There's a buzz in the air surrounding Oklahoma City-based indie punk band Bee and the Hive as they prepare to release their debut EP on March 24.
Bee and the Hive began as a small group featuring former OU student, lead-singer Bee Pichardo and saxophonist OU alum Jeffrey Stevenson.
“It kind of started as a different project, we had a different guitarist and a different drummer,” Pichardo said.
Soon, guitarist Noah Roberts, bassist Nelson Gonzalez and drummer Kyle Broadbooks joined the band and formed what is now the Hive. They’ve been together for almost two years, beginning in the summer of 2021. In October 2022, they signed with Catapult Recordings, an Oklahoma-based independent record label.
“These boys are literally some of my very best friends,” Pichardo said. “It’s just the most unique experience ever.”
Noah Roberts is currently a junior at OU. Pichardo also attended OU for three years — studying music composition — before leaving to focus on her career as a musician.
Bee and the Hive goes outside the typical framework of an indie punk band. Several members have a formal background in jazz, so they use elements from the genre, such as lively saxophone solos, to help set them apart.
“Our sound kind of just ended up coming from our individual backgrounds coming together and all of our different listening experiences, as well as performing experiences,” Pichardo said. “All of that coming together ended up making this weird, very unique kind of sound.”
A lot of the band’s sound is determined by the music they collectively listen to. Noah Roberts, the band’s guitarist, said that one group that brings them together is alternative rock band The Beths.
“Malapropism” is the first single released from their upcoming EP, “Flamingo Dancing”. The EP’s title is a malapropism, the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding one, for “flamenco dancing.”
The EP will feature five songs, with titles such as “Me/Yours” and “Monster.”
Cover of "Flamingo Dancing."
“(‘Me/Yours’) is like my favorite song, to this day, that I’ve ever written,” Pichardo said. “It started as a little folk song in my bedroom, and the boys turned it into this heavy rock anthem about religious guilt and having crushes, and just being stupid and young.”
Pichardo said that “Flamingo Dancing” aims to emulate the honest lyricism of artists like Taylor Swift and Samia to describe overly specific events and emotions. She describes the lyrics as being in-your-face and real.
“It was kind of our mindset when we didn’t really have it all figured out,” Roberts said.
Bee and the Hive has made its way around Norman and Oklahoma City, performing at last year’s Norman Music Fest and other venues like the Deli and the Blue Note Lounge. Their audience tends to be made of college-age students, but Roberts said that they’re for anyone who enjoys the live music scene.
“I hope that people notice how much love was put into this album and how vulnerable it really is,” Pichardo said. “I think that we really wanted this to be the best representation of us that it could be, and I hope people can kind of understand what we’re trying to do with it.”
“Flamingo Dancing” will be available for listening on March 24, and can be pre-saved on their website. On March 25, Bee and the Hive will have an album release show at Opolis in Norman, and tickets will soon be available to purchase.
This story was edited by Silas Bales and Emma Blakley. Teegan Smith and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
