Hello Rockstars! Today’s Artist of the Week is Pop Punk Band Overbareing!
Here’s their story in their own words, enjoy!
All the beautiful photos courtesy of the amazing Tiffany Salerno, please check out her wonderful work on Instagram!
Also, please save the dates for their upcoming shows for Overbareing that I created a slideshow for:
VMS:
When did you start writing and performing your music.
What’s your backstory and current lineup.
Overbareing:
Okay this is some seriously secret stuff not many people know, but Overbareing actually started as an all girl cover band in October of 2024! Around Halloween time in October we got the opportunity to play at a Halloween show being hosted by another local band, but we didn’t actually have anything to perform or an actual solid band.
A week before the show our lead singer Hunter asked around school searching for a drummer, bassist, and guitarist. She ended up finding some members of what would be Overbareing, however, firstly, we were “Half Past Midnight”. HPM ended up scraping together 2 songs to perform at the halloween show and hosted a backyard show called “The Bonfire Bash” in January.
Due to some complications, HPM lost the original drummer and guitarist and decided it was time to find a new identity, leading to the establishment of the new title, Overbareing. We started writing original music in January of 2025 and became your average garage band getting noise complaints every week, but due to personal reasons we only got the chance to write one original titled “January” before we had a brief separation.
That separation lasted for 5 whole months, until the band reunited in July of 25 with different members, and got the chance to work together and focus on writing again after such a long intermission. After a very brief period of getting back in the groove of things, we wrote 4 originals, and got offered our very first show at Taverna Costera on September 28th. We got the chance to play with some amazing other bands in the scene such as Ovis and Failed Attempt, who we truly have looked up to since our first show together and have major respect and admiration for!
Since our first show, we’ve had some amazing opportunities to play at some of the best venues such as Eagle Aerie Hall, which has been a personal dream of ours since we started. It has definitely been a long and tedious journey, going through 5 guitarists and 3 drummers, but we don’t believe in giving up, and never will.
Our current line up consists of Hunter Tortorello on vocals and guitar, Noah hall on bass, Ysabel Gongora on guitar, and Demetre Miglia on drums. We are all high school students ranging from Freshman to Junior and all truly love writing and performing together. Admittedly, it’s incredibly challenging balancing the band with our academics and extracurriculars, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
VMS:
What artist or bands inspire you and your sound.
Overbareing:
The biggest inspiration for our sound is Paramore. We find ourselves in the sort of “Pop-punk” realm and really feel sparked by the early 2000s sound. Tracks like “That’s What You Get” and “Emergency” by Paramore have such a raw sound that really makes you want to move alongside with a true expression of real emotions upfront and honestly, so much so it can even feel uncomfortable, and that’s the effect we want to have on our audience.
We have built our sound off some core ideas, being loud and free with your emotions and thoughts, even if it feels uncomfortable, and accepting yourself and the storm that can be your mind. Though Paramore may be our biggest and most obvious inspiration, there are more quiet ones that speak more through the instrumentals such as Alex G. who inspires the musical aspect of a lot of our riffs. You can identify it more clearly in how the riffs follow a pretty specific and unique scale structure, often climbing directly up the scale or directly down.
Even some of our drum parts are inspired by bands in completely other genres such as The Smashing Pumpkins. Each member has such similar and unique music taste and style, and we really get the chance to blend them all together and create something true to ourselves. Getting the chance to create music is such a blessing because we have the chance to bring in different inspirations and ideas, and in turn build our own sound and musical identity.
VMS:
What’s your writing process and inspiration for your lyrics.
Overbareing:
When it comes to writing the process really varies depending on the song. Firstly Hunter, our lead singer, usually creates some type of riff and from there formulates both guitar parts as well as a general idea of lyrics and how the song should flow. From there she brings it to the rest of the band and we truly all get to paint the picture together with our instruments.
We usually all sit on the floor of the garage coming up with bass lines and drum parts until something really sticks. It can take us one or two sessions to finish a song because we all seem to be on the same page and know exactly what sound we want the song to have. It is honestly just chance that we all share like-minded ideas and can work together so well, but sometimes it’s not always that smooth.
We disagree with each other, take 2 hour snack breaks instead of rehearsing, and just sit in silence if we need a brain break. It’s really important that each member feels heard and can say that the song reflects them personally as much as it reflects the band as a whole.
VMS:
I love your songs “Athanasy”, “Silver Knuckles”, “Swallow my Pride” and “Vs Heart”.
What is the inspiration or story behind these songs.
Overbareing:
Our lyrics share similar inspirations throughout, and tell very similar narratives, but there’s actually a bit of an unintentional timeline in our discography we didn’t really realize until we started to really analyze our songs to answer this question. The first song we wrote was Athanasy. “Athanasy” as defined means to be immortal. The song describes having eternal love for somebody, but it’s unhealthy and driven by all the wrong reasons. It’s almost a plea to somebody, saying “let’s do this, even if you think I’m not enough, even if we hate each other.” It illustrates obsession, and really shows how though they can be confused, obsession and love are absolutely not the same.
The next on the timeline is “Swallow my Pride”. “Swallow My Pride” was written only a week or two after “Athanasy”, and describes a breaking point in the relationship. This breaking point is most obviously present in the bridge, “The warmer the weather is the more I’ve heard, you’re gone again, you never keep your word. You’re born with it, the greed is in your soul”. It describes a new understanding of the person, realizing they are not who you thought they were.
The next is “Vs. Heart”, which was written a couple months after “Swallow My Pride”. “Vs. Heart” discovers a new point of view of this person, a sort of reality check, coming to a realization of who this person really is.
“Silver Knuckles” has a much happier and more upbeat sound. The name “Silver Knuckles” is inspired by the third line of the second verse, “My flaws wrapped around your fists like silver knuckles”. It discusses feeling less than, and being in a relationship where everything little thing that might be wrong about you is weaponized by the other person as a tool to break you down. It shows a raw sense of awareness, and comes to a revelation that without this tedious relationship, you can flourish; you have to leave behind the relationship in order to grow, and live.
The last song in the timeline is “Semicolon”. Semicolon’s full name is “Love Deliver Us; Rebirth”, which was produced at 10 PM on our bassist’s couch so maybe that explains the unnecessarily long title. The song brings the story to a close, finding a resolution, and a true place of comfort and acceptance. The last lyric of the only/ verse in the song states, “I just want us to be free.” declaring that the relationship truly has to come to an end in order for both people to finally find bliss and move on to something bigger than themselves. “Semicolon” is the end of the story, ending on a note of acceptance.
Listen to Overbareing on YouTube!
VMS:
Which local artist would you like to work with and why.
Overbareing:
The Vegas scene is filled with a crazy variety of bands, each with their own personal sound, and the endless talent truly amazes us. We look up to so many different bands in the scene, and in some way feel like toddlers looking up to their parents, because most of the bands we have already played with have been around for so much longer, playing with other local bands constantly feels like a chance to learn and be guided. The local bands we find a bit more inspiration from are the female fronted ones. Bands like Lunar Chain, Almost November, The X-Flowers, and Appleseed. Honestly any of the femme fronted bands inspire us, and we would love to work with them.
VMS:
What’s your overall theme or message of your music.
Overbareing:
Our music has a wide variety of “sub-themes”, like heart break, resentment, love, hate; the average cliche teenage experience. However, the overall theme seems to be acknowledging the feelings you may feel overwhelmed by, and giving them a platform to be present without shutting them away or trying to push them down. While coming up with the lyrics for our songs it was always a point of ours to write with a sense of honesty, and vulnerability, even if it felt embarrassing to share the emotions we were portraying in our songs. Through the writing process, we’ve gotten to be more in tune with ourselves and we see music as an oasis to communicate feelings and thoughts that would be hard otherwise to share.
VMS:
Do you have a favorite song that you like to perform.
Overbareing:
Without a doubt, “Silver Knuckles” is our favorite song to perform! “Silver Knuckles” is by far our most upbeat song, and we love seeing the audience move around. In the middle of “Silver Knuckles”, during the bridge, all the instruments cut out except for Hunter and her guitar. As she sings through the bridge Noah picks up the tambourine and begins shaking it to a beat.
At the end of the bridge Noah hands it to a random audience member and invites them to come up on stage with the tambourine and jam with us through the last chorus of the song. The last chorus also has 4 lines of call and response between the band and the audience. We enjoy it so much because it has the most interaction with our audience members, and those interactions really mean the world to us.
VMS:
Do you have any crazy or interesting stories from working in the music scene.
Overbareing:
At our last show we had a protest happening behind us while we played our set. We were performing at Taverna Costera in the courtyard, and the protest route was right behind the courtyard just as we were about to begin our first song. We weren’t quite sure what to do because we felt playing music over their protesting felt disrespectful and silencing. Because we were not the last band in the schedule we realized we had to continue the show to avoid conflict and timing issues for the bands after us. Our lead singer made a statement to the protesters and apologized for playing over them but the show had to go on over the mic, so they knew the loud music wasn’t meant in a disrespectful manner. She remarked at the end “Free Palestine” before signaling the band to start the song.
The protest behind us honestly made us feel emotional during the set. We believe punk, and any form of alternative music, has always been based on the beliefs of human rights and equality. Human rights are natural rights for every person on this earth, disregarding any gender, race, or ethnic difference. Playing during the protest was so challenging for us because we stand so heavily with the ideas of love, acceptance, and peace without war. The atrocities occurring in Palestine, Iran, the Congo, and every country feeling the pressures of war and violence should have the attention of every single person, as well as the atrocities occurring within our own country, with evil corporations, greedy CEOs, lying politicians, and violent organizations such as ICE. We believe love always wins, never hate.
VMS:
What does the future hold for Overbareing.
Overbareing:
Right now, we truly are just taking it one step at a time. We still feel very new and are still getting used to the atmosphere of playing shows, and being in the scene in general, We’ve received a lot of amazing offers to play out of state, and even different managing offers from agencies, but we know we are still trying to discover our sound and style, and finding our true personality and individuality is much more important to us than playing big shows or being signed somewhere. In the near future we hope to get into the studio and record our music.
It’s hard as a young band to try to make things such as recording happen when having to consider things like production and cost, (so if anyone has any studio recommendations let us know!), but recording is something we’ve been itching to do. We’re going to continue to play rockin shows though, and we are excited to see where exactly this journey of music will lead us.
VMS:
What have been your personal pros and cons of being a band here in Las Vegas. What do you think the scene could improve on and what are your hopes for the future of the Vegas Music Scene.
Overbareing:
The Vegas music scene has so many pros. At least from our experience, we’ve been given so many opportunities since our very first show back in September. It really seems like the people behind the scenes want to see the bands in the scene succeed, and we’ve always felt so supported by the people who have given us a chance and a platform to share our art. The dynamic between the bands performing always feels so positive and it truly feels like a family-like community; we’ve never had a bad experience with fellow bands, venue owners, or bookers.
However, it seems within the Vegas scene safety is not always the first priority, when it definitely should be. It’s easy to think that because we are in a city that is so widely structured for adults, the safety of minors is a bit less of a concern, but if anything it should be at the top of the list. The scene is such a cool community because it’s a place where everyone can be welcomed and accepted. All demographics should feel safe, and shouldn’t be in danger while going to a local all ages show. The key to a successful scene is a safe community.
VMS:
What do you want your audience to feel and experience at one of your live shows.
Overbareing:
Honestly, above all else, we truly just want our audience to just have fun while at one of our shows. Seeing the audience dance along to our songs brings us so much joy and really fuels us to keep writing and performing. It feels so rewarding to be able to create music that makes people feel happy, and we love the atmosphere of excitement and just overall enjoyment. The audience really makes our shows feel like a blast, and we look forward to each and everyone our of shows.
For more information about Overbareing, please visit their Website!
—-VMS 😉