LEE PYE
Staff Writer
Jamming their way into the local music scene, HitGRL is making their way to the stage.
HitGRL is a new band led by two female-presenting artists, Sarah Burke (she/her) as the lead singer-songwriter, and Kathrine Wynn (they/them) as the backup singer and cellist,
The addition of a cellist makes the band different from most bands on campus.
The band started last summer when Burke wanted to start a girl band.
However, the music scene is a little scarce of performing women, so it was difficult for Burke to find more female-presenting people in the music scene.
So, she saddled up Ryan Terry on guitar, Michael Tumbaco on bass and Gordon Hall on drums. Finally, she contacted Wynn to play in the band with their non-traditional instrument, their feminine look and their capability of performance she had noticed from seeing them in previous shows.
During the first set of rehearsals, it was a little rough as the band members were trying to feel out the sound for the band.
“We got together in Ryan’s house and we quote on quote ‘jammed,’ but we didn’t have a drum set at that point, so Gordon brought his drumsticks and just started tapping on the floor in intervals. Soon, I was like, this is never going to work out.”
Burke was proved wrong, though, because after the first few rehearsals, HitGRL was ready to play.
Terry said, “I think one thing that’s helpful is we’re all so used to playing live and playing in band settings. I think everyone was a little uncomfortable at the beginning. Gordon doesn’t normally drum, Michael hasn’t played bass in a long time, Katherine doesn’t normally play in rock bands, and this is Sarah’s first time singing in a band, so there was a degree of uncomfortability at first, but I think there’s an excitement in that. And to feel us lock in together and get more comfortable, it just feels right.”
The creation of the music comes from a joint effort between Burke and Terry, and then the whole band.
Burke brings the idea to the table and Terry executes the idea with his classical composition background. Then they bring it to the band, where Tumbaco finds the bass line,
Hall figures out the rhythm and beat and Burke and Wynn have a lot of the creative control.
Wynn and Terry established a familiar pattern of colliding their unique sounds. With Terry on guitar and Wynn on cello, they tend to play the same parts of songs but play them differently.
“Ryan and I, we try to match the guitar part and the cello part, but it’s also cool because the cello does its own thing. For example, Ryan doesn’t have a bow. There’s stuff he can do that I can’t do and there’s stuff I can do that he can’t do, so it’s fun to play around with that difference.”
For example, in their original song “Whiskey,” they match the whole time for more intense sound on the string instruments. But for their original song “Fawn”, the cello and guitar have different personalities and are easier to stand out. Terry said, “We fill out the frequency range, Michael with bass on the bottom, Katherine with cello in the middle, me with guitar on top.”
Wynn might be better known in the Fredonia music scene as Kiwi Grimm for their solo projects. It’s a name for their alter persona on stage. “Kiwi is like a character that I inhabit. When I perform as her I am performing as her, versus when I can perform myself.”
They elaborated, stating the difference between Kiwi and Katherine. “She’s mythical. She is a witch who casts a spell and makes people play music with her. She’s definitely a little girl. She’s a creature that bites. She definitely has an aggression to her that I personally don’t have.”
Another difference between Wynn and their aggressive-witch persona is the music that they play. Kiwi Grimm tends to play genres like witch house, sludge and slowcore.
Wynn, however, plays everything under the sun with their cello.
They perform classical, romantic and baroque music on cello. On electric cello they tend to lean into more contemporary music, a lot of improvisation, rock metal and indie rock. However, their entire span of music goes across the board, from classical to metal. They’ve played with local bands like Saint Blind, Amphobia and Relentless Moisture, but never were in a band like they are in HitGRL.
HitGRL is considered an indie rock band, but through the band members, it’s been called girl rock, indie, a version of 70’s Pink Floyd and a version of 90’s SoundGarden. For Tumbaco and Terry, whatever the genre may be, it is a bit different than what they’re used to.
Tumbaco, when asked to play bass, jumped on the opportunity because he had not played bass in a while, and saw the opportunity to change up what he normally plays. Tumbaco has another project, Edelwood Creek, which is mainly post-hardcore, while Ryan is used to a lighter indie genre.
Terry felt the exact opposite. He played in his band Beach Tower, where it’s much more of a medium to lighter indie vibe.
“You wanted something heavier, and I wanted something lighter, and we got it,” Tumbaco said to Terry.
When asked about the best part of the band, Tumbaco took no time to answer, “It’s the people. Everyone comes from a different music background. Ryan and Katherine are classically trained. We all have different music backgrounds, we all have different music tastes. I think that’s super unique when it comes to a band. There’s so many different genres, so many different ideas that can be brought to the table because we have such a diverse pool of music that we’ve all been accustomed to play over the years.”
“Support local music from basement venues, to BJ’s, to Rosch Recital Hall,” Wynn urged. HitGRL has some shows coming up, like Milkies in Buffalo on April 6th, the Eclipse show on campus on April 8th, Vax Bash in the summertime, which is a private event hosted by a Fredonia alumna Halle Cook and another show that is confirmed but left unannounced.
HitGRL can be found on Instagram @hitgrl_band.
Finally, Burke shared a clarification on the name of the band. “No, we do not hit girls, stop asking.”