By Sydney Fairbanks / The Jambar
Tunes from the Cleveland-based band Grumpy Plum have reached millions beyond Northeast Ohio.
The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Tallulah Swasey, drummer Mattie Zanin and bassist Laurel Ila. According to Swasey, Grumpy Plum’s sound has been described as bubble grunge, indie and pop punk, but the band considers itself “slop-pop.”
Grumpy Plum has released two EP’s and one album titled “Don’t Yell at Me!” featuring the single “Dollhouse,” which has accumulated over 2 million streams on Spotify.
Swasey said the song gained traction after using it to create TikTok videos.
“It was really weird because I was just really bored when COVID hit, and my job was remote, so I just made TikToks nonstop for days and months on end and it got traction,” Swasey said.
The band members chose the name Grumpy Plum because they were upset after realizing their first name option wasn’t available.
“We wanted ‘Plum’ but it was taken and then we were grumpy about it. So, that’s our name, Grumpy Plum,” Swasey said.
Grumpy Plum performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 23 for its Empow-HER event in honor of Women’s History Month. The band performed alongside Charity Evonna and members of the School of Rock.
School of Rock is a multi-location music school that hosts music classes, workshops and camps. It also allows attendees to perform at live events.
Swasey said performing at Empow-HER was a goal for the band.
“[The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] reached out to us, which is really cool because we wanted to perform here,” Swasey said.
The event offered headshot opportunities and accepted donations for body care items for Laura’s Home Women’s Crisis Center.
Before forming Grumpy Plum, Swasey played shows in 2019 with different band members before Ila and Zanin joined in mid-2021. The members knew each other through School of Rock and Swasey invited them to perform together.
Swasey said the band has written a third EP that it hopes to release by 2025 but has been held back from doing so.
“Our producer that we’ve worked with before just moved to California, so we’re trying to find someone else to work with,” Swasey said.
Ila said the band hopes to have the EP recorded by this summer so it can be released in the next year.
Grumpy Plum will take on Cleveland throughout April as it performs with Small Crush on April 7 at Mahall’s and with Mickey Darling on April 20 at the Grog Shop.
