Four men from different backgrounds all happened to venture out to Nashville and they came together as a glam rock band known as The Blam Blams.
Christian Northover and David Estes grew up together in Massachusetts. Rob Stewart is from New Jersey, and Brad Owens is from North Carolina.
They all came to Nashville for adventure and for the city’s music scene.
The Blam Blams have only been playing as a band for a year.
They came together because of Café Coco, a local Nashville coffeehouse that never closes and features live music.
During open mic nights at the cafe, Rob Stewart, who worked at the cafe at the time, would occasionally jump onstage and play bass with some of the guest performers.
One of these performers was Brad Owens.
“I have always wanted to start a band, and one day at Café Coco, Rob got onstage and started singing, and I was like, ‘Wow, he can sing, too!’ And at the time I was really trying to put together a band where at least two or three people would be singing all at once,” Owens said.
At this point Owens began to see things fall into place.
“I met David at Open Mic night as well, and he got up and sang a song, and he just had this beautiful soaring falsetto, and I made a mental note and at a certain point I reached out to both of them on Facebook. And I said, ‘Hey would you like to be in a glam rock band?’ and much to my delight and surprise they were both intrigued and interested and willing to wear makeup,” Owens said.
Owens wasn’t the only one who saw the potential.
“David knew I was musical and would play with anyone, and he asked me to join this glam rock band, and after one rehearsal this was by far my favorite project that I ever played with,” Northover said.
Not only are they all compatible musically, but they are all really close with each other.
As a glam rock band, they are all heavily influenced by David Bowie and Queen. They wear makeup and very eccentric outfits styled by Rae Posch.
Brad Owens designed their `70s-inspired logo which uses bubble letters.
The Blam Blams borrowed their name from Bowie’s song “Suffragette City” where the lyrics are “She’s a total blam-blam.”
Owens liked the sound of it, and he admits that he likes names that begin with the letter “B” but in later research, he learned that “blam-blam” was a term that meant “a pretty woman.”
Each band member studied music in college.
Owens has a B.M. in commercial music from Belmont University.
Estes has a B.M. in sound recording with a vocal concentration from Duquesne University (Mary Pappert School of Music). Stewart has a B.A.in liberal arts (concentrations in music, animation, and science) from Sarah Lawrence College.
Northover has a B.A. in mathematics and jazz percussion performance from the College of William and Mary.
They have all applied their techniques and their musical preferences into the band.
Northover and Stewart said that their favorite era of music would be “today” because access to anything and everything with modern technology.
Estes said he preferred `60s rock, and Owens preferred `70s and glam rock music.
“The genre of glam rock is sort of an umbrella term,” Stewart said, “[Glam rock] is very freeing, because we have the license to play whatever.”
The group has mentioned that they are open to collaborations with anyone who is willing to play with them.
“I would absolutely cry if I could do any form of collaboration with Ke$ha,” Northover said.
Their goals as a band overall are to enjoy what they do but to do it well and with purpose.
They would love to take it as far as they can, and they said it would be a dream to make money while they do what they love.
They would love that aspect of supporting themselves while having these incredible musical opportunities, and they just want to revolutionize music.
The band is in the middle of recording their first EP album which will include three songs that will not appear on their first record.
The Blam Blams’ song “Roll On” is their first song as a band, and it is more simple with a `70s rock feel.
Their song “Liquid Gold” is more laid back and seems harmonically complex, full of texture and color and overall jazzy. Lastly, “Pretty Face” was Owens’ first EP song as a solo artist, and he wanted it to be recorded properly.
The band is hoping to expand their platforms once they finalize this EP to places like Spotify, but you can listen to some of their music on YouTube.
Some upcoming gigs will be in Nashville on Oct. 10 at Teal Audio Lab (21+) at 7 p.m., Oct. 31 at Kimbrose (18+) at 8 p.m. in Franklin, Tennessee, and Nov. 20 at The Cobra (21+) at 8 p.m. in Nashville.
They are looking to broaden their fanbase in Clarksville right now.
The Blam Blams offer their advice to fellow musicians.
“Be different and authentic to yourself,” Owens said.
Each member had something different to say.
“Play from the heart. Feel something for what you’re playing. A genuine love, and be unique. Play anywhere and find new places, and you will meet excellent musicians everywhere,” Estes said.
“Stop and listen. You have to listen to others, or you’ll miss out on something great. Branch out,” Stewart said.
The Blam Blams look forward to seeing you “Roll On” over to Nashville to listen to them play.
Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @theblamblams.