Common Girl

Portland is home to new music, weird art, and the invention of some creative new genres; Portland is also home to the band Common Girl who may be inventing a new genre. They call it Emogaze. They take inspiration from Shoegaze bands- Shoegaze is a style of alternative rock that sounds almost futuristic, a little spacey while blending 70's psychedelic sounds into a modern, heavily melodic, alternative pop rock feel. Common Girl is taking this Shoegaze style into a darker, heavier sound that is equally influenced by the other bands in the DIY hardcore and metal scene in Portland. Emogaze melts that melodic poppy feel and brings forth the more psychedelic rhythm driven sound that Shoegaze is not exactly known for. 

Common Girl has brought this sound into the Portland music scene this year with their first EP: Chíc. The EP is raw and loud. The band played with synths a lot to bring in the more traditional Shoegaze sound. The band is currently working on a new album that is set to be released in late winter of 2022. The album will be preceded by a couple of singles. The first single off the album, will be out in early January and will be accompanied by Common Girl's first music video. While they rushed Chíc in an effort to get some original music out, the album and double single will be a more well rounded sound. The first single is their first professionally mixed song and the boys feel as though the album as a whole is something they are truly proud to be putting out. 

The members of Common Girl all got into music in different ways. Their musical origin stories shape Common Girl's sound. Colin Jorgensen has always had an interest in music due to being surrounded by it his whole life. While he went through different hobbies he always came back to music, finding it to be the only hobby that provided any sense of fulfillment. Damien Monroy did not have the slight advantage given to Jorgensen by growing up in a musically talented family. He figured it out all on his own by getting into The Beatles in middle school and wanting to play for the sole purpose of playing Beatles covers. It was not until late high school that he realized there was more to playing music than learning cover songs. He began writing his own music and found great passion in the craft. Dustin Holtz became very interested in talking about music, he did not have much of an interest in playing until he realized he could still talk about music and what people loved listening to and also making his own music. Holtz got into playing when he began to develop his own taste in music. Common Girl's sound is honed in with passion and ever growing and developing personal tastes that get brought together and blended. 

In the coming year Common Girl plans to continue playing more shows, creating more music together and supporting other artists in their local scene.