We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Guest Bed. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Guest Bed below.

Guest Bed, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Gosh, there are so many people we are grateful for: Pablo Cabrera at Analog Approach Studio, Brett Buehler of Part-Time Rockstar Podcast, Rachel Taft of Feed the Scene, Matt Redenbo at Magpie Cage Studio, anyone who’s listened to our music, had us on their stage, shared the stage with us, come to a show, bought merch, etc. We could go on.

Guest Bed though wouldn’t be able to exist without the Owens, Gallaghers, and Deavans families. We’re a loud band, and each of them have let us practice at full volume in their homes without complaint, and often on a moment’s notice. Then, they come to our shows – shocking!

We would also be remiss if we didn’t mention our amazing partners: Laurel, Leah, and Hannah. Their invaluable support emboldens us to be the nerdy emotional men we truly are.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Each of us gravitated toward music as teenagers:

• Josh started playing bass in middle school and still performs in an orchestra with the Baltimore Gamer Symphony. His theory knowledge and musicality are unmatched by anyone else in Guest Bed.
• Ethan was actually a drummer first, then switched to guitar in high school after discovering his desire to write. He views his guitar style more as a necessity to the rock ‘n’ roll genre than as an ability.
• Brooks claims he picked the drums because, “in a very musical family, it was the only instrument left”. He’s been involved with his church’s worship band for over a decade, and also runs a music school in Silver Spring.

In 2020, Ethan specifically remembers thinking, “if the world is ending, I want to do two things: get married, and play in a band again. It didn’t have to be in that order, but it’s funny to me that’s exactly how it happened.” Ethan and Brooks were introduced at a mutual friend’s wedding several years prior. There, Ethan and Brooks had initially joked about starting a pop punk band, but it became a pleasant reality after trading demos, and then meeting Josh on a local DIY Facebook group. So, we think in a way that’s what makes us unique – Guest Bed was this shining beacon of positivity in our lives during an extremely defeatist period, and we’ve strived to maintain that attitude in our songs, the way we interact with each other, and how we view Guest Bed’s potential. No matter what we do, we’ve already overcome a lot together, and we’re really proud when the audience feels that too.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Ethan primarily manages our Instagram. He’s originally from Virginia, so not knowing anything about Baltimore felt like a major disadvantage at first. Using the Guest Bed account, he followed every band, venue, and promoter in the city, working up the courage to eventually cold message anyone with some remote interest in working together. There were a lot of nos (well, mostly no response), but we’ve slowly managed to build our name recognition and a decent enough reputation through shows, podcasts, interviews, etc. It didn’t hurt either when Ethan posted the occasional meme, or just having a good sense of humor and approachable demeanor to our social media.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There are a few podcasts we’re fans of: The Punk Rock MBA, Washed Up Emo, This Was the Scene, etc. The content primarily revolves around interviewing famous artists, but the hosts are also former members of record labels, bands, and long-time music fans like us, so their thoughts, opinions, and experiences are respectable.

Before we started recording at Magpie Cage Studio this year, we listened to an interview with J. Robbins (founder, producer, and musician), as he had just remixed Braid’s Frame & Canvas album for it’s 25th anniversary. Though we’re not working with him directly, it helped us understand their vision and process.

Ian MacKaye was also on the same podcast a few years prior, and his views on the commodification of music have always stuck with us. The community we build around our band and shows should always come first, and recordings are supplementary marketing tools to spread that message – not the opposite.

Speaking of which, come see us on Sunday, January 14th, at Ottobar with Still Bones, Moraine, and Triple Bunk Bed! We couldn’t be more excited to start 2024 with these fantastic local bands, and we hope to share that experience with you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/guestbed_md
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guestbed_md
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/12iON8IvHYvicA2RruXIM3?si=R6LaWTTyTReOcXdEaEkNjw https://guest-bed.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Stephan Starkes Ethan Rundlett Paperback Tragedy