Contributor’s Note: Shoegaze music has always fascinated me. The use of sonic textures to create lush, creative soundscapes always felt so far beyond what I was doing with my music. However every time I started to mess around with my pedals I felt that I was brushing up against some Shoegaze magic. If you want to get into some crazy guitar sounds check out Amethyst Boulevard. Fans can find Amethyst Blvd at the following locations:
Where did your name come from?
The name came from just shooting ideas to each other to signify our sound. Much like our music, the amethyst crystal geode has very powerful purifying, healing and transforming properties and Blvd came from aggression because we do have some songs go out of the realm of ambience and shoegaze. It just seemed like it fit our sound.
What’s your songwriting process? Does one person come in with a fully formed song or do you jam out?
When it comes to writing songs I have a little riff that I present to everyone and everything just snowballs from there. Allan is crucial person when it comes to arranging certain parts of the song accordingly.
How do you balance including catchy melodies and keeping the song atmospheric?
There are certain songs when I write I hear in my head that are very ambient and stays ambient the whole song, then there’s other songs where there’s a roller coaster of emotions going on.
What are some trends that you’re seeing in modern shoegaze music?
I haven’t really noticed much in modern shoegaze. Though I have been seeing new indie pop bands sort of taking little bits and pieces of the genre, like ambient guitar tones, tribal sort of drumming, and very ethereal vocals. All the hallmarks of shoegaze.
What makes you stand out from other bands doing the same thing?
I honestly think we stick out like a sore thumb to be honest. We are not 100 % shoegaze because we get a bit aggressive on some songs. I like to think that we are a mixture of alternative and shoegaze. Shoegaze evolves beautifully as years go by. Evolution is key in the genre.
And there you have it! On Saturday, March 16th- Amethyst Blvd has a gig at Thicket in Austin, Texas. For tickets and further information on the gig, click here.
