HAILEY HOWELL / FEATURE EDITOR

With the anticipation of the Torero Program Board’s Big Blue Bash, many students were left wondering not only who the headliner was going to be, but also wanting to know more about the student opener. Unlike the headliner, Slow Tide was announced a week before the event, which got students excited to hear their music and discover how they started playing together. 

The idea for the band, Slow Tide, first came about when USD first-year Miguel Cheng reached out to other incoming students who seemed to be interested in making music. Cheng connected with USD first-years Brannum Cyphers and Katie Tucker via social media before coming to USD this fall semester. 

“I saw that [Cyphers] played guitar and he was playing like shows, and I was interested in that,” Cheng said. “So we were talking before we came here, and then we jammed out for a bit. And then I also found [Tucker] the same kind of way.”

USD first-year Leila Nuri joined the group after sharing an icebreaker during orientation week about her musical background. The word spread to the others about her experience on bass which eventually led to Cheng messaging her about playing for the band. Then, after Nuri heard from a Resident Assistant about a potential drummer, USD sophomore River Shaia joined the group. 

Students sway along to Slow Tide’s set at the concert. Ellie Skjersaa/The USD Vista

“One of [Nuri’s] RAs said that there was a drummer moving into the Vistas,” Cheng said. “So we scoped him out, and we emailed him and everything. Yeah, that’s kind of how we met.”

The band members explained that they first got into playing, or became interested in the music world, for different reasons. Multiple members mentioned the inspiration to play coming from their families. 

“I’ve been playing drums since I was seven,” Shaia said. “I got into it because my dad plays guitar and sings, and his brother played drums. So there was always just a drum set at the house … My dad was like ‘Okay, well, that’s your instrument,’ and I was like ‘Okay, cool.’ And so I picked it up and really just stuck with it.”

Cheng explained that he was also inspired to play guitar after learning from his father. 

“My dad was in a band when he was in college and high school too,” Cheng said. “So growing up he taught me everything he knew, like the surfing, skating and band stuff. Instruments were part of that too. Yeah, just picked up guitar and stuck with it.”

Nuri explained the musical inclination in her family that inspired her to play as well.

“[My inspiration was] also my dad,” Nuri said. “He played bass in high school and college bands, and he has managed some smaller artists. My family’s very musical and I used to play piano, but then I just started to pick up bass because that’s what he played … Like five years ago.”

Tucker, the vocalist in the band, explained that she has been singing from a young age. 

(From left to right) Nuri, Cyphers and Shaia jamming out. Ellie Skjersaa/The USD Vista

“I’ve just always been singing since I was little,” Tucker said. “No one in my family really plays music or anything, but I’ve just always loved to sing. I tried singing lessons for like a week, and didn’t vibe with it, so I stopped doing that. But yeah, kind of just always been singing.”

Once they officially formed the group, the band decided on a name, but they didn’t know what  it  would be right away. They  explained  that  the decision  wasn’t  just  their  idea  but  that they   had   input  from  many others. After narrowing their options down to three possible  names, they  sent  surveys  online and asked  about  the  name  through  word  of   mouth   to   about sixty people. The goal was to see which name was most popular. Ultimately,  Slow  Tide was agreed upon. The group shared that they don’t have any specific bands  they  draw  inspiration  from  as they  all  listen   to   different types of music, which is reflected in the music that they decide to play.

“I would say for the general group, we all listen to different things,” Cheng said. “I would mainly say maybe like indie rock or surf music, but we’ll play literally anything.”

Many members of the group had performed before coming to USD, but as a band they played once together at the USD Surf Team’s House, prior to auditioning for the Big Blue Bash. After first applying to be the student opener, the band was originally told that they weren’t going to play, but after a cancellation they were invited to perform. 

“We applied, and we got rejected,” Cyphers said. “I literally think [the invitation to play] was because we posted on Fizz, and it got like two thousand upvotes. The next day, [TPB] hit us up saying ‘All of a sudden they canceled on us.’”

The process to be the student opener involved sending in audition videos, but the band faced a few setbacks at the time.

“We filmed [the audition] in the Valley A dorm room,” Nuri said. “I didn’t have my bass amp yet, so we were splitting with the vocals and the sound was messed up, but we sent in our videos.”

At the Big Blue Bash, they performed songs from different genres focusing mostly on indie rock covers. They played popular hits from “Disco” by the Surf Curse to “Kiss me” from Sixpence None the Richer, though the band is also currently working on their own originals as well.

The band explained that they would love to keep playing at shows while in college and are grateful to have the opportunity to play together.

“We just got lucky … We obviously work well together as a band, but I also like all of them,” Tucker said. 

Nuri agreed with Tucker’s sentiment, describing the comradery they have together. 

“I love that we’re all good friends but also have fun playing shows together and jamming out in our free time,” Nuri said. “Literally nothing beats playing a show.”

Even though the band just formed not too long ago, they are excited for the journey of playing together and looking forward to future shows.

Slow Tide opening for Veggi and Tinashe at the Big Blue Bash. Shannen Swars/The USD Vista