Crimson Apple: Band of Sisters

Hapa Mag - DECEMBER 9, 2020

By Matt Park

Crimson Apple is Colby Benson (Lead Vocals), Shelby Benson (Guitar/Vocals), Carthi Benson (Bass/Vocals), and Faith Benson (Drums/Vocals). Yes, they are sisters. And YES they are HAPA! They formed the band in their home state of Hawaii in 2012. They chased their dreams across 2,479 miles of the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles in 2015, and by 2016 they landed a regular gig at Disneyland and were signed to Amuse Group USA, Inc. They have toured across the U.S., opened for The Chainsmokers, The Plain White T’s, and All Time Low, and recorded four singles and one EP. They have over 80,000 monthly listeners on Spotify (this went up from 70,000 in just under two days), over 71,000 followers on Instagram, and they broke one million followers on TikTok on September 2, 2020. The four sisters are kicking ass… soon they will conquer.

Crimson Apple dropped their new single, “War With My Mind,” on November 2, 2020 — and in the humble opinion of this online magazine staff writer… it’s a perfect song. Colby, Shelby, Carthi, and Faith have mastered the pop song format, mastered their respective instruments, and put 100% into this performance that clocks in at three minutes and eight seconds. Think about that. Three minutes and eight seconds. That’s not a whole lot of time. Three minutes and eight seconds of haunting, cinematic melodies executed by Colby Benson, whose voice possesses the sonic force of a supernova. Three minutes and eight seconds of underwater, midnight zone guitar riffs, created in a dream we all wish we could have but never will (Shelby Benson is a riff machine). Three minutes and eight seconds of a genius bassline, crafted to perfection and reduced to the element of infectious groove. And the beat. The beat is so powerful it could level an entire mountain range… in three minutes and eight seconds. A band is only as good as it’s rhythm section, and this band’s rhythm section is excellent. The drum and bass goddesses smile upon Faith and Carthi Benson and are jealous AF.

I sent questions to the band via the electronic mail because of this stupid pandemic. Once I get the vaccine, I’m going to see Crimson Apple live. You should too.

Is there a vocalist/guitarist/bassist/drummer who inspires you right now, and why?

SHELBY: A guitarist that really inspires me right now is Radboud Withaar. I think his control and technique are absolutely mind-blowing, and he’s such a passionate player.

COLBY: An artist I’ve always been inspired by is Ariana Grande. Not only is she incredibly honest in her songwriting, she’s also an incredible vocalist! Her technique and range are insane, and her stamina in live shows is so admirable. I aspire to reach that skill level someday.

FAITH: Anika Nilles is a huge inspiration to me right now! I love her unique drumming style and that she creates her own tracks. She’s a very multi-talented artist. 

CARTHI: Miyoko Nakamura! She’s my favorite bass player! I love her style and her smooth, melodic sound.

Any new guitar, bass, keyboard, drum gear you are using right now that you are really into or excited about?

SHELBY: It’s not exactly new, but I got an Eventide H9 pedal about a year or two ago, and I think it’s really changed my playing style. It has so many different effects in it that I still haven’t been able to use them all!

COLBY: OK, it’s not exactly a piece of “gear,” but something I’ve been super excited about when producing vocals is a plugin called Little Alter Boy. You can get some dark and edgy sounds that really add to the music.

FAITH: I just became a TAMA artist! I’ve been loving my new TAMA Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit in the Satin Purple Atmosphere Fade.

CARTHI: I love using the Ibanez Tubescreamer these days! It’s a guitar pedal, but I love the way it sounds with my bass.

What do you love about being in a band?

We love that we get the opportunity to pursue our passions. It’s been amazing getting to experience it all together as sisters as well.

Does being Hapa play into your music or aesthetic at all?

We do think that our Hapa background plays a role in our music and aesthetic. We have strong ties to our Japanese roots, and that — paired with our upbringing in Hawaii — led us to be inspired by Japanese music, fashion, and anime. We definitely think that those inspirations are intertwined with our identity as a band.

How has the pandemic affected you and your creative process?

We feel like the pandemic gave us the space and opportunity to become a lot more creative. With the quarantine, we were kinda forced into growing our creative process and learning how to record and produce our own music from home — as well as to film our own music video for the first time. 

If you could play live anywhere right now, where would it be and why?

SHELBY: I would absolutely love to perform live in Japan someday. My ultimate dream would be to one day do a show at Yokohama Stadium.

COLBY: I know it’s kind of a generic answer, but it would be amazing to reach a level in our career where we can play at Madison Square Garden! That would definitely be a defining moment!

FAITH: I’d like to play at the Times Square Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve one day.

CARTHI: I know it’s gone now, but I would have loved to play Vans Warped Tour!

If you could go anywhere in the world right now to record an album, where would it be and why?

Honestly, we’ve all been having so much fun recording on our own in our garage that we think we’re gonna stick with it at least for a while! 

Guilty pleasure song that you are listening to right now?

SHELBY: “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus ft. Dua Lipa 

COLBY: “Sofia” by Clairo (It’s literally been on repeat!)

FAITH: “Temperature” by Tyga

CARTHI: “E-Girls Are Ruining My Life!” by CORPSE

Weirdest or most interesting place/time you have written a guitar/bass riff, melody line, lyric, drum beat?

SHELBY: I’m pretty sure I’ve written lyrics and melodies in my dreams before, like while I’m sleeping! I wake up in the morning and have to write it down to remember it.

COLBY: I think one of the most interesting places I’ve written both melodies and lyrics would be in a hotel room in Tokyo! It was my first time out of the country, and I was totally overwhelmed by the whole adventure. I think it made for some good inspiration.

FAITH: The girls and I songwrite all over the place! Probably one of the weirder locations we create at is Mcdonalds. We go there to write/finish songs a lot!

CARTHI: Sometimes, I’ll think of random lyrics in the middle of business meetings, when I should be paying attention.

If you had only one chance to write a song for your three sisters, what would be the title, and what would it be about? 

SHELBY: I’m pretty sure I’ve written lyrics and melodies in my dreams before, like while I’m sleeping! I wake up in the morning and have to write it down to remember it.: I think I’d write a song called “It’s Time,” and it’d be sung from the perspective of a big sister who’s trying to get her younger sisters to stop taking so long to get ready for everything. Oh? No, no, the big sister isn’t me of cooouurrrsee — it’s totally fictional.

COLBYy: I’d write a song titled “A Room Full of Sisters,” and it would be a song reminiscing about my good memories growing up.

FAITH: I’d write a song called “Four” to discuss our four vastly different personalities!

CARTHI: It would be called “Red.” It would be about our blood ties, fate, and our destiny to change the world together.

Crimson Apple is online at CrimsonAppleBand.com, as well as on Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok.

Also, check out Crimson Apple's self-produced music video for "War With My Mind."

Matt Park is a songwriter, guitarist, poet, and actor. He co-wrote music for Ma-Yi's production of Peer Gynt and the Norwegian HAPA Band at ART/NY in the winter of 2016. He is the guitarist in Diana Oh's My Lingerie Band and performed in My Lingerie Play at The Rattlestick Theater in the fall of 2017. He orchestrated the music for Rebecca Lee Lerman's musical Her Hotel which was performed in the summer of 2020 at WT Fringe. He has performed live at Joe's Pub, OBERON at American Rep Theater, The National Underground, and Parkside Lounge.