Though birthed in Athens, Georgia, Outer Spaces are the latest band to flourish within the thriving Baltimore music scene. Cara Beth Satalino began her project as a solo endeavor, but after moving to Maryland, enlisted the help of friends Chester Gwazda and Rob Dowler. Recorded in their shared Baltimore living space and a barn in rural New Jersey, Garbage Beach is the trio’s debut EP, where not everything is so black and white.
The band’s latest video, however, is a different story. “You Left The Party” is charming, gentle, and steeped in mystery. An elegant play on light and dark, shots disperse while grey smoke and fluttering fabrics dance about. An intimate encounter, the camera gets rather personal with a melancholy Satalino, who manages to close “You Left The Party” with a smile.
In advance of Garbage Beach, out October 14 on Salinas Records, Satalino answered some questions on the making of Outer Spaces’ otherworldly new clip.
What was the main inspiration or intention behind forming Outer Spaces?
I started Outer Spaces as a solo project at first. It was a return to a more dynamic style. It felt like a bit of a departure from Witches (the band I was playing in before Outer Spaces) and my solo material, so I though it should have its own name, and identity. I had a handful of songs already, and I named the project based on the general feel of the songs, lyrically and musically. Not that my musical style has really changed that much, but to me it felt like a new chapter.
Cara, you were primarily a solo artist before Outer Spaces. How different is the process of collaborating with your bandmates?
I have been writing and performing solo since my teenage years. Too be honest, I’ve never been much of a collaborator. In Outer Spaces I write and demo the songs before bringing them to my bandmates. Then we flesh out the arrangement from there. Chester always has a lot of great input when it comes to arrangement; how to make things more dynamic. Rob is an amazing drummer, and he’s got a great musical intuition. I don’t introduce a new song unless I feel like it’s “written.” Then we turn it into an Outer Spaces song.
How did making the move from Athens, GA to Baltimore affect your sound?
Moving to Baltimore has definitely changed the overall Outer Spaces sound. The line-up changed as well as the arrangement. We began playing in the classic guitar/bass/drums arrangement, and then we ditched the bass for a Wurlitzer electric piano. Both Athens and Baltimore are great places to be making music. I think the Athens music scene is a little more insular, maybe due to its size. There is just so much going on in Baltimore by comparison, and it’s really inspiring. I’m happy to be a part of it.
Where does the title Garbage Beach come from?
It’s named after a local swimming hole I used to go to in Athens. It’s sort of an homage to my time there. I wrote all of the songs on the EP while I was living there. It’s a very romantic place. It’s easy to fall in love with, but at a certain point I knew I had to leave. I think a lot of the record refers to those conflicted feelings.
The video for “You Left The Party” has these great juxtapositions between light and dark. Where was the video shot, and how were some of these effects achieved?
Chester and I filmed the video ourselves, mostly in our home in Baltimore. We drew a lot of inspiration from the cover art, created by our roommate and friend Ginevra Shay. I liked the idea of keeping with the light/dark theme, and it tied into the lyrical content of the song as well. We used automated lighting for the indoor shots, and drove out to a local reservoir in the middle of the night with a flashlight to get some of the outdoor shots. Chester did all of the editing himself. It was our first try at making a music video and it was a lot of fun!
