We had the good fortune of connecting with T.B.D. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi T.B.D., how do you think about risk?
There’s no momentum without risk. Taking chances and betting on yourself is a part of the process in writing songs and performing. You could say that forming T.B.D. was a risk. It started eight months ago when a guitarist and drummer needed a singer, and a singer coincidentally needed a band. We all met at a Starbucks and hit it off immediately like old friends would even though we all met that day.

That boldness Kody and Izzy took reaching out to Bells turned out to be better fortune than any lottery ticket. Though we all come from various musical backgrounds, not a practice goes by in which we don’t write a new melody or jam something out that we are proud of. Our song-writing has such natural chemistry, and our sound is uniquely us

We take risks every time we book a show. You can never fully predict how many people will be in attendance, whether it’s wall-to-wall packed or a complete ghost town. Sometimes, you can’t even count on the audience to clap or pay attention to your art. But without taking risks, we wouldn’t have booked gigs suchas The Glass House in Pomona and The House of Blues in Anaheim. It’s almost always worth it to say yes, and we recommend you take a risk in whatever you’re pursuing. Risk is part of who we are; honestly, risk IS the reward.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We like to think of ourselves as an alt-rock band that pulls influence and inspiration from everything. That’s why in our setlist you’ll hear some songs that are soft piano style ballads, and others are chaotic, fast, and distorted punk-rock anthems. Kody brings in any rhythm you can fathom to complement or contradict the melody. Izzy knows his way around a solo when he’s given his 16 measure spotlight. Bells Rose pulls you in with her sultry voice and slicing lyrics. Sometimes we will even write a song that breaks its structural norm for the purpose of grabbing and holding on to the listener’s attention. No part of the T.B.D. triangle can exist without the other sides.

Ultimately our biggest obstacle is sticking out from a massively over-saturated music and pop-culture market. You can be the most talented group in the world, but that doesn’t mean the world thinks so. This is what drives us to maintain the quality and individuality of our music, as we live in a day and age where a lot of art is lost for the sake of virality. We aim to keep it real the whole time. After all, our band name is To Be Determined. How can we not be?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When we all go out together, we definitely recommend checking out venues that host free open mic nights to up-and-comers. Artists In the Alley in Pomona and BirdCage Comics in San Bernadino are really cool venues for underground artists and musicians, and they’re free from the stress that comes with selling out a bigger venue or needing a larger audience to come to your shows. If you’re looking for something heavier and a little more underground, we suggest checking out punk-show promotional pages such as @socalpunkshows on Instagram. You may even see us rocking out there at some of the events!

T.B.D.’s go-to for food is the gas station a lot of times because we’re on the road often; however we did eat at this really good restaurant in Burbank called “The Broken Compass Tiki”. They have fantastic food (especially if you have dietary restrictions like Bella and Kody, or if you want to go to a nice restaurant with your dietary-restricted friends like Izzy).

Being from the Inland Empire, you live between the mountains and civilization. Mount Baldy in Rancho Cucamonga is a great spot. Sometimes amidst your hike you’ll find some abandoned cobblestone house that you can use for a photoshoot (we did that; it’s on our Instagram). We also like to branch out to the coast from time to time. Izzy is a fan of raves and rave esc music, so he goes to a nightclub called “The Circle ” in Huntington Beach a lot. Bricks Restaurant and Sports Bar in Maywood can be really fun. On Saturdays they have “cathedral night” where the top floor has industrial music and the outside dance floor has cages that our guitarist may or may not have danced in while drunk. T.B.D. are enthusiasts of all things SoCal.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First of all, we would love to thank our parents, yes for changing our diapers and all that baby-raising stuff, but also for supporting our instrument-buying habits, for dragging us to lessons, and for enduring our loud practices until the wee hours of the morning. We appreciate every show you’ve gone to and rocked out at. We love you! We would also love to thank Samuel Bakke for giving us valuable recording time, and Matt Grundy for recording, mixing and mastering our first single “Cherry” which has over 17,000 streams on Spotify. And of course, to all the T.B.D. listeners, lovers, and life-longers. Thank you for all your support!

Website: https://linktr.ee/t.b.d._band

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/t.b.d._band/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tbd_band2023

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/t.b.d.band23/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHGmW5e45zE

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@t.b.d._band https://open.spotify.com/artist/0SVWKiiJoqFLPNPks5HeY3

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