Interview with Bittersweethearts (Volatile Weekly)

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Zoe: My dad is a full time musician so I grew up surrounded by music. I’ve been in love with music and have been on stage since around 2 years old. If I hadn’t gotten into music I definitely would have pursued something in the arts. I love all of the arts.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Declan: When I’m not playing music, you might find me drinking tea or painting. I love riding my bike to the beach and working on puzzles at home. I’m boring, hahaa!

How long has your band been around?

Z: We played our first show at NAMM festival Anaheim southern California in June of 2022.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

Z: I grew up in Long Beach and moved to LA right after high school. Growing up in the SoCal music scene has been amazing to see such a variety of music in one place.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Z: I came up with the name “Bittersweethearts” when I was going through a major change in my life that was ironically bitter but sweet. The “hearts” comes from a play on words from the word “sweetheart”. So bittersweet + sweethearts = Bittersweethearts!

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Z: So far we’ve only played one public show, but it was a pleasant surprise to see that 8 photographers came out to catch our first show and a bunch of people. We have a bunch of people excited about this project!

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

D: My favorite venue to play to date has been The Wiltern, or the Ventura Theatre. At the top of my list of venues I am dying to play is KOKO, London.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Z: My dream lineup could be put together from any of the following: The Rolling Stones, Blondie, The Zombies, The Cure, The Smiths and The Strokes.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

D: A piece of advice that I wish I’d have had from the start is this; don’t stop playing, take more than one instrument seriously. Being in a band is a much more understandable experience when you’ve been the drummer on a gig, the bassist on a gig, the guitarist etc. It’ll help you communicate effectively with the people you’ve started a group with and that’s extremely important.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Z: Just keep going. You’re closer to where you want to be than you think.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

Z: ‘Hate To Love’ was the first song Declan and I wrote. It’s very special to me because it got me through a hard breakup, and an overall transitional period in my life.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Z: ‘Hate To Love’ and ‘Polly Plastic’! And so many more on our upcoming album!

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

D: It usually starts with a guitar in either mine or Zoe’s hands. Either I start playing and she starts singing and writing lyrics, or she sends me ideas and I prepare arrangements. I’ve never been able to write so much music with someone before.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Z: I like to share life experiences and how I’ve gotten through things.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

D: Surprisingly for a band made up of five members, and a manager who supports us whole-heartedly, we seem to be on the same page about 90% of the time. The only things we’ve disagreed on before don’t even apply to the band. When it comes to our creative process and running our business, we see eye to eye. The outlying 10% comes from friendly conversation. I think it’s important to have people in your life that you don’t always agree with. It makes you question things and more importantly, learn.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Z: I would love to go on a world tour and reach people with my music. We do have exciting things coming up consisting of our first album coming out soon and we leave for our first European Tour in January!

Pre-save ‘Hate To Love’ for August 31 here; https://bit.ly/presavehate2love