I am so excited to introduce this next band. It is a trio out of Nashville, who’s mix of music genius and sound astounds me. Meet Cold Creeks. I was so lucky to meet them, we found one another over our fascination with Griffin Washburn’s group, Goth Babe. Cold Creeks sound is an indie rock meets the blues, with songs of personal stories and emotion filled lyrics and with each strum or bang on the drums you can feel and visualize their story. This past weekend I got to witness one of their shows live and it made me realize just how really good they are, their maturity for performing and the content of their songs is as if they have been doing this forever together. Singer-songwriter Brandon Murphy is so at home on stage performing. Comfortable as he sings on such a personal level. Caleb is the perfect complement on the bass and Pearl completely rocks it out on the drums. I was blown away with the way they perform together, they have a deep connection on stage and in their songs. I got to hear some new stuff they will be recording soon and I think they will be telling their story for a long time to come!
Who is Cold Creeks?
We are a trio of dreamers and do’ers with a vision of sharing our music with the world. Through use of fictional characters’ lives, we intend to pull a particular thought or emotion from the listener in our songs. The characters in our songs and their thoughts let the audience live vicariously through them and sympathize with their thoughts and feelings.
We strive to become more of a “creative art entity” than just a band. We all are growing together as artists outside the medium of music. Caleb, the bassist, is currently studying video production. Brandon has a knack for visual arts, besides being our songwriter and guitar player. Pearl, the drummer, is a multi instrumentalist who writes short stories and poetry. We are currently working on consolidating these different art mediums with a story about the characters which our current songs reference.
Where did everyone meet?
Brandon met Pearl at Dark Horse Recording studios while recording a few demos in the fall of 2013. They immediately hit it off and started a two piece collaboration with just guitar and drums. Five months later, Caleb joined the band as the bassist. Since then it has been a nonstop process of developing the sound and entity known as Cold Creeks.
What is your process for making a song? Tell me about “Soul Song”.
One of two things can happen, either I (Brandon) write the song on my acoustic by myself and later introduce it to the band as they add the backbone to it. Or we just jam to a riff we like and I write the lyrics to fit it, this happens less often but it was the case for “Soul Song”. I started fiddling with a new little riff I had developed, and usually if it is a good riff Pearl will like it and jump in on drums. Same for Caleb, once we all have a good sense of the song I start to sing whatever is inside at the time and all of our songs are written completely stream of conscious. We then later sort out and edit the structure, phrasing, and whatever else needs to be tweaked.
What song or band made you want to make music? Who influences your sound?
Personally, what made me (Brandon) start writing music was the Right Away, Great Captain! side project for Manchester Orchestra frontman Andy Hull. After that it just made sense to start writing about personal problems and feelings wrapped up inside of a more complex story structure rather than directly from my point of view. We as a whole are very much influenced by the songs of bands such as Modest Mouse, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, and Alabama Shakes.
You’re headed back into the studio next month, what will the energy be like for your next release? Can you tell me any about what you’re going to record?
Yes, we’re hoping to record at least three new singles, but four if we can play our cards right. The songs that we will be recording can’t be disclosed yet, but they are a mix of new material and a song from our “Live at The End” EP.
It is going to be such an intense energy when we record the singles in the studio, since it’s been over a year since we’ve recorded Mindful Spirits. We all thrive in the studio environment and feel its the pen to the paper in a sense. These singles are the by-product of all the late nights spent practicing and developing our sound into what we believe we are growing towards. It is going to be the Cold Creeks everyone knows and loves, but with a more developed sound and an edgy twist.
Where is your favorite place to watch live music in Nashville?
We really like the Exit/In and the intimacy it seems to have when certain performers play. Of course right behind the Exit/In, Cafe Coco’s writer’s nights never fail to impress. Also, Riverfront Park which hosts “Live on the Green”, a fantastic event for the city of Nashville, is an absolute killer outdoor venue. We are going to the Ascend Amphitheater for the first time this summer to see Brand New and Modest Mouse, so we are very much looking forward to that as well!
Nashville also has some new up and coming venues such as Phat Bites Deli and Sonny’s Music Cafe. We have tended to frequent these venues almost more so than some of the bigger, more established venues around town.
Follow these guys and keep up with live shows through Twitter, Instagram and their website. They will be playing ever last Saturday of the month at Phat Bites in Nashville. Check them out, you won’t be disappointed.
Drums / Pearl Stewart
Vocals, Guitar / Brandon Murphy
Bass, Cello / Caleb Jones
