Denver-based indie fuzz-rockers Tiny Tomboy have been carving a name for themselves throughout the city’s local scene. Members of the growing local record label and music collective Mean World, Tiny Tomboy’s reputation has been on the rise due to their soul-searing music, high-energy shows and dedication to supporting their peers in the scene. Tiny Tomboy’s music is like looking at yourself in the mirror, really looking, finding the cracks deep within yourself and learning to love them. It’s a celebration of the beauty that can be found in the breaks that have accumulated within yourself over the years, the petty revenges, and the confessions long buried now brought to the surface in glorious catharsis. It’s staring into your eyes and being honest with yourself for once and learning that even if you’re a little broken, the cracks give character, deepen your beauty.
Tiny Tomboy brings these feelings and more on their new album, Psychic Scars. Due to be released with a celebratory show at the Marquis Theater on February 1st, the album is a distortion-laden triumph that shows those who hear it how beautiful their scars can be. 303 Magazine spoke with Tiny Tomboy’s lead singer, Eliza Neiman-Golden, about the album, the show, Tiny Tomboy’s evolution, writing music as healing, and much more.
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303 Magazine: Hello! I usually just like to start these off by having artists tell me who they are and what they do.
Eliza Neiman-Golden: My name is Eliza Neiman-Golden and I sing and play guitar in Tiny Tomboy. We’re a fuzzy indie rock band based in Denver. Sam Seymour plays drums and Ethan Gould plays bass
303: What are your early memories of first becoming interested in playing music? Do you have any memories or experiences that really stand out?
ENG: I started playing guitar when I was eight because I thought it was cool. My first guitar was a cherry red ¾-size Squire Strat. I fantasized about being a rock star and created a fictional band called Skulltastic with my cousins. Looking back, we wrote one song together that had a pretty questionable message. We didn’t know how to play our instruments, but we sang it together. We also had a website.
303: Can you tell me about how Tiny Tomboy came to be? When did the project start initially? Did you always have an idea of what your sound was going to be, or did you sort of evolve into it?
ENG: When I started Tiny Tomboy in 2019, I had only been writing songs for about a year. Once I had written a couple of songs that I felt good about, I recruited Sam to play drums. We met in a songwriting class at Colorado College. I got Ethan to join on bass later. We started off as a college band, playing frat parties and random shows around campus. We slowly evolved to playing venues around Colorado Springs and eventually moved to Denver. I always knew I wanted to play music that we could rock out to but I don’t think we found our sound until we all started writing together.
303: I have to say that the album is fantastic. It’s fuzzy and shoegaze-y and cool in an almost nonchalant way. The lyrics and the musicianship really meld well together to create this sense of distant vulnerability. Can you tell me how the album came to be? Was there a certain message or idea that really drove the project?
ENG: Thank you! Psychic Scar was the product of about three years of making music together. I wrote Tiny Tomboy’s first album as part of my college thesis and played many of the parts. This album was very different. For Psychic Scar, the three of us worked together to flesh out the songs while we became tighter as a band and closer as friends (we all live together now). I wanted the sound of the album to reflect that dynamic, so we recorded all of the songs live without a click. I didn’t start writing the album with a message in mind, but I think it reflects the struggle of being in your early twenties and trying to figure out your life and relationships.
303: I’m very interested in your songwriting process. As I mentioned in the previous question, many of your songs feel almost like you want to be vulnerable but can’t quite get past some walls that have been put up. How much of yourself are you putting into each song and how much is storytelling?
ENG: Most of the songs on this album are very true to events that happened in my life. Of course, I always want to tell a good story so there’s some dramatization going on, but I feel most inspired to write when things are dramatic inside my head. I wrote “Disposable Vape” when I couldn’t move past a traumatic relationship because I lived a block away from the guy and couldn’t go anywhere without walking past his house. Then I wrote “Vegas” when I ran into that same person on the street two years later and laughed in his face as some sort of revenge. Both songs helped me process the intense emotions I was feeling. I try to be as honest as possible because that is a big part of what I find compelling in music and also a way that I heal.
303: I’m also interested in when the music and the lyrics come together. Does someone typically start off with a certain idea or riff and then you flesh it out? Do lyrics come before the music or after? Anything you could tell me would be great.
ENG: Typically, I will come up with a guitar part and a melody that I find compelling. Sometimes it’s almost a whole song already, other times it’s just a small section. Then I’ll bring it to the band to flesh out. Usually, lyrics come after music for me, but I’ll often have some lyrics ready and some idea of what I’m writing about before I show it to anyone.
This is a question I like to ask that’s a tad more open so please feel free to answer however you’d like. Do you have a certain philosophy when it comes to creating?
ENG: My philosophy is to create something that feels visceral and exciting. I know I have something worth sharing when I create something that makes me feel and react.
303: You’ll release the album with a show at the Marquis Theater on February 1st. What can new fans expect from the show? Anything special in store for those who have seen y’all? What does a Tiny Tomboy show look like?
ENG: New listeners can expect the full spectrum of energies at our show on February 1st: synchronized harmonies, guitar shredding, melancholy melodies, and stage gymnastics. We’re also super excited to bring back some sleeper hits we haven’t played in a while. In addition, we’ll be featuring some special guests on stage with us and our friend Matthias will be doing lights.
303: Finally, is there anything else you’d like to mention or anyone you’d like to shout out?
ENG: I want to shout out Hunter Bates and Mean World Records for helping us put this show and album together, and giving us the support we needed. I want to shout out our very good friend Ryland for always believing in us and engineering most of this album. I also want to shout out our roommate Martha for coming to all of Tiny Tomboy’s shows and being down for anything. You truly are a great friend. Lastly, I want to mention that we wouldn’t be here without the awesome community that is the Denver music scene.
Get tickets to Tiny Tomboy’s EP release celebration here!
