Battle of the Bands winner Judith Hindle, comprised of Ava Bross (lead vox), Silvia Miller (guitar and backing vox), Jess Maltzman (bass and backing vox), Bryson Miller (drums), Ben Wojnarowski (guitar) and Kevin Ostrowski (keys) just released their first single, “Headspace” on all streaming platforms.
Judith Hindle came to be when roommates Bross and Maltzman had the desire to start a band all last year. Just before spring break, they “scouted” a few other members. Coming back from spring break, the band started jamming, writing and singing covers in an empty classroom. It wasn’t until fall quarter of this year that they had their first house show, on Oct. 13.
“We started writing originals before our first show, so that at the show, we were able to do originals and covers,” said Bross.
The band, made up of all music majors, comes from a variety of music backgrounds.
“I am a classical music major and some of our band members are metalheads, while some of us are more interested in jazz, so it’s kind of a big mesh of genres,” said Miller.
Miller describes the band’s sound as a “pop rock kind-of band,” explaining that they like to play fun music to dance to, which was made clear at this year’s Battle of the Bands (BoB).
Despite the disadvantage of performing first at the BoB, Judith Hindle took first place after telling themselves to just “go out there and have fun.”
“It was very unexpected so it was even more rewarding to know that we had that much support,” said Bross. Miller, Bross and Maltzman all agreed that every band at this event was incredible.
“We are pumped for our winning gig,” said Miller. As reward for winning BoB, Judith Hindle will open for a well-known artist (to be announced) at DU’s Music Fest on May 31.
“Headspace” started as a riff that Wojnarowski brought into one of Judith Hindle’s jam sessions. In fact, the song’s name was “Ben’s song” for a while until they came up with a replacement title, according to Bross.
“I wrote some lyrics and a melody and something to sing over it, but the more that I sang it, I just did not like it, so we left it alone for a while,” said Bross.
The band revisited the unfinished song at the beginning of the school year, when Ostrowski joined the band and added his talents to the song. The synth solo featured in “Headspace” was Ostrowski’s first take, according to Maltzman.
In an effort to add more backing vocal harmonies to their originals, the band took inspiration from Paramore, No Doubt, Fizz and Alvvays.
Being a female-fronted band sets Judith Hindle apart from other DU bands, because as Miller points out, “there’s just not a ton of other girl bands.”
“Other girls just resonate with us because the lyrics are from Ava’s perspective of being a girl in the world,” she said. Bross added that, “it’s easier to be supported when you’re a female in a female band.”
Although she noted that she appreciates the male support in and outside of the band, being with other women while making music “makes you feel empowered and supported.”
Their most recent show took place on April 4 at the D3 Arts center, where they performed with another band Spinning Jenny.
“During our last song, we got people to mosh,” said Bross.
What’s next for Judith Hindle? The band has been “in and out of the studio often and will be more [present in the studio] this quarter,” according to Maltzman.
“We want to get things out so we can write more and record more and rinse and repeat,” added Maltzman.
On April 26, two CU Boulder bands will take on two DU bands, Judith Hindle and Exhaler, who both share a drummer.
In anticipation for Judith Hindle’s big music fest gig, you should look forward to other house shows, merch, and you heard it here first — an upcoming EP.
