This summer LA’s Cryogeyser dropped their first new music in almost three years, with a trio of singles (“Sorry,” “Blue Light,” and “Fortress”) that dropped in July, September, and October, respectively. The singles are the first music to feature the band’s current lineup, which has guitarist/vocalist/mainperson Shawn Marom joined by drummer Zach CapittiFenton and bassist Samson Klitsner, who Shawn tells me during a recent chat have made the band feel like a family. And although we’re excited to get to know the new family at some point, tomorrow, December 7th, Shawn Marom will be performing at the First Unitarian Church on their lonesome when they kick off a 10-date solo run with Wednesday, who will also be doing things solo on this jaunt. This afternoon I got a chance to chat with Cryogeyser’s Shawn Marom about all of this and more…
Izzy Cihak: This summer you released “Sorry,” which was your first new music in about three years, but you’ve released two more singles since then, most recently “Fortress,” which I also really dig. How did that particular track come about, both sonically and lyrically?
Shawn Marom: Hmm, I remember I was writing “Fortress” during a three week stint of trying to quit cigarettes. This guy I was really trying to get to know had just broken up with me, at the end of a three-week tour (which included my birthday) over text. I was craving hiding inside myself and also trojan horsing his iron-clad walls. All in all, this relationship was insignificant beyond learning a few really important lessons: fortresses protect but can also isolate, and that 5’7” dweebs aren’t worth crying over. Love is the feeling of wholeness, balance, not have or not.
Izzy: You’ve actually released really cool official videos for all three of your 2024 singles. What is it that inspires the visual elements of your work, or is it different project-to-project?
Shawn: I really like to work with people who are passionate about what they do. Usually, the video concept develops alongside with the person I choose to make the video. I try to work within the realm of whatever that director likes doing. The video for “Sorry” was the most glossy video we’ve ever had, thanks to Jaxon Left, for example. Saturated, surreal and otherworldly, like much of his work is. “Blue Light” was made by one of my dearest friends, Fudge, who is actually responsible for most early Cryogeyser vids/posters/visuals in general. “Fortress” was made by my friend Meg Heim, who also shot the “Sonic Peace” video. I’d say that the visual world of Cryogeyser has been and always will be a family affair.
Izzy: I know that your upcoming tour is going to have you playing solo, but Cryogeyser did recently premiere a new lineup, so I’m curious how you originally hooked up with Zach and Samson and what you feel like they’ve each brought to the Cryogeyser sound, or maybe even just the band’s vibe and attitude in general?
Shawn: It’s taken a long time to maneuver a band that felt like the “real” lineup of Cryogeyser. I like to think of anyone and everyone who has ever played with me as perpetually part of it. Cryogeyser feels like a family with Zach and Samson in it, as we work as a team so well, and really for the most part have no team besides ourselves. Samson handles our website, carrying most of the heavy stuff because he is buff and the best, handling our merch, some design work, and ripping the sweetest bass tone on planet Earth. Not to mention that all his parts are written and arranged with intention and soul. His heart is the glue of our band, it’s what holds it together. Creatively, we’ve moved in a direction that aligns with the heart of how the band started, with music being self-produced from within. Watching Zach learn, practice and excel at engineering and producing our new music, has been an inspiring and humbling experience; a testament to what can happen when you put your mind to something. Zach knows how to elevate what I am doing without changing it too much, he is a born producer to be honest, and the best drummer I’ve ever met. It’s allowed me to be more comfortable with collaboration and growth of my vision. We must have put 1000 hours into our new recordings. I am so proud of what this band has become, and what is in store for us moving forward.
Izzy: You’re about to kick off this solo tour right here in Philthy at First Unitarian Church. What can be expected of the live show? I’ve only seen you once, here at MilkBoy in March of 2023, when you were touring with Draag, but I’m imagining this is gonna be something pretty different…
Shawn: I’m a Sagittarius, so I love ruining surprises, but I’m trying to be more mature. I kind of let myself feel out these solo sets, but all I can tell you for sure is that I’m trying out something to close it out that I hope is fun for everyone in the room. I have done my previous solo sets with an acoustic guitar but I’m running this one with two electrics, and maybe some nights I will borrow Karly’s acoustic 🙂 I love the freedom of a solo set, because it’s really not what Cryogeyser is for me, which makes it something pretty different for me as well! Liberating.
Izzy: First Unitarian Church is a legendary venue in the DIY/punk/hardcore scene, but primarily for its basement, but you’re actually going to be playing in The Sanctuary (where they have mass and stuff), so I’m curious how you like playing non-traditional venues? They definitely seem to provide a change of pace, but I was just talking to Chelsea Wolfe (who’s playing there the nights before and after you, so maybe she’ll stop by your show…) about this, and she was talking about sometimes feeling a pressure to create the show you want to present in a space that’s not really designed for it…
Shawn: I feel like all my songs are prayers to a higher power, so I hope they feel welcome in the Sanctuary 🙂 I feel what Chelsea is saying, I experience that a lot in terms of playing solo: worrying; will these songs translate with the same intensity, and intentionality without the bass and drums? What is this show going to convey that the band show doesn’t? And vice versa.
Izzy: I know that you (and Draag, for that matter) have known Karly/Wednesday for a while now (back at that March 2023 show, Jessica, Adrian, and I were talking about how Wednesday were blowing up to a crazy degree, which has obviously gotten much crazier…) What are your thoughts on Wednesday, musically and personally? Are you excited to be on the road with Karly for this run?
Shawn: Karly and I have been internet friends since the pandemic, but I can’t really remember the exact moment of it all. My then bandmate, Will, showed me Wednesday and the rest of it is kind of history. Karly and I plotted playing together but I never really thought it would happen, until they were coming to play LA for the first time. That’s when I hooked up Draag with the Wednesday team and now we’re kind of a hot, giant, rock family (in my humble opinion). I mean, my thoughts on Wednesday could make its own essay response, but we all know they are the greatest of all time. On a personal note, they are the truest, most talented, funniest, and hardest working people I’ve ever met! I’m so excited to tour with Karly, I’ve never done a solo tour in this capacity, and I can’t think of anyone I’d feel more comfortable and supported by. And as a fan of all that Karly does, I’m most excited to be mesmerized by her performance every night.
Izzy: I’m super excited to see both Cryogeyser and Wednesday in this stripped, solo format (both of which will be firsts for me…), so I’m curious if there are any artists that you would especially love to see in a similar solo and intimate format?
Shawn: Good question. Hmmm. I’d do almost anything to see Liz Frasier play. But that would be a solo set by virtue of her not being in a group project. But that intimacy would change my life, to just be in a room, in her presence. Hot take, but I want an intimate stripped Hole set.
Izzy: I just realized that Cryogeyser’s been releasing music for about half a decade now. This is a really big question, but what have been some of the personal highlights of Cryogeyser for you so far?
Shawn: I was telling someone the other day that I told my mom to get off my back and give me five years to try and make this shit work. I don’t want to say it’s working per se, but I find myself getting to actually “work” with it more often and in more sustainable ways, and that’s really crazy to reflect on. There are so many memories and accomplishments I am proud of. A notable highlight would be that we’ve recorded all this new music that is releasing on our own, and have garnered a team that is really determined to push it through. Beyond that, it would probably be seeing my young fans grow up before my eyes, 18-year-olds coming up to me crying saying that they could finally get past the door of the venue. Those are the moments that make this worth it: seeing myself in the people this music means something to.
Izzy: Finally, what are you hoping and planning for 2025? Anything at the forefront of your mind that you’re especially excited about?
Shawn: Like I said, I’m not ruining any surprises, but this has been a pretty tame year for the band in terms of moving around, as we’ve been working tirelessly on something very special. It feels like 2025 holds the fruit of our labor. I hope, at least, that it is a busy year filled with more joy, opportunity, and music than I could even expect.
*Get your tickets here.
**Listen for Cryogeyser on the next edition of Philthy Radio, 12/20 (9-11pm ET) on Y-Not Radio.
