Conversations with Guest Bed

Today we’d like to introduce you to Guest Bed.

Hi Josh, Ethan, & Brooks, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us! To start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Of course – thanks for having us!

We (Ethan and Brooks) first met at a wedding some years prior and had joked about starting a pop-punk band. Neither of us recall thinking it would ever actually happen, but then Ethan moved to Baltimore from DC and reached out. We started trading demos back and forth, and when we met Josh a few months later on a regional DIY Punk Facebook group, it was a natural fit.

In February 2022, we co-released a split with our friends Roraima, and then Fallen from the Same Family Tree in June. Now, after numerous shows around the DMV, and selling out all merch, Guest Bed represents to us an optimistic force that has outlasted the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re about overcoming self-doubt, spilling our nerdy guts, and finding joy where you can. It’s those themes that keep us united, and is in everything we do, sometimes unintentionally.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story. Has it been an easy path overall? If not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes and no. For three almost strangers, it’s shocking even to ourselves how well we work together. Each of us brings a unique perspective to songwriting, and we’re all open to feedback. Sure, we’ve dealt with gear breaking at the venue, cars getting stuck on the side of the road, difficulty scheduling and switching practice spaces multiple times, etc., but we’ve stayed positive and kept moving forward. It took us a full year of playing whatever gig we could get before we made any money, which isn’t something we were ever really pursuing, but it felt amazing when it happened. Our “glue” is more in the process than the product. It doesn’t hurt though that we like our songs.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
We like to jump around, play loud, laugh, and have fun. Our style could probably be best described as rock, pop punk, and emo, but we’re pulling ideas from a lot of different genres: classic rock, hip-hop, indie, folk, ska, etc. Our lyrics are honest with a bit of sarcasm and dark humor, and having essentially two trained drummers in the band means there is a heavy consideration for rhythm. We don’t strive to sound exactly like our favorite artists, and we think that’s a good thing.

Any big plans?
Individually, we feel like we’ve finally caught up with Guest Bed’s early achievements and have an opportunity to be more intentional about the choices we make next. There were some major victories to celebrate last year, and we want to keep that ball rolling while increasing the quality of content we produce. We’ve started writing new songs, fine-tuning the ones we’ve been performing, and are looking to record again very soon.

Coming up on Friday, March 3rd, we are playing with Soul Meets Body, American Television, and Panic Problem at Holy Frijoles in Hampden. This Feed the Scene show is our first in 2023, and we couldn’t have asked for a more banger bill to start the new year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/guestbed_md
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/guestbed_md
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/guest-bed
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/12iON8IvHYvicA2RruXIM3

Image Credits
Hannah Benoit Owens
Stephan Starkes
Matt Jackson
Rachel Taft