Prussia are a four piece fusion. Nate, Shealeigh, Julian, and Gabe blend rich notes of funk, jazz, and rock for a mellow coffeehouse experience with a kick.

 

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Natalie Durkin (TribeLA Magazine): Give yourself and your work a tagline and tell us why.

Prussia: “Fresh but familiar”. We draw influence from music that has existed in the past, but we put our modern twist on it. We love old funk, soul, motown, and rock, but we also love pop and hip hop and take all of our favorite styles and make our own.

 

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ND: What got you started in music? What is the reason you are here today?

Nate (guitarist in Prussia): My mom put me in baseball and other activities growing up but, when I was 12, I needed something new to do and started playing guitar. After the first lesson I became obsessed and learned every chord I could. When it was time to choose a college to go to, I found Musicians Institute in Hollywood, which offered contemporary music degrees. That’s where all of us met. Good thing I quit baseball!

 

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ND: How do you hope to influence your audience?

Shealeigh (singer in Prussia): We hope people can hear how much fun we’re having when they listen to our music. We’re just 4 best friends playing fun music that we love, so we hope people can hear that energy through our music. We take music seriously but, ultimately it was all of our first loves, so we want to rekindle that love and pass it on.

 

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ND: What do you do when your creativity is blocked?

Prussia: We use our good ol’ music school tricks! And if all else fails, listen to some of our favorites to get re-inspired!

 

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ND: What fires you up and gives you energy?

Prussia: Seeing people dance during our live shows is always so energizing. We’ve played some “eclectic” places, but, as long as the audience is grooving, the show is a success!

 

 

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ND: Can you tell us a little known fact?

Prussia: A lot of our songs start on piano! Even though our rhythm section is guitar, bass, and drums, we write a lot of songs on piano first. It helps us get out of a rut if we’re ever sonically tired.

Gabe, our bass player, looks very innocent and shy when you meet him. But he is actually the most talkative and funniest of us all. Nate thinks that after around 9pm, the true Gabe awakens. He is ridiculous and hilarious and we laugh so hard.

 

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ND: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles and why?

Shealeigh: Is it cheesy to say anywhere when we’re together? No, but, actually we do always have a good time together. A favorite memory was taking Gabe (our bass player from Venezuela) to Krispy Kreme for the first time. He was completely mesmerized by the whole process and when he finally ate that fresh donut his eyes got huge and he basically melted into happiness.

 

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ND: How do you make music? Briefly chronicle your creative process.

Prussia: We write completely collaboratively. We start with an idea that one of us came up with and fill in the blanks. We finish the song, then go back and arrange it and see how we can make it exciting from start to finish.

 

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ND: What is coming up?

Prussia: We have new songs coming out this year and will be playing some awesome live shows! Check out our website for our upcoming shows.

 

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ND: Describe your style – musically and otherwise.

Julian (drummer in Prussia): We are a mix of funk, soul, pop and a sprinkle of jazz. We describe ourselves as “West Coast Funk” because our music draws inspiration from diverse sources but, at the end of the day, it still has a funk core. 

 

 

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ND: What is the best advice you’ve received and the best advice you can impart onto us?

Shealeigh: “You gotta put on a show, the music is incidental”. My dad was a performer and taught me to sing, so I try to honor him every time I go on stage by channeling his carefree rockstar persona in my own performances. At the end of the day, people want to escape from whatever they spent their week doing and just want to have a good time. Music and, especially live music, is that escape for so many people and if you can feel even a little bit of the carefree energy that my dad had, then I’ve done my job.

 

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ND: Any closing words?

Prussia: Let’s be friends! Check out our Instagram, Facebook page, and website to talk to us! You can also follow us on Twitter for some funny quotes from Gabe.

 

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