Behind the Music: An Interview with Adam and Ryan of Cold Weather Kids

Today on Hawk-IT Interviews, I have the privilege of interviewing a band called Cold Weather Kids. Cold Weather Kids is an indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California, formed by Adam Allison and Ryan Scottie. I conducted a Q&A session with the members to discuss their backgrounds, musical journey, the band, and their music. I hope you enjoy reading this.

Amit Ahuja: To start at the very beginning, can you take us back to your earliest years and paint a vivid picture of where you each grew up? What were your hometowns like, the communities you were surrounded by, and the general atmosphere—socially, emotionally, andculturally—that shaped your childhood and teenage years?

Adam - I grew up in Royal Oak Michigan, which was a complete suburbia. We had a decent downtown strip, and we were surrounded by both the richer and poorer suburbs of the area. Royal Oak was very much right in the middle. And looking back, I think being in that kind of “middle rich” area really gave me the best of both worlds. Detroit is obviously a music/art capital of America, but there were tons of awesome music venues in the surrounding cities as well. Like Pine Knob, the Royal Oak Theatre, etc. These are venues that massive and small artists alike are going to hit on their way through town - so it led to the ability to see your favorite bands, and discover new ones all the time.

Because of a lot of this influence, we had a ton of arts kids too. Tons of the artsy-hipstery-incubus-loving burnout types, which made things kind of awesome in hindsight. Back then I was straddling two worlds - being a jock and being an arts kid. And so I got to really enjoy both of those simultaneously. So I was going to see Fall Out Boy and TBS, but I was also going to see Ben Kenney as well. There was always a lot of opportunity to see a lot of art and music around you, and experience kids who loved all types of music too.

Ryan - I’m your typical midwestern kid from the 90’s born outside of the city limits of Chicago (but close enough to still be considered “from” there) My parents met at the merchandise mart located in downtown Chicago where my mother worked, and my father was an electronic handyman. My father was a Chicago sports guy, so Micheal Jordan was basically God my whole childhood. 


When my family decided on a change of scenery we didn’t go too far. Just north and colder to Wisconsin which is where I would graduate high school in the odd tourist town known as “Wisconsin Dells” (google image it, you’ll be surprised) So, I went from grade school to high school graduate surrounded by water parks, golf courses, massive hotels, and a lot of cheese.

Musically, there actually was a pretty active Midwest underground scene when I started going to shows and eventually integrating into my first bands. As a teenager we’d do everything from local family diners (WHAT THE F IS UP DENNYS?) to every VFW hall around the Wisconsin state.

Amit Ahuja: Looking back with the perspective you have now, in what ways do you feel you're upbringing, and early life experiences helped shape who you

are today? How did those formative years influence your values, worldview, emotional resilience, and ultimately the way you approach

creativity and self-expression?

Adam - Sheesh what a nice light question lol. Well, I think I’ve had 2 major approaches to creativity in my life, and they are complete opposites of each other. When I was growing up and discovering myself as a songwriter, I felt like I had to “get it out.” Ryan and I both describe ourselves as “big feelings” kind of guys - we’re both extremely emotional, and wear our heart on our sleeves. It’s like we both have the normal emotional spectrum, but it’s just dialed up to 11 for us. So in my teens and twenties, it felt like I had to just get it out of my heart. If inspiration hit me, I would write poems, songs, instrumental pieces, etc. Anything that matched my emotions in the moment. Mostly emo acoustic songs that combined early Imogen Heap, Inside Wants Out era John Mayer, and angsty Taking Back Sunday. But the approach to creativity was always very heavy, very personal, and extremely attached. I would spend sometimes a whole summer just working out one song for hours and hours every single day, trying to make the most perfect song I could possibly think of, with the most intense, dramatic lyrics I could think of. With the most dramatic, intense chords and feelings I could think of. Some of my best art came out of this, but it also made everything very hard. When you write like this, you end living and dying on every line of every song, which is just too damn much man. It was very self-centered, and very self-serving. At the time, I also thought I wanted to write songs for other people, and work on music with other people. But having this heavy, self-absorbed mindset makes that almost impossible. I didn’t want to write music for other people and be a famous songwriter… what I actually wanted was for the whole world to hear how big and important I thought my feelings were. This whole era really got me nowhere. But in my late twenties, I worked at a recording studio with someone who became a very close friend of mine, and I started producing bands. And since I wasn’t so personally invested in other bands songs, I saw what this overly-masturbatory approach did to music. It blew my mind.

Because when you’re producing bands, and trying to be a guiding hand for creativity, you watch a lot of music get ruined in the name of personal feelings. Which just isn’t a good reason to take a good idea and make a shit song. So I promised myself I would take “the heaviness” out of my own creativity, and out came CWK. And a few things started happening once we/I ditched the masturbatory heavy approach - first off, we started finishing projects. Which used to be very difficult. Second, the music got a lot better really quickly. And it has continued to do so. We still work at it. We still listen for “when does a song feel done” or “when does a part feel fantastic.” That’s still there. But we also don’t try to overdo it, and we’re open to changing parts if it just doesn’t hit right.

Ryan - I’m going to put a lot of this answer personally on my parents. My mother was more the creative one and helped me see the world from more “blank canvas” point-of-view and I was the painter. My father was more of the networking and communication. He understood that you need to be likeable as well as skilled to really separate yourself when it came to securing opportunities. My mother would support that view with her quote “It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know” Of course you had to build up some skill to be competent in whatever you were working on… but you could be the most bad-ass player in the world for a particular instrument, if you’re not cool or fun to work with… You’re probably not going to get the call in the end.

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through each of your personal musical journeys? When did music first enter your lives in a meaningful way, and was there a specific moment, memory, or experience that truly ignited your passion for creating music rather than just listening to it?

Adam - Music entered my life in a meaningful way very early. In elementary school, I was obsessed with Pink Floyd, The Who, Aerosmith, and tons of classic rock bands. The Wall, Quadrophenia, Toys in The Attic, Van Halen I and II… I was so into that stuff for a long time. Even then, every Christmas was just albums I wanted. And in middle school I started being in bands, and then naturally writing songs came next. I wanted to emulate whoever my hero was at the time - so I had a bunch of songs that sounded like Motley Crue ripoffs, and then when I got into high school I started making pop punk songs as I got into Blink, Green Day, Yellowcard, MCR, and Fall Out Boy. Later high school and college, I started writing jazzy acoustic ballads and became obsessed with John Mayer and Jason Mraz. So ever since I started listening to music I got hooked on making it. And whatever I was listening to informed what I was writing at the time.

Ryan - Being an anime kid early in middle school I wasn’t really sure what kind of genre I even liked at the time musically. I found that I would make mixes of mostly theme songs of shows I watched. (a lot of J Pop and Rock)

It wouldn’t be until about 8th grade that I finally started to discover the rock genre. My younger sister is the one who turned me onto Fall Out Boy’s “From Under the Cork Tree” (record dropped when I was 15) and that still to this day is my all-time favorite record.

Until that point, I had been much more of a visual artist. Drawing and Animation were the initial artistic focuses for me. But around the time I made that initial pop punk discovery I also befriended a local band from my high school and started tagging along at their shows for a while. Their drummer/singer would be one of my early influences in wanting to go down this road of where we are now.

Amit Ahuja: What led Ryan to take up the bass while Adam gravitated toward the guitar? Was there a specific moment, experience, or influence that set you on those paths? Are there particular bass players or guitarists who inspired you to start playing and helped shape your individual styles? And when it comes to singing, how did that evolve for each of you—was it always something you were drawn to, or did it develop naturally as the band grew? Are there any vocalists you both admire who influenced your interest in singing as well?

Adam - Eddie Van Halen. The first time I heard eruption, I was almost overwhelmed with how beautiful I thought it was. And I wanted to do that. So I started learning guitar. My next major influence was definitely John Mayer… I was really drawn to how smooth his playing is. And I love his chord choices in general. He has an ability to be subtle about how technical he is that I’ve always loved. With regards to singing, it kind of started because I had a lot of ideas, and a lot of opinions, and always envisioned myself as the one to deliver the ideas. It’s called lead singer syndrome because most lead singers have a certain arrogance to them, and I definitely did when I was younger. So I started singing in my bands, even if I wasn’t the best singer in the room. The first two singers that captivated me were probably Gerard Way and Adam Lazzara - their natural singing voices just draw you in. They can deliver any song and make it sound super emotional. I’ve always loved that. They have a certain high screamy roughness kind of thing that’s so captivating to me.

Ryan - So, from my last answer, I’m primarily a drummer. That’s where most of my experience comes from musically. Cold Weather Kids is only the second band I’ve ever played bass for and it was kinda a “learn as I go” thing because I wanted to get into a band again once I have moved west to LA. (more on that later)

I have been touring drummer in a couple bands over the years. (Whispered Hallows,Devon Kay & the Solutions, Direct Hit!, The Eradicator) while also having a mic to do backup vocals. 

When I started to dabble into song writing the singing part developed more and so did the desire to be “out front” to sing the songs rather than in the back keeping the beat.

I credit Adam a lot in my musical development in these areas. When we met, he was already quite the accomplished vocalist and guitar player. So, the balance of being able to provide all of the rhythmic elements to his songwriting really helped our friendship develop quick when we first started.

Amit Ahuja: What initially drew you toward the genre you focus on today? Beyond the musical elements like intensity, structure, and emotional weight, what was it about the visual aesthetic, cultural identity, and sense of community within those scenes that truly resonated with you?

Adam - You’ll laugh, but I’ve always loved the intensity, structure, and emotional weight above all else. I’ve never cared much about visual aesthetic, or cultural identity. I’m not a big concert-goer, I don’t like crowds, mosh pits freak me out… I love culture and seeing a sub-culture emerge and reading about it’s history and what not, but you’ll never find me at an underground show smoking a cigarette or at Coachella in a pile of people just stoked to be there high on the vibe.

Ryan - I found the “Emo Culture” in the early 2000’s and totally dove in. Straightened hair, skinny jeans, piercings, which would later give way to tattoos. As the quote goes, “It was never a phase mom” I’m still jamming the same records, still writing the same kind of music, still as into the gear and band culture. I would say the only place we deviate from that stereotype is our subject matter, we don’t much care to write about broken hearts or past relationships.

Amit Ahuja: Were there particular bands, songs, or artists

that connected with you on a deeply personal level early on? How did those influences inspire you to start learning instruments, writing your own music, and eventually pursuing the idea of forming a band?

Adam - My biggest influences early on were definitely Van Halen for guitar, Yellowcard, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy for being a teenager and writing songs, and then John Mayer and Jason Mraz later on when I was trying to be more songwriter-y… the usual suspects if you will. I’m not special and I don’t pretend to be (anymore, lol). I’ve already talked about it, but Van Halen is what got me to pick up a guitar, the pop punk bands made me want to be in bands. And John Mayer/Jason Mraz made me want to write technical pop songs.

Ryan - Fall Out Boy & Yellowcard, the two “big” ones that shaped the foundation of who I am musically. Still evident in our writing today for sure.

I touched earlier on my story of befriending someone from my high school who was a drummer singer who’s inspired that same fire in me. His band “Sorry About Your Couch” gave me the passion to find my own band to drum for. By 17 I would find my first serious band and ride that wave for about six years growing to the point where we made a couple Warped Tour appearances.

Amit Ahuja: Take us back to the very beginning of Cold Weather Kids. How did the band first come together, and what circumstances, shared values, or creative goals brought you together at that moment? What made it feel right to officially begin this journey as a group?

Adam - So Ryan and I had written a lot of music together already, and we knew we also connected on that front. We had made bands in the past… but we both kind of suffered from the same “omg I’m such an artist” problem that I’ve already mentioned. We were both writing very dramatic, very heavy, very masturbatory music that didn’t make a lot of sense… but did make us feel good about ourselves. And CWK is the result of all of our lessons learned. So right before we made the band, we were both in a different band together. And that band imploded due to having some toxic personalities. Ryan and I basically got back together and said “Hey, you want to give this another go and not be so dumb about it?” And we both said yes. And that’s kind of been that ever since.

Ryan - Sometimes one project coming to an end means the start of something new. Thus was the case for us. I had been looking to make music with Adam for a while after we both had moved to LA but our work schedules were tough. He had joined a band and was gigging a bit. That went on for a year or so, then their bass player had to exit which is where my bass journey began. Unfortunately, Adam was a bit burnt out for several reasons with that project. He’d exit the band about 2 months after I joined. I pushed through another year but began to also develop internal problems with the singer. So, the dominoes fell the way they did and I ended up quitting that project as well BUT the very same day the drummer from that project agreed to start something new with Adam and I.

Amit Ahuja: When Cold Weather Kids was first forming, what was the original vision for your sound, message, and overall identity? Looking at where you are creatively today, how closely does that early vision align with what you’ve become—and where has it evolved?

Adam - Ryan and I knew we wanted to be in a band again, and we knew a big mistake we’d always made in the past was trying way too hard. So we wanted to make songs that didn’t sound like we were trying so hard… we just wanted to make something fun. I think a big tell of “are you doing the right thing” when you’re in a band is which songs you have the most fun playing live. If it’s the covers, then I think it’s a sign to reconsider your approach to writing. And so we started making music again in the style of what we actually loved, instead of trying to do something more.

Ryan - The previous project was geared more towards indie rock and that just wasn’t doing it for Adam and me. So, we went back to what we’d always played and enjoyed the most in bands starting with covers from Fall Out Boy, Yellowcard, and Taking Back Sunday. We’re just truly those emo kids from the early 2000’s that are still doing the genre today because we really love high energy rock with driven guitars and great drum parts. No other way to put it.

Amit Ahuja: In the early stages, did you experiment with different band names? What ultimately led you to choose and stick with the name Cold Weather Kids and what made it feel like the name that truly represented who you are?

Adam - Not really. Our drummer came up with the name, and it stuck. We moved on.
Ryan - Sonic Scene Kids a typo? Either way cool name causes Sonic Rules lol**

In college Adam and I had a musical project called “Glass Castles” It was also the name of one of the songs he had written for the project. That’s really about it. We were just trying (way too hard) to be fancy.

Amit Ahuja: The name Cold Weather Kids feels intentional

and evocative, carrying a sense of atmosphere and meaning rather than something chosen at random. Can you walk us through the inspiration

behind the name and what originally drew you to it? What does each part of the name represent to you individually and collectively, and how has its

meaning evolved over time?

Adam - No big thing here honestly. Our first drummer Eric came up with it because we were all from colder climates. It stuck.


Ryan - I must credit our original drummer Eric with this one. He had the name he was sitting on for a while, and it just clicked with me big time. Adam was raised in Michigan, me in Chicago/Wisconsin and Eric was from Colorado. It just fit as a good sounding name, and it was very literal.

Amit Ahuja: How does the name connect to your philosophy as a band and the way you see yourselves creatively and personally? In what ways does it reflect your sense of identity, your shared history, and the emotional or lived

experiences that shape your songwriting and sound?

Adam - It doesn’t. We like the name. It’s just a name though.
Ryan - Not much honestly, it’s something that much more literal and sounds good rather than a reflection of values or culture. Perhaps you can hear the Midwest Emo influence in our writing even though we live in LA now?

Amit Ahuja: Finally, how do you feel the name Cold Weather Kids captures the world you’re trying to create through your music—the moods, textures, and narratives you explore—and the feelings or ideas you hope listeners take away when they step into that world?

Adam - Well, I don’t think the name captures the world we’re trying to create. But I think I can speak to some of the moods Ryan and I have talked about creating visually. In the name of not being serious, and in being all things feel good and fun, we landed on the vibe of “Punk Rock Super Mario Sunshine.” So what world do I want reflected? The feel good world of Super Mario Sunshine, with a Yellowcard soundtrack.
Ryan - I always have a visual in my head of some kid bundled up against the cold and you can see the puffs of exhales cause his breath is that much warmer than the air. But our music is blasting in the headphones. The world can be cold, maybe none more obvious than right now? So, our whole aim is not ignore these issues but rather make fun of them as well as ourselves in the process. It’s all so serious and if you want to write that way then by all means. But for us, it’s when we get a release, when we can laugh freely, when we can lose ourselves in the energy.

Amit Ahuja: When it comes to songwriting, this question

is specifically for the vocalists: can you walk us through your lyrical inspiration? Do your lyrics draw primarily from personal experiences,

relationships, and internal struggles, or are they influenced by stories you’ve encountered and more abstract ideas? How do these sources inform your writing, and what does your creative process look like when you’re translating those influences into lyrics?

Adam - I can speak more to our creative process and how we have our ideas. So something that really bothers me is when people try to be way too crafty with their lyrics. I love poetry, but I hate not knowing what you’re talking about. Some people can get away with wildly impressionistic poetry… but it’s a bit tougher in the pop punk genre in my opinion. Also, it’s important to remember that when a line doesn’t “read like art” it can still sing fantastically. So when Ryan and I are writing, we’re trying to pull in our emotions, tell a direct story, land on a line that communicates our intention right then, and move on. Sometimes you have to spend some more time on a line or a song, but we work very hard to not overthink things. It keeps things lighter in terms of the creative process - which lets us keep going. And if it bothers us later, we come back and fix it. But we try not to get hung up on trying to “be fancy.” To speak to our process in general, Ryan is an idea factory and I’m an editor. So we’ve kind of fallen into this pattern where Ryan has a lot of ideas, and I pull together my favorite ideas he has, an we start embellishing them and molding them together. This goes for both lyrically and musically. Ryan is very much the “songwriter” and I’m very much the “producer” in the band - although sometimes we do still trade roles.

Ryan - I’ll narrow it down here but I’ll let Adam really expand in this because I’ve adapted more his philosophy over the years when it comes to lyrics. We’re the type to write about an idea rather than an experience but we’ve definitely had personal songs make the cut as well. But most of our best work is because we really dove into an idea and developed it rather than make it really personal.

Amit Ahuja: Could you dive deeper into some specific songs — like Pop Punk Fuck Up, Count to Ten, Race You Extinction, and Stolen Summer— and unpack the stories behind them? We’d love to hear more about the emotions, experiences, and ideas you were exploring while writing each track. What moments, chapters of your lives, or particular states of mind do these songs reflect, and how do they connect to where you were personally and creatively at the time?

Adam - Ryan wrote all of those! These are all about the capturing a feeling, and just writing a song that tells the story of that feeling. Count to ten is being so mad that you don’t know what to do with your body. Race you to extinction is about the feeling of helplessness watching a bunch of assholes run the world. Pop punk fuck up is about being an emo kid who just still wants to vibe out and be an emo kid, even though we’re now in our thirties and forties. All of these songs also really capture what we go for when we write - we spend time getting the vibe right, we take the time to make the lyrics make sense and say what we want them to, but these aren’t necessarily deeply personal songs. They’re more about shared experiences.


Ryan - Besides Extinction, these are all songs where both of us really dove into every word to try and make it as strong as possible. Anger, aging, the struggle for income, the struggle to feel like we can actually DO something to make change. These are all topics, rather than personal experiences. But we feel like WITHIN these topics there’s a lot of opportunity for listeners to relate their own story within the topic we write about. Thus, making it more personal to them as the listener.

Amit Ahuja: When you’re in the process of creating music, does it feel more like an emotional release, a form of self-discovery, a confrontation with inner struggles, or a combination of all three? How does that feeling influence what ultimately makes its way into your songs?

Adam - Funny you mention all of that - because I don’t really feel it’s any of those for me. I used to, but I’ve worked very hard to eliminate the “heaviness” of songwriting. The “drama” if you will. Those kinds of things don’t make me want to keep coming back to music anymore - so for me, it’s about having fun, and figuring out the puzzle of the song. It feels amazing when all of the pieces come together and you feel like the song is being the best it can be. That’s the fun of it. So what does it feel like? I guess it just feels fun. It didn’t used to feel fun - it used to feel like an emotional labor. Now it’s just fun.

Ryan - Absolutely an emotional release. As an artist I’ve embraced that this is my creative outlet. I’ve used it in the past as I was growing into an adult to discover more about myself or work through some grief but right now in my life as a father and a husband, it serves more as outlet for me to have something personal to myself while my overall life view has shifted towards more of my family.

Amit Ahuja: Is there a particular message, emotion, or takeaway you hope listeners walk away with after experiencing your music? Or do you prefer to leave the meaning open-ended so fans can interpret and connect with the songs in their own personal way?

Adam - I want listeners to just have a good time. No stress. Punk rock super Mario sunshine. Maybe relate to some of the themes. That’s it for me.

Ryan - No stress. Make every environment better cause you’re in it. Everyone’s got problems. Nobody cares.

I think writing about topics rather than personal experiences helps to give the listener more claim to the song for their own experiences.

Amit Ahuja: What advice or insight would you offer to

musicians who are dealing with rejection, setbacks, or self-doubt? How can artists push through disappointment and transform those challenges into motivation and long-term growth?

Adam - I think Ryan and I’s messages will really differ here - but my whole thing is stop trying so damn hard and get out of your own damn way. I think Elizabeth Gilbert got it right in her book Big Magic. Take inspiration when it comes. Enjoy the process. Listen to what your artistic sense is telling you. I think a lot of people make the mistake thinking that if they have success in art, they will find joy. I’ve met extremely successful people in the arts. It does not bring joy. It might bring money. So chill the fuck out, and stop trying so hard to do something incredible. Just do… something. And maybe it’ll be incredible. Maybe it won’t be. Have the humility to accept that too.

Ryan - When the haters start to get loud you know you’re doing something right. Keep going.

Struggle creates hunger, struggle creates a good story or source to write from. Small victories everyday amount to a big change in growth when a whole year passes. 

Have a clear look at what you may be willing to give up to try and achieve the musical success (time, energy, expense, travel, etc etc)

Amit Ahuja: In 2026, what do you feel is the most challenging part of being a band? Beyond making the music itself, what pressures, obstacles, or

realities have become especially difficult to navigate in today’s industry — whether that’s staying creatively fulfilled, reaching audiences, sustaining momentum, or balancing art with the demands of modern platforms and expectations?

Adam - Socials, man. I hate social media. I don’t participate in it. I don’t look good in it. I don’t want to do it. It sucks, it’s toxic, it’s frustrating - that’s the worst part. I’m grateful I don’t have to touch socials for this band.

Ryan - From our experience? The death of the local scene. It’s so expensive to do anything in the world right now that it’s hard to imagine people will come out to a local show for 20+$ admission where they probably don’t know a lot of the bands that are playing. That also doesn’t account for travel, food, or whatever else costs money to “go out”

In the last two years alone we’ve personally seen crowds half the size, ticket prices up, and any crowd that does come is there for ONE band to support probably as a friend or family member and then they immediately leave once the set is done, more often than not the band performing will also do this. It’s a bummer to see in real time.

Amit Ahuja: Looking ahead, what exciting projects, tours,

collaborations or creative goals do you have on the horizon? What feels like the next major milestone for Sonic Scene Kids, and what are you personally most excited about right now?

Adam - I’m excited about our next record. It’s felt good to allow it to come together, we have an awesome set of songs we want to get to. I can’t wait. And hopefully, it’ll feel just as good as the first EP did. Who knows. That’s part of what’s exciting about it.

Ryan - We have a full length record that we’re slowly plugging away at. This and some cool LA shows are about it for us at the moment.

Amit Ahuja: Who are three people who have profoundly

shaped your life—artistically, personally, or professionally? What impact did they have, and how do their lessons continue to resonate with

you today?

Adam - My parents were super supportive when I was younger. Bought me guitars… took me to practice, etc. Full points to them. Danny, the owner of the recording studio I worked at, is probably the person who taught me the most about music and songwriting. Really changed my perspective on a lot of things in music. And then of course, Ryan. Without him, I don’t make music.

Ryan - I’m lucky to have had great parents (even as boomers) They were present, gave me every opportunity I could think of, didn’t give up on me when I fucked up (even when I went to jail) and their guidance definitely helped me be independent in a very unforgiving world.

Notable historical figures on culture, style, influence? In no particular order: Micheal Jordan, Elton John, Micheal Jackson, Karen Carpenter, Aaron Gilespie, Freddie Mercury, Prince, Elvis, Ray Charles.

Amit Ahuja: Outside of music, what other forms of art or

storytelling inspires you all. Are there films, books, television series, podcasts, or visual art that resonate deeply with you—and what is it about those mediums, whether emotional depth, narrative structure, or craftsmanship, that fuels your creativity?

Adam - I love a great movie, I love something unique, etc. I love a great book. I’m into Sci/Fi/Romantasy stuff that all the girlies are reading these days. As far as resonates, honestly? I love going to a museum in a place I know very little about, and understanding the history of a place. That’s an art that really resonates with me. I have started to find people and cultures really interesting and beautiful as I’ve gotten older.

Ryan - Personally I’m highly influenced by Japanese culture. I adore anime, I took 3 years of the language in college. I’ve been an exchange student and have vacationed 3 times. I love Japanese tattoos and traditional art. So much so that I’ve had an artist from Tokyo design our last EP cover. (Nukui Bogard)

Amit Ahuja: Many artists talk about the close connection

between creativity and mental health. Can you share your experiences navigating that balance, both within your musical journey and your

personal lives? What tools, support systems, or practices have helped you maintain that balance, and what advice would you give young artists

learning to protect their well-being while chasing their dreams?

Adam - This is only from my own personal experience, so take it or leave it, but in my opinion, if working on your creativity greatly hurts your mental health, you will only end up hating your creativity. That was my journey. I was depressed, I loved being depressed, I thought being a struggling artist was so damn cool so I made sure I struggled and was unhappy with every part of my creativity because I thought that all of that was what was needed to be a creative person. I thought that suffering was the point, not something you sometimes went through. It took me a long time to realize that your creativity does NOT have to pay for your life. You don’t have be famous to call yourself an artist. You don’t have write for big artists to call yourself a songwriter. So in my opinion? Stop trying to live and die on everything you do. Have a day job. Hell, have a whole second career. I do. And it’s made my music better, not worse.

Ryan - Everything in moderation. Too much of anything is too much. It’s hard to tour and rough it. Body comfort is a bigger thing for us now that we’re all in our later 30’s. I had my days as drummer sleeping on floors and various couches but to be completely honest im at a point where that kind of discomfort isn’t work the 30-40 minutes of fun on stage to perform. This is something we’re honest without ourselves about. I mentioned in an answer earlier about being clear about what you’re willing to give up in order to work on something. 

Our motto as a band is simply “no stress” we love to create music; we do love playing shows but all of us in this group have significant others and I myself have kids. I’m not willing to give up time with them as they grow up to go play a dive bar in a state no one knows me, that’s no shade at all towards anybody doing that, these are just my personal priorities right now in my life as it pertains to taking care of my personal health.
Oh and yoga. Not joking. Yoga is amazing.

Amt Ahuja: Finally, as we wrap things up, what thoughts

or reflections would you guys like to leave with your fans—and with anyone out there chasing a dream? Is there a message, lesson, or truth that feels especially important to share right now?

Adam - I don’t think there’s anything I haven’t said… so I guess I would add on be honest with yourself. CWK is not famous, but we do have listeners. We did get a small record deal. We do have people at our shows. None of this happened for me until I was honest with myself about my approach to music, my own unhappiness, and finally took time to get out of my own way. Ryan and I joke about it a lot, but nothing worked until we stopped trying so damn hard. So… be free. Be honest. Get rid of the drama.

Ryan - Change is constant. Your goal is the first thing in front of you. Small victories consistently amount to great change.

The general stuff like take care of each other, don’t be a dick, don’t suppress or try to control anyone.

Amit Ahuja: Thanks to Adam and Ryan of Cold Weather Kids for sharing their story with us.

Please support and check out Cold Weather Kids band, social media and music at the link below:

https://linktr.ee/coldweatherkids?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=f48ed8ce-72ad-4a91-a2ef-7cb565daaf7e

***All photographs are the property of Cold Weather Kids, unless otherwise specified.***

An Exclusive Interview with Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

I had the privilege of conducting an interview with manga artist Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics. During our conversation, we discussed her upbringing, the influences that sparked her interest in drawing, her journey to creating her own artwork, and other intriguing aspects of her life. I hope you find this read enjoyable.

Amit Ahuja: Let’s begin at the very start of your story. Where did you grow up, and what was your hometown truly like beyond its physical location? How would you describe the emotional and cultural atmosphere of that place—the values people held, the way they interacted, and the unspoken rules that shaped daily life? What did “home” feel like to you at the time, and what small, personal details still stand out in your memory? Looking back now, how would you characterize the environment you were raised in—supportive, restrictive, chaotic, nurturing, or something more complicated—and how did it influence your sense of self, creativity, and emotional development during your formative years? Are there specific moments, memories, or lessons from childhood or adolescence that you now recognize as foundational to who you are today?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Well, my name is Skyler, I was born in Salem Oregon, and I am the second eldest of four kids. Initially, it was just my mother, my sister and I for the first five years & we did a bit of globetrotting in Europe, including places like Luxembourg and Austria. There are even pictures of little me in a blue puff coat standing on the rubble of the Berlin Wall somewhere in my mother’s photo albums. After some time in Europe, we returned to Oregon, Albany, Salem, Portland, and after all of that we settled in Central Oregon for the past 30 years.

I am a multi-racial woman, Black, Cuban, Native American and Irish, I had support and a very protective home life but sadly children can be very cruel. I did feel ostracized by schoolmates and was frequently bullied for being different. I spent a lot of time alone.

Just 7 months into living in this new area, I experienced a life altering exploratory surgery to remove a softball sized tumor from my left ovary at age 8. I was left with a massive scar and lifelong adhesions that bind my intestines and permeate my abdominal wall and muscular fascia, and my little body was launched into puberty VERY early because of the procedure as well.

While recovering, I had nothing but time to watch tv and find a new hobby, and I hyper-fixated on drawing this red headed girl I kept getting flashes of since before my surgery, Lamica.

My mother always encouraged me to draw, even from my earliest doodle. She excelled at harboring confidence in me at a young age and provided me with any kind of art supplies she could afford being a single mother. I feel like she was fundamental in shaping me into the hyper confident artist I eventually became.

Amit Ahuja: In what ways does your upbringing continue to echo through your life and work today? Are there particular values, emotional instincts, cultural influences, or lived experiences from your background that still shape how you approach storytelling, intimacy, or self-expression? Do you notice recurring emotional themes, narrative patterns, or character dynamics in your work that trace back to your past—even when you aren’t consciously drawing from those experiences?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I was raised around very passionate people such as my mother, grandmother, my aunts and many cousins; they were all trendsetters and rule breakers in their own ways being black women in a primarily white dominated state. Relentless pride, undying devotion to family and vocal volume seeming to be their number one defense from what I could tell in my early phases of developmental growth.

We are all empathetic and strong women in our family, and I couldn’t help but study in awe with every nuance. The way my mother’s brow would furrow if my Auntie would beat her at dominoes, the way my grandma’s hips would move as she’d cook for us, how wild and boisterous every single person in my family laughs, even the occasional fight or argument… it was a full orchestra of facial expressions and body movement for me to absorb.

Furthermore, I was raised to never be ashamed of my body or nudity in general. It was the 80’s and 90’s, and shame was not a word in anyone’s vocabulary back then. I feel like it was second nature that my fascination of the human form would evolve into very intimate drawings in my adult life.

A recurring theme in my comics is self love, strength, and being your own superhero to save yourself. Finding strength among blinding rage. Embracing your inner power to manifest them into something real. Not falling pray to what Fate had in store, but striving for your Destiny and burning a path for others to follow.

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through your journey toward becoming an adult manga artist, starting with your earliest artistic interests? What first drew you to drawing, visual storytelling, or creating imagined worlds? How did your style, influences, and ambitions evolve over time, and what challenges or turning points helped clarify your direction? Was there a specific moment—or gradual realization—when you understood this wasn’t just something you loved doing, but a path you wanted to pursue seriously as a career?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Ah, yes, my influences.

I will start by saying I was the type of child with such a vivid imagination that I thought movies and cartoons were actually real. The actors really died in my mind and the characters in cartoons simply existed in a place I just haven’t been yet.

As you may have noticed, my art style leans more towards Japanese style Manga/Anime, and all of that began when I first saw My Neighbor Totoro. I know I was old enough to grasp Miyazaki’s ability to capture FEELINGS in his drawings, feelings like I had seen on my family’s faces. Up until then I had, of course, seen cartoons like Thunder Cats, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Pirates of Dark Water…but something about a whimsical beautiful world where you could find a forest spirit that will help you save your sissy if she gets lost, it hit me in my SOUL.

My mother would also watch adult cartoons like Fritz the Cat and read adult comic books in the form of ‘Heavy Metal’ and many Marvel & DC Comics. When she wasn’t looking, I would want to see what she was looking at, I was absolutely INTRIGUED. It was naked stuff, nudity intermingled with heavy political messages of some kind…and the people were doing things to each other…something clicked in my brain that would never turn off again: Naked bodies are REALLY pretty when they are together.

Another film that was trapped in my mind was ‘Rock and Rule’, a post apocalyptic mutant animal movie with sex, drugs and rock and roll, the fundamentals of the 80’s embodied.

A non-animated film that influenced me heavily was Cat People, starring Malcolm McDowell and Natashia Kinsky, the literal premise that their sex can make them transform into panthers, and they had to kill to become human again.

Then you get into ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’, I was the kid who absolutely believed Toon Town was real and every character I drew, I thought I would be able to meet one day. I became obsessed and entrenched in a world of my own creating after a while, because the outside world started to become less and less magical the further in school I got.

Then there is Dragon Ball Z; something about how Akira Toriyama was able to literally convey SCREAMING and channeling your inner pain to make yourself stronger stuck with me so deep it’s a part of my DNA now.

Sadly, I fell into the corporate cogs and had been bound by conventional jobs since I was old enough to work, conceding to the wishes of previous partners and society as a whole…thinking it was an impossible dream to actually BE something with my art…but at age 33 I took the leap and got my LLC for being a small business owner. I got tired of being good at things I didn’t want to do anymore, so I decided to take the leap and at least TRY to be more than a hobbyist.

Amit Ahuja: Was there a particular work, creator, or personal life experience that helped you see adult manga as a legitimate and meaningful storytelling medium rather than simply a genre defined by explicit content? What shifted your perspective and allowed you to recognize its potential for emotional depth, psychological exploration, and complex human narratives? How did that realization influence the way you approach your own work?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

As far as an artist that REALLY inspired me with their adult nude works is Louis Royo. I obtained a copy of his book “Dreams” when I was around 14, which was a compilation of his pieces, beautiful women and men nude or scantily clad in AMAZINGLY detailed and gothic pieces depicting dragons, castles, landscapes, outer space…but also lust, longing, yearning, and a plethora of emotions I had yet to even understand…I didn’t feel like I was just looking at smut, it felt RAW, like each picture had a story to convey.

Their nudity almost acting like a superpower, an accentuation of their strength.

I strive to accomplish the same in my art; to capture the moment, the awkward arousal you feel when clothes are too tight or the blind passion when you’ve become too feral to think, the anguish of pain realizing a love is unreciprocated or even the fluid movement of how the skin is folding during a kick or punch.

Art for me is a form of therapy for certain, having been divorced twice and a survivor of physical abuse in one and mental abuse in the other. Each time I draw different scenes depicting painful situations is almost a direct parable to my own lived experiences, and, while not often an exact example, what I wished I could have done to save my former self from that harm I lived through.

Every character of mine that I invest time in, Lamica, Karai, Sanami, Balile, Kasai; they are literally facets of my mind and psyche, the personas I’ve had to create to keep my mind from shattering during the darkest times of my life.

I have also encountered stories from other people that strike me so deeply I HAVE to draw it or else their pain will not leave my head. A curse of being overly sensitive to other’s emotions, but a blessing that they are sharing a layer of themselves I can immortalize in some way.

Long story short; if I have drawn you of my own volition, you have affected me so deep you are now woven into my SOUL.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Many artists working in adult-oriented fields encounter hesitation, stigma, or judgment—both internally and externally. Did you experience doubts, fear, or resistance from yourself or from others when you chose this path? How did family, friends, or peers react, and how did those reactions affect you at the time? What strategies, beliefs, or support systems helped you push through uncertainty and remain committed to your creative vision?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Hahaha, well one thing for sure, and two things for certain; not everyone is prepared to see adult art as anything other than smut or a means to satiate their own fantasy despite the intended message.

My ‘naughty’ art really kicked into gear when I was around 16, initially just pent up and unnecessarily horny ‘what if’ scenarios of a staunch virgin that would make my friends laugh, blush or genuinely DEMAND I draw more that same day.

And while, yes, I draw a MEAN penis, I enjoy the storytelling and world building that it takes to not only create a romantic atmosphere, but a meaningful plot that the sex is even secondary to the story itself.

So, I made my first naughty comic involving my girl Lamica and my close friend’s dragon boy Balile, a 10-page manga fully colored in Crayola colored pencil, stapled together and tucked away in a protective plastic cover. I showed it to my friends, then my mom of all people! Instead of shaming me, she gave me suggestions on proportions, asking genuine questions about muscle structure and how their bodies would have support in certain positions.

I’ve just been world building ever since.

The older I got, the deeper the fantasies and ‘what if’ scenes became, my mom being my #1 fan, my very conventional and religious black family absolutely shocked and appalled that she would support me drawing naked people doing OBSCENE things. I had even been interviewed by an art collage that wanted me to train with them, and just when I thought I was going to make something big with my art, I met my first husband at age 19…he frowned heavily upon me drawing at home, telling me it was for kids, stop doing it entirely, get a real job and leave it to die.

But I didn’t listen.

I would sneak every colored pencil and drawing page I could with me to work to draw while doing tech support. And when I was caught, it was usually met with violence, or even the literal destruction of my art. I’m proud of myself for maintaining my defiance, because ANY person who saw my art would be SO ENAMORED they started paying me to draw things for them.

It was a mixed bag of hyper support from the people who mattered and ZERO support from the man who claimed to love me. So, I’ve strived to surround myself with people who want to see my art flourish and the story progress since I left him in 2016.

Amit Ahuja: From your personal perspective, what defines truly good adult manga? Beyond technical skill, visual polish, or explicit content, what elements—such as emotional authenticity, character psychology, narrative coherence, or thematic depth—do you believe elevate a work from something consumable to something meaningful? What do you strive for most when creating?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I honestly feel what’s lacking in adult manga, the adult industry as a whole, is the SOUL of the story being told.

Of COURSE you can just say “sex now”, but that just feels so base and gratuitous. I demand CONTEXT as to why this fire monkey king is coming down from the Golden Lands to fertilize a human female and spread his royal seed (haha, now I caught your curiosity).

As a consumer and a creator, the WHY is what is missing. The buildup, the subtlety of anticipation, the YEARNING.

What I adore doing with my fans in my Discord Server is Roleplaying with their own original characters they have created and how they may interact within my world of Destiny in the Flames. It adds a layer of depth to my characters and how they may react to outside forces and thought processes. AND it helps fellow creators with their character building and world building in tandem!

I strive to capture and relay the most intimate moments that those partners are feeling and make YOU personally invested in seeing the story to completion.

Amit Ahuja: When beginning a new project, what typically comes first for you: a character, an emotional core, a visual idea, or an erotic premise? Why does that initial spark resonate with you, and how does it guide the story as it unfolds? How much do you allow intuition to lead the process versus planning things out in advance?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Oh, inspiration can come from literally anywhere for me. But I always think of a ‘what if’ scenario that would then evolve. Something my friend is wearing, watching a favorite content creator, a movie, a scene in a book, the specific way a sweat droplet rolls off a cold peach on a hot summer day; there is no limit to where I can find inspiration.

It usually always begins innocently enough, say working in the garden, you just happen to be working with someone notorious at being a womanizer. Well maybe now it’s time for this womanizer to learn his lesson about being a Good Boy and respecting a goddess at work?

Or, heaven forbid, a precarious situation in an elevator with someone you’ve had a crush on and now you’re trapped for a few hours alone. Just what WOULD happen?

Some of my comics delve into survival of domestic & sexual trauma, offering a literal glimpse into my life, my mental state, the ‘what if’ I had the right support network to leave sooner, if I fought back, if I had superpowers, if the characters I made could replace me and fight for me, also the remaining mental turmoil of PTSD and continued healing required to be a healthy post-abuse human being.

I primarily love mixing the sex with comedy, scenarios that would be traditionally sexy but the awkward humanity sneaks in. The vulnerability of sex is usually portrayed as such a serious “I’m gonna dominate you” or “it has to be X, Y, Z to be sexy”thing nowadays that I love adding levity to such taboo topics.

Demystifying the terrifying subjects is what my goal is. Because, as John Leguizamo has said, “Life would be tragic if it weren’t so funny.”

Amit Ahuja: Adult manga often exists in a delicate balance between fantasy and realism. How consciously do you think about navigating that space while writing and drawing? Do you intentionally lean toward realism, escapism, or an intentional blend depending on the story you’re telling? How do you decide where to draw the line between emotional truth and imaginative exaggeration?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

It is an active decision for me to blend the reality and fantasy as much as I can with my work, but there are no dragon people in real life, sadly, I don’t have a prehensile tail, I can’t control fire and I can’t jump over the clouds in a single bound. Yet…

Under the guise of an anthropomorphic animal race of peoples intermingled with humans and living day to day in the same space, that level of fantasy allows me a safer way to address things like classism, gentrification, segregation and racism as a whole.

Where my realistic tendencies tend to surface is with intrapersonal relationships with characters, granting them with the autonomy of sexual consent, I thrive with comprehensive anatomy & reactions to how flesh behaves in general when being penetrated, caressed, paired in conjunction with raw emotions like I discussed earlier surrounding pain, trauma, pleasure, euphoria, or numbing through sensation just to survive; these are levels of realism that I feel I convey very well in my art.

As far as where I draw the line? You will never see me conveying someone enjoying a non-consensual experience. There are fetish artists that can do that all day, but my art is more for healing and feeling good in some way. And if it’s NOT a feel-good situation involving sex or trauma, there will be trigger warnings issued with some kind of learning lesson from it.

Amit Ahuja: Looking back over your body of work, are there any projects that feel especially meaningful or representative of who you are as an artist? What makes those pieces stand out for you on a personal level? Are there specific ideas, emotions, or lived experiences embedded within them that you feel particularly connected to?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

One of my proudest moments is when I was asked to be the featured artist for Earth Day here in my town, my art to be featured on the local newspaper and on their advertising for the event.

I had been paid for my art on a personal basis before this, but to have a business ask for my art to be what people point to and affiliate it with Earth Day made my head literally spin.

This was just after my second divorce; I was in a new phase of growth for myself embracing the artist and Goddess on earth I was born to be; I didn’t even hesitate on what I wanted to make.

I would up drawing a depiction of myself as Gaia, Mother Earth herself, naked among the cosmos, flourishing, unbothered while she caresses her pregnant Earthen Belly as the stars dance and rejoice around her very existence.

She represents unapologetic self love, unabashed pride in oneself, and unyielding adoration and compassion and understanding for everyone, even if we’ve never met before.

After a brief wave of possible censorship, because the female human form was very intimidating and offensive for one Christian woman in the company, my art was accepted, I got a SIZABLE stipend, and I literally got to see my art on display in my little town. Such a blessed feeling.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through your creative workflow in detail, from the earliest concept to a completed page? How do ideas form, evolve, and take shape through planning, drafting, revision, and final execution? Which parts of the process feel most natural or fulfilling to you, and which ones test your patience or discipline the most?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’m a bizarrely particular person when I draw. It’s either THIS process I’m describing or I literally become possessed by horny inspiration and my hand just takes over. There is no in between, haha.

I tend to brew about an idea for a few days before I put anything on ‘paper’. Behind my eyes is like a living cartoon, and I tend to space out staring ahead literally clipping and framing an angle, dialogue, facial expressions before even considering sitting in front of my iPad.

I obsess about the details.

When it’s finally time, I love being in a warm environment that has music or there is a tv playing something I’ve seen a hundred times (I don’t want to be distracted by looking up at the tv screen, but I need sound happening in some way). I get a snack, preferably some white cheddar popcorn, a drink to sip, and I am off to the races.

It’s always best, for me, to consider if I’m making a single image depicting a whole scene, versus several frames; that helps me formulate the structure of the picture. I love getting creative with my comic frames, using oblong rectangles or exaggerated jagged lines depending on the emotion I’m relaying.

To get the most diverse positions, I enjoy doing linear skeletal structures to know the proportions will be accurate. I even get into the positions I’m trying to draw to see if it actually works. Then I build up the body itself; the arm thickness, the head, their core, the hands and feet.

I ALWAYS begin with a naked body so I can then draw the clothes (if they have clothes on) so I can know how they will fold and fall on the form itself.

The most fulfilling part is when I start to ink a penciled piece; not to toot my own horn, but my line work is STELLAR. And it means I’m almost done.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: What do you wish readers—and the general public—better understood about adult manga artists and the creative labor behind these works? Are there misconceptions about intent, effort, vulnerability, or emotional investment that you would like to correct or challenge? What often goes unseen behind the finished pages?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Given the nature of my work, being a very personal self-growth and healing endeavor, I find that now that I’ve shared it with the world, I DO get the occasional person just seeing it for what THEY want it to be.

Fetishizing where it isn’t called for, self-inserting without consent, not taking the time to appreciate if the story is drawn from a real place of vulnerability; it’s an inevitable effect when posting anything online for the world to scrutinize though and I am prepared for that. There are times where, yes, the comic is sexy to be sexy but having the critical thinking process and discernment to realize, ‘Oh, this comic doesn’t need me adding myself in there’ is something that not everyone has.

Another sad side effect is when I post a sexy drawing, some men take that as an invitation to send me sexually driven messages.

I’m going to say this for anyone who reads this: Just because someone is in the sex industry, or draws sexual situations, does NOT mean you have consent to just send them the nastiest thing you can think of off the bat. ASK PERMISSION if it’s okay, and if it’s not, accept NO is a full sentence.

It’s as if human candor of communication leaps out the door when a vulva and penis are drawn nicely.

There is so much that goes into calling a page finished for me that it’s difficult to relay the ‘what it takes’, but I am my own harshest critic. I will zoom in, re-ink & re-shade a page at least a hundred times, read and re-read the dialogue and sit within the emotion the piece evokes in me before I will say it’s done. That, paired with the possible acceptance or rejection, is what took me so long to even get the bravery to post my art in a more public setting.

Amit Ahuja: How do you personally balance storytelling and erotic elements in your work? Do you view them as separate components that must be carefully aligned, or as naturally intertwined expressions of the same emotional core? How do you know when that balance feels right?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I mentioned before how I make my comics as fluid as I can like a movie, frame by frame with your brain filling in the blanks as you read.

Sometimes the eroticism is blatant and in your face, other times it’s the longing look between characters, and it’s the nuance of attraction that I try to capture that builds over time.

I find the balance to be the tease. The very human desire to be curious and having to behave in one way, but the ‘what if’ approach if you indulged in the fantasy.

We all have sex, or want to, and I try my best at the blending of the realities of arousal and the subtlety of fantasy based desires.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: When creating characters, how deeply do you consider their inner emotional lives beyond what appears on the page? How do you approach the balance between idealization and realism when designing bodies, faces, and expressions? Have you ever had characters evolve in unexpected ways, surprising you or leading the story in directions you hadn’t originally planned?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

At this point I hope the readers have picked up on the idea that I view each character as their own autonomous entity that just happens to use my brain as their apartment.

Every one of my creations have a backstory, parents, a past, and they live each time I put my pencils to paper. They experience their own pain and turmoils, their own personal growth struggles, in this way I feel like I differ from most adult manga artists because my characters are not just subject to doing whatever a reader wants them to do.

Quite literally, sometimes I will have an idea of what I want to draw, then as my hand is making it the character’s reaction or expression is off kilter, and I change the entire trajectory of the story to suit them.

This is why I love roleplaying with my fans using my characters; it’s as if I leave myself and allow them the clemency to exist outside of my head and I get a better grasp of how they will react in-story.

I also tend to draw certain characters more when I am feeling waves of depression, anxiety, joy, anger and sorrow.

Karai, for example, came out of my hand when I was spending the night at a friends’ house. To the naked eye he is just a creepy cyclops. To me? He is a fear incubus, the visual embodiment of my depression and self loathing thoughts, the creeping mindset of not being enough, and the masochistic tendencies to just keep hurting because it’s familiar and it hurts to try anything new.

Lamica, my red headed fire monkey, is the personification of pride, constant positivity, self awareness and unabashed love and strength. I draw her when I’m feeling good, or when I feel like I cannot handle the pressures of the world, Lamica has always been there to fight off the bad guys and bad vibes. But even SHE has evolved and grown with me, as I’m confident the rest of my characters will until the day I die.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Amit Ahuja: Who are three people who have had a profound impact on your life—artistically, personally, or professionally? What lessons did each of them teach you, either directly or indirectly? How do their influences continue to shape your values, creative instincts, or approach to life today?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Biggest artistic inspiration: Akira Toriyama.

His stuff literally started off as doodles for a Shonen Manga, based on Chinese mythology loosely, and it grew and evolved with him throughout the entirety of his career. While many people just see a bunch of people screaming, it dealt with classism on a galactic scale, racism (Frieza hating but using the Saiyan Monkey), and finding literal inner strength from your anger and pain. The proverbial ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ mindset helped me out of so many situations that would have killed me by now, and he instilled a ‘never give up’ mindset in me.

Biggest personal inspiration: My Mother, Gigi.

She was the first black, female boilermaker initiated into the welder’s union of Oregon in 1977, she rode up to Oregon on a Harley Davidson motorcycle when she was 17, she’s a mother of 4 kids and raised my additional 3 cousins as her own, effectively being a mom of 7. She survived not ONLY a 5 week coma after her appendix ruptured, but she also conquered breast cancer AND graduated college in her late 40’s.

She is the baddest bitch on earth, and I am her little damn twin.

Professionally I am inspired by adult industry entertainers such as OctobersThirteenth, AprilVixxi, and Cookie Kawaii.

They are young, passionate, and genuinely in love with their craft. They inspire me to know how to set healthy boundaries in such a demanding industry, but to also have FUN with it, because we have one life to live. Might as well go out with a BANG.

Amit Ahuja: Alongside your manga work, you also maintain an OnlyFans presence, which many fans find especially intriguing. Can you share more about the kind of content you create on that platform, and how it differs from—or complements—your illustrated work? What draws you to OnlyFans as a creative space, and what do you enjoy about engaging with your audience there? In what ways does it allow you to explore or express aspects of your sexuality, intimacy, or self-presentation that may not translate as naturally into manga form?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’m glad you’ve asked about this! For me, having an OnlyFans is one of the most empowering things I have done in a long time.

It’s a platform where I can embrace my sexuality as a whole, not only to be able to post my art unabashedly, but by utilizing my Certification as a Sexual Health and Wellness Expert to discuss proper sexual etiquette. I also try to cover situations of consent and proper safety with fetish toys such as whips, vibrators, lubricants and desensitizers to ensure a safe sexual experience overall.

I am able to take ownership of my own financial stability with this platform, paying close attention to my engagement with my fans while also keeping true to my own personal boundaries of what I will and will not show of myself. My fans seem to love what I’m doing though! I have made it to the top 26% of OnlyFans creators, and that feels AMAZING considering how many people use the platform to create!

Amit Ahuja: When it comes to the media and art that have shaped you most, what films have left a lasting impact on you, and why? Are there television series you revisit often, books that changed how you think, podcasts you recommend, or music that feels deeply personal to you? Is there a concert or live performance that stands out as especially meaningful, and what made that experience resonate?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

I’ve named a few already, but Heavy Metal, Fritz the Cat, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cat People, I am also heavily inspired by horror movies; Evil Dead trilogy, Hostel I & II, Blair Witch Project, Sleepaway Camp, Night of the Demons.

The campier the better for me! And the insane scenarios help me with so many facial expressions it’s not even funny.

I’m also a huge fan of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I Think You Should Leave, Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, and pretty much any awkward humor from Adult Swim.

Oh, with music there is no way to put a pin on me; I have what I affectionately call Musical ADHD. My tastes go from Caravan Palace to Korn, Billy Holiday to Igorrr, if it hits that freaky frequency my brain likes, I save it to my phone and hyper fixate on it.

Amit Ahuja: Happiness and success can mean very different things to different people. How do you personally define happiness at this stage of your life? In what ways does that definition support—or sometimes conflict with—your creative ambitions, professional goals, and sense of identity as an artist?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Happiness, for me, is the ability to be as self-sufficient as possible, to be able to follow my passion for the first time in 20 years without worrying about keeping someone else happy.

My Fate was to be trapped in the corporate workforce…my Destiny was to be happy and follow my passion without any shame and to inspire at least one person a day to follow their own dreams.

I refuse to put success over my happiness ever again. As long as I am being true to myself, my artists soul that blazes hotter than the sun, the success will follow directly behind.

Amit Ahuja: As someone navigating a career that is both deeply personal and publicly visible, how do you stay grounded while continuing to push yourself creatively and professionally? What practices or perspectives help you maintain balance between ambition, growth, and personal well-being?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

At this phase of my life, I am welcoming what is mine to receive and what the universe has already given to me. I think keeping that mentality helps to ground me in the moment, to acknowledge my own talents and not to second guess my gifts.

I try not to allow shame into my vocabulary anymore, because for years some people tried to drain my energy from me. To find the strength to be unbothered by the world’s opinion of MY lived experiences is still a work in progress, but I am becoming more proficient at that art as the days blaze onward.

Self-motivation and self-esteem is so fundamentally important when it comes to being in the public eye like I am, and I strive to cherish my brick house. Eating well, sleeping, going to the gym; I am in charge of my OWN destiny, and I cannot receive my galactic gifts and live to 117 if I fall prey to self-doubt and second guessing my intentions.

Amit Ahuja: Creativity and mental health are often closely intertwined. Can you share any personal experiences you’ve had navigating mental health challenges throughout your artistic journey? How have those experiences shaped your understanding of self-care, emotional resilience, and long-term creative sustainability?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

Art is literally my therapy. And I know that if I have lived through it, there are others that have as well, or experienced a branch of something along the same vein.

Dealing with physical abuse, I would often draw fight scenes of how Lamica would protect me, dealing with lack of intimacy, I would draw and try to manifest my desires, losing a beloved pet I would draw them as a new character, so they stay alive in my world forever.

I find that having this outlet as opposed to internally festering with my traumas is the healthiest way for me to deal with it all.

When the emotions build up, when the darkness threatens to consume me, my art has always brought me back from the precipice of sorrow and reminded me I still have a story to tell. And I can only hope I inspire others in some way to cherish their mental health, their sexual wellness and find a way to love even the most broken parts of themselves.

Amit Ahuja: What coping tools, habits, routines, or support systems have been most helpful in protecting your mental and emotional well-being? What advice would you offer to other artists who are learning how to care for themselves while remaining creatively open, vulnerable, and expressive?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

What’s helped me to get out of depressive states is having lots of mirrors around my home. And I say this to myself every day:

Look Good. Smell Good. Feel Good.

This is a reminder to take care of myself, take a shower or bath, and take my medication.

I’ve also coined a phrase of “Doing my Skyler Best”. Not what someone else considers their best, MY best. Holding a standard of excellence while also giving myself grace to rest and refuel.

Seeking therapy was so important for my healing journey, learning new coping mechanisms on how to handle PTSD episodes. Going to the doctor in general, a nutritionist, the dentist and eye doctor. Giving myself permission to be ‘selfish’ and think of myself first rather than trying to please everyone around me.

Amit Ahuja: As we close, what final reflections would you like to share with your fans—and with anyone pursuing a creative dream—about perseverance, authenticity, trusting your instincts, and staying true to your own artistic path, even when that path feels uncertain or misunderstood?

Skyler - Freak Ink Comics:

The best advice I can give is; love yourself and heal. You’re allowed to work on yourself, to indulge in gratuitous self-love.

And while it feels good to get validation from others, the ‘good job’…strive to be that person that little you would look up at and be proud of. I do it all to heal little me so that adult me can flourish.

Be your OWN superhero, your own standard for beauty and love.

Never allow yourself fall prey to self-doubt and be the VIBE everywhere you go!

If you are true to yourself, the rest will fall into place on their own, and the people MEANT to be in your world will gravitate to your light naturally.

Amit Ahuja: Thank So Much to Sklyer Brown from Freak Ink Comics for sharin your story with us today.

Photo Credit: Skyler Brown of Freak Ink Comics

Below is all the information related to Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics, including where you can follow her:

Freak Ink Comics Website:

https://freakinkcomicsllc.com/

Sklyer Brown from Freak Ink Comics Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/freakinkcomics/

***All photo credits are attributed to Skyler Brown from Freak Ink Comics.***

Behind the Scenes with the Bandmates of Sentimental Creatures: An Exclusive Interview

I had the wonderful opportunity to do a Q&A session with the talented bandmates of Sentimental Creatures. During this engaging discussion, I was able to dive deep into the unique stories of each band members, exploring their diverse upbringings and the distinct paths they took to pursue their musical dreams. We discussed their individual musical journeys, highlighting pivotal moments that shaped their artistic identities, and shared insights into their personal hobbies and interests outside of music. I hope you guys enjoy reading this!!

Amit Ahuja: To start at the very beginning, can you take us back to your earliest years and paint a vivid picture of where you each grew up?

Lukas: I grew up with divorced parents, so I called quite a few different places my hometown as we moved around a lot, or if I was in between one house or the other. On one end of the spectrum, I grew up out in the country—spending a lot of time at my grandparents’ farm (pastures, barns, auctions, the outdoors, etc.) when I was with my mom. On the other end, with my dad, I grew up in the city around Kansas City (downtown, independence center, worlds of fun, neighborhood friends, etc.)

It was hard growing up with two different lifestyles, but I’m really grateful for it because I feel like it made me more well-rounded and able to relate to a lot of different situations and kinds of people. I got to see different ways of life and watch my parents overcome their own challenges, and that shaped how I try to carry myself and help others now.

Both of my parents were musicians and writers, so I grew up surrounded by good music and creativity. As a kid I spent a lot of time outside—skateboarding, running around neighborhoods with friends, having Nerf wars. At one point, one of my best friends (Brayden) and I even founded and played on a semi-professional paintball team. On the other side of my life, I was around animals on the farm, building and fixing things, later on I played football and golf in high school, and eventually started connecting with friends in the music scene after I graduated.

Sara: I grew up in two different college towns. I was born in Pullman, WA on campus (go Cougs) and the year 2000 was when I moved to St Joseph, MO- home of Missouri Western State University, the latter of which became my Alma mater. Although Pullman and St Joe are almost the same in population size, their cultures are strikingly different. Even after the end of the PAC 10/12 conference Wazzou is still the pride and joy of Pullman, and its athletics and art departments still thrive there.

Whereas St Joe never repped their own colors with the same loyalty and later became plagued by alleged embezzlement and their current disassociated, selfish administration which ended up leading to the near dissolution of the very art department I got my music degree from. But before all that, MWSU’s art department was the life blood of the St. Joe local entertainment scene.

In the 2010s Magoons had weekly Tuesday jams which is where I cut my teeth as a professional drummer and the best of the best theatre majors hosted stand-up comedy nights and animated karaoke's all over town. I find it tragically funny that the current social media trend of 2026 is “post your 2016 pics” because I mostly remember MWSU and the St Joe’s art and music culture still being in its prime during that time. Since then, MWSU now has to rely on community volunteers to have a band at football games, Magoons stopped hosting the weekly jams, and The Rendezvous closed its doors forever.

Caleb: I grew up in a city that had a small-town feel; I could walk or ride my bike almost anywhere. There were strong community connections with the library, schools, and local businesses. The school had a very prominent band program, and the community was always there to support it. Which gave the band opportunities like playing at professional sports games and marching in NYC and at Disneyland.

Isaiah: I was born in St. Joseph, MO, but grew up in a small town in Atchison, KS. Middle of nowhere. The atmosphere was isolating, but it always had really cool nature—lots of trees and small little lakes. It made me think a lot and dream big. I just wanted to make it out of there.

Amit Ahuja: Looking back with the perspective you have now, in what ways did your upbringing shape who you are today?

Lukas: Seeing my parents’ relationship with music—and really my whole family’s relationship with it—guided me toward that path myself. Watching how they handled adversity, how they treated people, and how they navigated life really shaped my values and perspective.

I’m incredibly grateful for the support system I’ve been blessed with and for the people God placed in my life. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that foundation, and it’s influenced how I approach creativity, relationships, and life in general.

Sara: St. Joseph was where I learned the harsh realities of racism and religious trauma, but it was those very things that made me channel my anger and aggression towards beating the life out of a drumset. Yet somehow in the weeds of this toxic culture, I still managed to be blessed by great band directors and especially two incredible percussion teachers: Chad Lippincott (Central high school) and the late great Dr. Dennis Rogers (MWSU) that taught me how to apply music theory to my musical anger outlet.

Caleb: Boy Scouts was a big part of my childhood. I was in it from elementary school all the way through high school. I learned a lot of real-world skills, some of which I still use today. For most of my childhood, my dad was a teacher. So, he would also get summers off. My dad, brother, and I would always go camping, fishing, swimming, or play games in the back yard. He was my teacher, coach, and principal. There are times that I either say or do something like he would have, without even realizing it until later.

Isaiah: My upbringing affected me the most because of my specific environment. I grew up with people who were older and wiser—not a whole lot of people my age—so it made me mentally grow up faster. But my family was very open-minded: no racism or sexism or judgment of religious choice, so I’ve always been grateful for that. It made me able to have the open mind that allows room for creativity to come in full force.

Amit Ahuja: Can you talk about your experiences within the Kansas City music scene?

Lukas: I actually started out in the Atchison, Kansas music scene, then moved into the St. Joseph scene. I made a lot of great connections in both places, but Kansas City was always the goal. Living a little outside the city made things harder—it took extra effort to get involved and make connections—but it was worth it.

Finding the Kansas City Music Industry Network and going to industry meetings at the RINO in North Kansas City really changed things for us. We met people who believed in us, shared knowledge, and became close friends. Many of our best friends in music are from Kansas City now, and we’ve had the chance to play some historic venues and share stages with amazing bands.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow within that scene, and I’m excited to see how Kansas City continues to develop creatively over the next few years.

Sara: Other than being America’s only UNESCO recognized music city, I grew up seeing KC as a haven for indie bands. In my late teens, 96.5 was still “The Buzz” and it inspired me to no end hearing songs by bands from KC and even St. Joseph on “Jeriney’s Homegrown Buzz” segment- it felt like such an attainable goal that I could be in a band someday that could get on a show that has the reach that 96.5 has. Although that station has changed, the spirit of the KC indie scene has not. It’s still very much a “together we can” attitude. 90.1 KKFI was actually the station where I achieved my radio play goal with Sentimental Creatures. And the KC DIY venue, Sk8bar, was also the place that brought us all together in the first place.

Caleb: The first time I played a show in Kansas City, it was at the Rino. The other bands and the venue workers were nice and supportive, and the crowd was all having a good time. They also have some of the best ice cream in KC. Every time we play a show, I feel that everyone is supportive of each other. It doesn’t feel like a competition between musicians. Bands like Kissin, Toasterbath, and Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves make it easy to have fun and just play music. But they also make me want to push the boundaries of our genre and try new things to see what we as a band can accomplish.

Isaiah: Experiences with the KC music scene are amazing—lots of diversity, and even people from out of town. Coming up was tricky because the KC scene is pretty private, but once you break in, you’re in, and it’s just networking really after that. Finding your own identity or creating it—me and the band I’m in have definitely gotten lucky to perform with other acts that are badass, just off the top of my head (Toaster Bath / Phantom Sam / Rosebay from Colorado / Barefoot Cult / Captain Howdy / An Esperluette / Indra / Kissin / Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves / Doll Exchange), and lots more to mention. Being around so many other talented people and artists just makes you want to push yourself. It’s inspiring because growing up you hear about all these different music scenes from different decades (jam bands of the 70s, 90s grunge scene, etc.), and you wish to be a part of that or be around it. In a way, I feel like that stuff only happens every so often, when the world needs it or is ready for it. Technology definitely changed everything and numbed all of us (AI, social media content creating). Everything is constantly in a state of change and instant gratification, but now it’s faster than ever—more than most can keep up with. It’s like we’re all fried. KC is still unique in my opinion because, in my own head at least, it feels like we’re separated from a lot of the other parts of the country—“middle America.” A lot of people forget about our area.

Amit Ahuja: Can you walk us through your personal musical journey?

Lukas: I grew up around music—both of my parents were musicians and writers—so it was always present in my life. I really caught the writing bug in third grade when I learned about poetry, and that changed everything for me.

As I got older, songwriting became an outlet and an escape. It helped me process life, deal with hard things, and create a space where I could express what I was feeling. It was freeing, and it carried me through a lot of difficult seasons.

Outside of just writing music, some of my friends and I used to go to Josey records every Thursday for years rain or shine and just check out vinyl, try new music out, and just spend the whole night listening to new records. As well as also going out and seeing bands play live. The first time I ever drove with my driver's license to Kansas City was to go to Josey records.

Sara: There’s no denying it- it was Phil Collins for me. Not Genesis or his solo stuff- it was actually the Disney Tarzan soundtrack! And then when my grandma caught on to the fact I was singing along to drum parts and not melodies, she started me with drum lessons at 9 years old.

Caleb: Within the same year, I received my first guitar and was gifted the CD that would heavily influence my music taste. Middle school was a turning point for my relationship with music. Going from something that I enjoyed to something I was passionate about. I was in band, choir, and musicals; and it just accelerated through high school and college.

Isaiah: Music always surrounded me since I was young. My uncle would play Ozzy and Celine Dion to make me sleep, and Journey, which was my favorite back then. I’d say it was meaningful the second I heard my first song. I was just always able to have a connection with it when I liked the sound. The moment that ignited everything for me was probably when I played Are You Experienced, Led Zeppelin, Rumours, and Abbey Road for the first time. I still remember looking at the speakers of the stereo and couldn’t believe the sounds and melodies that were coming out at me. It felt like I was time traveling.

Amit Ahuja: What initially drew you toward the genre you focus on today?

Lukas: I wanted to stay with something that didn’t have boundaries and also didn’t have a stereotype around what it sounded like. Each of us in the band have so many different influences that it was important to keep it flexible as we developed new songs, techniques, and influences.

Sara: As a child growing up in a contemporary, almost-mega church, it’s easy to hear the similarities in just how the music sounds between indie rock and early 2000s contemporary praise music. And because of that I was drawn to that type of music because it sounded “spiritual”. I’m still drawn to that sound even after I finally realized the concept of organized religion and its homophobic beliefs are anything but spiritual. However, that community and ethereal authenticity that I was looking for in church turned out to be everything the indie music scene was about. In this scene I see people who are truly free to be themselves and love who they want, and they express themselves freely and authentically because of that. Authenticity is what I’m drawn to the most in everything, and I think Jesus would agree.

Caleb: Being in an Alternative Rock band doesn’t mean we are locked into one specific genre. Each of us in the band grew up listening to something different, and we bring that to the table when we are writing songs. The genre seems to be more of a spectrum rather than something that is just cut and dry.

Isaiah: I don’t really know if I do focus on a genre, to be honest. I just like what sounds good to me and what makes me feel like I’m not dead. We as a band have so many different influences. I think we’re still finding ourselves even right now.

Amit Ahuja: Were there particular bands, songs, or artists that influenced you early on?

Lukas: Jeff Buckley, Kings of Leon, the 1975, John Mayer, the Goo Goo Dolls, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, and many more that we feature on an inspiration playlist on our Spotify account.

Sara: The band that did it for me was Switchfoot. Yea…they were one of the “approved” bands for the youth group playlists, but I also noticed something else in them: I saw 5 surfer bros from California who’s lead singer/songwriter loves Jesus but also loves rock and roll and traveling and just writes lyrics about what he feels. To me that looked and sounded like freedom, and that’s all I ever wanted to be in a band for. “Nothing is Sound” was also the album I played along to the most during my early musician years.

Caleb: Green Day was the biggest influence since the start of my musical journey. American Idiot was the first album that I listened to in its entirety. It was the only CD I had in my portable CD player for a long time. I was too young at the time to fully understand what the message behind the music was. But the sound of the guitar, bass, and drums; and the passion behind all the lyrics, I just couldn’t get enough. I wrote several songs growing up, always dreaming of being in a band, and now I’m living that dream.

Isaiah: Black Sabbath, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Journey, Led Zeppelin, and Fleetwood Mac were probably the most important, but I’d also mention (The Smiths, The Velvet Underground, Rory Gallagher, Prince, Eric Johnson, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, ZZ Top, My Bloody Valentine, The Stone Roses, Type O Negative, Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins, Counting Crows, Jeff Buckley, Metallica, The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cream, Thin Lizzy, The Misfits, Kiss, The Pixies)—too many to name. Drums were always my favorite instrument. Guitar didn’t catch my attention until I saw a video of Dimebag Darrell playing in the “Walk” music video, and then I was hooked. I didn’t really think of starting a band until I really got into Hendrix and The Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers specifically. When I first learned how to play “Tonight, Tonight” and “Under the Bridge” on guitar, after that I felt like I had a connection with my instrument.

Amit Ahuja: Take us back to the very beginning of Sentimental Creatures. How did the band first come together?

Lukas: The four of us met for the first time whenever Isaiah and I played a show at skate bar whenever it was still in Saint Joseph Missouri. It was one of the last shows that they had there before they moved to Westport. That’s where we met Sara and Caleb. Sara joined the band a few months after we met, and then Caleb joined the following year. Isaiah and I had known each other for multiple years leading up to that and we met at muddy River guitars in Atchison Kansas.

Sara: So, before the whole band met at Sk8bar it was just Lukas Allnutt and Isaiah Diaz playing guitar and writing together for a couple years. The night all four of us met, Sk8bar was still in St Joe at the time, and the band was supposed to break up that night- Isaiah wanted to step away from music and start anew. That night me and my boyfriend at the time (now fiancé), Caleb, just wanted to go out and see some bands. Lukas actually thought I was a videographer because I was shooting the bands’ sets the whole night on my phone. Luke and Isaiah played this song called “Sink or Swim” that I was absolutely enamored with and it inspired me to talk to them after their set. We made plans to jam, and we kept making plans, and then two years into it Caleb joined in on those plans. And then we put out a single!

Caleb: I first saw Lukas and Isaiah at one of the last shows of Sk8bar in St Joe. Little did I know that would lead to where we are today. Sara spoke with them after the show and eventually they all started jamming and playing some shows together. They wanted me to join on bass, but I was busy at the time with another band. After a falling out with that band, I made the decision to finally join Sentimental Creatures. Lukas and Isaiah had been playing together for a long time and Sara and I had been in a few different bands together. Sara and I have the rhythm section down on lock, Lukas pours his soul into the lyrics, and Isaiah takes us all on a musical journey with his solos. It helps that we all know what we are doing. Lukas comes to us with the basic outline of a song and we all add the meat and potatoes to finish it off. Sara and I’s years of experience and the chemistry between Lukas and Isaiah all mesh really well.

Isaiah: It all started with me and Luke. I had just moved to KC and was in a weird place in my life and didn’t know my future. Luke ended up having me play a festival show in St. Joe with him, and it went really well, but I still didn’t feel any direction. He came up with the band name and told me about a Sk8bar show at the end of the year that we should play. We ended up playing, and after that show I was on board. It’s also where we met our drummer Sarah for the first time—really special night. The connection we had with the crowd is mainly what got my attention. I never had a moment like that before. It was really cool stuff.

Amit Ahuja: When Sentimental Creatures was first forming, what was the original vision for your sound and identity?

Lukas: When we first started the band, we were mainly focused on recording, writing, and getting things to where they could be released to the public because we had other things and other opportunities that were coming up and we didn’t know if we would get the opportunity to unless we took charge and did it ourselves. we had been trying for years to put a band together and record and hadn’t had much luck until we met Sara and Caleb and everything changed.

Sara: When I joined, the first band I compared our sound to be The Goo Goo Dolls. So from that, I really tried to approach my drum part writing to sound like every rock band I loved from the late 90s/early 2000s: Counting Crows, Switchfoot, Dave Matthews Band, etc. I’m not gonna lie though, it didn’t sound as full as it could without bass guitar and we really sounded complete once Caleb filled that role.

Caleb: The name of the band was already decided on before I joined. As a whole, the name fits the band. Most of the songs are stories from Lukas’ life, but there are still themes that we can all relate to. We vlog every show as a way not only for us to look back on, but for our fans to see what we are like off stage. I recently made a lyric video for our single “Could’ve Stayed” that incorporated all of the vlogs we made during 2025. It’s like a highlight reel of our first year as a full band. It was nice seeing where we started, how we’ve grown, and the friends that we have made along the way. I know that each of us will look back on it fondly for years to come.

Isaiah: It all started with me and Luke. I had just moved to KC and was in a weird place in my life and didn’t know my future. Luke ended up having me play a festival show in St. Joe with him, and it went really well, but I still didn’t feel any direction. He came up with the band name and told me about a Sk8bar show at the end of the year that we should play. We ended up playing, and after that show I was on board. It’s also where we met our drummer Sarah for the first time—really special night. The connection we had with the crowd is mainly what got my attention. I never had a moment like that before. It was really cool stuff.

Amit Ahuja: In the early stages, did you experiment with different band names?

Lukas: My wife—who was my girlfriend at the time—and I would drive around listening to new music together. She showed me a Christian album that was titled Sentimental Creatures, and at the time Isaiah and I were scrambling to find a band name.

We’d tried other names before my first band was called The Midnight Marters, Isaiah and I briefly had a band called Cool Hand, and at one point I wanted to call this project Heart Sleeve, but no one else liked that name.

When I heard Sentimental Creatures, it immediately clicked. It felt personal. It felt like me. I looked it up and realized no band had claimed the name, so I grabbed the social media handles right away—even before we were ready to release anything. Months later, someone else tried to use the name for something unrelated, and I was so glad we’d locked it in.

I love that we’re just @SentimentalCreatures—not an underscore, not “band” at the end. It’s us. Even if it’s a little long or hard to spell, it’s worth it because it represents who we are and there’s not any competition in the search bar.

Caleb: From what I know, the band was Lukas and Isaiah both on guitar. Sara joined on drums shortly after that show at Sk8bar, which did change the dynamic of the sound. It gave it more of a driving force. When I finally joined the band a year later, it was like putting in the last puzzle piece. Having bass really lays down a foundation and helps round out the sound.

Sara: Luke was so committed to that name he started the Instagram account before the band even started because no one had taken it yet! And I’m so glad he did. Sentimental Creatures is the perfect band name for 4 people who are just living to create music and memories together.

Isaiah: I think the vision was me and Luke just wanted to write the best songs that we could and hopefully connect with people along the way, also just trying to build something to get us out of our situations. I think it’s aligned well currently thanks to us having Sarah (drums) and Caleb (bass). We’ve just had good chemistry from day one. It’s evolved in the sense that with time we’ve been able to jam out more songs, but in a funny way we don’t have as much time to sit around and write in a convent way anymore because of jobs and life. Time management is trickier.

Amit Ahuja: The name Sentimental Creatures feels intentional and layered with meaning. Can you explain it?

Lukas: The name reflects how I see myself and how I see people. We’re all sentimental in some way—we hold onto memories, places, people, and moments. That emotional connection to life is at the core of everything we do, and the name felt like it captured that perfectly.

Sarah: There was a piece of art called “Sentimental Creatures” that definitely inspired the band name, and the more I dwelled on that name the more I realized how perfect it is and never once had the desire to try and change it. Because we’re all sentimental about something, right? I think the name represents an important factor that makes us all human.

Caleb: Sentimentality for me is not necessary holding on to the past, rather looking back at past experiences fondly. Or even holding on to certain items because they mean something to you on an emotional level. One place in particular for me, that is sentimental is Sk8bar. That is the venue that Sara and I first started hanging out at, playing my first open mic, meeting Lukas and Isaiah, and recently the place that I proposed to Sara at.

Isaiah: I don’t remember all the names me and Luke came up with, but there were a lot. He found the name one day and I liked how it sounded, so we agreed because we really just needed a name. It felt like it represented the times very well, but not in a dated way—more like a state of living or state of mind. Our song “Could’ve Stayed” is probably a good example of that. Sometimes it’s easy to overthink or let things subconsciously weigh you down—“idle time is the devil’s playground”—but a lot of times you just need to make peace with yourself without even realizing it.

Amit Ahuja: When it comes to songwriting, can you walk us through your lyrical inspiration?

Lukas: Songwriting has always been an outlet for me. I recently found some of my earliest notebooks from elementary school when I was learning poetry, and it reminded me how long this has been part of my life.

Writing lets me escape, rewrite moments, or create entire fictional worlds. I loved storytelling from a young age, and that drew me to music—especially styles that could tell a story from beginning to end.

Songwriting also gave me a way to talk about things without directly confronting people. I could process emotions, find closure, and even sing about it onstage while the person was in the audience. It’s helped me through some of the hardest and best times of my life, and it’s something I’ll always come back to.

Amit Ahuja: Could you dive deeper into specific songs from Could’ve Stayed and Down?

Lukas: Could’ve Stayed is a romanticized look back on my high school “career” / that era of my life.

Featuring lines talking about moments, music, and places from my life and what it’s like revisiting them as who I am today.

Also talking about the lines “Shapie tattood her number, I wanna be your lover, up all night sleep all day, I wish we could’ve stayed.

“Sharpie tattooed her number” is a reference to the unsure permanence of a sharpie on your skin, and also in that “stage” of a relationship.

“I wanna be your lover, up all night sleep all day” is a reference to two song titles that heavily influenced the two sides of the coin of my teenage self. The first reference is to a single off of prince’s self titled album (my favorite) I listened to that album almost every night at that time in my life. And in the context of “Could’ve Stayed” it really shares the side of me that was longing and yearning for love. Whereas the other reference is to “Up all night sleep all day” by Slaughter a high energy hair metal band that sound tracked lots of wild moments and crazy nights of those years for me.

The song also ends with the words “Where are you right now, do you think of me somehow?” And for me it’s a call out to anyone who’s lived those stories with me and/or anyone who might feel the same.

Isaiah: I remember writing my parts for “Could’ve Stayed” and “Down” in the same day. Me and Luke had more time on our hands back then, and we were in his old basement. He showed me the lyrics on paper, and we just played it out on the spot, which is usually how me and him write. He’s always got a lyric, or I’ll always have a guitar part or piece, and it will inspire the other’s part. So really for me it just represents that time period of our lives—just two guys with acoustics trying to make things happen.

Amit Ahuja: When you’re creating music, does it feel more like emotional release or self-discovery?

Lukas: A lot of the time it’s both, it just depends on whether I sit down with the intention to write something or if the song chooses me and I get the opportunity to put pen to paper on it.

Our song “you won’t” completely came to me in a dream that I had where I re-live a whole night of my life and woke up with a new perspective on it. After that dream I woke up and immediately went straight into the living room, grabbed a guitar, and wrote the song in like 15-20 minutes.

There’s also a lot of times as a band where we completely freestyle something out of thin air, and if we’re lucky enough to have recorded a draft of it 9/10 times it becomes something really cool. That’s how we got our song “Blue”

Isaiah and I will also sit down and “put the pieces together” using pieces of different ideas we have to revisit to build a whole song from the ground up. That’s how we got our song “Sink or Swim”

Sara: Writing music can be a combination of all 3, but also, it’s an outlet for just having fun. And as a drummer, I’m always approaching my part writing through the lens of “what will make people dance”. Dancing is also an expression of all those aforementioned things, and everyone should be able to express themselves freely at a rock concert.

Caleb: When I’m writing my bass parts, I try to make them as interesting as I can while still fitting within the realm of the songs. I push myself to see what I can do; I just want my parts to be fun to play.

Isaiah: I’d say all three, because most of the time it’s something that just happens in the moment and you just hope to capture it. It really just depends on what the mood is for that moment on that exact day.

Amit Ahuja: Is there a particular takeaway you hope listeners feel when hearing your music?

Lukas: I hope people find comfort in knowing someone else has felt what they’re feeling. I want them to be able to build their own version of the story and interpret the songs in their own way. One of my favorite things about art is hearing how other people connect to it and seeing things through different lenses of life.

Sara: For every one person who doesn’t like your music, there is someone that does. As long as your art is authentic and your guitars are in tune your fans will find you

Caleb: From my own opinions, to what I have heard from other band members and fans, they all mean something different to everyone; and that’s the beauty of it.

Isaiah: I think it’s all open-ended anyway, even if you don’t want it to be, because every person is gonna take something in or perceive it in their own unique way—that’s out of your control. If you’re trying to make a concept album, I guess that might be different. I just hope people can have a good time.

Amit Ahuja: What advice would you offer musicians dealing with rejection or self-doubt?

Lukas: It’s going to happen, but it happens for a reason and it makes you better. The quicker that you can find a perspective to take criticism as a way to learn and develop the faster that will happen. People very seldom are nice online if they don’t know you and no one‘s ever going to be 100% happy with something that you do. so make sure that it’s something that you can be proud of and that you’re passionate about because it doesn’t matter what they have to say, if you love it. The other edge of that sword is comparison; it can be crippling at times if used in the wrong way. but if you use it as a way to direct yourself and also attempt to make connections with the people that you catch yourself comparing yourself to it will make you better and also will bring forth Good relationships “your network is your net worth“ leading to opportunities in a higher quality of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Sara: For every one person who doesn’t like your music, there is someone that does. As long as your art is authentic and your guitars are in tune your fans will find you.

Caleb: We all go through struggles in life, musicians and non-musicians alike. When we don’t get invited to play a show, or we don’t make the cut for an audition, we can’t take it personally. It doesn’t mean that we suck, it’s either not the right timing or there is something better on the horizon.

Isaiah: Stop comparing yourself to other people. Just work on finding yourself authentically, and if you don’t know where to start, try and remember where you come from and follow the roots. With setbacks, you’ve just gotta focus on what you actually have control over. Once you have that figured out, then it’s just about action and accountability—how honest can you actually be with yourself, and how much are you willing to sacrifice, etc.

Amit Ahuja: Looking ahead, what exciting projects or goals do you have?

Lukas: Right now, the biggest focus is making an album. It sounds simple, but it’s a massive process—writing, recording, budgeting, release strategy, social media, and everything in between. It’s stressful, but with the team we have, it’s also a lot of fun.

We want to document the process, get the album out the right way, and eventually do small Midwest tours. Who knows—maybe one day a world tour—but right now, the album is the main goal.

Sara: So, the year of 2026 is going to slow down our live performance schedule because we are determined to start recording our debut album. We’ve been performing the tracks we want to put on it for a whole year so it’s time to record and cement them in the archives forever.

Caleb: Right now, we are gearing up to record our first album. What I’m excited for is that I get to record and mix it.

Isaiah: Making our first album.

Amit Ahuja: Who are three people who have profoundly shaped your life?

Lukas: I’d bundle my family and friends together as one. Seeing their different perspectives on life, how they treat people, and how they’ve helped me grow closer to God has shaped me deeply.

Musically, watching how important music was to so many of them showed me how powerful it can be as a tool to navigate life.

My family and close friends have helped me gain perspective, overcome anxiety and fear, and grow personally, spiritually, and creatively.

Sara: 1st major influence is my father, known in this region as “Coach Buzz”

He was the head coach of MWSU baseball for 20+ years until his retirement in 2023, and he kept that job for that long despite only getting offered a contract to renew EVERY year. And he’s still the 2nd most winningest baseball coach in the entire MIAA conference. Thats the work ethic he instilled in me and that’s what has set me on the road to success as an adult today.

2nd major influence is a man by the name of Jeff Lux- even tho I was getting a lot of great collegiate level training in music, I knew nothing about getting gigs in the real world until he gave me my first paying gig at the age 18. He carries himself with such grace and wisdom his oldest son calls him “Mountain Man Buddah”. He’s also a legend in St Joe- he’s the guitarist front and center on the musician mural that overlooks the Coleman Hawkins gazebo and he used to be in Kansas (yes…THAT Kansas)

And my 3rd and final influence is our very own bass player, my partner in rhythm and in life, Caleb Lackey. He taught me what true love is supposed to feel like and that’s the greatest inspiration I can ask for.

Caleb: Artistically, Billie Joe Armstrong. Ever since I listened to American Idiot, it inspired me to be a musician. Just his life story alone can be used as inspiration for other musicians. Personally, my fiancé Sara. She has helped me become a better man and learn what love actually is. She is one of the best drummers I’ve ever worked with, and she pushes me to be a better musician. Professionally, my dad. He has been in leadership positions for most of my life. Showing me what kind of work ethic, it takes to be where you want to be and how to handle stressful situations.

Isaiah: Musically (Jimi Hendrix, SRV, John Frusciante). Personally, Chuck, my first guitar teacher; then Chris, my second guitar teacher; and Brian, my old coworker/bandmate, all taught me different things and gave me different opportunities. What they’ve done for me still resonates with me today because I feel like I’m still chasing or trying to live out their advice and lessons. A lot of it I haven’t even gotten close to where I feel I should be, really.

Amit Ahuja: Outside of music, what other forms of art inspire you?

Lukas: I love film and TV because they fully immerse you—visually, emotionally, and sonically. Books, poetry, and songwriting allow more imagination, even if they’re harder to remember sometimes.

I love visual art and going to museums. I have an art wall at home made mostly of thrifted and garage-sale pieces that my wife and I find. I love continuing the legacy of art that someone else spent years creating, even if I don’t know the full story. seeing the gifts God has given working through people in every form of art, is inspiring.

I try to find inspiration in all forms of art that I encounter to help grow my perspective in everything I create.

Sara: The form of art that has resonated the most with me since my childhood was the story of The Lord of the Rings. It taught me about good vs evil, loyalty, self sacrifice, and inspired my adventurous spirit. As a story the books are a feat to read, but as lyrical poetry for inspiration there’s a lot of great stuff in there! For example, whenever I get existential I always think of Gandalf’s words about death: “The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass...then you see it…white shores”

Caleb: Video games would be the biggest for me. Mainly series like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout where there is this vast open world that you can explore. The story telling and ability to choose how you go through the games is what drew me to them. The sound tracks are really good as well. Especially in the Fallout games with the early 1900’s music that gives it a retro-aesthetic.

Isaiah: I’d say martial arts and skateboarding I find very inspirational. Different kind of expression and art but seeing people test their spirit and inner will to overcome our own human limitations, and to not let their minds eat them alive or consume them, but to have control and persevere time and time again—there’s nothing else like those art forms in my opinion. Very unique.

Amit Ahuja: Can you talk about the connection between creativity and mental health?

Lukas: Building a strong support system has been huge for me—people in the same niche who understand what you’re going through, along with friends and family outside of it who offer different perspectives.

The internet can be brutal. People will criticize things you’ve poured time, money, and emotion into. You can’t make everyone happy, so the most important thing is making art you’re proud of.

For me personally, building a relationship with God changed everything. It shifted my perspective from regret and “what ifs” to peace and trust that there’s a bigger plan. Music has always been an outlet for processing emotions and connecting with others, and the combination has been essential for my mental health.

Sara: My god what an intense question because my mental health journey and my exodus from organized religion journey go hand in hand…going to live shows was my alternative to going to therapy since the counselor at the church I was raised in was the one who condemned me for playing in bars (lol)

But now I see a whole different type of struggle: the weight of bearing your soul through an original song to a room of mostly strangers. But I think the ones who are brave enough to do that are the ones who figured out the solution is easier to read than do: Love Thyself

It’s easy to get in your own head, or to read comments from self-appointed critics online and believe them, but not as easy to tune it out and remember your worth. Because everyone that makes art to benefit and inspire others has value. And when we as artists tell each other that, the scene gets a little easier on one’s mentality.

Caleb: Mental health can be tricky. I’ve been in that position where I am comparing myself to others and thinking that I’m not good enough. Over time I started to only compare myself to what I’ve done in the past. There are days where I don’t improve and have fallen back. So, I take time to reflect as to why I’m not improving, not to make excuses, but to have actual reasons on why I faltered, and the steps I can take to make sure they don’t happen again.

Isaiah: t’s a back and forth for your whole life. The spiritual battle never stops. Sometimes it can break you, but never give up on yourself. Also, make sure you have a good circle around you—people who will say no but also give you an honest yes. Loyalty and truth—you can’t buy that.

Amit Ahuja: If you had the world’s attention for five uninterrupted minutes, what would you say?

Lukas: God has a plan for everything. The more you invest in your relationship with Him, the more peace, love, and clarity you’ll find. Instead of dividing ourselves and competing against one another, we should focus on loving each other, building each other up, and remembering that we’re all on the same team.

Sara: Your only competition is yesterday’s self. Then I would have the band play “Clouds on the Ceiling” which is currently our best song that hasn’t been recorded/mix/mastered yet.

Caleb: Love yourself. A lot of people take it out on others because of their own insecurities. If we all learn to love ourselves first, there would be a lot less hate in the world.

Isaiah: Kill your ego.

Amit Ahuja: As we wrap things up, what would you like to leave with your fans and dream-chasers?

Lukas: Don’t ever give up. Push yourself, trust that adversity has purpose and have faith that you’ll come out stronger on the other side. God has a plan for you, and art is a gift—every person has something unique inside them that no one else can replicate.

Go create. Get involved in your community. Be excited to share something beautiful. Be there to share love to others, And never give up on your dreams. Sometimes we like to think of life as if we’re writing the script to our own movie—when it’s hard, it’ll make for a powerful chapter, and when it’s good, people will love it. That mindset helps you take pride in every season.

Sara: Make the world and art you want to live in, but also don’t be a selfish jerk ❤️

Caleb: When you are in the process of writing music, make sure you record everything. It doesn’t have to be studio level quality, just something to keep record. You could even use your phone. Better yet, take video so you can see how you were playing something. I can’t tell you how many times I have forgotten something and can’t go back because I didn’t record it.

Isaiah: The only person that can get in the way of your own dreams is yourself.”

Amit Ahuja: Thank you to the band members of Sentimental Creatures for sharing your stories with my readers today.

Please explore the Sentimental Creatures Linktree link below to listen to their music and follow the band.

https://linktr.ee/sentimentalcreatures?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnWtAGhjXX9IAMoafjfyHkP3DfaKUnomyDO7avBWSTZPuS4W2Yp3YS5c6jx24_aem_hpihj4YZyexi3AjQ-ALF-Q

***All photographs are the property of Sentimental Creatures.***