“Next Question!” Jack Lucian said in an attempt to move on to another topic, to which Malcolm Critchley enthusiastically replied, “that’s really good!” and thus an unexpected phrase turned into a newly formed band's name.
“I personally kind of wanted to get the naming of the band part out of the way. It kind of sounds fun, but picking a band name is like a monster,” Jack says. No pun intended, because the band initially wanted to name themselves after a character in the mobile game, My Singing Monsters. There’s a fuzzy white humanoid monster with no neck in the game called a Mammott. Jack debated the name, The Mammotts, but Malcolm had other plans.
Next Question was initially formed in June of 2023 after four friends finally reunited at Jack’s birthday party: Tenzin Shae, (bassist and vocalist), Jack Lucian, (guitarist and vocalist), Sam Wilhelm, (drummer), and Malcolm Critchley, (guitarist), initially met in elementary school, and were good friends before going in separate directions.
During their time apart, each member discovered their love for music. Teaching themselves how to play at least one instrument in their spare time. It was mere luck and coincidence when Jack and Tenzin reunited around sixth grade and later re-friended Sam and Malcolm.
Eager to catch up with one another, they discovered that each of them had wanted to take their musical passions further and finally Jack asked, “why haven't we formed a band already?”
One week after the birthday party, they had a rehearsal and a cohesive sound ebbed and flowed out of each instrument, a sound which Tenzin describes as High Desert Emo music. His mother initially came up with the genre name and since then Tenzin has convinced the band to use it as a descriptor when it comes to their music.
Since their formation nearly a year ago, the band has written five original songs. The first one they wrote together was called Astigmatism, a song they wrote in only 72 hours. After the creation of the song, the band decided that they needed more originals under their belt. Jack had created his own song the summer prior called, Along The Dotted Line, which had been a solo project turned band favorite.
Then came the song, Cut, which the band credits as Tenzin’s idea. Jack also pitched some song ideas, experimenting with bass and guitar, to which he created the song Lighter Nights. Their newest song is called, Do You, which takes on a more emo approach, influenced by Tenzin’s favorite music genre.
“With our newest song, we’re leaning into the High Desert Emo genre in an irreparable way” Jack says before turning to Tenzin and jokingly saying, “...now it’s too late to not be emo because you made us play that song!” Jack says with a laugh.
They debuted this song at Fort Ralston on April 13th and the audience loved it. While they are married to the original they just created they aren’t married to their genre name. Tenzin shares their viewpoint on labels, saying that genres are pretty fluid. For instance, their music leans into many musical genres including shoegaze, punk, rock, and emo.
That’s the beauty of it. Their wide range of sound allows the listener to decide on a label for the music without being confined to a box. For example, Along The Dotted Line is inspired by early emo, late 90’s, slow core music, Jack explains. Which would typically fall under the emo category. However, some people may hear the song and perceive it in a completely different way.
“The best part about genres is the fact that if we don't fit under an umbrella, we can create one. The reason there's so many sub genres of music is because everyone just makes up their own,” says Sam.
At the end of the day the band says that the genre label doesn’t really matter. It’s more so about marketing and building a brand. “Ten years ago we had modern baseball, now we have Next Question!” Tenzin says with a laugh.
They are hoping to demo their songs soon and release them on streaming platforms but until then, you can catch their originals at any of their shows. Or listen to Along The Dotted Line on Spotify.
The four members express their gratitude to the fellow bands they’ve had the pleasure of playing with so far at different local venues and thank them for their advice. All of them besides Malcolm, who is 17, are just 16 years old.
“I think about 70% of our listeners assume we’re a couple years older. I know from actual interactions,” Jack says with a laugh.
Despite their young age, the four have found the older music artists in the scene to be very accepting and encouraging. For Sam, he greatly appreciates the feedback local drummers have given him at their shows. “Every drummer I’ve met in the local scene has been cool. They’re always like, ‘hey man nice set!’ or ‘you play good patterns!’ Everyone is just really kind,” Sam says with a smile.
However it’s not just older artists in the scene that have made an impression of the four teens. They express how they have been the youngest in their music pursuits the last couple of years but now, “...we’re finally at the age where there's a batch of musicians, music lovers, and makers that are a little bit younger than us,” Jack says; expressing how cool it is to feel a bigger sense of community in their age group.
Younger musicians are not only providing a greater sense of community but also looking up to the four teens in search of advice. Tenzin describes how people barely younger than him, have approached him asking advice on how to keep a band stable. “That’s such an interesting feeling. As someone so young, to have somebody barely younger than you be like, how do you do it?” Tenzin says.
That's been one of the more heartwarming accomplishments for the band amongst other things. “Collectively, a really big milestone for us is that people enjoy us enough that they want to have us back again,” Tenzin says with a smile. The young band could not be more thrilled by all the love and support they have received from the community since their start.
Tenzin also shares that this interview was another big milestone for them, “this right now, is a really really big deal to me.” Sam also expresses the same, saying that it felt nice to feel like someone cared.
Sam also shares that conflict resolution is another crucial part to maintaining a stable band. An analogy Sam uses compares a band to a relationship. Meaning, you need to talk out your problems before they fester and allow yourselves to become stronger because of them. “It’s about keeping up a healthy dynamic,” Tenzin says.
The band also acknowledges how important it is to be friendly towards others in the music scene. Everyone is bound to run into people or bands that they don't jive with and that’s completely okay. Next Question says to keep your distance, be kind, and never be-little others for making their art. “Motivation for your music should not be made with the goal of being antagonistic towards other music makers,” Jack says.
Sam agrees by saying, “If you’ve been wronged by music makers, don't become a music maker that then wrongs other musicians.”
Support can be a driving factor in success and Next Question credits a huge amount of their support to Tenzin’s parents. They frequently supply the band with a practice space, food, and encouragement. “The fact that I have two parents that are able to support me and never put me down. I know there’s a lot of people who are in less fortunate situations,” Tenzin says.
As the band pursues their musical journey, anticipation fills the air as they eagerly await the opportunity to share their sound with the world through streaming platforms and locally at upcoming shows.
As they forge ahead, their love for what they do shines through, promising exciting developments and memorable tunes for audiences to enjoy.