It was around 7 or 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I couldn’t tell if the strumming of someone’s high E string was in my dream or right in my living room. So I got up out of my bed to investigate. As I peeked out in my living room I found former Point Loma Nazarene University student Dorian Tamarra quietly strumming “Beast of Burden” by The Rolling Stones.
Tamarra doesn’t live in my house, but occasionally after long practices in our music room he ends up crashing on our futon. Tamarra along with four other PLNU students are in a band, recently dubbed Superbloom. I’m not in the band, but I live with two of them.
Every practice and disagreement can be overheard from my bedroom. Despite my $500 noise canceling headphones, the soulful belting of Grateful Dead songs and banging of a drum set still filters down the hall, through the living room, past my headphones and straight into my ears.
Tamarra is the lead guitarist and vocalist for Superbloom. He brings a commanding yet welcoming presence to the stage, never too flashy and always letting his guitar do the talking. He was integral in the formation of the band two years ago. The first time Tamarra got the idea to create a band was when he saw his classmate, fourth-year accounting major and rhythm guitarist Bradley Miner, play guitar.
“I saw Brad playing on someone’s Instagram story and I was like, ‘Oh. I want to play with him,’” Tamarra said.
Tamarra and Miner later found students who played music, eventually adding on fourth-year biology major Andrew Kramer on the keyboard and fourth-year marketing major Braden Tarka on bass guitar.
They landed their first gig as a nameless band that only played covers at a surf film premiere in PLNU’s Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) in November of 2022. Tamarra had dropped out of school at this point and flew in for the gig. The chemistry was undeniable from the first note. Tarka, only picking up the bass a few months before, thumped each bass note with a wide grin as he looked back at Tamarra singing with orange tinted sunglasses on. The crowd reciprocated the energy, swaying to the band’s jam-like style.
The band went stagnant for about a year, with Tamarra going back home to Hawaii and the rest of the students getting caught up in school. Tamarra eventually moved back to San Diego in 2023, opening up an opportunity for the band to play more gigs.
They also added another keyboardist to the band during the off time. Fifth-year nursing major Camden Ritchie purchased a Hammond organ in the summer of 2023 to fill his free time. Teaching himself, the keys turned into an obsession as he purchased a Rhodes keyboard to play at the band’s shows.
Perhaps he’s even filling a void as Kramer spends the fall 2024 semester abroad in Scotland. They also found a permanent drummer in third-year media communications major Dylan Maguire.
I moved in with Ritchie and Tarka in a house off campus in August 2024. The band, still nameless at this point, had a gig on Sept. 13 at Young Residence Hall. This meant long practices in our designated “music room” which doesn’t seem to secure sound very well.
Tamarra, Tarka, Ritchie, Miner and Maguire were all tasked with creating a setlist, one which they enjoyed but also appealed to the crowd.
“Our band is heavily inspired by bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead,” Tarka said. “And to be honest, I think there’s a small group of people that would really enjoy it but I think more than that, people like the energy and the chemistry of the performers.”
Hearing the same jam band songs played to their max volume from my bedroom isn’t the most pleasant experience.
“It’s not exactly what Point Loma kids listen to. But at the same time we want to play music for ourselves,” Tamarra said.
To add on to their to-do list they also decided it was time for a name, something that was long overdue and debated at practices for months. Ritchie offered up the name Superbloom.
“That was an idea because of the beautiful flowers and it reminded me of the beautiful intoxicating music that spreads to the ears of the audience,” Ritchie said.
The name was met with varying opinions.
“It wasn’t like everyone was like ‘that’s the band name,’” Tamarra said.
Regardless, Superbloom was the name. After getting yelled at by our neighbors for being too loud, Superbloom decided they were prepared for their gig on Sept. 13. Introduced as “Point Loma’s Favorite Boy Band,” Tamarra kicked off the show with the strum of his sunburnt orange electric guitar. All the band members, except for Miner, got a chance to sing at this show, all with varying levels of showmanship.
Again the crowd reciprocated the band’s energy and I watched from the side, bobbing my head and occasionally giving a thumbs up to Tarka or Ritchie. The sun set behind Superbloom as they wrapped up their set, ending on “Ya Mar” by Phish.
Although it feels like a disruption sometimes, I secretly love living with the band. Getting to hear them develop and play some of my favorite songs from my bedroom is a unique college experience. Walking through the front door and being met with Ritchie’s Rhodes keyboard, Tarka’s Precision Bass or even Maguire’s drums is something that I’ll forever cherish.
