Back when Twin Peaks and Post Animal were dominating the Chicago music scene, I worked at a famous independent music venue called Metro early on in my career. Cherry Glazerr was a huge hit when they swung through town. From across the country on both ends, I sat on a Zoom call with lead vocalist Clementine Creevy in New York, and bassist Sami Perez in California, while hibernating in my apartment in Colorado.
Megan: So you just moved to New York?
Clem: Yeah, I just moved to New York a week ago.
Megan: Was that always the plan, or are you just sick of California?
Clem: A blend of both, honestly. I was born in New York, and I really love this city. I’ve thought about moving here many different times, but the opportunity never arose. Then we made our last album and toured it. So, I was like, “Okay, this is a perfect opportunity to go between albums and start working on the next album out here.” So I have to fly Sami out here so that we can record and party.
Sami: Yeah, fly me out to party.
Megan: Damn, a week ago, that’s crazy.
Clem: Yeah, it’s really fresh. I actually keep waking up a little bit confused, and then I’m like, “Oh, yeah.”
Megan: You’re like, “What time is it, three hours later?”
Clem: Or I’ll get out of a car, and I’ll be like, “I guess I’m in New York.” My friend has a car, and he’s been kind of driving us out a little. He’s actually my Hinge match, I’ll be honest. We’re not exactly friends.
Megan: Just friends, or maybe more?
Clem: I can’t really tell, honestly, guys, it’s unclear.
Megan: I can’t even do the dating thing. I have the stupid apps, but I don’t do anything about it. I’ll just browse for fun.
Clem: Randomly, I matched with this dude and we have a bunch of friends in common in real life, so I was like, “Okay, let’s hang out.” It’s such a mess on there. It’s really hit or miss. I feel like it’s a lot of bad dates in LA. It’s just sad to be scrolling through.
Sami: I know. It feels seriously loser-y.
Megan: That’s how it is in Denver, too. Across the board, we’re all just doomed to be single, I guess. I was just out in New York visiting a stupid boy that was just not smart of me to do, but then I got to hang out with my actual friends when I was out there and skate, so it was great.
Clem: That’s what happened to me with this other guy, that’s so funny. But the other night he was like, “Oh, we should go to my homie’s crib,” or my homie’s homie’s crib. And I was like, “Oh, cool.” And he’s like, “He’s this cool artist.” And I’m like, “Oh, cool.” And he is like, “It’s this dude, Danny Cole.” And I’m like, “I know Danny Cole. What the fuck?” So we ended up just hanging out at my friend’s house, which was cool.
Megan: Well, that’s perfect. If you have mutual people that you know, it’s usually a good sign.
Clem: Yeah. That’s when it’s nicer than just shooting in the dark, which can be fun too sometimes.
Megan: Being single is better than dating idiots, you know?Sami: I feel like you’re doing it right.
Megan: Yeah, exactly. So, if you can think of anything that is your most embarrassing moment ever, what would you pick? It could be on stage, off stage, in bed, whatever.
Sami: It began when I came out into the world.
Megan: When you came out of the womb, that was what you remember?
Clem: What were you going to say, Sami? Were you going to say one of my most embarrassing moments?
Megan: We could do that too. You guys probably remember each other’s most embarrassing moments.
Clem: Okay, I got one for Sami. One time we were on tour, and we were opening for Portugal. The Man. We had a lot of merch, and they have a big backstage area at the arena. Sami and I had to take all the merch boxes ourselves, and it was really getting heavy. Out of nowhere, I hear this kaboom behind me. I didn’t even know what was going on. I turned around, and Sami’s just in the box, and she’s falling on top of it, was looking up at me, and was like, “Ow.” It was so funny. The crew was setting up the risers.
Sami: Oh, yeah. I was in front of everybody. Wait, there’s so many embarrassing stories about me, I can’t even think of one of you.
Clem: Getting the van stuck in the mud. Yeah, we did do that. We were the only girls on this big crew of our band and our crew, and then in Portugal. The Man and their crew. There were a few girls there, but it was kind of a long and adventurous tour, when I think about it. It was one of my favorite tours that I’ve ever done. We fired our whack-ass tour manager after four days, and tour managed ourselves for the entire tour. It was really chaotic, but really awesome.
Sami: Yeah, when we were trying to cross the border to Canada, I accidentally said I was a diplomat.
Clem: They were like, “So we see you’re traveling with a diplomat,” and Sami had put her info down as a diplomat, and now our sound guy who kind became our tour manager on that tour, he’s the best, but he always makes fun of Sami for that, and is like “The diplomat is coming in.”
Megan: Oh, my god, I can’t believe you fired someone four days in, and then just had to do the rest of the tour. That’s wild.
Clem: I was really savage with me, it was probably one of the savage things I’ve ever done, is to just fire somebody on the road. But it ended up being really fun, so no regrets. It was for the betterment of the crew. Sometimes you have to be cut-throat in this game, I say as I’m lounging.
Megan: I have a lot of embarrassing stories. I got bitten by a brown recluse, and I had to go to the hospital while working a Kevin Hart show. I was the production manager that day at the arena.
Clem: It sounds like something that would happen to Sami.
Sami: Recluses, that’s no joke.
Megan: I was so dizzy. It blew up and looked like a golf ball on my leg. The scar from the bite split my Fantom tattoo. The venue event manager was laughing at me at first like, “Don’t fuck with me, Megan,” since we are really close. Then once she realized I wasn’t kidding she started freaking out and called in Stadium Medical. I was laying on the couch in the office like the deceased and Kevin Hart’s production manager came in and he was king of a dick. He was like, “I know you have to go to the hospital right now, but can you sign all these checks for me real quick before you go?” I was so out of it and embarrassed since I had never left a show I was working before.
Clem: Just you on your last dying breath… if you could just sign this.
Megan: Of course, that fucking tour was making me cut a bunch of different checks. It was like seven checks I had to write and sign while being out of it. The Stadium Medical guy was like, “I’m not trying to freak you out, but you have to go to the hospital right now.” Then I went and I got it cut open, and came back to the arena, and then my car battery was dead. So that was a whole day.
Clem: No, that’s like a movie. I think there was something in the stars that day.
Megan: Just such a random show too, Kevin Hart, random.
Clem: That’s the reason it’s so much funnier, that it was the Kevin Hart show.
Megan: It was the comedy, actually. Have you had any embarrassing moments on stage, where you’re in front of the audience?
Clem: Sami has a really, really great classic one, but this isn’t from Cherry Glazer, this is from her other band, The Sheez.
Sami: Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Clem: Yeah, tell that one.
Sami: We, in San Francisco, are playing this venue called Bottom of the Hill. And I think they’ve since changed it, but there used to be these massive stairs to get onto the stage. We were really excited to headline, proudly. I remember we asked for “Crazy in Love” by Beyonce as our walk-on song. And we all walk to the stage. I’m the first one on, and I walk up the stairs, and I immediately just trip and fall, just blaze right off the stage with “Crazy in Love” playing.
Clem: I didn’t realize you were the first one too, Sami.
Megan: Also, that song is such a hype song.
Clem: Oh, it’s a perfect story.
Sami: Have you fallen off stage, Clemmy?
Clem: No, but I have ripped my pants on a stage one time, like in a classic SpongeBob way. I thought I was doing some kind of weird move by the drums. I went back to say hi to the drums and I squatted down. It was at the ACL festival in front of 2,500 people, and my fucking pants ripped, literally just split down from the top of the pants to the back of the pants. It was just this giant split. I was wearing white granny panties, like big fucking underwear, and I just went on the mic, and I was like, “Yeah, happens to the best of us. I split my pants. Let’s all move on.”
Megan: Dude, that’s even better that you said something. If you just try to play it off, that makes it worse.
Clem: I don’t even know if it was that noticeable, but it was just a funny moment for me. I was like, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Sami: You got a nice breeze on your butt.
Megan: Maybe it’s better that you were wearing granny panties. If you were wearing a thong, then that would be too much of a breeze.
Clem: Just full cheeks out.
Megan: Have you ever gotten emotional on stage?
Clem: Yeah, pretty often, honestly.
Sami: Yeah, Clem does.
Clem: I do. We played this show recently in Cologne, Germany, and I was going through it because I was stressed out about certain elements of the tour. I remember being sad before we went on. Sami was like, “You should just put all that energy into the show.” Then I did and it was one of the best shows I think I’ve ever played. This was this summer, recently, and I just really put everything into it. It felt incredible. I think you can channel everything that you’re feeling, your stress, your emotions into the show. Sometimes if you focus on that, that’s what makes a great show. Being able to tap into that strong emotion. I’m so grateful to have this outlet to do this.
Sami: Yeah, I feel like also, sometimes when you’re in the grind of it on a tour, you kind of forget how powerful playing live music is. Then you just get on stage, even if you’re doing it every night, you still just forget sometimes. And all of a sudden, it’s like, “Oh, my god, there’s a room full of people here that are hyped to listen and see us play,” and they’re so supportive, and it just touches you sometimes when you’re not expecting it. It can get emotional.
Megan: That happens to me, and I’m not even on stage. The Cure played in Salt Lake City, and I was working it. I remember going out, side stage, watching Robert Smith interact with the crowd and I just started crying. It does just hit you sometimes. Do you think that you had one of those moments where you knew there was no going back?
Clem: Yeah, the first Burgerama Festival that we played. It was the early days of the band, maybe in the first couple 20 or 30 shows that we had ever played, maybe the 15th or 16th show. It was funny, because my drummer at the time wanted to go to In-N-Out, and so she didn’t get there until four minutes after the set was supposed to start.
Megan: That’s so scary.
Clem: I remember, because we were really like, “Fuck.” We got her out of the car and threw her on stage. Everybody knew our songs, and I hadn’t expected that. I had just put this tape out a few months before, this first album of mine. I had never known that that could happen for me. I remember just being very overwhelmed. It was one of the most surreal experiences ever. It was thousands of people, a sea of people. Now we play a lot of shows opening for big bands, so we’re used to those types of crowds. We’ve had some of our own big crowds, but it was probably around 3,000 or 4,000 people. They were going nuts. I just remember walking off stage and crying. Just being like, “Wow, I can’t believe that this is happening.” So that was an amazing moment for sure. Those were the early days and felt epic.
Megan: Damn, everyone singing your lyrics is probably fucked up.
Clem: Also, on our most recent tour, we played in Calgary, [Canada] a few months ago. It was the same kind of thing where everybody was singing lyrics from the new album, which had only come out a few months before. I was like, “Damn, you guys really learned this shit fast.” They were just screaming lyrics to all the new songs and they knew them better than I did. Especially when it’s a sold out show and you’re getting intimate with the people. You see someone in the crowd singing and think I should 100% just give you the mic, because I’m fucking this up. That shit pops off for sure. I love a good rowdy show, it always just keeps me going.
Sami: It’s all about crowd energy kind of.
Megan: Are you guys jumping in the crowd? I feel like I would.
Sami: Clem used to.
Clem: I don’t crowd surf, but I will jump in and run around a little in the crowd. I’ll walk off stage randomly. Or I’ll walk to the back, behind the drums, behind the curtain, I don’t know. I’ve done rafters before, especially in Europe, because those ceilings are so low.
Sami: You’re a real climber.
Clem: Yeah, I’m very lanky, and I’ve always been a tree climber. I like to climb stuff.
Megan: Just like Eddie Vedder in the early Pearl Jam days. My favorite question, which could be dead or alive. If you were to fangirl over anyone, who would it be?
Clem: It’s an amazing question. I think Britney would be pretty insane, Britney Spears.
Sami: That would be crazy on many levels.
Megan: I would want her to teach me a dance.
Clem: What about you, Sami? Give her a more smart answer.
Sami: Lil Wayne.
Clem: That’s such a good one. I fucking love Lil Wayne. My Hinge date and I were bumping on some Lil Wayne.
Megan: I can’t wait for you to tell your Hinge date how important he was in this interview.
He will be printed in this magazine as, “your Hinge date.”
Clem: I list his full name and address. And ask if someone can let me know if we are more than friends.
Sami: Wait, did you mean dead and alive, like they’re both at the same time?
Clem: I interpreted that as being kind of fried. Like, “You’re alive, but you’re kind of fucking fried.”
Megan: That too, but also dead. I would like to meet David Bowie.
Sami: I’m scared. I would be scared that we don’t connect.
Clem: I would love to hang out with Larry David. That’s also not dead but hanging out with Larry David would be awesome. If he was forced to get lunch with me, I think that I’d really like that.
Megan: I feel like all you would do is people watch and make fun of them.
Clem: I would die happy if I did that with Larry David.
Sami: I think he would think you’re funny, like genuinely.
Clem: I think he’d want to date me, and I would date him. Excuse me for taking this too seriously.
Megan: If Larry David ever gets a hold of this magazine, this is your first move.
Clem: I feel like he would appreciate the flattery maybe. Okay, guys, I’ve got my game plan for marrying Larry David. It all comes back to that.
Sami: Oh wait, I thought of an embarrassing story for Clem. We were in London, and we just had the day off, and we were floating around. We were walking outside this play theater, and a bunch of people were flooding out, and Clem in a British accent was just like, “What’s that show, here?” She starts walking into every single person at that show, and then we realized it was Guys and Dolls. She just goes up to every single stranger we see on the street, and is like, “Guys and Dolls.”
Clem: Guys and Dolls, was it Guys and Dolls?
Sami: Everyone passing by was just like, “You’re so weird.” It wasn’t embarrassing for her, but it was for me.
Megan: Actually, that was your embarrassing story for yourself.
Clem: I do have a special knack for coming out of embarrassing situations unscathed, because I just embarrass the people around me, not myself personally.
Megan: Yeah, that’s sick you’re comfortable in your own skin. Sounds like touring with you guys is a lot of fun.
