Beat 4 Beat

The music of Hi-Strung has the ability to
HAUNT your dreams,
INSPIRE your desires,
and LIFT your spirits...

Formed and created in 2011 in Denver, CO by songwriter, vocalist, and bassist Samantha Doom Donen. The music is best described as dark pop featuring viola, cello, piano and organ with a rock trio foundation of bass, electric guitar, heavy drums. the girls... Samantha Doom~ bass and main vocals & Brooke Crawford ~ cello and vocal harmonies...the boys... Tay Hamilton ~ electric guitar and vocal harmonies, Anthony Limon ~ viola, piano and vocal harmonies & Mikey Klein ~ drums and vocal harmonies. Hi-Strung were produced in 2014 by an emmy and grammy award winning team led by Lance Bendiksen, mixed by Brian Malouf, and mastered by Dominick Maita.

Production Credits:
Produced by Lance Bendiksen
Recorded at Side 3 Studios & Ridge Room
Mixed by Brian Malouf
Mastered at Airshow by Dominick Maita


Get to know a Denver band: Hi-Strung
Written by Alli Andress. Published Jan. 16, 2015 on AXS.Com.
Link to article: http://www.axs.com/news/get-to-know-a-denver-band-hi-strung-37179

"Samantha Doom, bass player, main vocalist, and bandleader of Denver based Hi-Strung, virtually explodes with excitement, enthusiasm, and pride when she discusses the love of her band. She speaks candidly with AXS in this exclusive interview, Doom’s contagious zeal permeates the conversation with inspiration as she asserts that she’s in it for the love of the music, not for the paycheck. Get better acquainted with Samantha Doom and Hi-Strung before catching them live on Thursday, January 22, at City Hall for the Denver RAW Artists Event: Visionary.

AXS: Are you Denver natives? If not, where is everyone originally from?
Samantha Doom: Our cellist, Brooke Crawford, and our guitarist, Tay Hamilton, were both born and raised in Denver, Colorado. Anthony Limon, Hi-Strung’s viola and piano player, was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado. Our drummer, Mikey Klein, was born and raised in North Dakota and moved to Denver in 1997. As for myself, Samantha Doom, I was born in Toronto, Ontario Canada and raised tossing back and forth between NYC, New Jersey, and Toronto. When I was thirteen years old, I became a Dual U.S./Canadian citizen. I moved to Denver in 1998 after an amazing experience of getting to travel and tour as a sound and light tech for six years with bands, theatre troupe’s, and events and musicals throughout the world. I moved to Denver because I was hired as the lighting director at the Gothic Theatre when it re-opened in 1998.

AXS: What brought Hi-Strung together?
Samantha: Well, that is a weighted question only because the lineup of Hi-Strung has gone through three cello players, three drummers, two guitarists, two viola players, and one violinist. The best answer I can give is that Hi-Strung started when I decided to actualize the music I had been composing for many years prior. In 2010, I began seeking out classical artists in Denver who also understood the dynamics of playing in a rock band. It took me a year to get the musical arrangements together, while I was touring as a bass player in The Overcasters. In spring of 2011, I stopped playing in the Overcasters because I had secured my first player in Hi-Strung, she was a cellist, and I wanted to focus all my attention on the music I was writing. The first cellist was perfect because she was classically trained like myself and also understood how to excel as a rock artist. After having my first string player, the cellist, in spring 2011, I gathered my troops to create the sound I envisioned for Hi-Strung with friends and musicians that I knew in Denver.
Unfortunately, my original cellist, Becky Christian, moved out of state. But I had great joy in playing with the second cellist, Danielle Wells. Before Wells left Hi-Strung in July 2013, she found me a cello replacement and formally introduced me to Brooke Crawford. I had always admired Crawford for being a bad ass Denver musician with mad skills on bass. It was musical love at first note playing with Brooke Crawford on cello. Crawford’s experience as a bassist translated well to her rocking style of cello playing, and we play really well together because of the strengths of our similarities.
The most unfavorable changes to the band occurred at two very crucial times. In 2013, the guitarist and violinist quit the band simultaneously while we were finishing up the debut EP and marketing for the CD release show. I had no guitarist at the CD release and things were so volatile between the violinist and I that I had to start immediately working on who would be the my next viola player just one week after our CD release. I got lucky and found (Jeremy Barber) He was a pro! He saved the band by taking the job. The former guitarist and violinist quit the band right at the moment when I needed them most to pursue their own band. It was a hard time emotionally and financially but I knew I needed to move forward.
In 2014, the next gripping lineup change occurred a month before I was scheduled to record and perform a big festival with my band. The drummer and second viola player quit simultaneously because neither wanted to work with our producer. They felt they no longer shared the vision we had been working toward for one year. That viola player was replaced by our current viola player, Anthony Limon, who is beautifully classically trained and doubles as a pianist in our band. I had to pay to bring in two professional drummers: one, Mikey Klein, to perform the festival and UMS show that Hi-Strung had already confirmed and the other, George Horn, to focus on learning the songs to record with us.
During that shift, our producer brought in an old friend of mine, Tay Hamilton, on guitar to record with us. Crawford and I were thrilled to get to work with Hamilton. He decided to stay in the band after we were done recording. Our live drummer, Mikey Klein, decided to stay in Hi-Strung after playing a couple shows with us. He’s a total team player musically, even though he did not have the opportunity to record drums with us. He plans to in the future. Klein also contributed a piano line on ‘Refraction’. He worked with Limon to write a haunting, hair-raising piano melody that did not exist in the composition before he suggested it.
So, outside of Brooke Crawford who has been playing cello with me in Hi-Strung since July 2013, all the other members of Hi-Strung have only been playing with us for 6 months. Honestly it feels great to have this set of artists in Hi-Strung and I hope they stay and find their passions in Hi-Strung. They are truly amazing musicians and even better people!

AXS: How long has Hi-Strung been together?
Samantha: Hi-Strung, the name of the band, has been together since June 2011. Originally, when I was a soloist, the band was called Samantha Doom Blows Up the Band. I originally had blow up dolls for bandmates. So, when I had my first full lineup of cello, violin, drums, myself on bass and lead vocals….I felt it was time to shelve my beloved blow up dolls. The dolls, Norm and Missy Misfit, went in a suitcase as well as that name for the band. I was working on the same job with DJ Cut Chemist at this time in my life. He was naming his tour and I was naming my band. We exchanged names we were both considering for our projects and he suggested I call my band "Hi hypen Strung". I liked it and went home that night after work and immediately claimed the website domain hi-strung.com. It was the start of the next adventure.

AXS: What have you learned during the time Hi-Strung has been together?
Samantha: What have I learned? What haven’t I learned??? [Laughs] God, being the leader of a band has taught me so much! From being a better musician to tackling how to deal with pressure with grace and class. It is a ton of work and can sometimes feel like a very lonely place to be. Over the years, I have definitely learned an appreciation for believing in myself even in those hard moments, when no one, believes in me. I have learned to hold on to my vision and be kind to myself. And most importantly, I’ve always treated my bandmates like gold. I appreciate every second I get with my band members and I love them! I value the essence of Hi-Strung’s music journey as it's happening. I have learned it is equally important to share my visions and look to the future as well as live in the present moment musically and in life.
As a musician, I have learned it is very difficult to create a fusion between classical and rock musicians. Before Hi-Strung, I was mainly playing bass in rock groups so half the time we talked in parts not measures and played by ear. So, it was a crazy ride for me as a musician and songwriter to present the music to Hi-Strung when half the group (classical players) wanted to talk in music theory and the other half (rock players) wanted to play by ear. It was a pinnacle moment in my third year when I realized I could not cater to both sides anymore if I wanted to get anything done at rehearsals. With the direction the music was going at that point, it was clearly going to be classical music theory. It changed the types of musicians who play with me in Hi-Strung and I’m quite satisfied with how it is working out. It brings a higher caliber of talent and more serious musicians to the band. It reminds me of when I played first chair clarinet in orchestra as a child and the great fun I had in orchestra rehearsals.
I love that my aspirations for Hi-Strung are being realized. It was a true balancing of my formative years as a classical music student and my performance years on bass as the ‘wild rocker girl’ that created the music I am making in Hi-Strung today. I have learned that I can have the best of both worlds using the tools of my trade and love of both sides of Samantha Doom the musician translated through my music.

AXS: Where was your first show in Denver, and what was the experience like? Who else did you play with at the show?
Samantha: Hi-Strung’s first show was self-promoted and we were the only band that played. We did the show on a Saturday June 21, 2011 at The Curtis Bar (which no longer exists). At that first show, I had a full marionette puppet show that had been choreographed to Hi-Strung’s music. It was the debut of the music of Hi-Strung as a band with violin, cello, drums, and me on bass and vocals. At that time, the cellist accompanied me on backup vocals. The drummer had gone MIA days before the show so I had a friend fill in on drums. It was fun! People I knew liked the concept and it inspired me to keep going. It was a relief to all of us that the first show was a success and received well! And we all actually made $20 each, even the marionette players! It was an inspiring night for all!

AXS: Have any Denver musicians inspired Hi-Strung?
Samantha: I feel the music of Hi-Strung was derived from living in Denver for fifteen years, as well as, being inspired by traveling and the bands I had seen in other parts of the world. One band that really wowed me when I first moved to Denver was 16 Horsepower. I loved their dark baroque pop and driving melodies. It just made me itch to get up on stage and create something musically dark and driving. I wanted to design something like that in my music but not, per se, exactly in the same vein. I wanted to forge something totally different but emulate that raw primal need they exhibited to me musically. Thus, became the drive of the rock formation in Hi-Strung. From the ‘grr‘ of the electric guitars’ tones, the tight drum and bass, to the pretty esoteric sounds of the viola, piano, and cello. I just love music that can pour that beautiful darkness out there unapologetically. Recently, I saw Ryan Chrys perform and I was very inspired by how tight his band was and the unique instrumentation in his lineup. I loved that he has achieved a dark country sound. There are a ton of bands, like A Shoreline Dream who emote such a beautiful array of psychedelic dark pop tones. I loved The Swayback and was very inspired they were the first Denver band to utilize tools like Abelton in their recordings. I think that band inspired me the most to take that leap to a more professional recording experience. I love Eric from The Swayback’s new band, Dragondeer. He, like Chrys, is exploring that dark southern country sound that is just rich with musical emotion.

AXS: What was the inspiration for Hi-Strung’s latest releases, “Big Mistakes” and “Refraction”?
Samantha: ‘Big Mistake’ was inspired by a tragic moment that occurred here in Denver in 2003. Originally, I wrote and recorded the song at Denver City Studios with Dave Hartman in 2003. The original song title was "Snap". The song is about my coming to terms with my grief for my best friend. This friend was my first friend when I moved to Denver in 1998. She was a Denver native and showed me the ropes during my first year here. I deeply treasured our friendship. Shockingly, she was murdered a couple days before New Year’s Eve of 2003. I got a phone call on New Year’s Day from a co-worker telling me she was dead. The onslaught of disbelief, grief and the ensuing blur of her funeral left me inconsolable. I wrote this song to comfort myself through this tragedy. My friend had been a very talented singer and worked music production like myself. She was highly respected in the Denver music scene. Everyone in Hi-Strung did a beautifully outstanding job capturing the feeling I was trying to convey musically. We even wrote counter vocal parts and a block chorus’ that everyone recorded perfectly. I cried for two weeks after I got the master of the song. I feel I have done the most I can to musically honor my friend with this song and that she would have loved this song. From the haunting viola and organ and mad awesome Twisted Sister-like guitar solo Tay Hamilton wrote that expresses my feeling that my universe had been rocked to the beautiful bridge with Brooke Crawford’s exquisite soprano counter vocals layered over my voice singing, “would have made a resolution not to lose you, this year…” [Tears up] I will never truly think of my departed friend without a whimsical tear in my eyes for the person she would be today if she was still here.. But I will sing this song at every live show and devote it to her.
“Refraction” was inspired by a combination of a lot of things. Hi-Strung had been performing the theme song to Game of Thrones in our sets as well as other original instrumentals. I was inspired by that, American Horror Story's theme song, ratatat, and a dream I had to write refraction. It was a TON of work. And I love the composition we wrote equally as a band. I was not gonna sing on it originally but was tossing around some French fragments in the song for a year before we recorded it. Our producer encouraged me to sing on it and I wrote the call and response lyrics for the chorus “Voulez-Vous” ("Do you want?" in French) and English response, “Yes, I do." The rest of the song is not a call and response thus the name of the song refraction. It has French, incomplete French fragments, with complete English phrases. For someone who speaks French, I left it so the combo would have different lyrics and be suggestive of an awesome sexual encounter with a slow build to a musical climax. Representing verbally that which a woman has during the refractory period for a man. You know, that is, if he didn’t take care of business before hand. Whoa - it's getting hot in here on this response. Next question? [Laughs]

AXS: Hi-Strung had the opportunity to work with some major talent when recording “Big Mistakes” and “Refraction”. What was the writing and recording processes like on these new tracks?
Samantha: INTENSE. For everyone. For Brooke Crawford and myself, we had both recorded professionally before but not with a producer. Working with Lance Bendiksen was amazing. He brought a whole team of professionals in from helping us choose the studios we recorded at to musicians who recorded with us to mixing engineers and editing engineers and mastering engineers. He was driving the whole production and rooting for us the whole way. Crawford adapted very well to working with a producer and it shows in the vocals she accompanied me on in harmonies as well as counter vocals. And her cello playing is AMAZING on the recordings. We have a song to be released in a month or so called ‘Beat 4 Beat’ and she owns the cello on that song. Her influences from playing bass in skate punk bands really shines on that song and she played a big part in the structure writing of ‘Beat 4 Beat’. Anthony Limon had been produced and directed in classical settings but this was his first experience in a rock setting. Limon brought it big time with his talents and was very humble yet the driving force behind ‘Refraction’. Tay Hamilton had been produced before by Lance Bendiksen. Hamilton was like a rock for all of us with his experience and quite comedic too. Hamilton brought a level of professionalism to our band that we all immediately jumped right into emulating next to him. Mikey Klein has been produced, managed and directed before. Even though he did not come into the recording project until half way through, he loved working with Bendiksen. The two of them conspired on counter vocals and the additional piano part Limon landed up recording on ‘Refraction’. Overall, everyone in hi-Strung embraced being produced by Bendiksen and the varied environments we traveled with a for the greater good and team mentality.
The best moment was when I met the mastering engineer. Upon meeting me, he asked me if I had ever watched American Horror Story. I was like, yes! I LOVE that show. And I went into how much the theme song and all the different song versions on the show had really inspired me with writing ‘Refraction’. Then, he told me he had done the mastering for "American Horror Story" and Hi-Strung should totally consider submitting ‘Refraction’ to the music supervisor. Everyone in the room gasped. I don’t know if I gasped, I felt like I burst! It was exactly what I had said I wanted going into this massive production, was a song worthy of a broadcast, and the quality to be played on a show like "American Horror Story". It feels good to know we met the requiem. But the reality is we have a lot of work ahead with publishing and licensing still to truly make that comment a reality.
There was nothing that Hi-Strung did not have to work for in being produced by a mega team directed by Lance Bendiksen. It was an amazing journey for each and every member of the band. And what a process. I thought I understood the recording process but it's nothing like I imagined on a pro level. It is not as simple as going into the studio and doing it all in one day. No, there was a time on one song we were sent home to go rehearse a vocal part as if we’d sang it 50 times live before we’d be allowed back in the studio to record it. It is no bullshit and there is no room for quitting no matter how much the pressure builds up. I LOVED what I learned I could achieve! It was and is so very real. I have never had this much professional musical support ever in my life. It's very hard. I’ll never tell anyone it is easy to metamorphosis as a songwriter to a pro level. It's A TON of work and you have to believe in yourself, stay positive, and know a couple good jokes to crack if you wanna survive it. Or just fart in the studio when the tension gets too much. Nothing like a fart to get everyone like freaking out and laughing and choking and disgusted and laughing and taking a break or just distracted.

AXS: Is Hi-Strung currently working on any new projects?
Samantha: Yes, Hi-Strung has written two new songs we plan to record in March. And we have a whole slew of new music coming out throughout 2015 from our recording last year. I did not want to do another album release. I wanted to release a couple songs at a time and see how well they were received and see if we could get any mileage on some music to propel us while focusing on other songs in the studio. Thus, “Big Mistake” and “Refraction” just released. But just today, I was in the studio all day working on a pre-mix for a song to be released in a couple months. I was approving the final mix before master on a different song that will release in mid-February.

AXS: What else is Hi-Strung involved in locally, either as individuals or as a group?
Samantha: I'm a college student at Metro studying Industrial Design. I have a puppy named Ali who is enormous and chews all of my shoes, socks and doorframes…I run with her every morning at Cherry Creek State off leash dog park. I am learning to play piano, attend an improv class weekly, and paint. Further, I like to do charitable events a couple times a year with Hi-Strung. We have raised money over the years for musicians who have fallen on bad times or illness or injury in the Denver music scene to raising money for charities that hit close to home for all of us.
Brooke Crawford (cello) plays bass in Frontside Five and The Trade Ins with her husband Robdogg Crawford. They have a five year old daughter. Brooke also has an essential oils company. Brooke loves to cook vegan food, owns six chickens that live in her yard, grows exotic fruits and vegetables, and is an overall hippie at heart with a punk rock exterior.
Tay Hamilton (guitar) plays in his other band, Hot Apostles, with his girlfriend Eryn Swissdorf, who sings lead vocals. Tay writes all the music for Hot Apostles and manages the band. Tay also does construction jobs for work as well as working as a session guitarist player. He has a dog named Francis with his girlfriend and Tay has the nicest parents in the world.
Anthony Limon (viola, piano) works as the band teacher for a Denver elementary school. Anthony is literally 6’5” or something. He is so tall, that when we played Lion's Lair he could not stand on the stage and bow his viola without hitting the ceiling. He had to stand on the dance floor to perform. Anthony also plays viola for many Denver musical’s and orchestra performances. Last year, he was the viola player in the orchestra pit for Into The Woods. This is Anthony’s first rock band. He is classically trained and has crossed over to the rock world with a great big smile and sense of humor. And patience! He’s the best!
Mikey Klein (drums) works for AEG on production staff as a sound engineer/stage staff. Mikey is from the smallest town and coldest town in the world on the most-northern tip of the US. He might as well be a Canadian like myself. [Laughs] Mikey has played drums, metal drums, for many bands. You’d have to ask me for a full list but off the top of my head: The Used, The Violet Showcase, he did something with Tripcage, too. Mikey has his own home studio and is a multi-instrument musician, he can literally play every instrument. He is currently working on his solo project in his studio playing all the instruments.

AXS: Does Hi-Strung have a goal in mind for the sound the band produces? Are there certain influences or themes the band tries to inject into its own music?
Samantha: To create cinematic music.

AXS: For someone who has never seen or heard Hi-Strung, what would you tell them to entice them to watch your set?
Samantha: This is what I tell someone who has never seen my band before: "Please come see our band!" We have viola, cello, piano, guitar, organ, bass, drums, and multiple harmonies in our band. There is only five of us on stage and we create all the sounds live, no samples. It's really eerie and dark sounding and dance like pop at the same time. It's definitely different.

AXS: What would your ideal live show look like? Where would it take place? Any particular time of year? Would a specific band/musician share the bill with or open for Hi-Strung?
Samantha: Ideal live show would be full production. Me getting flown in on a truss like I was a marionette puppet!
But for reals, my ideal show would be as the support band to a major band like Modest Mouse, Queens of The Stone Age, Radiohead or Daft Punk at Red Rocks Amphitheater. That would be my ideal dream show. In the summer or a warm rainy night with mega lighting all over the rocks and a wall of people in attending. So from stage all we saw were a wall of fans dancing in the bleachers of Red Rocks with beautiful lights rolling over them. And OH MY GOD, opening for one of the bands listed above would be AMAZEBALLS! I would also love open for Jane’s Addiction sometime. I play the bass in rock bands because of seeing Jane’s Addiction at CBGB’s in NYC in 1988. I was so struck by Eric Avery’s melodic bass lines that I decided right there and then I was going to be a great rock bassist because I just had to play like that. I just love playing melodic driving bass lines.

AXS: What shows are you looking forward to over the next few months?
Samantha: Foo Fighters coming this summer. I’m excited about the new music they wrote during their show Sonic Highways and I’m excited to hear and see them perform it live.
Hi-Strung’s next show is January 22 at City Hall. We are excited because we were selected as the featured Denver band for an entire CREATIVE SHOWCASE of Fashion, Art, Film, Photography, Jewelry, Makeup, and more. I’m excited to be a band that can be artsy in our presentation so that we can be a part of these types of events.
On Saturday February 7, Hi-Strung is performing at a fashion show for a private event at Bob’s in Englewood. A choreographer selected 3 of our songs and wrote dance routines to them. Hi-Strung will be performing live while the professional dancers dance to our music. We are super excited about this show, too.

AXS: What do you enjoy most about Denver’s music scene, and why?
Samantha: The variety of styles of music from Bluegrass, Country Reggae and Jam Band to Hip-Hop, Rock, Jazz, Spoken Word, Classical, Punk, Pop and Blues… all in one beautiful city, any night of the week."