OPINION: Five local Tucson bands you need to check out in 2023

BY SOPHIA HAMMER @sophiahammer8

After taking some time to listen and reach out to local bands in the Tucson area, I found that the music scene was truly worthwhile. From the five bands I interviewed, I found a sense of hopefulness and understanding — a community that is not only working to bring Tucsonians together, especially Tucson youth, but also working toward building a strong connection amongst each other as musicians. Here are five local bands that students and all Tucson residents need to listen to in 2023.

“Our mom was cool with it, so we just set up in the house and invited a bunch of friends over, so that’s really where it started– in our house, in our living room,” Logan Membrila expressed when asked about how Annie Jump Cannon began.

The local band is comprised of four members — Logan Membrila is the backing vocalist and bassist, Rory Membrila is the lead singer and guitarist, Jake Cowen is the drummer and Ian Starks is the lead guitarist.

Logan Membrila shared that Rory Membrila and him “started playing music together at a pretty young age. I think that we grew up around a lot of music in our family and it led us to get introduced into the rock scene.”

They now have a thriving album that was released recently in 2022 titled Flourishing Apart The band traveled to New Jersey in October 2020 to record the album with No Sleep Records.

Both the band’s favorite, my favorite and one of their most well-known songs on the album is “Strawberry Fiona.” Rory Membrila told me that the song was originally not supposed to be on Flourishing Apart but it ended up being one of their most played songs from the album.

“Strawberry Fiona” started with Rory creating a “slow, sweet acoustic song,” which they reworked by adding new verses to make it more upbeat.

If you want to hear “Strawberry

Fiona,” any other songs from Flourishing Apart or other music by Annie Jump Cannon, you can find them on Instagram @anniejumpcannon_ and most streaming platforms. Their next upcoming show is at the Groundworks in Tucson, on Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.

Lee Parada is the singer and guitarist and Bella Crump is the drummer of the local band New Misphoria. Although they are only a two-member band, they are able to effectively convey a powerful message through their music.

“You need to accept your sadness [...] that’s what New Misphoria’s music does in every single song,” Crump stated.

Parada and Crump both use music as an outlet to communicate their thoughts and feelings in a healthy way and then encourage that behavior in their listeners and audience.

“I think that we as the musicians are the ones who basically control the perceived importance that comes from the music. So I am excited that we generally promote a good message,” Parada said.

Their new singles “Chocolate Fondant” and “Reflective Skin” illustrate the positivity they are trying to bring into the music environment by emphasizing the importance of accepting your emotions in a way that is beneficial to you. “Being really pissed off, but being able to communicate it in a way that’s healthy,” is what Parada said they do best.

Check out “Chocolate Fondant” and “Reflective Skin” on all streaming platforms and if you want to learn more about New Misphoria and its upcoming projects and shows, you can find the band on Instagram @newmisphoria.

Daniel Knight, the rhythm guitarist and singer of Coffin Hotbox, said the band members “try to keep our music open and not too predictable.”

The band consists of Knight, Andrew Weesner the lead guitarist, Max Michaud the drummer, Shane Harkins the bassist and Dennett Brown the lead singer.

Their music is far from predictable and I found that what they create explores many different deep topics including experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, encountering poverty and feeling the emotions of ecoanxiety because of the global climate crisis.

“The song ‘Second Wave Surf’ on our live album is one I wrote about my experience during the heights of the pandemic, hence second wave. It was one of the lowest points in my life and not just because my family totally locked down and stopped doing really any social activities but also because I was super broke at the time,” Knight revealed.

The members of Coffin Hotbox find that it is crucial to speak upon issues that matter most to them. “I know some people will be upset that this song is somewhat political but these are just things happening in our lives that will have a huge impact on what our world ends up looking like,” Knight said.

To find out more about Coffin Hotbox, you can find the band on Instagram @coffinhotbox and most streaming platforms. Its next show is on Feb. 17 at the House of Bards.

On Jan. 28 The Basements opened with their new single “Changes (Stay the Same)” at 191 Toole in Tucson.

Sebastian Driver, the singer and guitarist, Brandon Pors the lead guitarist, Dylan Goode the bassist and Alex Sciortino, the drummer, drew a large crowd to the local venue that Saturday night.

CONTINUE ON PAGE A14