Aphids As Lovers are a Sacramento, California based rock n roll band who incorporate aspects of post punk, art rock, garage rock and noise over the coarse of their debut seven song release known as the “Rosa Mortem Demos”.
I caught up with band members Zack Willis, Michael Dorrian, Avery McPherson and Christian Meinke to talk about their earliest musical experiences, how they started writing their own songs and their debut release.
CMM- What was the first music that really made an impact on you all as kids and what artist or band did you enjoy the most?
Zack: My parents played a lot of Soundgarden and ELO, then eventually I found My Chemical Romance, which is a progression I think pretty much sums everything up.
Dorrian: I don’t think I liked an artist other than Billy Joel or Herman’s Hermits until I was like, 11 years old. In middle school I went to my first concert, Cage the Elephant with As Tall as Lions and Morning Teleportation as openers. That definitely opened the doors for me getting into the alt rock world (generally speaking).
Avery: As a kid I listened to a lot of core 70s & 80s punk. Descendants, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Minor Threat were huge for me.
CMM-When did everyone start playing music and writing songs and what eventually led to the formation of the band?
Zack: In 8th grade I told my dad in the car that I wanted to play guitar and he was so stoked for me to get a hobby that he turned around and drove me to the mall immediately to buy a guitar. Didn’t start writing songs til sometime in college. Didn’t start playing real shows until post-college, and then finally started my own band shortly after my first two solo shows. Did that for a few years, then moved out here, started a band with some people I had just met (one of them being Dorrian) and then that band fizzled out, but by that point I had met so many people I had a generally good idea of who I wanted to play music with next. Avery had some riffs written that I really wanted to sing over; Dorrian and I had worked really well together in our last band and we were really eager to write songs together; Christian was a no-brainer, just straight up one of the most interesting drummers in Sac. You just know at a bare minimum if Christian is going to be in your band, you’re not going to be boring.
Dorrian: My dad’s a musician, he’s definitely where wanting to play music started for me. Picked up a guitar around 12 years old or so, never really did much with it but by my first year out of high school I was pretty in the Columbus, Ohio DIY scene, so I knew by the time I moved to Sac that I wanted to play in bands. I feel like there’s not a lot of room to join local bands as a middling guitarist, haha. Like, you’re either good at singing and songwriting and start a band around that (like Zack) or you’re an absolute shredder that everyone wants to recruit because you rock (like Avery). Picking up the bass came in clutch there because the floor is really low but the ceiling’s sky high. After our last band broke up, me and Zack continuing to play together wasn’t even a question. Avery had subbed in for me for a few shows and we were all familiar with his skills. Christian’s been one of my best friends for years and, yeah, like Zack said, we’d have been out of our minds not to ask them to join.
Avery: Around 6th grade I started playing nirvana covers with my best friend at the time. We played an open mic when we were like 12 but it was just guitar, bass, and vocals. Later on after high school I played in some bands but didn’t start really writing and recording material until covid left me with nothing to do. After Zack was left band-less in the summer of 2024, I told him I had interest in starting up some sort of project and that I had these riffs and demos going back to early covid. One thing led to another and we formed the full band, got a rehearsal space, and started to write material as a full band.
CMM-You all recently released “The Rosa Mortem Demos”. What was the writing and recording process like? What gear and instruments did you use during the sessions?
Zack: Our process is fully democratic and collaborative. We make sure we try out every idea, no matter how big or small, even if we think it might be ridiculous. There’s no reason not to. For my own parts, this is definitely the project I’m the most proud of vocally and lyrically. Most of the words & vocal melodies came very stream-of-consciousness, but through that, unraveled an overarching exploration of the emotional and societal consequences of complacency—whether through depression, capitalism, technological dependence, or emotional isolation—all with a generally optimistic take.
Dorrian: Writing with this group has been the most challenging and rewarding creative experience of my life thus far. I think there’s a reason most bands have one or maybe two primary songwriters that kind of take point, and everyone else flushes out their own parts after the fact. Composing and structuring every song as a team definitely takes way longer. It tests your communication skills and requires a lot of trust in your abilities and those of your bandmates. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. This process has allowed us to create something where each of our influences are present in the final product. I think we’re making something really unique and this sometimes grueling consensus based writing process is a huge part of why.
Avery: Our writing process can’t really be defined in one way or another. Sometimes it’s a riff that I bring to the group that I wrote in my free time, other times it’s a jam that progresses into a song. I think Zack and Dorrian covered it pretty well – it’s very democratic and really a group effort.
CMM-If the band could do a score for any film director, who would it be and what would the film be about?
Christian: An early John Carpenter movie where a space exploration team is forced to wander the cosmos without bathing tissue while reminiscing their childhood surfing days.
Dorrian: Conductor’s cabin footage of a scenic train ride down the Pacific coastline from Alaska to Chile
Avery: I like the music Edgar Wright picks. It would probably be about capitalism
Zack: I think I would do okay at scoring a rom-com.
CMM-What do you all have coming up next? Any new recordings or shows?
Zack-Next up we have a show at The Red Museum in Sac on 6/28 with Rainbow City Park, Pancho and the Wizards, and Shunkan. Outside of that, we’re just working on writing new stuff and using these demos to refine the stuff we have, then eventually we’ll start recording. Just want to get more time under our belts.
Avery: Always riffing
