Earlier this month, up-and-coming energetic pop-punk band Taking Meds hit the road with Weakened Friends and Elder Brother in support of Microwave. Microwave was supposed to tour with Elder Brother back in the spring of 2020, so this tour, or some iteration of it, had been in the works for a while.
Things finally came to fruition starting in September of 2021, with the bands making stops in in Atlanta, GA, Columbus, OH, Grand Rapids, MI, Chicago, IL, Ferndale, MI, Lakewood, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Buffalo, NY, Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, Columbia, SC, and Nashville, TN. I was lucky enough to catch this lineup at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY, on October 8th, and my super talented photographer friend Abby Clare shot the show at House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ on October 7th.
I was able to interview Taking Meds' guitarist and vocalist Skylar Sarkis on this run, where we chatted about the tour, the band's new album, and what's next for them. Keep reading to check out our conversation along with Abby's photo gallery!
Jennifer Moglia: Thanks so much for doing this! Could you introduce yourself to the readers?
Skylar Sarkis: I’m Skylar and I live in Rochester, NY, along with our guitarist Ben. Our drummer Alex lives in Manchester, New Hampshire and our bassist Jon lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
JM: Congratulations on the tour with Microwave, Elder Brother, and Weakened Friends! How has that been going? What's it like to be on the road after such a long period without live music?
SS: Thank you. Going out and playing again definitely felt great. It seems like people have a renewed enthusiasm for live music. Microwave was really kind to ask us to come on these dates and it’s for sure been the highlight of our year.
JM: For anyone who doesn't listen to you yet, how would you describe your sound? What song would you say sums up Taking Meds the best (the first song someone should listen to of yours)?
SS: That's a tough question. I think we draw heavily from various 90s sounds (Merge Records, some mid-period Discord bands) but I don’t think our sound has much uniformity to it. Listen to "Lifesaver" because it’s new and it’s streaming now and that’s what 2022 is gonna be about!
JM: Speaking of 2022, with 2021 almost over, what are you most proud of from this year? What are you most looking forward to for next year?
SS: I’m proud of my friends in this band for how hard they’ve worked and I’m glad we’ve gotten to see it pay off on this most recent tour. We played some very fun shows, Boston was a highlight. I imagine the new LP coming out will also be a highlight.
JM: Thank you again for taking the time to talk with me! Is there anything else you want to add?
SS: We all play in other bands - check out Who Decides, Val Verde, Growing Stone, Miles Paralysis, and Highway Sniper. Jon [Markson] is an engineer and has worked on some pretty awesome shit (Drug Church, Soul Blind) recently, check that out too. You can pre-order our new record "Terrible News From Wonderful Men" via Smartpunk Records, and it'll be streaming everywhere on November 19th.
Photo Gallery by Abby Clare
Huge thanks to Taking Meds for putting on some great shows and allowing Abby and I to work with them on this! You can follow them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, all @TakingMedsMusic. Be sure to check out their new album "Terrible News From Wonderful Men", which you can pre-order using the link above the gallery.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to Abby Clare who is an incredibly talented photographer! You can follow her on Twitter @_AClare and Instagram @Abby.Clare; you can check out her portfolio and book her for shoots on her website or by emailing her.
What releases do you want to see us review next, and what artists do you want to see us talk to next? Let us know by tweeting us @StrawbSkiesBlog! You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook @StrawberrySkiesBlog, and listen to us on the radio every Thursday from 3:00-4:00 PM EST via WQAQ 98.1 FM, The Soundtrack of Quinnipiac University.