Starting a band can, at first, sound like the type of vacuous effort that anyone might do at some point in their life. In fact, the very idea of it already seems banal — and yet, We Are Blank Space is one of the most compelling bands interviewed for Radar Sessions. An indie quintet based out of Corona consisting of bassist Marc, drummer Noah, guitarist Francisco, keyboardist Garrison and lead vocalist Chris, this band has a disarming youthfulness and vigour, making music that means so much to them.
The band formed in October of 2016, but the members had a history of collaborating together. Marc and Noah belonged to another band which fell apart after their lead singer left. The dissolution of their first band led the two to have sessions with Chris, who occasionally saw them playing. “My girl lived in the same neighborhood as Noah, and they had this thing and I would hear them jamming. I would occasionally join him and Marc.” Marc piped in stating, “After our old band ended, I think Chris called Noah, and we started jamming in and we found Francisco through Craigslist and it all just fell into place.”
When asked to describe their band, Chris jokingly yelled, “Punk rock!” which is definitely not true of their music: Introspective lyrics with grooving basslines and bluesy chord progressions, Blank Space’s sound resembles alt-rock bands like Palace or The Strokes. While they did not mention any bands whose style had specifically directed their sound, the group did highlight Foals, Deftones and Rebelution as musicians or bands that have inspired them. In effect, the diverse influences in their music have all helped these musicians.
When asked what they would want everyone to know about their band, each of them paused for a minute to consider their answer. Chris jokingly replied, “We’re fockin’ sick dood,” getting laughs out of his bandmates. All the joking aside, everyone in We Are Blank Space is incredibly serious about the music they are making — Noah, on a slightly more genuine note stated, “We’re just a band repping our hometown.” This combination of irreverent good humor and genuine artistic ambition make We Are Blank Space such a pleasure to listen too.
