NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS
NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS is the newest pop music dream team bound for industry success. Made up of four college friends,— Gabi Gotts, Perrin Xthona, Tammy Gonzalez, and Nathaniel Clay— the group produces a sound unlike any other, likely due to their diverse set of musical influences and upbringings. “We usually write for other artists, but the songs we were writing together were so weird that the only way they would see the light of day is if we released them ourselves,” Perrin said. “So we started a band together and here we are.” NTMC worked throughout the pandemic to make their Spotify debut earlier this year. A self-titled EP features three tracks, including their most popular song, “bev hills.” It was an instant head-turner for us; clever lyrics paired with an infectious chorus are simply too hard to miss. The release was a hit amongst their listening audience, too, earning the group over 225k collective streams and spots on multiple Spotify-curated playlists. The best part of being in a group? “…Hands down is that we don’t have to do this by ourselves haha,” Perrin continued. “…it’s so nice working in a group where we can keep all the crazy lines that would normally get turned down in other sessions.” We recently spoke to NTMC about their unique aesthetic, favorite past-times, and more!
What’s up NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS! Thank you again for doing this. I think it’s best if we just start by going around introducing ourselves a bit. How did each of you get started making music?
Gabi: Hey, I’m Gabi!! :) I grew up in the UK and took piano, violin, and voice lessons. I started writing songs at age 8 (about cutting edge concepts such as pillow fights and skiing, obvi) and when I moved to San Francisco, CA in 9th grade, I started taking music production and engineering classes at my high school. I got a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and majored in songwriting and production there. As soon as I learned that writing songs for other artists were an actual career choice, I was totally sold. Of course, now I spend a good chunk of my time writing for NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS, but I think the reason that I love writing for our artist project so much is that we don’t have to worry about whether or not the tone of the song fits another artist -- because now we’re the artists, which is SO much fun!
Nathaniel: Hey! I’m Nathaniel, I do all the production for the band. I first got into music by playing saxophone in middle school. Later on, in middle school and high school, I was exposed to dubstep, EDM, and hip-hop, and I was like, “I really wanna learn how to do this.” I started off producing music on this free website called Audiotool, and then for my birthday freshman year of high school, I got Ableton. From there I got exposed to pop music in college and started working with a lot of songwriters, which is how I met these guys. We all vibe like super well together, and we all like a lot of the same music, so I think having some sort of project together was inevitable in the end.
Tammy: Hey I’m Tammy! I grew up in New York, started taking piano lessons when I was 7 and taught myself guitar when I was 12. At that point, I was just writing really emo music in my room from age 13 up until I got into Berklee. In college, I kinda fell into pop writing and just started writing music with friends and fun people I met through school. Songwriters like Julia Michaels, Ali Tamposi, Sasha Sloan, and Amy Allen made me realize that songwriting was even a career. I also just really look up to songwriters who write songs for other people and have their own artist project at the same time. Being able to do both is important to me. The NTMC stuff is dope because we all love the writing process so much, and it means I get to release music with my friends (:
Perrin: Hiiii I'm Perrin :)) I grew up on a goat farm in Oregon, and as a kid, I wrote a ton of emo poetry that would definitely make my parents worried for my mental health if they ever saw it lmao. That eventually turned into songwriting. I grew up listening to my older sister’s Spice Girls and Britney Spears CDs, so I’ve always been super inspired by pop music. Through Berklee, I had the chance to start writing with my friends and doing fun stuff like the NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS project :))
Anything in all caps is always an eye-catcher. What’s the meaning behind your name?
Tammy: It’s actually really funny that you ask that because it’s totally a TikTok meme.
Perrin: We were obsessed with the trend that went like, “you have to start thinking of yourself as the main character in your life”, and thought it would be hilarious to name our band “NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS”, since we’re all songwriters/producers and usually spend our time writing for other artists.
Gabi: The all caps was just for funsies :)
What an aesthetic you guys have, haha. With that said, it’s actually sick. Is this something that you came up with together?
Nathaniel: To be completely honest, our virtual-style aesthetic is a function of quarantine. We all live in different states and exist fully on Zoom, so we had to get creative with promo material like photoshoots and album art.
Tammy: The idea of using the memojis as our aesthetic came from the fact that we’re constantly messaging our group chat. We definitely think our memoji characters channel our personalities better than a photo ever could.
What made 2020 the year the start releasing music together?
Gabi: I think 2020 is just the year of the “fuck it” attitude. We were writing together on Zoom a bunch and every session would end up with a google doc filled with existential nihilistic thoughts, haha.
Perrin: We usually write for other artists, but the songs we were writing together were so weird that the only way they would see the light of day is if we released them ourselves. So we started a band together and here we are :))
Clearly, you did something right here in “bev hills”-- congrats on the recent success of the song! How does one conclude that they want to “die in Beverly Hills”? (What’s the backstory behind the song?)
Tammy: Last year, I was walking down a street in Boston talking about LA culture, and made a joke to a friend about wanting to die in Beverly Hills. I had the concept for months till I brought it up in one of our sessions back in June. We all thought it was sick and just related hardcore.
What is the best part of making music as a group?
Perrin: Best part hands down is that we don’t have to do this by ourselves haha. But for real though, it’s so nice working in a group where we can keep all the crazy lines that would normally get turned down in other sessions.
What does NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS do on your day off?
Nathaniel: In our free time we usually get together on zoom and play Jackbox Games. We also have a big group chat with a bunch of our friends to organize Among Us sessions which have been super fun.
Perrin: Really just waiting for Corpse to end up in a game with us.
Gabi: Haha, to be honest though, sometimes we’ll plan a writing session and just end up going on two-hour tangents about life & whether aliens exist whilst eating cheez-its lol. That’s me. I’m the one eating cheez-its -- although sometimes Tammy joins me.
Describe your music in just three words.
Quirky. Existential. notlikeothergurlz.
If each of you could have one superpower, what would they be and why?
Gabi: I’ve always wanted a pause button. Kinda like in Over The Hedge when RJ gives Hammy a caffeinated drink. He then runs so fast around the world that it pauses, giving him time to calmly walk through the suburban garden and deactivate the motion sensor laser so the animals can replenish their food cart and return it to the scary bear.
Tammy: Does immortality count because I'm scared to die (‘:
Nathaniel: Flying, just cause it looks fun as hell.
Perrin: To go invisible in awkward situations lmao
Lastly, what’s next for NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS?
Definitely new music! We’re hoping to release new songs near the beginning of 2021!!