Tarah Who? is female-fronted power trio from Los Angeles. The band is a power trio in every sense of the phrase, bonded together by telepathic musical interplay and profound interpersonal connections. In addition to Tarah, the three-piece band also features bassist/backing vocalist Joey Southern, and drummer/backing vocalist Coralie Hervé. Previously, Tarah Who? has released two full-lengths, two EPs, and one single of raw punky rock n’ roll – and their song, “Hurt” was officially submitted for the 2020 Grammys in the Best Rock Performance category. This is their story…

Brief history

Joey Southern: “I am the newest member of the band joining over a year ago. We met back in April 2018 via Facebook messenger… “Hi Joe, I am contacting you because I am looking for a bass player for my band Tarah Who? If you like what you hear hit me back. Have a good day! ” The message was written by Tarah…

Random, it seemed strange and went unanswered for six whole days. The idea rolled around in my head enough and I decided I needed to listen to the songs. Two weeks later we left on a west coast tour and we have been constantly working ever since! Each experience seems better than the last.”

Coralie Hervé: “I was friends with Tarah on Facebook, we had some friends in common but we had never met, I messaged her when I moved to LA to study at the Musicians Institute, to ask some information about the music there. In the summer of 2017, she messaged me to ask if I would like to try out for her band Tarah Who?, and the rest is history. (laughs)”

Tarah G. Carpenter: ” I started this project in 2006 as a solo singer-songwriter type of thing. At the time of Myspace, I was discovered by a sound engineer who wanted to help me make better sounding demos, which turned into making an album and working with musicians. As years went by, I learned a lot, especially what to look for in a durable musicianship with a musician and in your band. I met Coralie and Joey on Facebook. They were the missing pieces of Tarah Who?”

Behind the name

Tarah G. Carpenter: It was actually random. We had a bunch of shows lined up and we had to come up with a band name. We sent an email with a bunch of ideas and out of all the ideas I sent, everyone responded: “I prefer the subject of the email TARAH WHO?” I hate looking for band names so it was available, I said ok, thinking we might change it later… that was over 10 years ago!

Inspiring things

Joey Southern: “From Motörhead to Bob Marley! I have a wide range of influences but the main ones that have always stuck out are Lemmy, Les, Geddy, and P-Nut!”

Coralie Hervé: “Nightwish for sure, I love them! They are a symphonic band from Finland, I really love this genre. More generally I’ll say metal and classic rock.”

Tarah G. Carpenter: “Life, people, experiences, events… Also depending on my mood and what I listen to. Mostly people’s stories or what I have gone through.”

Teamwork vs individual work

Joey Southern: “I listen to it on repeat once I get the demo from Tarah! (laughs) Then I make notes on the parts which I’m not 100% on and we make adjustments at rehearsal.”

Coralie Hervé: “Tarah made the demos by herself, playing all the instruments. Once it is done, she sends it to Joey and me, explaining to us what the song is about and what feels she wants for it. We are free to add our own style to the song, which is really awesome!”

Tarah G. Carpenter: “Yeah pretty much.

I have a specific idea of what the song should sound like, knowing their abilities. So I make a demo playing the drums, bass guitar, and vocals then I send it to Coralie and Joey.

Once they know the song, we meet at rehearsal to practice as is, and then when I see that they are familiar with the structure, we focus on making it our sound, together, with our different ways, touches, and skills on the instrument.”

How to fall in love with heavy music

Joey Southern: “I have played various styles of music from jazz to bluegrass and something about playing heavy rock resonates the strongest with me.”

Coralie Hervé: “I always loved listening to these styles and it’s really really fun to play, I love it!”

Tarah G. Carpenter: “It was not really a choice, I don’t really think of it. It is what I fell when I write and what I have fun playing.”

Work in progress

Joey Southern: “We are all on the same page about the music.”

Coralie Hervé: “Even if we all have different musical backgrounds, we really found each other, it’s always a pleasure to work and play with Tarah and Joey, we all have the same feeling about Tarah Who?’s music.”

Tarah G. Carpenter: “What I love about Coralie and Joey are their attitude and professionalism. They are both mature and ready to work. Strong-minded and talented. We all want the same thing and that is to succeed and to exceed our potential. They are open-minded and game for everything. They are by far the best musicians I have ever worked with.”

Fun fact

Joey Southern: “Tarah broke her foot jumping on stage last October. I just broke my foot last week… It is a trend… Coco! Do not break anything! (laughs)”

Tarah G. Carpenter: “Coralie knows all the songs on the radio, all genres. She loves musicals. You can’t tell a secret to Joey, he repeats everything you tell him loud. just to make sure he understood and that everyone else did too!”

Make sure you follow Tarah Who? on Instagram and Twitter as well.