INTERVIEW: glimmers
In early 2020, five friends who’d been playing music together since the Summer of 2019 decided to put a fresh stamp on their collective, glimmers. Meeting separately but all through mutual friends, the five members of glimmers formed as the backing band of Atlanta artist Maggie Schneider – but what started as a backing band quickly became a family.
Earlier this summer, Atlanta-based pop/rock band released their latest single, “Scared To Lose.” The track mixes the band’s love of melodic piano and hopelessly romantic lyrics. Alongside the song, the band also shared the first of a collection of cinematic music videos that follow the journey of finding yourself as you go through the ups and downs of a relationship. Noisescape sat down with Maggie, glimmers’ lead vocalist and pianist, to talk about the band’s journey, their latest tour, and what’s coming next.
Photo by Sophie Harris (@sophieharrisphoto)
How did you initially get into music? What is it about music that makes you so passionate?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I started singing when I was super little and did musical theater growing up. When I was 5, I was in a production of Annie, which I feel like most people can say [laughs]. I think a lot of people in music started in theater, so that’s how I found my love for music. Listening to artists like Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, and even pop-punk and emo bands like My Chemical Romance made me feel something. They all tugged at my emotions which really pushed me to want to write my own song. So I begged my parents for guitar lessons when I was 9, and I’ve been playing ever since.
My goal with everything I do is to hopefully inspire another little girl or someone else to go after their dreams or whatever they want to pursue. Because we only have one life and have to do what makes us happy. For me, music has always been that through-line, and it’s gotten me through tough times; it’s been therapeutic for me. If I’ve been going through something, writing a song has helped me to overcome that and feel better. So for me, it’s that personal passion, but I’m also hoping to give my passion to someone else. There’s something about hearing your favorite song on the radio or having a moment set to a song, and that song will forever remind you of that point in time. I just think there’s something so awesome about music that I’ve always wanted to be a part of. I’m so lucky to be able to do it and do it with my best friends!
What was the defining moment for the band uniting together as glimmers?
I had known all of these guys through different bands in the Atlanta scene, and we started connecting when I started working with Alex Downtain, our lead guitarist. He has a home studio, and I really wanted to demo with him. We’d known each other for 5 or 6 years, but we didn’t become close friends until that moment. So we demoed songs for a while, and then I got the opportunity to perform at a Paramore cover show with some friends in New Orleans. It was a whole tribute night, so we had a Green Day band, a Paramore band, and I think a Blink [182] band. It was so much fun, and everyone was super into it! Our friends in the band Neutral Snap were hosting it and asked us to represent Paramore, but I wanted a band to do that. I didn’t want to do it acoustically, so that was our first gig together. We had so much fun we just thought – why not continue this and see how it goes? So as we continued playing shows, we decided to make it a full band and, instead of performing under my name, have it be called glimmers and make it more of a united front. We like to cover Paramore’s “Still Into You” or “Ain’t It Fun” at our shows because it kind of pays homage to how we started. So whenever we play those covers, it’s like we’re bringing it back to how glimmers came to be.
How was it going from being a solo artist to being a band member? Was it hard to bring all of your styles together?
I’m not gonna lie… I was nervous at the beginning of it just because when you are a solo artist for so long, you are the sole person handling everything. I’m very type A [laughs], so I like to make sure everything is covered and that I’m making the best product possible. But luckily, you know, having played with these guys for 6-10 months before forming glimmers, there was already trust and a friendship there. So the transition was not as weird for me personally as I thought it would be. We had been writing music together before that and gelling as a group before we knew we would be a band, so I just feel lucky about that. I’m a big believer in fate, so I feel like that’s a good example of something that was meant to work out the way it did. Everything happens for a reason.
What qualities do you think make a successful band? What makes glimmers unique, and how do you set yourselves apart in the industry?
I think, first and foremost, friendship is so important. On the surface, you want to like and love the people that you are traveling in a band with for many days or weeks at a time [laughs]. But also, I feel like the friendship really supports the music, and those bonds can help me personally as a songwriter feel like I can be more vulnerable with my writing. It can just make everything gel a lot better. I feel like positivity is another, especially within the music industry. It can be really, really great, and you can have these really high highs and these awesome experiences, but there’s also going to be times where maybe a gig wasn’t the best, or maybe you messed up something, and that’s okay. I’ve beaten myself up about little things like that here and there in the past, but I feel like if you go into it with positivity and say – you know what? We’re just gonna have a fun time; it’s gonna be fine – I think that goes a long way too.
I think all of our personalities make the band unique. We like to call ourselves “If New Girl was a band” because I love New Girl and I feel like our personalities blend in the same way the show does with how every character is super important and fun. I feel like we bring that same dynamic. We like to highlight our silly personalities and adventures together in addition to the music. We always want our listeners to feel like we’re their best friends or the neighbors next door they like to hang out with. So I think we just like to keep that in mind with everything we do. Personally, I love TikTok, and I love making fun content and doing things that don’t even have to do with the band but just sharing my love of music. I love to collaborate with other artists and build those relationships and have cool conversations with fellow artists and bands, so I think that’s something else that kind of sets us apart – that love of being together and also just the focus on making new friends and trying to invite people in.
Can you tell us about the Touring Not To Be Boring Tour with Rarity & Telltale? Do you have a favorite performance that you did?
Absolutely! So I kind of fangirled when we got this opportunity because I’ve been a fan of Rarity for a long time. I remember driving to school and listening to them throughout my college years – I just love them. When we got the offer to do this with them and Telltale, I was just so excited! I love being on the road, but being away from my mom, dad, and dogs is hard. Leaving the dogs is definitely hard, man! I’m very lucky to have a very supportive mom, and she’s always very encouraging of me in doing what I love. I love touring, even though it’s a smelly van with four boys. I literally bring extra deodorant for them – It’s a thing! But it all goes back to that friendship thing too. They make it fun. I enjoy it all; learning about each other and taking it in small doses leading up to this longer tour we’re going to do later this year.
I think the best show of the run was in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was at a place called The Pour House, and there were like 200 people there. It was awesome; the room was packed! North Carolina cities like Raleigh and Chapel Hill are very much college towns. There’s a big emphasis on live music, and people love to go to shows just to listen and dance. The energy was so great in that room, and it was just a really great reminder that this is why we do what we do. We also love trying new restaurants in whatever city we’re in, and we went to the most amazing ramen place in Raleigh. It was so good and just set the tone. We were so happy! So yeah, I loved that show. There was just a lot of good positivity from the audience to us and vice versa. Definitely a great tour run overall, though.
What’s your favorite song to perform?
I definitely have to say, “Not Good at Goodbyes”. That one is usually the last song in our set. It’s my favorite that I’ve written thus far. I think it shares my most vulnerable self and the things I’ve learned in relationships. I’ve heard from a lot of people, which means a lot, that this song helped them through a rocky relationship or helped them get out of something unhealthy. So definitely, that one means the most to me, and it makes me feel good that it’s a song that resonates with people.
Do you usually talk to fans after your shows?
Oh yeah, I love doing that! Usually, we’ll meet at the merch table after. We feel really lucky because we were asked to sign stuff like shirts, cards, and so many awesome things. We met a lot of really cool people too. We’ve had a lot of younger girls, like teenagers in high school, come to some of these shows. We had a few come to our show in Virginia who were celebrating their sweet 16, which I loved! I just remember seeing them singing the songs back to me, and I got to talk to them after the show, and they were so sweet. It’s those moments that just make everything worth it. That’s always my favorite part; interacting with people after the show and sharing that love of music with others.
What is your favorite and least favorite part of being an artist?
So, my favorite part about being an artist goes back to connecting with people through creativity and creating something. Even if it’s a difficult time, creating something beautiful out of that experience is my favorite part – just being able to think outside the box and have the opportunity to write how I feel and share that with people. My least favorite part? I think there’s a lot of pressure being a woman in music and a lot of difficulty with that. I’m lucky; I’ve always felt very supported, but I know many people in the industry who maybe have had not-so-great experiences or have been seen as maybe “the groupie” or someone who’s not even in the band at first glance. Or just not being taken seriously, like our ideas or creativity don’t matter as much. Luckily, I think we’re turning the tides of that. I feel like many female-fronted bands or bands with people of color are coming out, especially in the rock genre. But it sucks when I’ve heard of friends who have gone through that or aren’t seen for their originality and compared to everyone else. So I think that’s the most challenging thing, but I like to prove people wrong when I get up there. You gotta prove them wrong!
On the cover of “Scared To Lose,” there’s a photo of a chess board, and it appears again at the end of the song’s music video. Can you tell us about that symbolism?
Yeah, I love that you noticed that! This song has a lot to do with that push and pull of wanting to be with someone but being afraid to share your feelings for them. But on the other side, it’s fear of losing that person or maybe missing out on that opportunity. So each of the new songs we’re releasing kind of has to do with that idea and the games we play in relationships. I feel like we’re constantly making a move or pushing through that fear or those feelings or waiting for that other person to move forward and make a move. So with chess, that was a symbol for the games we play and the push and pull of relationships. Jeremy, our drummer, worked on all of the visuals with me, so with these next songs coming out, we also have different symbols that relate to our songs and their bigger themes. So I’m excited for you to see those too! I love the chess imagery, and I think it says a lot about relationships, that mix of patience and the uncertainty of what the other person is going to do.
Recently, glimmers posted a photo of a book page with a caption about the release of your newest song, “Dreaming”. Is the book another symbol?
That page is the first page from an F. Scott Fitzgerald essay, “The Crack-up.” My mom gave me my love of literature, and I was a writing major in college, so I like using a lot of those references. I won’t give it away, but a line in that essay is a line in the song because I thought it related to the theme. So it’s definitely an important image for sure.
What is the band looking forward to in the rest of 2022?
We are really looking forward to continuing to tour and go to new places and play our music for more people. We’re putting together a tour out west in November and December, so that’s the big thing we’re working on right now. We’re still writing more music and looking forward to working with two of our favorite producers, so we’re very excited about that! We all love different types of music, so I think with these new songs, we’re trying to blend indie pop with our love of pop-punk and emo stuff. These songs are all a little different, but I think they all have the same sensibility, like The Band Camino, where you’re blending the rock, guitar, and piano-driven melodies, but also some of those fun pop elements. So I’m excited about intertwining those because we’ve mostly stayed in a pop-punk box. Some of these songs have more influence, from my older singer/songwriter stuff to more pop stuff, so it’ll be like a cool blend of everything. It’s fun to experiment! I feel like no artist wants to do the same album again over and over, so we want to try some new things out. We’ll take what we learn from these songs and bring it into whatever the next thing is. We look forward to continuing to be creative and hopefully inspiring other people because, like I said, that’s always my goal. One day I want to look back on everything and say – wow. I hope that what we did made a positive impact on someone else.
Get ready for a new and honest chapter about the games we play in our relationships, and be on the lookout for glimmers’ new single, “Dreaming,” out September 14.
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