Countdown to the Telepathic Windows Festival 2026 Vol. 1 // An Interview with BELLWEATHER

• Thanks so much for the interview. Let’s trace your roots and story.
  

We started in Northern Virginia when our drummer, Matt, placed an ad on Craigslist expressing interest in starting a shoegaze band. One of our guitarists, Todd, responded to the ad, and they met up and jammed. Todd knew our second guitarist, Josh, from previous bands they’ve played in and asked if he’d be interested in jamming as well. The three started crafting songs for our first EP while they searched for a bassist to join.
Our bassist, Brian, had a dream one night about playing on a stage with a band, and searched for listings on Craigslist on a whim. He found an ad saying, “Shoegaze band looking for bassist”, and the rest is history.

• What are your main influences and inspirations?

Classic shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Ride are probably our biggest influences. We’ve also been inspired by newer alt-rock/shoegaze, post rock, and art rock bands—too many to list.

• How would you describe your sound?

I think we try to maintain the dreamy, ethereal atmosphere from classic shoegaze while introducing more “contemporary” elements into the rhythm, groove, and dynamics. 

• What do the words ‘Shoegaze’ and ‘Dream Pop’ mean to you?”
  

“Shoegaze” is very hard to define these days since it’s become such an umbrella term. Generally, we believe it refers to a subgenre of music that focuses on creating dreamy, atmospheric sounds through loud guitars and hushed vocals that evoke a feeling of beauty from a sonic wall.

• Tell us a little about your recording process and how you create your songs.
  

Our songs are mostly created and refined by us jamming on ideas, sometimes spur-of-the-moment. Even if a song idea was conceived by someone else individually, it is never “complete” until we jam on it together and align unanimously on where we want to take it. It can take weeks/months for us to sit on an idea and then eventually know how to polish it correctly. Our rhythm section (drums and bass) is typically recorded live in the studio. Guitars are recorded separately, and vocals are always done last. We’ve worked with our producer Ian Schiela on all our material, and we really have to appreciate all his effort in wrangling us together in the studio. And for putting up with our shenanigans.

• Which song(s) are you most proud of and best represent your sound?
  

“Slug” — This is the first song we wrote together, and we’ve opened every show we’ve ever played with it. We’ve never gotten sick of it, and probably never will. It just makes us want to move.

“Wide and panning” — We thoroughly have fun playing this song live, as it’s groovy, dynamic, and showcases how exploratory our sounds can be in under 5 minutes. This song is also a perfect example of how sitting on a song idea for months ultimately turned out to be a good thing because we had new perspectives on the direction it needed to take. 

“Feverfew” —We went through a few iterations on how this song should “feel” before settling on a swingy, hazy tune. The drum groove, slide guitar, bouncy bass line, and haunting but happy vocals contribute to this dynamic of a shoegaze song that feels familiar, but borrowing elements from other genres of music. It perfectly captures our current spirit when making music.

• What kind of old/new music are you listening to? Any bands or artists you are excited about at the moment?
  

A new album that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed was “Inferno” by Boards of Canada. We all have such different tastes in music that we could each come up with an essay on what’s currently inspiring us, but we aren’t really listening to shoegaze at the moment.

• Who would you most like to collaborate with?
  

Maybe Matt Talbott and Zac Montez from Earth Analog.

• What has been your best/worst gig so far (both as a performer and spectator)?

Best gig might have been us opening LTC Fest II. It was an honor to be a part of that.  Worst gig would be a show in the storage room of a shop on a 90-degree weather day, where the toilet was not working—but people used it anyway, and the toilet flooded. The turnout was not good either.

• What are your expectations for the newcomer Telepathic Windows Fest, and what should the punters expect from your stripped-down performance, peppered with some anticipations from the new album?

We expect a chill day where we get to hang out and meet others with a similar interest in music. Expect a set list that encompasses our entire catalogue, and get ready to groove.

• What are your plans for the future?

Keep playing shows, make more music. Maybe an album this time. We just want to have fun.

• Any parting words?
  

Thanks to anyone who’s listened to our music and enjoyed it—it truly means the world to us.