How Cherry Glazerr’s Clementine Creevy Made Her Rock & Roll Dreams Come True
Five years ago, as a high school sophomore, Clementine Creevy made “the completely irrational and immature decision to become a touring musician with no backup plan. And let me tell you,” the now-20-year-old guitarist, singer and songwriter of L.A. indie-rock outfit Cherry Glazerr adds with a laugh, “my parents were just over the moon about it.” In reality, Creevy admits her parents, both writers, have been nothing but encouraging. “They’ve never been put on the guest list; they refuse. They buy tickets to every show ahead of time.”
Perhaps it’s because before she even graduated high school their daughter had signed a record deal, held a recurring role on Amazon’s Transparent, and done modeling work for some of the fashion’s world’s most respected names. Don’t tell Creevy she’s a budding superstar, though. “I don’t know how apparent it is now,” she says with a laugh; Cherry Glazerr “makes no money,” she admits. “We do this because we have to. We have to wake up and play music or else we go crazy and are not fun to be around. It’s a necessity.”
She’s been playing guitar since age 11, but Creevy officially began her music career circa 2012 when she recorded lo-fi bedroom demos under the name Clembutt and uploaded them to Soundcloud. The songs were soon discovered by Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman, who promptly signed Creevy to his tastemaking label and released her songs as 2013’s Papa Cremp. The following year, her newly assembled band Cherry Glazerr, which has since undergone several lineup changes but now includes Sasami Ashworth on synths, Devin O’Brien on bass and Tabor Allen on drums, unveiled its sarcasm-heavy, garage-rock-influenced debut album, Haxel Princess, to critical acclaim. The foursome’s latest effort, Apocalipstick, is its most accomplished and developed yet, whiplashing between hooky choruses and punk stomp, and draws influence from the likes of Blondie, Sleater-Kinney and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Not that Creevy is one for self-congratulation: “I try to make a practice out of creating work presently,” Creevy says when asked if she can sense her own evolution as a musician, “and to not concern myself with how the work will be perceived.”
With some prodding, the multi-disciplinary creative admits to having accomplished a great deal at a young age (“I wanted this. I made a choice to do it. And it’s fucking awesome”). She also recognizes that the band gives her a platform to express her views – though Creevy says she feels there’s currently “an over-politicization of art and artists right now because of our desperate shitty situation.” Namely: “having a megalomaniac as a President.”
“I can’t act like I have any answers because I don’t,” she adds. “I just like to make music.” Still, this young talent knows exactly what she hopes to accomplish in the not-so-distant future. “Oh, that’s easy,” she says. “Selling out the Hollywood Bowl and getting a tour bus.” She pauses. “Oh, and covering ‘The Monster Mash.'”