Words by Brooke Kato
What was originally supposed to be a musical called “Prison Bitch,” Prism Bitch formed a band instead. The self-proclaimed hard rock band from New Mexico is comprised of five members: Lauren Poole on bass, Lilah Rose on keys and guitar, Chris Walsh and Nelson Crane on guitar, and Teresa Cruces on drums, with all contributing vocals.
Crane describes the band’s formation as “magical.” Poole and Walsh collaborated in years prior, but at its origin in 2016, everyone else were strangers to each other, though he said the chemistry was there.
“If we can make each other laugh, that tends to bode well for when we play in front of other people.”
After being in various bands prior to the formation of Prism Bitch, she was close to giving up playing in bands, but now she enjoys attending rehearsals because her band members are also close friends.
Some of the Prism Bitch‘s members were musically inclined early in their lives, but what Crane said is most unique about the band is that not everyone has been playing music for their whole life. Poole learned how to play bass specifically for Prism Bitch — and she’s talented, said Cruces.
“The music was in her her whole life,” said Crane, and it came out when she began playing with Prism Bitch.
Cruces’ said her earliest memory of music was playing air guitar with her two brothers in their bedrooms, pretending to be members of the band KISS for their made-up band called Mercury.
Meanwhile, Walsh said he distinctly remembers listening to “Walk Like an Egyptian” in the backseat of a car and thinking, “whatever this feeling is, it’s wonderful.”
Another unique quality about the band, said Crane, is that every musician has different musical inspirations, but they mesh when making their own music. They constantly share music with each other. Cruces says she particularly remembers when Crane introduced her to a band called U.S. Christmas, or when she played one Def Leppard song a day for Walsh while on tour. But despite some differing music tastes, they learn from everyone they encounter, including the musicians they tour with.
“We’ve learned and been inspired by a lot of stuff around us,” said Cruces, who has been consistently “blown away” by the bands that accompany them on tour.
Prism Bitch is fresh off the east coast leg of their recent tour, promoting their self-titled EP from last year. The best part of touring, Cruces said, is seeing different parts of the country she wouldn’t have otherwise. She said this makes the world seem less dangerous.
“It’s a lot of hurry up and wait,” she added. They rush to the location of their next gig, only to have a few hours to kill before showtime. It can be stressful, she said, but being with people that are like family makes it easier.
But after forty days on the road, it’s straight to the studio to work on more music and prepare their upcoming album for release next year. The creative process for a song can range, said Cruces – sometimes it can take a few hours to get the perfect take, other times longer. But when it’s done, they all yell and scream to celebrate.
“It’s just a vibe,” she said. “We know when everyone is happy with it.”
In addition to the work they put in at the studio, Prism Bitch released a new music video on Nov. 27 for their track “Too High” off their yet to be released EP.
The video for the song is set at a family holiday gathering, and follows the hallucinogenic nature of being too high. The rhythm of the song transitions from a cheery melody to a hard rock chorus, adding an eerie element to the video.
Working on music isn’t the only they do off tour, though. Some band members have day jobs, including Cruces, who is an occupational therapist. If the band succeeds, she said, hopefully they won’t need day jobs in the future.
Walsh hopes to play and tour more often, and with the band set to play at Treefort Music Festival in the spring and potentially another tour around the corner, that seems to be the reality!