Born out of a high school rock band class and now echoing through the basement of the Shrine Social Club, Blush isn’t interested in sticking to one single sound.
At their latest show, the Nampa-based, student-led group flowed between indie rock, punk and heavier influences with a magnetic stage presence.
Made up of vocalist Emi Cornejo, drummer Tristan Moncrief and guitarists Savannah Trehal, Corbin Ker and Moriya “Momo” Ballantyne, the band has spent the past year growing from house shows to playing stages like The Shredder and even opening Treefort Music Fest.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
TREHAL: We kind of go in and out of genres — we’ve never really stuck to one. If I had to sum it up, I’d say indie for some songs, and rock for others or even hardcore.
CORNEJO: Indie rock in a Car Seat Headrest kind of way.
BALLANTYNE: Genre hopping.
KER: I would say indie rock, maybe a little bit of punk rock. Punk is at the absolute core of our sound.
Blush’s body of work feels like a collection of unique sounds. What would you say is your biggest inspiration when it comes to making music?
MONCRIEF: Any newer bands that are popping up — Midrift, First Day Back, Narrow Head — all those kinds of different, indie or alternative bands coming in. When I’m coming up with ideas, I take bits and pieces from each of those and mix them to bounce between genres.
BALLANTYNE: A lot of my inspiration comes from ‘70s music, specifically for bass parts. It’s more intricate, melodic and rhythmic. I always strive to do that instead of just having root notes for eighth notes.
KER: I pull inspiration from a lot of weird places. I like This Heat a lot, their guitar parts sometimes don’t even sound like guitar, which I really love. That’s definitely seeped into our sound.
I noticed you switch off on lead vocals during your set. How do you decide who takes the lead on a given song?
BALLANTYNE: Most of the time, it’s based on how comfortable each of us are singing that kind of song. Usually, it’s covers we switch on, and it’ll be as easy as saying ‘I think Emi’s vocals might be better for this one, or Moriya’s vocals might be better for that one.’
CORNEJO: On ‘Romantic’, I was really wanting to sing that one, but I realized my voice was not good for it. I thought, ‘I know who has a really powerful, strong voice,’ so I passed it off to Momo.
TREHAL: Mark my words, we’re gonna get two people on a song too — both of them on vocals.
How would you describe your relationship to one another the way it flows into your creative process?
BALLANTYNE: Because we didn’t start off as a band first — we were all friends beforehand — I think we’re all pretty chill with each other. Nothing seems too pretentious. Creatively, Corbin or Savannah usually set the bass ground work and they or Emi will have lyrics ready, and we all kind mix it together at that moment. When me and Tristan joined the band, it was the first time we had really honed in on our instruments. I never played bass until I was in class with these guys doing rock band.
TREHAL: We have all such unique music tastes and unique ways that we do things. It’s so interesting to me — it’s almost like a cake, we just layer it. Someone comes up with a riff, it could be literally any of us and someone else comes up with lyrics, or sometimes we all come up with different parts. In our music you can hear the different layers, because we’ve got such different personalities. Emi has a very unique way of writing lyrics and singing, and Moriya has a completely different approach.
KER: When we added Tristan and Moriya, it was a really explosive experience. It really came together when we made the song ‘Pulga.’ That was the first song we all wrote together and all had a creative take on. When we heard the baseline, it gave us chills.
MONCRIEF: When I joined the band, I had no experience with drums whatsoever. I made beats on a drum pad, which is not the same thing. I had some experience composing music and mixing, but one day in 2024 Savannah was like, ‘Do you want to try and jam on drums with us?’ And I was like, ‘Sure, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll give it a shot.’ I played a kick and a snare, and Savannah was like, ‘Hey, you should be our new drummer for Blush.’
You’ve played a variety of shows, from the Treefort Trolley to University Pulse’s All Hallows’ Pulse event. What is your favorite part of performing together as a band?
TREHAL: When you have a good performance, that feeling after is just like doing drugs, almost. Experiencing that as a group, and being in a good ass mood laughing together, is my favorite.
CORNEJO: It’s been really cool seeing us gradually improve and almost build a following. I love the connections I’ve made with people through music. I’m not a very social person, but it is really nice to feel like I’ve met a lot of people I would not have had the chance to even talk to through this.
KER: Our first time playing a show in front of people went so bad — the sound guy was messing with our vocals and we were sweating out of pure fear. Going from that to then, pretty much a year later, playing the first show of Treefort is so sick.
BALLANTYNE: Our bond together when we’re on stage is so beautiful. We go through basically the same thing. If we mess up, we all know we mess up, but it’s like a little secret between ourselves. The band makes us even better friends.
MONCRIEF: Seeing the progress we’ve made. We started out playing really small venues, in houses for the most part, and then it turned into a small record shop. Now, we’re playing at the Shredder and the Shrine and we even played Treefort. That is what’s satisfying to me. To do that as a band as well, it’s all the better for me.
What advice would you give someone interested in joining or starting a band?
CORNEJO: Keep at it. We gave up so fast our very first time performing. If we had just chosen to not pick it up again because it was hard the first time, we wouldn’t be here. Being in a band is one of the most embarrassing things you can do. You’re constantly going in front of a bunch of people and essentially saying ‘Here are some things I made. Please like it.’ It’s so embarrassing if you really think about it. The moment you realize it, the moment it gets less scary.
MONCRIEF: There’s keeping at it, and then there’s just going for it. Some people will start and then just stop before it even starts. Just go for it, experiment and just mess around.
BALLANTYNE: Just to keep going at it. Because even if you are playing a super small show, there’s still an opportunity for connections and meeting people that can get you your next show. It’s like a gateway. You can just find people, and we have met a lot of people ever since starting our band. We’ve just progressed so much that we know a lot of people now that are offering shows,
TREHAL: You’re gonna have bad performances, you’re gonna be embarrassed, you’re gonna get irritated with your band members. That’s just all a part of it. Just keep going. It’s not always going to be easy, but just just pursue it.
KER: You’re in a band, and you’ve got to get comfortable with saying that. You got to talk to your grandma and be like, ‘Hey, I’m in a band Grandma, isn’t that cool.’ Be in a band with people you enjoy being around. Don’t be in a band with people who suck and don’t be in a band for the sake of looking cool.
