Connect
To Top

Meet Justin Matthew, Austin Arasmith, Trey Paul, and Henry Abshire of Cake Jam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Matthew, Austin Arasmith, Trey Paul, and Henry Abshire.

In May of 2018, bassist Trey Paul and guitarist Austin Arasmith met through a mutual friendship at a band practice for Arasmith’s then recently established music project “Cake Jam” based out of Rome, Georgia. Together, with the help from some old friends, they began to craft catchy but meaningful music they wanted to share with the world. Later that summer, Cake Jam released their first single “Crab Cakes” on all streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music. The boys went on to sell out their first show at the historical Atlanta venue Smiths Olde Bar in July 2018. It was a successful show that propelled them into further gigs performing alongside other popular local acts such as The Chip McGuire Band and Jaclyn Steele in the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charity concert. Cake Jam soon began booking more and more shows around the Atlanta and Rome area including Furnace 41, Tin Roof Cantina, The Vinyl at Centerstage, Schroeder’s New Deli and many more.

In March 2019, Cake Jam added local Marietta singer Justin Matthew to their line-up. Matthew soon began to take the reigns on also running all social media platforms for Cake Jam creating a more interactive and genuine online presence geared towards getting people out to their shows. With an increasing number of shows being booked in the Atlanta area and their fanbase growing with every show, Cake Jam was recognized in the Rome News-Tribune as a nominee for one of Rome, Georgia’s best local acts. In June of 2019, the boys completed their now line-up with the addition of drummer and friend, Henry Abshire. Not soon after his inception Cake Jam released their newest single “Some Feelin'” on all streaming platforms which is accompanied by a music video for the single found on Youtube. Without taking any breaks from shows the boys have began recording their Debut EP rightfully titled “A Longing For Cake” with the help from World touring musician and local Rome producer Brennen Baird. The only way from here is up!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
With any local artist getting off the ground there are bound to be challenges. For Cake Jam these challenges came in the form of finding ourselves through a couple of different changes in our member line-up. Not everyone is going to have the same vision or drive as you so this is undoubtedly going to cause some riffs in trying to get your band well established, as you are not only working with your vision but with the visions of three, four or five, other members of the group. But where we are at right now feels the most like “Cake Jam” and its the closest we’ve gotten so far to being on the same page about who we are as a band and where we want to take this. We still have our disagreement sometimes when it comes to how we want a song to be played or what our next move should be but at the end of the day, its because we’re so close, like family, that we are able to accept our differences and work towards a common goal.

Cake Jam – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from others?
We want to say we coined the term, “Indie-Rock With a Little Sweetness”. And it is that idea that sums up our band perfectly. We are CAKE JAM, we want to make people feel something, we want to make people dance, whether that’s out of happiness, relief, or sadness. Something we’ve noticed in the industry today from other artist, local or not, is the disconnect from their audience. On Stage and/or off stage, the only reason we do what we do is to connect with other people on a personal level. There’s something special about that to us and its something that shouldn’t be overlooked when creating your art. We create to connect while simultaneously giving ourselves an outlet for the everyday frustrations that come with life. It’s seeing our passion and drive work its way into our music, onto the stage, and into the ears of others that makes us the proudest.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for us is taken a step at a time. A year ago, we never thought we’d be playing as many shows as we have or thought it’d be possible to even record our songs to put on multiple major streaming platforms. Success is tackling whatever lies ahead and once you’ve successfully conquered that obstacle, it’s on to the next one. Success is a cycle that, for some, can turn into a vicious one constantly chasing something just out of reach but we feel like Cake Jam has stayed grounded and level headed when it comes to handling these minor or major successes for us. We’ve got a long way to go but we are a long way from where we started.

Pricing:

  • Checking out our Social Media profiles – FREE!
  • Sharing our music with your friends – FREE!
  • Messaging us to tell us how we are doing – FREE!

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Festiviz Media, Em Pearson Photos, Where Is Militia Photography

Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in