Cherry Glazerr hits Irenic with new album

It’s amazing to think that Clementine Creevy is just 19 years old. But then again, she came to prominence with her band Cherry Glazerr while in high school.

Since then, she’s modeled for Saint Laurent Paris and appeared in Amazon’s “Transparent” series, along with the constant of writing, recording and touring her own music.

With a relatively new band that features multi-instrumentalist Sasami Ashworth and drummer Tabor Allen, Cherry Glazerr will release its latest album, “Apocalipstick,” on Jan. 20. Although it’s being touted as the band’s best work yet, Creevy and her band mates are already hard at work on the next one.
Ahead of the band’s appearance on Dec. 30 at The Irenic in North Park, PACIFIC spoke with the talented front woman about it all from a restaurant in Los Angeles.

PACIFIC: How’s it going?

CLEMENTINE CREEVY: Great! We’re at home. Just taking a break from some writing and recording. But we’re looking forward to playing The Irenic again. It’s a favorite venue of mine. So much fun. And such a weird and classic place.

Surprised you’re already writing and recording again when “Apocalipstick” isn’t even out yet.

Creevy: I just write music every day, all the time - and not for any particular reason. I’ve always done that.

Do you keep a journal on you at all times?

Creevy: Yes! Of course. There are lots of journals. I have two main notebooks and also write a lot of things on my phone. And I just got a FANTASTIC new little microphone that you can plug into it. It’s not that expensive or anything, just a little $150 Shure mic. But it’s wonderful. And I’ve been doing some recording with that.

At what point do you know when those recordings are something you’re going to take to the band?

Creevy: We all flesh it out together; it’s a very collaborative experience. I come up with the skeleton and we all jam it out together. Sasami has her own parts that she writes and Tabor writes his own as well. I’ll have a riff and one main melody and we all collaborate on the arrangement.

Has it always been that way?

Creevy: No. I used to do a lot more arranging myself. But now it’s a much more collaborative effort - which I love. The band is really good. If they weren’t, it’d probably be different. But this way it just makes it f*****g free and fun. We jam a lot. We’ll jam for hours. It’s an ongoing, free-flowing musical conversation.

“Apocalipstick” is definitely a significant leap from (2014’s) “Haxel Princess.” Was that just by default from working with producers like Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, The Strokes) and Carlos de la Garza (Paramore, M83) in a big studio?

Creevy: It was just something that we tried. And it was super fun. I mean, why not try all different styles of recording records - whether that’s getting into a nice studio with a budget and a couple of producers or doing the entire thing in our rooms? We followed the muse. I wanted to make a big studio rock record. But now my values have shifted again recording-wise.

So the music you’re working on now is actually the opposite of what’s on the album that’s coming out in a few weeks?

Creevy: Essentially. But it’s not exactly the opposite. It’s just different. It’s a different style, it’s a different fidelity, they’re different songs, and a different style of writing. And I wouldn’t say that it makes it better or worse. Some of my favorite records are bedroom recordings and some are giant, studio-recorded rock records. It’s not the medium. It’s the idea. If the song is good, then it’s f*****g good. Again, it’s about following the muse.

Any of this weird political climate we’re currently experiencing making it into these new songs?

Creevy: No. I’m trying to do nothing political. This next record is going to be all about gas stations on tour - and the snacks that you can get at them ... Um, yeah. That’s about how I’m feeling right now.

Cherry Glazerr

Cherry Glazerr performs in San Diego this weekend, with Slow Hollows as opening act. For more on Cherry Glazerr and its new album, “Apocalipstick,” visit cherry-glazerr.com.

When: Friday, Dec. 30

Where: The Irenic, 3090 Polk Ave., North Park

Cost: $15

More information: theirenic.com