Bee Pichardo, Jeffrey Stevenson and Noah Roberts of Bee and the Hive dropped by Second Wind Coffeehouse to discuss their time as a band and their upcoming set at Norman Music Festival. The band will be playing at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday April 27 at the festival's Main Stage.
With Norman Music Fest coming up so soon, how are you feeling?
Bee: I’m so excited.
Noah: I’m definitely excited.
Jeffrey: Norman Music Fest—It’s like my favorite time of year.
Was last year your first year headlining?
Noah: That was definitely the first year where our name was, like, decipherable on the poster. This is our third year doing it. Our first year we were like 1 a.m. Thursday, Brewhouse. It was a vibe.
Bee: It was it was really fun, it was amazing. And then last year we were at Gray Street Stage.
Jeffrey: It was cold and rainy.
Bee: It was cold and rainy, but we had people pull up still; it was a good crowd.
How do you navigate when unexpected things happen?
Bee: You kind of have to roll with it. I was personally upset … I used to plan our outfits really meticulously and tell them exactly what to wear. And it got ruined, because we had all these outfits with shorts, and I got these vintage overalls. We just switched it last minute.
Noah: We were lucky because that was a stage that had a good roof on it, so all of our electronics and stuff were safe.
Jeffrey: Everybody else was wet, though.
Since you performed last year, how would you say you’ve changed as a band?
Jeffrey: We got weirder.
Bee: We're always becoming closer friends, also. I feel like our dynamic is always like changing and growing. I feel like, yeah, we've written a lot of music. And just been doing a lot of different stuff since last year, too.
Noah: I think like, the writing definitely has shifted ... I think that's the big change, ... and I think it's more, I don’t know if it's more complicated music, but seems like there's like more going on.
Bee: More collaborative.
Noah: I think it’s a result of just like us five coming together and all writing at once...we don’t say no to anyone’s ideas so it's all very collaborative.
If you could describe your sound in three words, what would they be?
Bee: Ooh that’s so tricky. I want to say bubblegum; I feel like there’s a bubblegum aspect.
Jeffrey: I want to say silly.
Noah: Bubblegum, silly?
Bee: Rock!
Noah: Oh, yeah.
Bee: Silly, bubblegum, rock. I think that’s good.
Noah: Yeah, I like that.
Are you guys originally from the Norman/OKC area?
Bee: I’m from Kansas City, Missouri.
Jeffrey: I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee.
Noah: I’m from Tulsa.
What is your favorite part about Oklahoma’s music community?
Bee: Mine is the camaraderie. I feel like I have a lot of friends that are also in the community, and I feel like we kind of count on each other to be there for each other.
Noah: I think there's a lot of music scenes that are like super competitive.
Jeffrey: I don't feel like that here, really, everybody's supportive of each other.
Who are your musical influences?
Jeffrey: We have different ones for sure.
Bee: I think our top one is this band called The Beths—they’re amazing, we like them a lot.
Noah: Yeah, we like all that stuff. Nelson and I love the Black Country New Road stuff. I think its very Paramore, especially our early stuff.
Bee: They all studied jazz
Noah: Yeah, we get some jazz chords from time to time.
Jeffrey: There's also some classic rock in there for sure.
What would you say is the most impactful moment of your musical career?
Jeffrey: I don't know if there's like specifically like I can't think of a specific moment, but just us all being here at the same time, especially us being here at OU.
Noah: That first rehearsal we had at my place when I joined the band.
Bee: It changed the sound, like, instantly.
Noah: I think that first Norman Music Fest, too.
Bee: I think that (first Norman Music Festival) definitely for me probably would be it, if I had to pick a moment, because people just so receptive to us and so supportive. And I feel like we all felt like rockstars in a tiny way.
What are you most excited about for this year’s Norman Music Festival?
Bee: I think the location is insane, we’re so grateful to have gotten that slot.
Noah: Main Stage is such a big stage, I’ve never played on that big of a stage.
What is your favorite spot in Norman?
Bee: The Moon Sushi on Main Street, ... The Library is always a hang. … The Deli, Opolis.
Jeffrey: Raising Cane's
Noah: I was just at Raising Cane's.
Jeffrey: We would love to be sponsored by Cane's.
Bee: Yeah, Cane's and Monster energy—those are the sponsors we're waiting on.
What can this year’s festival goers expect from your show?
Bee: New music and high energy and silliness, shenanigans.
Jeffrey: Craziness.
Bee: Hopefully we all look pretty cute.
Jeffrey: Yeah we’re gonna try to look cool.
Noah: A transfixing set; it'll be good, hopefully.
Bee: It’s gonna be phenomenal.
If you could play only one song for the duration of your set, what would it be?
Bee: Mine would be Run the Faucet, which is not out yet but it will be on our next album. It's a positive vibes song about getting better and healing. I like that one a lot—I feel like it wouldn’t bum be out.
Jeffrey: Mine would bum you out, but I’d wanna do She Does; its so good and the end is awesome.
Noah: Its an 8-minute song, it changes quite a bit. I feel like if we were doing it over and over, practicality-wise that would be a good one.
Bee: The fan favorite would be Monster, though.
What do you hope people take away from your music?
Bee: I always hope that our music is cathartic, because I think a lot of topic matter can be heavy or sad, but it's through a lens of hopefulness and all that sounds pretty upbeat and like danceable.
Noah: The reason I listen to music is just ... I might be thinking about something else I don't like thinking about as much, so I’ll put on music, and then I’ll put on that and not be thinking about it anymore. So hopefully our music is something people can do that with.
Why should people come see Bee and the Hive at Norman Music Fest?
Bee: Cause it’ll be so much fun.
Jeffrey: We’ll be nice to you.
Bee: I really do think that our set is just really fun. It's a good one to just vibe to. Even if you don't know anything about us, it’s easy to get into.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley.
