For Salem, Massachusetts singer-songwriter Tristan Gilliss, acoustic songs were a way to strip away the layers and examine life’s trials and tribulations in it’s rawest of forms. Gilliss started his musical journey under the moniker Situational Irony 101 in 2015. After that project grew from a solo acoustic outlet to a fully fledged band, Gilliss felt the need for a new outlet for his quieter, introspective, and with the encouragement of hist band, Skyhart was born.
Skyhart is indie acoustic music for the introspective heart. The debut EP, Before Leaving, features 12 tracks that are an examination of the trials and tribulations of young love and a celebration of the future we have yet to live.
We had the chance to ask Gilliss about Skyhart, the new album and the new single. Enjoy.
Refrain Music Blog – Thanks so much for agreeing to the interview! What can you tell us about your new single, ‘Pink Moscato’?
Tristan Gilliss – ‘Pink Moscato’ is a song about letting go. Constantly having anxiety about a person, regardless how close to them you may feel, is unhealthy, and I wrote this song to explain why. I feel like, far too often, it’s become normalized to make the best of toxic situations or people; I want my writing to get across that I don’t need anyone to make me happy, and recognize the hard truth that people will hide their true selves at the expense of your happiness.
RMB – So Skyhart is a solo project that kind of sprung up from another solo act that turned into a full band?
TG – I originally started playing live music with the pop punk band Situational Irony 101. SI101 started as an acoustic/electric umbrella project for my music in 2015, and became a full band in 2017. This prompted the need for a different separate project to represent the lower key songs, as I felt it detracted from the full band when those songs were played live. Skyhart began in 2018 with the demo “Son of Mine”, a father’s day present to my dad, along with new social media and occasional updates. The page largely remained unused while production on music, for a then to-be-named solo album, began.
RMB – SI101 is kind of a punk band now, right? Was it weird trying to play the acoustic songs as a full band?
TG – Being frontman, I always feel like it’s in part my responsibility to pump up the other dudes in the band; there is no fun like moshing to your friends’ music on a Friday night in some low-lit basement in Lowell, MA. I always felt guilty when acoustic songs were on the set, because the others in the band would get real quiet and stand idle with their instruments kind of staring straight ahead, not really knowing what to do with themselves. It was also very obvious that those acoustic songs were written and played much differently than the usual punk numbers. With the encouragement of my band I decided to take the leap and create an outlet for myself to express my quieter, introspective side.
RMB – What was the process for Before Leaving like? Are you happy with how it turned out?
TG – Releasing Before Leaving is by far the proudest I’ve ever been of my own music. I am insanely self critical and usually go as far as self deprecation before I complete a full demo. It’s not uncommon for me to record a single lyric over 50 times because the phrasing wasn’t quite right, or it was too “breathy”, or ever so slightly off-key. After writing and rewriting over 15 full songs, recording 2-3 totally different versions of each, and then doing 12 final versions for an album, you can imagine how relieved I was to finally get it out there. It’s something I did for myself, so I could be heard.
RMB – Once the world returns back to normal, if there is such a thing. What bands would you want to tour with? Any dream tour scenarios?
TG – I always love playing sets with my girlfriend’s act, Snow Day, based out of Richmond, VT. Before the current state of things, a tour featuring my band, Skyhart, Snow Day, and the support of her band The Silent Mile, had been thrown around. It being so early in the existence of Skyhart, the sky is the limit (Ha). I want to find as many acoustic/indie/folk/punk acts as possible to play shows with after the COVID-19 pandemic wears down. As long as they’re with the scene, I want to support them and tour with them.
Before Leaving is now streaming on all digital platforms.
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