Local band Bumblebee Saturday surprises everyone

A new band with a unique sound.

Bumblebee Saturday members where they record their music. From left to right: Nick Richmond, Ben Robertson, Ethan Porter, Colby Wright. (Loren Chavez/Lariat)

Bumblebee Saturday has been working endlessly to create new, innovative music and over the past year as a local band trying to try to appease a steadily growing fanbase.

The group consists of singer and lyricist Colby Wright, guitarist Ethan Porter, drummer Ben Robertson, and bassist Nick Richmond who first started as request by a mutual friend to play at her birthday party. Differing friendships were started before the band’s formation; however, this instance brought them together to play music in front of an audience for the first time.

“We had a lot of fun preparing for that gig, and afterward we were just like ‘let’s keep playing together’ because we play, I think really well together,” Wright said.

When asked about their sound, they produced varying answers but overall as deriving from different branches of Indie. Although categorized as an indie band, it’s used as an umbrella term, even though drummer Ben Robertson chose not to push their sound into one genre.

“I don’t listen to the type of music we play, which is so interesting to play for that reason specifically, I also don’t know what to call it.”

Interest in this band may come from the name Bumblebee Saturday. The name came spontaneously to Colby almost a year before the band came together just as a fun name for a song or group.

“When I write songs, I think of weird words like that, and I guess that one just stuck in my head.”

Each member has their own unique music taste ranging from funk to metal. They all appreciate similar genres, and being exposed to various music through each other opened them up to new interests.

“I definitely came from more of a classic rock background like Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd,” Porter said. “They actually made me want to pick up the guitar.”

“I have been raised on metal music and hard rock music,” Robertson said. “I played in a harder rock band for nearly ten years, and that was all I knew.”

“I came from a jazz background. I went to OSHA for jazz,” Colby said. “I like classic rock too, and my mom always played Queen and Foreigner.”

“I like yacht rock, funk, and jazz, and I started off with viola in orchestra.” Richmond said. “It’s like we have the same majors but different minors.”

Their first song released song was “Plum Tree Princess,” which was spread over various streaming platforms on Sept. 14 this year. Although they took a break for summer in the process of making it, recording it took one day while it took their producer 3 hours to produce it.

Their process starts out with a short demo from Nick and Colby and Colby’s lyrics; the rest fill in with parts they write for their own instruments. Although the instrumentation is somewhat individual, they are always collaborating and communicating through rehearsal.

90% of the band’s listeners are from California. However, their song was picked up on a radar playlist, and now their song has been listened to in fifty-eight different countries.

Although they try to get together once a week, they all have differing schedules. While Nick goes to Chapman, Ben and Colby go to Saddleback, and Ethan is a junior at Santa Margarita High School. They are not always able to get together for their weekly practice, but still talking about the band keeps them active.

They have both long and short term goals; right now, they want to get their upcoming album out and potentially more songs in the future, later, they hope to tour and travel both nationally and internationally.

While expressing what they hope their audience gets from their music, they made sure to note that their music is intended to reach others through its positivity.

“We just hope you emotionally connect,” Porter said.

“We appreciate anyone who takes time to listen to our music because I write for the enjoyment of music,” Wright said. “It’s a compelling and beautiful thing when people are going through a hard time in their life, and they can find a source of empathy through a song, and it’s what helps them through it.”

Their upcoming song “My Farm” is scheduled for release on Oct. 25, and they are planning for an album release in early 2020 while “Plum Tree Princess” is available on all major streaming platforms.

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