By Erika Kellerman, Senior Communication & Media major

Canadian pop band Cherry Pools, comprised of Martin Broda, Sean Medeiros, Talyn Prior, and Matt Krumins, has accumulated thousands of fans after only dropping one single. Their indie-pop vibes bring 80’s synth-influenced music to 2018.

Frontman Martin Broda was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. In elementary school, Broda auditioned to attend St. Michael’s College School, a performing arts school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he said he fell in love with singing. “From that point on I pursued [music] through elementary and high school concert band.” He then went on to play in cover bands. “Then, it sort of developed my love for everything. I honestly love music as a whole. I play all arrays of instruments.”

Broda can thank his siblings for his love of different genres of music. “My brother is a painter, my sister is a home designer and like, I myself, am an artist, so I kind of got into singing early on in my childhood just from listening to pop acts through my sister from like the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears,” Broda said that his brother had an edgier influence on him. “He listened to a lot of punk and stuff like that,” he said.

Spice Up Your Life:

“I was made fun of for liking pop music as a kid. I was heavily into the Spice Girls,” he said, “ I had this friend that was a girl and we shared the same love for Spice Girls. We collected all the memorabilia, the temporary tattoos, and some other stuff.” Broda said that his favorite was Ginger Spice. “My brother was friends with her brother, so they would hear us listening to Spice Girls in her room and they would bust open the door and make fun of us saying that I shouldn’t be listening to this,” he said with a laugh.

“I’ve always been into pop. It’s what I always go back to,” He said, “I have no shame. That’s what I’ve come to- if I like something, like a certain genre of music, you can’t deny an undeniably great piece of work. You shouldn’t have to hide behind that. Whatever the stigma that pop music has, I’m going to try and break it down. I’m gonna try. I don’t know why everybody thinks it’s lame, it has a certain sound- I don’t know. It’s mind-blowing to me.”

Broda refers to Whitney Houston as a big influence on him. “I love all of her songs. They’re bops. They hold up to this day, especially some of the synth sounds,” he said.

Cherry Pools:

In late 2006/early 2007, Broda joined synth metalcore band Abandon All Ships and then departed in 2014. “I kind of took a step back,” he said. “‘Cause I was like- I wouldn’t say I was necessarily done with it. I just kind of- I kind of took the normie route and I got a normal job.” After a few months of working, Broda’s coworkers at the time found out about who he was and what he did. “They were like, ‘Why aren’t you pursuing this? Why are you here right now? You were born with a given talent.’ It wasn’t up until a couple months after where it clicked and I realized you know what? They were right,” he said. “I just needed to step away for a little bit to realize that this is something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Before Cherry Pools, Broda was also in Curses. “We knew that we needed to change our name because a band called Curses in West Virginia already had the trademark,” Broda said that he and few of the other members were having issues, so the label and management suggested that they start fresh. He went on Instagram and searched for new members. “I found these three awesome dudes of summer of last year. We locked them in the fall,” he said.

The four guys officially joined Weekday Records as Cherry Pools in late 2017. Broda said going from a metalcore band to a synth-pop band wasn’t that crazy of a move. “It wasn’t really a crazy transition, I think me transitioning into being a frontman was kind of a bigger thing. I’ve always been hidden behind a bass or stage right. Now, I’m taking on that role of being a frontman of a band, kind of leading the pack which is cool because it’s a different vibe for me.”

PVRIS:

Cherry Pools is supporting rock band PVRIS on their 2018 North American tour. “I’m stressed, but very excited.” He said, “It’s a little nerve-wracking because we are playing to bigger crowds, but it’s something I’m not familiar with; for the guys, it’s gonna be some of their biggest shows. I know they’re going to kill it.” Broda said that he’s most excited about meeting with fans. “This is my number one coolest thing. I feel like making connections and making relationships with people that like your music and share the same love as you is something really cool.”

Forever Young:

Cherry Pools’ debut single was released on December 1st, 2017. The song was tracked and mastered in Toronto. Broda co-wrote Forever Young with Daniel “Chico” Ciccotelli, who was in Broda’s previous band Abandon All Ships. “He has always been a great songwriter, especially pop, for as long as I’ve known him,” he said.

Broda said that he wanted to write an 80’s influenced summer-y anthem with a lot of 80’s influences. “We tracked it with another friend Anthony Kalabretta at Sunshine Division in Toronto.” Broda has been recording with Kalabretta for over ten years. “He just gets me as an artist. He puts in the work to polish the sound you want.” Moving forward with new Cherry Pools material, Broda said that he would definitely consider working with them again. “They’re a huge part of this band, this aesthetic, and this sound. They’re a very big piece of the puzzle that no one gets to see,” he said.

Catch Cherry Pools at Stage AE on 2/22!

You can get tickets here. 

Watch the music video for Forever Young below:

Follow Cherry Pools on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherrypools/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cherrypools
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherrypoolsb…
Website: http://cherrypoolsband.com/