Hi guys, thank you so much for agreeing to meet up. First, if you would like to introduce yourselves, you can.

Amber: I’m Amber P., I’m a sophomore, and I play the keyboard or the piano.

Sophie: I’m Sophie W., I’m also a sophomore, and I sing and also play the guitar.

So I guess first of all, is what inspired you guys to get into music?

Amber: I guess it came from my parents forcing me to start playing piano when I was five, and kind of also following my sister. I think she was the one who wanted to play piano and then I just followed suit.

Sophie: I honestly have no idea how; like, I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember, and I performed a couple of talent shows when I was in elementary school, too, as well as participated in choir from a young age. I feel like I’ve just always loved music.

How long have you guys been performing together as Sophie and the Wicks? Which is a great name, by the way.

Sophie: I mean, we only really formed for Battle of the Bands.

Amber: It was a last minute thing. My dad really likes the song “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston. I would always sing along, but I was like, “I can’t get these notes — who in my life can hit these notes?” And then I remembered, “Oh, Sophie can hit these notes.” So I got Sophie to learn the song, and when we were playing it together I was thinking that, “Oh my God, this is so good; if we did Battle of the Bands, we would literally win. Like, she would win.” When I told her that, she thought Battle of the Bands was a fictional thing.

Sophie: Yeah, I did not know that was happening at Lakeside.

Amber: When they announced it, we decided to do it. But then we thought that we should also have a drummer, so Aziel L. ’27 joined our group.

I don’t want to sound stalker-y, but someone shared with me your Instagram and I’ve seen the song covers y’all have posted on there. Also, I believe you (Sophie) have a SoundCloud?

Sophie: I do. So, I’ve had a few accounts for singing through the years. Like, in seventh grade I had a TikTok account I’m so embarrassed of now, where I would sing covers on, and a year ago, I also had something that I tried to keep away from Lakeside. But then, in December, I was like, “I’m okay at guitar now, so I’m just gonna make a public account, let people find this, and go from there.” So, I’ve had that since and post covers on it, and I’ve done a couple with Amber. Also, I’ve been writing music for years, so I decided to make a SoundCloud. It’s not the best, but I want to start somewhere before I make music on Spotify or whatever. But now we actually are starting a band. So yeah, we’re Sophie and the Wicks, and we’re starting a band — with him (referring to Owen S. ’27).

Oh sick. Do you want to be a part of the interview?

Owen: Yeah, sure. I’m Owen, I’m a sophomore, and I play the trombone and dabble in other instruments.

And now you’re going to be a part of Sophie and the Wicks. Are you also going to be playing Trombone for the band?

Owen: I think I might consider playing some other instruments depending on what the band needs and depending on what song we are covering or composing. But Trombone is my primary, and I’ve also been making beats since 5th grade.

Sophie: Also, I mean, I think we’re going to rename it. Lorelei S. ’25 jokingly came up with the name, like, a week before our performance because we didn’t have a name before that.

Oh I see. I guess, then, moving forward, are there any artists that inspire you?

Sophie: I would say Lizzy McAlpine is my biggest inspiration for music and writing music. I mean, there are so many people who I would love to make music like, but I just don’t have the resources because I just play an acoustic guitar and I sing, so there’s not much that I can do with that. But now, I feel like we’ll be able to do so much more.

Owen: Yeah, I’ve always wanted to be in a band in whatever format that might look like or in whatever genre, but having someone who’s able to play the piano much better than I can, because I don’t even think I can classify myself as a piano player, and having someone who can sing really freaking good really makes me happy and warm inside. I think having a group of people who are also really into music and are willing to work with each other to produce music and maybe more is really cool.

Do you guys see yourselves performing as a group at Battle of the Bands again or any other venues, maybe even off campus?

Amber: Alder G. ’28 was talking about how he wants to make Battle of the Bands an annual thing since he felt like it was such a success this time. If so, I’ll probably do it next year and I would love to because I had so much fun and it wasn’t a lot of work at all; we just signed up and did it.

Sophie: I was very, very stressed, but it will be better next year. That was the hardest song I’ve ever performed live in front of the most people who I know, and though I’d done a lot of performances and solos before, they just weren’t like this. So, it was really nerve racking. But then afterwards it was so freeing.

Amber: It was very fun and also very chill for me. I was not very emotionally aware about the other members of my group. I kind of just signed them all up and then I was like, “Okay, we’re doing it,” and then they were like, “What?” But then we did it and it was fine.

Owen: I think for me, though we didn’t perform together this time around, in my little jazz combo, the “Juzz,” we do funerals and other things as well. We were all looking forward to it and we were all really excited, but once we got up there, that pressure of performing in front of the entire school set in. But I think that’s a sign that you care about doing well and reaching the expectations that you’ve set for yourself beforehand. Especially with all of the preparation that you put in, you get a little bit of an assurance that you can lean back on.

Is there anything else that you guys would like to share?

Amber: My thoughts about being in a band are very similar to Owen’s. I’m so excited to make music — I’ve always loved music and creating art, and the fact that I have the chance to do it with like-minded individuals who are both passionate and talented is a dream come true.

Owen: I’d also like to add that, even if it’s not music or some other performing art, find a group of people who are interested in the same thing you do. Of course, everyone has their friend groups already, but try to branch outside of those groups and find those people who you might not talk to as much but still value the same things as you. Those are the best relationships you can afford, and they are the ones that you’ll be able to get the most joy from.