabe: “I’m a piano player first, so I’ve been doing that since I was seven. I kind of taught myself guitar, and cheem is the only project I’m involved with with guitar”.
Sean: “I learned how to play drums from Rock Band, the video game in middle school, and then I got into drumming because I loved the band “Tool”. When I got into “cheem” it was a big evolution in my own drumming style, and I kind of molded how I play to fit the band. Now my playing style is kind of synonymous with the kind of music that Cheem makes”.
As they expressed, the concept of a magic moment can be big or small realizations over time, but as long as it means something to you, that’s something special. Over time their musicianship has melded with the bright colors of Cheem’s music, and now feel they’ve found their place.
Time for some fun.
From your song “Mango” there’s a line that says “fiction, rumor, or truth”, so I was wondering what yours would be. Is there something you want to debunk about how you are perceived?
After much debate Skye Holden jumped into the fray, summarizing the stereotypes they are used to being confined to in concise certainty
“Fiction: that we’re an emo band
Rumor: we’re a nu-metal band
Truth: we’re a Boy band!”
Sharing how they are simply a band and aren’t tied to one classification in specific is what gives them the power to try new things,
“‘We just love pop music and everyone is so quick to classify us as a genre, but we really don’t play into anything. A lot of the times we feel like an outcast in the scenes because everyone is like “this is an emo band” or “this is a punk band”, but like…we’re a f*cking band!’”
Direct quote noted: they have more power being just a “f*cking band”.
Taking a college focus and getting inspiration from your youth, if you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
Skye: “Don’t stop listening to nu-metal because other people will make you feel bad about it. Don’t stop listening to anything. Be open about stuff because anyone who makes a big deal about subjective things like your taste in media is a loser, they want to make you feel like one because they feel like one”.
Sam added some deeper insight into his own philosophy on life, which placed every message they’re been conveying through their music under the spotlight,
“The process, just trust it. If it’s meant to happen it’s going to happen, regardless of how long it takes. You often find yourself criticizing yourself because of the time it takes for success. I think you have to ignore it, go with your gut, and let things happen when they’re made to happen”.
You never know where life will take you, and that’s the fun of it.
In “Virtual Boy” and “Pay2Play you touch on the subject of living in a capatlisitic world. Where do you hope your music careers will take you in the longrun, and how would that tie into your message? Would it change?
Skye: “I just want to be financially stable enough to pursue music without having to have a day job. That’s the dream for all of us. It’s not necessarily an aspirational thing, like we don’t want mansions or to party all the time. We always want our music and shows to be accessible. I would like to find a way to do that on a larger scale and bring home a little bit more money for ourselves to keep doing it more, and branch out to other places we haven’t been before”.
Sam: “It’s also frustrating that we have to pay in order to get that sense of success when sometimes people don’t think about the greater meaning of it. We really care about the art”.
Music isn’t always about the money, although that is insanely important for expansion and the continuation and maintenance of creation. A lot is needed to get a project running and off the ground, especially outreaching to fans through touring,
Skye: “‘There’s a lot of cost that goes into doing this kind of stuff. People don’t realize that…that for some people who it looks like “those people are making more of an effort to hit the opposite coast of the country”, it’s more like they have the financial means to do so. Whereas other bands would love to play California from Conneticut or wherever, it’s a huge risk to do stuff like that. A lot comes out of our pockets’”.
Gabe: “In those two songs you mentioned, talking about how lots of bands will use money in nefarious ways to get noticed more, like (u know) buying listeners, Instagram followers, spotify bots, all those classic tricks, and we have earnestly tried to not do that. We do use money, but we try to use money in an organic way to be true to ourselves.
Skye: “You got to play the game a little bit, but you can play it your own way”.
To people outside the nu pop-rock genre, what do you have to offer?
Skye: “‘I feel like we’re a gateway band to like, weirder stuff. I think the average person would consider our band a little “off the wall”, but for the most part we try to offer pretty digestible melodies, hooks, lyrics, song structures, that kind of stuff. Either people will like it or they won’t. Eitherway it’s a pretty cool way for a person to get into the alternative music scene and genres they may not have given a chance to’”.
Sean: “We want people to stop pigeon-holing themselves with genres they are really into, and stop being so attached to labels because we believe our fans should have fun with what they’re listening to, and not take it so seriously making it a rock-steady part of their identity”.
What motivates you to keep on this path, and keep moving forward?
Sam: “‘I always tell myself that if you want to be a musician or artist, you have to understand that you have to love the highs. Even if it’s something small. Like yesterday we played a packed show. That was a high for me. But, there’s gonna be a lot of lows too, so many moments where it’s borderline “I’m gonna quit it all”, and it just can’t burn you that much. And I see a lot of people get burned’”.
Gabe: “‘We’ve reached the point where If we hit a low, we approach it like “whatever, we’ll get ‘em next time” instead of “man, why are we doing this”. It’s moreso like “let’s regroup, the next thing we’ll do will be bigger and better’”.
Nate: “It’s a lot of repetition. A lot of highs, a lot of lows, and you just have to get used to the lows. It’s a cycle, so it will come back up again”.
Gabe: “‘We’ve never played a set at a show that we’re not feeling great about without giving it our all still. Like a couple days ago we played a show that was kinda bunk but the moment you get onstage it’s like “alright, are we going to join in on everyone else’s negativity right now or are we going to give it our all and try to turn it around? At the very least it’s a practice session in front of some people’”.
How do you stay motivated and keep wanting to change your sound and expand into new genres?
Skye: “‘You have to keep listening to new music and exposing yourself to new art forms. Not even just music, like movies, tv, books, you can get inspiration from anywhere. As long as you’re still finding new things to be excited about, that’s gonna lead you to get excited about your own music. The second you think “nah, know one’s making anything good anymore”, then —’”
Sam: “You’re Out!”
It’s easy to fall into the mindset of “comfort in normality”, but actually experimenting and branching out ideas into something is what sets genuine minds apart from the crowd.
Could you expand on the idea of “loving what other people do?”
Skye: “Being openminded is a huge part of our philosophy. We wouldn’t have nearly as many fans if there weren’t likeminded people that were willing to try new things. Anytime a new artist gets huge or you stumble on something new you saw at a show, or a new genre emerges, finding new ways to be excited about artists in that genre you like and learning what you can take away from everything that happens – it makes you fall in love with music over and over again. When you get that same feeling as listening to bands when you were really really young, or hearing a good song when you were a child, being able to replicate that and stay interested and love the art form as a whole is probably the most important thing”.
Cheem is nowhere near short of genuineness and talent, and good thing there’s still more exciting stuff to come for the up-and-coming band. Newer sounds will grace their discography well within the next few months as they expand their experimentation,
Skye: “‘We all listen to a lot of different kinds of music. So it all gets kind of represented naturally. Whatever we’re currently obsessed with finds its way into our songs. We are now confident we can bring anything into the “Cheem” world and “cheemify” it to make it sound familiar to people who like us, but also bringing something new to the table’”.
They are planning to keep forging towards the west coast of the country in terms of touring, and taking everything they do to a higher plane of “bigger and better” while still staying true to their authenticity.
Gabe: “Anyone who sticks around is cool. That’s our “Cheem” team. That’s also our email!”
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