A Chat with We Are Space Horses (30.01.24)
Drawing together the natural musical skills of Kevin Vanderhoof (vocals and guitar), Gabbi Vanderhoof (bass) and Eric Hochwald (drums), We Are Space Horses is a psychedelic rock experience everyone should enjoy. Formed in 2017, the US-based trio have been described as having a strong sound with a lot of jamming going on. We speak with bassist Gabbi Vanderhoof about their debut album Apologia, what music means to her, big mistakes and much more!
OSR: Cliché but how did We Are Space Horses come about? What drew each of you to music?
Vanderhoof: Kevin and I were already playing and writing together when we decided to move to Boston. We found Eric and things just clicked. What drew me to music was the escapism. When I was in high school, it got me out of my house every single day and provided me with community and friendships I still have to this day.
OSR: You recently released your album Apologia. What can you tell us about it?
Vanderhoof: Apologia means “a formal written defence of one’s opinions or conduct” and I think each of the songs embodies this in one way or another. From addiction recovery to complex trauma and the loss of loved ones – everything in this album is a form of processing some of the most difficult things we’ve personally gone through. It is deeply intimate to each of us for our own reasons.
OSR: Artists are often unable to choose a favourite or least favourite song on their albums, but what are your favourite and least favourite tracks on Apologia?
Vanderhoof: My personal favourite is probably ‘Stale Skies’ because it is the track that I’m most proud of seeing the light of day. It means a lot to me, and it felt like a weight was lifted when everything was said and done. My least favourite is ‘To Let Go’ only because it doesn’t translate well to live shows. It gives me a huge sense of nostalgia when I hear it though, because it was the first song Kevin taught me when I first started playing with him.
OSR: If you could change anything about Apologia, what would it be and why?
Vanderhoof: Loaded question, but I would re-record everything to a click. Our original drummer had a very hard time with the recording process – we made him a mapped click track based on tempos of our live set and then he recorded to that and THEN we recorded to him. It was very convoluted and even though the drums have since been re-done, I think overall things would be tighter if we had all recorded the album together. Even though we’re a three-piece, I’d also want to add some more guitar tracks just to fill out the sound a little bit. But at the end of the day, we’re very proud of what we’ve released and at some point, you need to call something “done.”
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Vanderhoof: I would hope that people hear our music and know they aren’t alone in whatever they’re dealing with. I know that’s cliché, but it’s so easy to get stuck in your own head sometimes, and it’s nice to know that there are others out there dealing with things like you are and they’ve made it to the other side. I also hope that those people who need help will seek it out.
OSR: What makes We Are Space Horses unique as a band?
Vanderhoof: I think it’s that the 3 of us have different tastes in music from each other, so the sum of our inspirations makes a cool sound. For example, we like to use stoner rock timbres, but none of us really listen to much stoner rock. We all have unique writing styles and inspirations that seem to be able to come together well.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Vanderhoof: Music is love and community and healing for me. I still make playlists for people I care about, and I’m always sending around things I’ve found that makes me think of someone and their personal interests. I love the feeling of grasping that kind of intimate understanding of another person. The music I listen to and enjoy feels like it encapsulates my personality and interests better than anything I could ever explain to anybody. Music is intimacy.
OSR: Random questions: What was the last big mistake you made?
Vanderhoof: Last big mistake I made was buying a 150-year-old house in the woods that needed a full gut renovation.
OSR: If you could spend the weekend with any celebrity (not necessarily a musician), who would it be and why?
Vanderhoof: I’d literally kill a man for a weekend with Matt Berry. I’m just a huge fan of everything he’s done from The Might Boosh to his acid jazz and everything in between. Hilarious dude who I think we could all learn a lot from where creativity is concerned. Kevin says: I want to be best buds with Paul Rudd.
OSR: What are the future plans for We Are Space Horses?
Vanderhoof: Our future plans are hazy right now. I think we’d all like to be playing live shows more often than we are currently. We had been working on some new songs for a future project, but there is no timeline for that right now. The band started originally just as a way to be loud and play together with no real plans of doing anything, and I’m willing to sit back and try to enjoy things as things unfold naturally this time around too.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Vanderhoof: Thank you to anybody who has gotten this far and to anybody who enjoyed, listened to, or shared our little trauma dump of a debut album. We genuinely have been humbled by the support and love it’s gotten, and it’s crazy to see years of hard work finally hitting the ground and running.
Many thanks to Gabbi Vanderhoof for speaking with us! Find out more about We Are Space Horses on their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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