She Might Be a Beast: An Enigma of Youth, Retro Vibes, and Energy

She Might Be a Beast, hailing from the melting pot of eclectic music that is New Orleans, La., electrifies listeners with their unique Neo-grunge sound. The band is comprised of the Brezinsky brothers, Jake and Julian, alongside John Williams. Jake is the lead vocalist and guitarist, with Julian on bass and back-up vocals, while John bangs on the drums. They infuse their music with a blend of 90s-inspired grunge, punk, and metal, dashed with that distinctive NOLA spice.

The trio's live performances are nothing short of exhilarating, which can be found all over their YouTube page. As a matter of fact, I was excited to interview them after just a few minutes of video watching. Following our chat, I am beyond motivated to catch a live performance. It doesn’t hurt that sharing the stage with iconic acts like Doyle from the Misfits and Powerman 5000 is propelling their rise in the local music scene, and their fan-base is gaining momentum.

“Art Class” is the latest album from She Might Be a Beast, and it reveals their unwavering commitment and adeptness in showcasing their distinct Neo-grunge style that continues to bewitch their listeners and audiences.

Their creative process is dynamic, with instrumentals and lyrics converging into powerful compositions at the band’s creative hub called "The Maze". That’s where spontaneous jam sessions become the breeding ground for evolving riffs and energizing lyrics that can transform into future hits.

The band's future is brimming with excitement, with an upcoming single set to pump us up. They have a drive to provide unforgettable experiences through their music that sets them apart and makes way for an engaging journey ahead. With that being said, She Might Be a Beast's passion and exceptional talent have promise for lasting impact on the music scene. Keep an eye out for their next performance and be prepared, because they ARE a beast!

Check out our conversation!

MaM: Hey guys, thanks so much for speaking with me today. I have Jake, Julian, and John, correct?

Jake: That’s right! We’re pretty excited for the interview!

MaM: Cool, so am I! Since our readers are getting introduced to She Might Be a Beast today, and all three of you are here, how about each of you give a brief self intro?

Jake: All right. Sounds good. I guess I'll go first. I'm Jake. I sing lead vocals, and I play guitar … And, yeah, I really enjoy playing in our band. I do a lot of the management for the band as well. I couldn't do it without Julian and John.

John: What's up? I'm John. I'm a drummer, of course. What can I say? We got good thing going here. We’re really motivated with a level head and a lot of good and interesting material, from our writing to our live shows. Things have been moving forward and progressing, and we’ve really been putting in a lot of work.

Julian: And I'm Julian, bassist and mostly harmony. It's such an awesome thing, being able to play music and do it, you know, semi-professionally right now. That's the dream, you know. So, we're having a great time!

MaM: Jake and Julian, y'all are brothers, right?

SMBAB: That’s right.

MaM: John, how did you come into the mix?

John: They had another drummer prior to me. He had some complications in his life and kind of wanted to take [a break from] music for a little bit. I met Jacob when he was still in another band called Everyday Addiction. [He] and I met up before the rehearsal, jammed in my space, and got pretty cool with each other. We kept each other's contact information, and once the other drummer decided to take a break, he called me. The next thing you know, I auditioned with them, and I was in the band.

MaM: Awesome! Sometimes it just falls into place like that. Please, go on …

John: Oh, yeah, it was a nice little thing how it happened. But, ya know …

MaM: Y’all hit me out of nowhere with a blast of nostalgia coupled with some New Age sounds. How did you find your sound? Tell me about your influences.

Jake: Well, we all love rock and roll, and some of our favorite bands are Alice in Chains, Green Day, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. We also mix that kind of heavier grungy metal vibe with the music that we've grown up with. You know, we are all born and raised in New Orleans, so there’s a dash of NOLA spice in there. We see our music as a mix of punk rock, 90’s grunge, metal, and then, like I said, that little dash of NOLA funk.

MaM: I feel that! I immediately heard Green Day as one of your influences when I checked you guys out. I kind of even felt some 311 vibes in your instrumentals, with an STP edge. I even heard a little Brandon Boyd (Incubus) with you, Jake, in your vocals. Do you all get compared to other bands often?

Julian: Yeah, people tell us all the time … that we sound just like whomever from the 80s or 90s, but it’s always a different band in every show that someone says we sound like. Some nights we get Alice in Chains, and the next weekend we hear Green Day.

MaM: Do you find it flattering or are some of the comparisons confusing for y’all?

Julian: I like it. I mean, if it was just one band all of the time we got compared to, I feel like it would get old. With the variety, sometimes I hear a band that I never even really knew I was very inspired by, but the connections were there.

MaM: Tell me about She Might Be a Beast’s peaks and valleys through the industry so far?

Jake: I feel like that's a good question for me, because I deal with a lot of the management and reaching out for booking and stuff. We've had a lot of support through a lot of the people we've met in this industry, and the community is really one of the biggest things that propels us to the next level. With that being said … 95% of the people that I reach out to will definitely ignore me. It's just something that happens, but that can't stop you. [Eventually] we started getting onto bigger shows where we’re opening for more famous people. … We actually opened for Doyle, who is the guitar player for the Misfits.

MaM: What performance that y'all have done so far spoke to y'all?

John: We’ve done a couple of House of Blues shows, and this placed called Southport Hall. We played a gig on a Monday night; I believe it was for a band called Cynic. They had a lot of fans there, especially that show, for the opening act. It's kind of a blessing whenever your fan base is semi-growing and starting to get established, but you don't really have to rely on your fans showing up with everyone at that show. You can gain new fans from playing for other people.

MaM: How do you get so much energy going before you play? How do you shake the nerves and bring the same intense level every time?

Jake: Well, we do really love to jam. It's what keeps us doing this. It's what started us doing this in the first place, and we get really excited playing our music. You're only on stage for a lot of these shows for maybe 30 minutes to an hour. So, we want to leave everything on the stage and give the fans the best, best show possible. They're paying for these shows. So, we want to give them all the energy. We want them to go to sleep thinking about the show and wake up and talk to their friends about how much fun they had.

MaM: It truly looks like y'all are accomplishing that! So, with things like the pandemic, AI infiltration, and even social media algorithms directly impacting artists and bands, how do you stay motivated to keep pushing through all of that?

Jake: You know, that is an interesting one, because it seems like every single day there's another AI to steal somebody's job doing the things a lot of creatives have done for a long time. At the same time, that AI can do some pretty impressive things, there's just no way for AI to replicate human soul and music in writing and stuff like that. I think there's always going to be something special about the human mind and heart when they're putting themself into a piece of work. You know?

MaM: Absolutely, and you can't match that human experience. So, I am going to ask you my favorite question now. Just hear me out: What came first the chicken or the egg?

SMBAB: Um … What do y'all think?

I don’t know, the egg. I think it would have to be the egg, for sure.

MaM: That’s my cheeky little way to ask you about your writing.

SMBAB: There it is! (laughs)

Julian: It’s different because there are lyrics that we will hold on to. If you come up with something that you really find to be a good lyric, you hold it. But then we’ll come up with instrumentals separately and pair them sometimes. Most of the time, because we are all heavy on improvisation, we’ll just be in the jam room together and come up with a riff. Usually, the riff comes first when we're playing together, we come up with a song, and the lyrics are usually added after. But like we said, sometimes those lyrics could have been saved from before. We are a musician’s band, so we love playing the instruments … totally playing chronologically like that—writing the riffs and the lyrics all in the same day.

MaM: What are you currently working on?

Jake: We just released our full-length album, ‘Art Class’, and we’re really happy with that. At the same time, we do have a few new songs we've been playing live and a few even newer ones we're trying to write at the same time. So, I think next for us, when it comes to the music, we're going to be releasing a single. It’s going to be called ‘Walk with Me’, and it’s a really, really high energy, exciting rock song. We’re told all the time that people have a lot of fun when we play that song.

MaM: Very cool. Well, guys, congrats on the release of “Art Class”, and thank you guys for a dope interview! I appreciate your time!

SMBAB: And thank you so much!

*cover photo from Facebook

For more on She Might Be a Beast, visit them online at www.SheMightBeABeast.com.

Erica Machen is a beast when it comes to consuming, writing about, and reviewing music. Got something for her? Reach out to erica.mixedaltmag@gmail.com.