Singer-songwriter Maggie Cubillos is preparing to pick up her diploma from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, but first she has released the hauntingly beautiful new single “Slow Motion.” The SoCal raised and New England sharpened artist will be found performing this evening at The Viper Room, but was first willing to spend some time with TGEFM for a Roll of the Dice interview.
Congrats in advance on the release of “Slow Motion.” What was the process like in fleshing out that song and bringing it to life?
The process of bringing “Slow Motion” to life was so much fun! I wrote the song last October while I was studying abroad in Spain. I had this realization that just because I was in a new environment didn’t mean I was gonna automatically heal from the things I was dealing with back home. I think in my mind I had thought I could just run away from my feelings but healing isn’t linear. Then once I was back home in LA I brought the song to my producer Steve Ornest and we spent a few months figuring out what we wanted to do for the track and recorded it over a few days. Working with him is always so fun and I love how it all turned out.
What should our readers know about you and your music?
My songs are super lyric focused and I loveee writing about personal stories and emotions. Connecting with people is the whole reason I do music and finding people who resonate with my songs and have gone through similar things is so so special. My songs come from my heart and I love sharing bits of it with anyone who’ll listen.
You grew up in Southern California, but went to school at Berklee in Boston (congrats on the approaching commencement!). How have each of those cities (and the music scenes) influenced your songwriting?
Thank you!! Both cities have impacted my music sooo much. I grew up in LA surrounded by so much music and I definitely think the layed back lifestyle and sunshine have influenced myself and my music so much in terms of style. Moving to Boston was such a shift and I’ve been really inspired by all my peers at Berklee. I’ve been able to surround myself with so many different genres and it was Berklee that really inspired me to start writing songs in the first place. I don’t think I would have started writing if it weren’t for some of my songwriting classes and professors there.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should know about?
Some of my recent favorite artists are Jensen Mcrae, Grace Enger, and Carol Ades! They’ve all been inspiring my sound and writing a ton recently and I’m a big fan of everything they’ve been putting out recently. I really admire them as songwriters as well as musicians so I highly recommend checking out their music!
What’s next for you after the release of “Slow Motion”?
I hope to release a larger project within the next year and some more singles too! I have one more show in LA at The Viper Room on August 17 before I head back to Boston.
Was there anything we missed or that you’d like to put more focus on?
If anyone is in the LA area come out to my show at The Viper Room Acoustic Lounge August 17!
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
