Exposed Vocals Interviews The Jelly

The Jelly are a Southern Californian Blues/Alt Rock band who’s sounds are reminiscent of 70s Classic Rock with a modern edge, akin to The Dead Weather but with a psychedelic finish.

We are Mickey McAtee (Vocals) Jaymes Quirino (Guitar) Brandon Romero (Bass & Vocals) and Jeremiah Esparza

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

The Jelly: We all pretty much grew up in Ojai, CA, with the exception of Mickey aka. Michaela (vocals), who grew up in Ojai but spent her High School years in Mammoth, CA. Jaymes and Brandon aka “Burn”, grew up together all the way through high school, but ironically never came together musically until Brandon began playing with his former group, KHKG (Kyle Hunt and the King Gypsy) along side Jeremiah aka “Mo” on the kit. At the same time, Jaymes and Mo had formed an experimental project called Jukebox Mutiny, which was an instrumental trio a la Trizteza or Mogwai. After both KHKG and Jukebox Mutiny disbanded, it only made sense that all 3 of us already great friends come together and make something happen. The result? A gelatinous mix of psychedelic rock, blues-jazz and alternative rock somewhere in between the 70s and modern times.

The project kickstarted from a ton of unfinished material rattling around the mind of guitarist Jaymes Quirino, from which only became complete once Brandon and Mo could put their stamp on it. From there there was only one missing piece of the puzzle, Mickey. Her soulful and sultry voice proved to be a major x factor tying in all the various genres and ideas the 3 dudes had been hammering out prior to her arrival. The rest is history.

I think we all agree, the reason we became artists is because we simply can’t see ourselves doing or being any other way. Its in our DNA.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

The Jelly: We through about 20 other ideas on a whiteboard and let our family and friends “judge” them. There were a ton of shitty ideas, a handful of brilliant ones. Sometimes people would come into the band room, take a look at the board, read off a name and either laugh hysterically at us, or give the nod of approval. Trust us, we had a lot of laughs, but The Jelly just seemed to fit given that we individually are bringing in very different musical ingredients and flavors, but when mixed together we’ve produced some musical Jelly worth spreading around.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

The Jelly: Online music sharing is amazing. It is such an essential tool for us and for any other creative trade. We do give out our music for free because we all believe in sharing our hard work and love with everyone. However, we do believe in economics too, haha. We believe that when we do putting a price tag on our material, that it should be of the highest quality we can offer, and that it’s something worth purchasing. For example, we may give away our 44.1kHz/16bit WAV versions or stream them on SoundCloud, however we’ll sell the 24bit / 44.1kHz + High Resolution versions for those who want that value, at a fair price.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

The Jelly: Whether its practicing in your garage, recording in studio, or gigging out and about town, ALWAYS aim to produce the best sounds, the highest quality recording, and put together the best most attractive visual and auditory show you can. Do not compromise quality for quantity. Invest in yourselves and people see you as something worth paying attention to. Believe in what you do earnestly, and that will connect you with your fans, audiences and other industry people. Making music should be about genuine love for what you do and a love for sharing with the people around you.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

The Jelly: Historically, we’ve each brought something to the table that gets sculpted and perfected during our many hours in the band room. We’ll hammer out all the details until we all feel great about it. It’s not always the quickest or most efficient process, and each band is different, but its important to us to remain a collaborative project. There are no dumb ideas, or dumb songs. Somethings may not work at the time and that’s ok. A lot of our material was fashioned this way. We began by perfecting material Jaymes (guitars) had written but felt it incomplete and shelved at the time, though now, it is not only relevant material, but been it’s given a breath of fresh air and now works.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

The Jelly: Our main site is currently under construction, but you can catch us on Facebook – The Jelly, and as well on Instagram @TheJelly805. You can also catch our latest EP “When Meteors Collide” on SoundCloud (The Jelly) and BandCamp.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

The Jelly: We would spend what we needed to complete the newest album, then tour tour tour. We’d love to see the world. And that is our goal.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

The Jelly: We try to get at every avenue we can, although the majors are our go to (Facebook, Instagram). Jaymes has many contacts in the industry as the former studio manager of world renown The Mastering Lab Inc. so thats another means of networking. Brandon Jeremiah and Michaela are all well established musicians who know everyone around and help us get a ton of gigs. We’ll be playing with our friends Gygax at Bombay’s Bar and Grill on April 22nd. If you haven’t heard of Gygax, go check them out they are insane.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

The Jelly: Currently we’re writing a ton, expanding the set and booking 2016 all over. As well, we all kind of dabble in side projects. Mo with “We the Underclass” are a local punk band, Jaymes and Brandon are working on a mix of original and cover acoustic set to take around town, and Michaela has a huge catalog of her own solo stuff that she takes with her wherever she goes.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

The Jelly: Drinking beer, planting succulents, traveling, telling jokes, producing shows.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

The Jelly: Juggle is the best verb to describe it. You put the hours when you can, even if it means losing sleep (or losing a lot of sleep).

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

The Jelly: More high energy, psychedelic sweetness coming to a town near you, keep a look out. We plan to complete the next album and more by the end of 2016!