Single Review: Stage Moms “Sophomore Slump”
Album Art: Steven Kline
There’s a piece of me that has such a soft spot for really good pop-punk music, and Moundsville West Virginia’s Stage Moms hit the spot with their new single “Sophomore Slump” off their upcoming EP Almost Heaven …Feels Like Hell (out March 12, 2021). Stage Moms consists of vocalist Gage Vota (they/them), Grayson Prince(he/they) playing guitar, Dahm Bobes(they/them) on bass, and Drew Freeman(he/him) playing drums. The song is about vocalist Gage falling into a slump and in the midst of it all, they quit their last band & tried to live a normal life. They quickly realized after doing so that this was not the best decision, and they fell into a deeper depression. The new EP was born from this chapter of Gage’s life. If you asked me, it seems like everything happens for a reason because now Gage has found home in their new fantastic band of Stage Moms. Stream the new single below & be sure to follow Stage Moms to stay up to date about more news regarding their upcoming release!
Photo Credit: GMV Photography
- I know from my own experience that some parts of West Virginia are very conservative & the few times I’ve been there, I’ve felt like I had to keep looking over my shoulder. My question for you is what have your experiences been like being openly non-binary & queer musicians playing shows & existing in WV?
West Virginia is definitely a very conservative state, growing up in a small town here and being someone who always preferred to keep long, usually brightly colored hair I couldn’t really leave my house without hearing a slur screamed out of a truck at me, even though at that I hadn’t really figured out how I felt yet. Our non binary members have all had our fair share of people screaming things out of cars either by people who know our identities or people who assume based on appearance. On the other side, still appearing as masculine as we are, we’ve had some people think that we’re not non-binary enough and treat us like we’re faking when to me the point of being non binary is not having to fit into any specific gender norms and just be myself. Playing music is the one place in this state where I seemed to find people more accepting of people who were different, our music scene is full of people of all orientations who come together and made me realize that just because some people like to hide in trucks to harass you doesn’t mean our state isn’t full of diversity as well. The people I’d met through music in this state are a big influence in realizing my identity. I think the problem with West Virginia is that there’s so many loud voices screaming hate that anything else gets overlooked. I’ve always hoped that if I find any sort of success I can show some of these West Virginian kids growing up here that it’s ok for them to be outside the norm even if they feel alone in these rural towns.
- What was the #1 best Holiday gift y’all have ever gotten that you’ll always remember?
Grayson: My best holiday gift was probably when my family came together and bought me a brand new bass and everything I needed to be able to play it in a band, while I’m a guitar player now it’s what got me started out playing in punk bands.
Dahm: I hate receiving gifts because I don’t like having lots of things but cash or tattoos are perfect gifts for me
Drew: Being able to spend the holidays with family.
Gage: My favorite gift was probably in like 2014 my parents got me a new baritone ukulele which is the instrument I played in my band at the time and the one I was using was like falling apart so it was very kind and helpful of them.
- If you could book Stage Moms on a Dream Tour & open for any 2 artists ever, who would you pick?
Our dream tour would have to be opening for The Wonder Years and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, it’d be a weird tour but we draw inspiration from a lot of different kinds of music and would love a mixed genre tour like that.