Glass Mansions blew through Greenville's Radio Room, and we caught up with the band right after they came off stage. Vocalist Jana Doyle and guitarist Blake Arambula both leaned into the same big theme: this is a turning point for the band. With their new EP, a collection of older, COVID-era songs finally wrapped up and released. Now out in the world, Glass Mansions is ready to close that chapter and start writing fresh material, one that both members hint will lean heavier than anything before it.
On the road ahead, expect more touring through the West Coast and Midwest, a run of Austin residencies, new music videos, and one big target circled on the calendar: a shot at playing Austin City Limits. Blake also weighed in on the Greenville show itself, pointing to the night's genre-spanning lineup as proof that the city's music scene has real range and is only getting started. Here's what they had to say.
What did you think of tonight's performance at the Radio Room?
Blake - I think the show went amazingly. We had so much fun getting to play this version of the Radio Room. We've played all three Radio Room spaces now at this point, and so we're super excited to be back in what feels like our second home.
What role do you think venues like the Radio Room play in connecting Greenville to the larger Southeast music scene?
Blake - I think tonight was a great sampling of the music scene here. I mean, it, it felt diverse, but it all made sense at the same time. And I think, like, when I look at the bands that played on the stage tonight, I think, like, it's a great example of amazing bands that are playing in town, you know? And, and it could be rock, it could be pop, it could, you know, it could be anything like that. But they were all, like, really great quality bands. And I think that's representative of Greenville music as a whole. I think it's, it's...Greenville music has something to prove, and I think it, it was evidenced here tonight.
Looking ahead, what does the next six to twelve months look like for the band? Where's the tour taking you next?
Blake - More so, we're gonna be back on the road. We're gonna probably do some West Coast states as well. Probably do some more touring in the Midwest too. And basically all roads for us are leading to- toward trying to play, uh, Austin City Limits Festival. So that's the main goal. We're gonna keep touring. We're gonna keep playing and putting out new music. We're gonna keep putting out, uh, new music videos too. And that's our next goal, is to play the Austin City Limits Festival.
Looking ahead, what direction is the new music going to take?
Jana - "Well, we... So we just put this new EP out, but it was a lot of older songs that were kind of started and unfinished during COVID that we went in the studio, um, to wrap up, uh, earlier this year. But we're sitting on a bunch of music that we've written in the meantime, and we felt like we had to kind of put that chapter to rest with, uh, the last EP. So, we're just excited to be starting, like, fresh, like a new clean slate with our new stuff. So I would get... I would say it's a little bit heavier."
What's the story behind this new EP, and how does it set up what's next for the band?
Jana - "Our newest EP was a lot of older songs that we, um, that started in COVID that we finished. And so, we felt like we needed to finish those, finish that thought, put that out before we could actually, like, start writing the new stuff. So now that that's out, we can, like, start fresh and, um, we've lived a lot and done a lot and toured a lot, seen a lot of bands. Um, so I'm sure that's gonna influence the new stuff that we make."
Find Glass Mansions on Spotify, Instagram, and their Bandcamp. Listen to their new EP, Softwitness
Tanner Hall