Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Gambrell.
Hi Claire, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Me and my best friend Ximena Morales met in high school and always wanted to start a band together, so we finally did in 2023. Our first show was a Halloween house show with all of our friends and family in attendance. We totally sucked!
But, we played the 2 singles we had just written, which were Suspended and I Wanna Drive Somewhere, and eventually recorded them with my uncle, Steven Torres, and released them in January 2024.
I got connected with an acquaintance from high school, Zak, who was in a band in the Katy area and he booked us our first actual gig at a skate shop called Hangr Skate Shop in Katy. Unfortunately it closed down, but it was so rad and the owner, Tom, was so sweet. We played so many fun shows there and it’s really where we got our start.
I have 2 uncles in the band The Journey Agents, and we got our second actual gig opening for them at a bar. From there we just kind of kept getting show offers and saying yes.
We’ve been steadily playing shows around Houston since then.
We actually got a lot of traction in Katy when we started playing shows at Serene Beans (which is the best coffee shop in the world by the way). I grew up right over there and had been going to that place for years so it was so cool to do something that close to home. There were always so many people that showed up to those shows, it was so sick.
In October 2025, we released our debut EP “Food for the Worms” and all the support has just continued to grow from there. We just played our first out of town show in McAllen, Texas, and we have a Texas tour planned for October this year.
I can’t express how much I appreciate anyone that’s ever listened or come out to a show.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. In the past 3 years, I’ve been through like 15 members just because of scheduling conflicts, not being able to commit, or not wanting to.
But it’s not easy having a full time job and responsibilities and trying to play shows and write and practice as full time as we can. But we do and it’s so worth it.
I love that everyone is in it. This band is a priority. We really want to do this for the rest of our lives.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I don’t really know what genre you’d call us, I feel like every song I write is a different sub-genre of rock, so we just call it rock? But I feel like we stand out because of how much of a variety of sounds we incorporate in our music.
I think I’m the most proud of writing songs that actually mean a lot and how much confidence being in this band has brought me.
When I was younger I was so shy and quiet, I just like genuinely never spoke. And now I’m full on screaming in front of a hundred people. It’s so vulnerable and intimate being up on stage and sharing your music with an audience, and I’m really glad I have all of my friends up there doing it with me.
It feels like I’ve given my inner child a microphone and she’s not afraid to speak anymore.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are so many people that have gotten us to where we are today. My uncle Steven Torres, produced all of the songs that we currently have out and was actually our drummer when we first started the band. He played drums on our first 2 singles we released. Also my uncle, Brandon Miles has lent me so much gear to use, because unfortunately about a year ago my car was broken into and someone stole my whole setup.
About a year and a half ago I was at a random show and just happened to meet Johnathan Camacho (Macho!) I told him I was in a band, we had a show the next day, and he pulled up with his camera. He has become our official photographer and one of my best friends. All of the pictures on our Instagram are by him. He did our music video too, and without fail, has been to every single PME show since I met him.
I obviously wouldn’t be able to do this without my band, I’m so thankful to have them. Ian Boulet, Isa Machado, and Anna Hilton are some of the best musicians I’ve ever met in my life and I just so happened to get connected with them one day.
You get to meet so many cool people in the scene, and we definitely wouldn’t be where we are today without other local bands and promoters.
My whole family has also been super supportive, coming to shows and streaming all of our music and videos and everything.
And my girlfriend Sara too, she inspires me so much and is always at every show in the front cheering me on.
I’m so grateful to have so many supportive people in my life.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychedelicmaggotengine/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ce7aUUCZQ/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@psychedelicmaggotengine?si=bXxPUUKNHvg132mq
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t6puxRRoGTxnlPEdQZgka?si=UfXNaSPZSam09Jk6ZbMNNw
