Kanashii is a Modern Grunge/Shoegaze band from Southeastern Kentucky. The word, Kanashi, translates to sad, miserable, unhappy, or sorrowful person in Japanese. The band decided to use this name since the original creation of the band was to be an outlet to help cope with negative emotions. The band was formed during the 2020 pandemic by lead singer/guitarist, Sammy Clifford, as a way to convey empathy, grief, and many other emotions via musical expression. Joined by Gwynn Smitty on bass, Tyrah Millay on Drums, and Alec Edwards on Guitar the band has built a unique sound inspired by bands such as Nirvana, Deftones, My Bloody Valentine, and The Cure.

We were able to ask Sammy a couple questions as part of our Refrain Interview Series. Check it out below.

Refrain Music Blog: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. You have a new single out now. What’s it called?

Sammy Clifford: Our new song is called Nevermind! It’s on of my favorites. On the record actually. Haha. 

RMB: What is the song about, in terms of lyrics? Any overarching messages or themes?
Sammy: The song is about fake friends or people in your life who steal your happiness, or that just come around when they need something from you but are never there when you’re in need. The lyrics “You’re shedding skin, How nice to see you again” is in reference to how Snakes shed skin and take on new forms. 

RMB: Is this single part of an album?

Sammy: The single is from our new record Imposter syndrome! We’ve been working on it in Nashville a little over a year now! 

RMB: How does this single differ from your previous work?

Sammy: The single is just so much more emotive than our previous releases, I really believe this new record is the best music we’ve ever made! 

Gwynn: “I would say the new single feeds more into our grunge and post hardcore influences rather than just our shoegaze influences.”

RMB: What’s the story on how it was recorded?

Sammy: We recorded our new record with Lyra Productions in Nashville. Our producer Luke Nagel really made the process easy, from the moment we met it was like working with an old friend. He helped us find our sound and just turned every song into so much more than what we started with. As far as stories go, We had so many shenanigans with the recording process, Hot pepper pranks, tea bagging and many other fun times. Haha 

Gwynn: “I accidentally took MDMA before we went into the studio and just layed out on the floor until it was my turn to play and I recorded all the bass parts in one take, then ate a SUPER HOT GHOST PEPPER because sammy pranked me by putting them on my sandwich.” Haha 

RMB: Tell us a little about the band. Who all is in it and how did you form?
 How long have you been together?

Sammy: We’ve been together for two years! The band is Sammy Clifford on lead vocals and lead guitar,Gwynn Smiddy on bass,Alec Edwards on guitar,Tyrah Millay on drums and Sharpe Knowles on Keys. 

RMB: Who are some of your biggest musical influences? 

Sammy: As the primary songwriter you can hear alot of my favorite bands in our music. My influencesar e Deftones,Nirvana,Circa Survive,Alice in chains then it’s mostly just TONS of Emo stuff haha. 

Gwynn: My bloody valentine, Velvet underground and sonic youth are my biggest influences. 

RMB: What’s the one thing you are most proud of in your career so far?

Sammy: We opened up for Escape The Fate a few weeks back and we made so many new lifelong fans and signed so much stuff. We smashed our guitars at the end of our set and signed them for fans. It was the coolest feeling in the world to reach so many people with our art! 

RMB: If you had to pitch your music to a potential fan in less than 10 seconds, what would you say?

Sammy: If you like crazy live shows with guitar smashing and psychedelic music you’ll like us! 

RMB: What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that you think everyone needs
 to hear or that has meant the most to you?

Sammy: If you’re in music for the money You’re in it for the wrong reason. If you’re just trying to make music with your friends, You’re going to have a beautiful experience. 

RMB: If you could go back in time, what’s a piece of advice you would give
 to a younger you?

Sammy: I’d tell young sammy to Learn to deal with your trauma through music and maybe I’d tell myself to invest in bitcoin. Hahaha. 

RMB: What’s coming up next for your musical project?

Sammy: We are going to Michigan this weekend to shoot a music video with famous YouTuber Airsoft Fatty, Our new record Imposter Syndrome comes out October 28th!  Then after that we are going on tour this November then it’s right back into the studio to start working on our second record! 

Connect With Kanashii:
Instagram / Facebook / Spotify / Cardigan Records