Rock in Detroit’s
August 2024
Band of the Month:
GLASS CHIMERA
ROCK IN DETROIT: Hey, Glass Chimera. First, congrats on being Rock in Detroit’s first Band of the month. You guys deserve it.
GLASS CHIMERA: We are honored to be selected. You’ve curated a very nice platform to keep track of everything going on in our wonderful city.
ROCK IN DETROIT: So, to start, where are you all from, and how long have you guys known each other? How did you get together?
GLASS CHIMERA: We formed in late 2018, through the ashes of another project Scott and I (Aaryn) were a part of. I had the idea of a psychedelic/stoner rock band and having known Dom since high school, what we wanted to do just made sense. Dom and Scott immediately gelled together and, having previous history with both, it just fell to form very naturally. We’re all local boys, born and raised right here in Detroit.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Detroit’s where it’s at! So who came up with the name Glass Chimera? What does it mean to you? There aren’t many “glass bands” around. “Chimera” because there are three of you or because you combine three types of music?
GLASS CHIMERA: You’re very close with your question actually. We had thrown around a few names and initially it was supposed to be a placeholder, but the more we sat with it, the more it made sense. The band is the “Chimera” in which our three individual stylings come together as a reflection through the “Glass.” The collective aspect is incredibly important to us, so the aspect of being represent by a Chimera just made sense.
ROCK IN DETROIT: For those readers who don’t know you, how would you describe your music?
GLASS CHIMERA: South Warren Psychedelic Jazz Punk. Our goal is to constantly subvert and scrutinize the line between harmony and dissonance.
ROCK IN DETROIT: What are your shared influences, as a band?
GLASS CHIMERA: We’re all heavily influenced by old psych/prog bands from back in the day (Cream, Yes, Zappa, etc.) but also really love some of the more . . . unnatural stylings of bands like King Gizzard, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Armed. Jazz and funk music are also a huge core element of what we do and to work in some of that theory is always fun. Honestly it’s a pretty healthy mix of a lot of things we could go on for days about.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Do you consider yourselves more or a “studio” band or a “live” act, and why?
GLASS CHIMERA: We’d like to think that each aspect has its own rewards. We improvise a lot, but that’s much more of a thing for a live setting where we can go off on whatever tangents we want, whereas in the studio we really like to try and craft something that takes you to a place amongst the ether that you can fully envelop yourself in.
ROCK IN DETROIT: How do you write your songs? Do you have a set process?
GLASS CHIMERA: Definitely not, it’s a little different for each one. Sometimes someone comes with an idea, but most of the time is through just the discovery process of free jamming for hours and seeing what happens. Our practices last anywhere from 6 to 12 hours, so it really all depends on what we have going on.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Upcoming local shows you’d like people to know about?
GLASS CHIMERA: As of right now, the only one we can allude to is that we’ll be at Smalls in Hamtramck October 25th and the lineup is something we’ve been wanting to make happen for a long time.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Cool. We look forward to hearing more about the show. Until then, greatest memories? Any crazy stories you could share with a PG audience?
GLASS CHIMERA: When we lived at a place called the Hate Less house, we used to have Hate Less Fest every summer, and there is one year (there is video on our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYmPYA4mWi0&t=8s&ab_channel=GlassChimera) that holds a special place in our heart. Those shows were always amazing.
More recently our EP release show at El Club back in April was incredible, to be surrounded by all of our closest friends that essentially harassed El Club into booking us. But after being away for a few years every show we’ve played since we returned (NYE 2023) has been incredible, we didn’t realize how much our “myth” or whatever grew while we were away and it still surprises us.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Any new music in the works?
GLASS CHIMERA: More than we know what to do with, and that’s all I’ll say for now.
ROCK IN DETROIT: What does the future hold for Glass Chimera? Plans to conquer the world?
GLASS CHIMERA: We have another EP coming in the fall, releasing on a day, eventually. We’re working on a ton of media right now though, and preparing for 2025.
ROCK IN DETROIT: Would you like to leave us with a closing track?
GLASS CHIMERA: Go stream our EP Oximoron, watch our Oxide Session, go to shows. And check out:
https://open.spotify.com/track/2PqP3rszycUeF2gHUB45tq?si=KC_ZmvmGRAuA3_TK1MNKsw
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