We recently caught up with Jinjer vocalist Tati Shmayluk to talk about the band’s upcoming U.S. tour, why they stopped performing “Pisces” for two years, the power of creating art through sadness, raising money for Ukraine and more.
Arguably, Jinjer’s breakout song was “Pisces,” thanks to Tati’s explosive transition from beautiful clean vocals to monstrous gutturals. “It’s still a surprise for us how that song is still growing little by little. It’s always good to surprise ourselves,” Tati says. “Our sound engineers usually says, ‘Hey, you should’ve seen what was going on by the stage. Couples [were kissing] during ‘Pisces.’ The song is a little bit sad, but it makes them feel this way. That’s awesome, it’s pretty insane.”
She adds, “The reason we stopped playing this song live for a while, maybe for the past two years, is we wanted to give a chance to our other songs, but this summer we played the song and who knows, maybe on this tour around the U.S. we’re gonna play it, because we know how crazy people feel about this song.”
Tati recently noted that she was finding it difficult as of late to adequately express herself through music, however, she’s unsure if that’ll still be the case going into Jinjer’s next album. “At the end of next year, I’m going to start writing lyrics for the new album. Musically, it’s almost done, as far as I know. So that’s another chapter for me to suffer and to revise my past traumas and stuff. [laughs] I’m really bad at finding words, I need more time, that’s what I wanted to say. It really depends on your mental state.”
As for her own mental state, Tati embraces her own sadness for the sake of creation. “I’m sure that a happy artist is not a good artist. A sad artist has more potential,” she explains. “I think sadness gives you a lot of inspiration, because everyone experiences being sad, but not every person feels happiness during their lives. I think sadness is closer to your heart. I’m more into emo stuff. [laughs] I feel sad more often than I feel happy — that’s my nature, I think.”
In service to their home country, Jinjer have raised a huge amount of money for Ukraine through selling a special shirt to fans. “Until the war is over, we’re going to keep on doing that… and maybe a little bit after,” she says. “We cannot thank you guys enough. A year ago, I think, we went to a concert to see Deftones and Gojira here in Los Angeles. That’s when I started seeing people wearing [those] T-shirts here in the United States. I made sure that I thanked this person, I ran to this person and was like, ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ You guys are doing amazing things.”
To grab one of Jinjer's shirts supporting Ukraine, click here.
Check out our full chat with Tati below and scroll further down to see Jinjer’s full list of 2022 U.S. tour dates. To grab tickets for the tour, which begins on Halloween night, click here.
Jinjer's Tati Shmayluk - Sadness, Helping Ukraine, Love for Fans + More
Jinjer 2022 Tour Dates With P.O.D., Vended, Space of Variations + Malevolence
Oct. 31 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues^
Nov. 01 - Sacramento, Calif. @ Ace of Spades^
Nov. 03 - Denver, Colo. @ Fillmore^
Nov. 05 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Fillmore Minneapolis^
Nov. 07 - Chicago, Ill. @ House of Blues^
Nov. 09 - St Louis, Mo. @ The Pageant^
Nov. 10 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ 20 Monroe Live^
Nov. 11 - Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrews Hall^
Nov. 13 - Cleveland, Ohio @ House of Blues^
Nov. 14 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Bogart's^
Nov. 15 - Louisville, Ky. @ Mercury Ballroom^
Nov. 17 - Silver Spring, Md. @ The Fillmore^
Nov. 19 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Roxian^
Nov. 20 - Boston, Mass. @ House of Blues^
Nov. 21 - New York, N.Y. @ Hammerstein Ballroom^
Nov. 23 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Fillmore^
Dec. 07 - Charlotte, N.C. @ The Fillmore*
Dec. 08 - Greensboro, N.C. @ Piedmont Hall*
Dec. 10 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Tabernacle*
Dec. 11 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Marathon Music Hall*
Dec. 13 - Tampa, Fla. @ Jannus Live*
Dec. 14 - Orlando, Fla. @ House of Blues*
Dec. 16 - San Antonio, Texas @ Aztec Theater*
Dec. 17 - Austin, Texas @ Emo's*
Dec. 18 - Dallas, Texas @ House of Blues*
Dec. 20 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Van Buren*
Dec. 21 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ House of Blues*
Dec. 22 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Wiltern*
^No Malevolence
*No Vended
