Los Angeles rock trio senses cultivate a unique pop-rock edge by utilizing dark synths, driving guitars, pounding drums and unique storytelling. The band, which originated when singer Madison Taylor met guitarist Josh Bissell and drummer Nick Sampson on Craigslist, prides themselves on their anthemic, relatable songwriting.
Leading into the release of their debut EP, take me out of here, LA-based trio senses have announced they will be joining viral pop-rock singer Leah Kate on her upcoming "The Super Over Tour" this fall followed by 5 dates with Boys Like Girls.
We spoke to senses about the upcoming tour, some of their favorite moments on stage, and new music plans!
LEG: You dropped your first single together back in 2019. How did your band senses come to be and where did you all meet?
Maddie: We met on Craigslist. I put out an ad, and Nick was the first to respond because he liked my Evanescence reference, or influence. And then Josh responded a couple of months later, and, yeah, that was the start of us.
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LEG: You are about to hit the road with Leah Kate. What does a day in the life of the tour look like for you all?
Nick: We wake up in a Walmart parking lot. Then typically, depending on if we need to drive to that city, or if we wake up in the city that we're playing, we'll do that. Then Madison will make us breakfast sandwiches in the RV, and then we'll mosey on over to the venue and find a place to park the RV, which is always fun. And then we do load in, and then we do sound check. Usually between sound check and the time we play there’s a small window, so we kind of just hang out, stretch, warm up, and then we do the show, run the merch table afterwards, talk to people, load out, and then go find the next Walmart parking lot to sleep in. And rinse and repeat.…With the occasional beer.
LEG: You just announced 5 dates with Boys Like Girls after the Leah Kate Tour. It looks like an incredible line up each night. What are you most looking forward to?
There are so many things! We can't wait to just see all the talent in one room and get to experience these amazing bands and artists sets. It almost seems like more of a festival lineup with these bands so we're pumped to be a part of that.
LEG: What are your top five songs that are on your next road trip playlist while you drive across the country on tour?
Maddie: If I'm doing a long road trip, I gotta get “Landslide” in there, Fleetwood Mac. Get me all in my feels. And anything off the Wicked soundtrack. Always jam the entire Wicked soundtrack on a road trip.
Nick: My two are “New Attitude” Patti LaBelle – It's one of the best songs ever written. And Hrs & Hrs by Muni Long.
Josh: I’m gonna go with “Dark Blue” Jack's Mannequin and “Nobody's Home” Avril Lavigne.
LEG: What are a few bands you'd love to tour with next, if you're able to have your pick?
Maddie: Waterparks would be sick. Paramore would be awesome. And Miley Cyrus.
Josh: Waterparks, Olivia Rodrigo, Point North
Nick: Paramore, P!nk, Avril, LANY, MUNA, Evanescence
LEG: Your debut single, “Sleepwalking” was added to some solid editorial playlists and has been playing in some very high profile radio stations across the country, including the world famous KROQ in LA. What was it like to be featured on your hometown radio station, KROQ, on their Locals Only show?
Josh: That radio station has been, like, on all of our radars even before we all lived in Los Angeles together. So yeah, super cool.
Nick: It was so sick. I was like, “We did it!” Validated! Yeah, that was awesome.
Maddie: I felt very special. I was like, “We made it!” I feel like everybody knows it. It’s just, KROQ.
LEG: Do you have any favorite artists or bands that you look up to for inspiration when writing or performing?
Maddie: Performing, for sure for me, both No Doubt and Paramore, because they just move around stage so well and they're not trying to be all, like, chauvinistic. They're just, like, themselves doing their thing, like, being weird. So yeah, those are my two.
Nick: Performance wise, Mötley Crüe. Writing wise, like lyrics and stuff, I really like how MUNA writes their songs, as well as LANY. I think their songwriting is really just *chef’s kiss*.
Josh: I would go with, for songwriting, Jack's Mannequin. And for performance? I would say probably, Paramore is up there for that, and I always liked Blink-182 just because they, like, just are goofballs on stage and just have a good time.
LEG: Your first EP drops September 13th. Can you take us behind the scenes of the creation process? What inspired the music, and can you share any interesting anecdotes or challenges you faced during the writing and recording process that helped shape the final product?"
The EP as a whole very much has this theme of escapism. I think we all can feel like we need to just escape out of reality for a bit, and each song touches on that in a different way. The last two songs actually came together way faster than we had originally planned. We got to gender in the studio with the hope of getting an idea or two down, and we left a few days later with two fully completed songs. They had just kind of flowed right out of us which was really cool to experience. One last time for instance was originally completely different song, the next day we came in and said "let's change it" which usually is so hard to do once it's written a certain way, but that day we cranked it out and we absolutely love where it ended up.
LEG: Where did the title take me out of here come from?
'take me out of here' had a couple different meanings to us. It's a lyric in our song sleepwalking which was the first single we released off the album and has been the song that's really resonated with people the most. We also felt that take me out of here really encompassed that feeling of escapism that the EP is all about. So it was almost a two birds one stone kinda thing.
LEG: Do each of you have a favorite track from the EP?
Maddie: Mine is definitely this last single 'can't find the words' because I just felt really inspired the day we wrote it and it felt like it really just fell out of me. I love the lower range of my that I usually don't utilize that often in our songs.
Nick: “gonna make sure” because it's really high energy and just the amount of sassy that I like
Josh: Mine is also “can't find the words” because it just has a cool vibe, a powerful message, and I think it's really relatable.
LEG: Do you have any advice for any other independent rock bands that are starting out today?
Nick: It's a lot of work.
Maddie: Don't listen to all the BS. Just do your thing. I’ve listened to many a BS and it never pans out. Just know what you want and do it.
Josh: And if the only thing you're trying to get is success, it's going to be a very long road. So have some other part of it that you're super about that you can get validation from, and, you know, it makes the road a lot less crazy.
Nick: Definitely. If you're only in it for the fame and the photos and the clout, it's not going to be it for you. But if you just genuinely love playing your instrument and want to succeed and be the best at that, then things are going to happen.
LEG: What can we expect from senses for the rest of 2023 and beyond?
Maddie: You can expect a new EP coming out next month! We’re joining Leah Kate on her fall tour dates and maybe a few other shows to be announced :)