An ASU artist is bringing sad girl pop to Phoenix, painting the city her signature shade of green.
Alexis Myers, a junior studying popular music known better by fans as Marloma, has set out to make her mark on the music industry. She and her band, also called Marloma, have racked up over 500 monthly listeners on Spotify and over 30,000 followers on both Instagram and TikTok, respectively.
After her video playing the drums went viral with over 3 million views, Marloma got her first taste of fame. That was freshman year. Today, as a junior, her TikToks and Instagram Reels regularly reach thousands of people.
Marloma got her start in music as a 14-year-old who had just lost a friend to cancer. She said that she wrote songs as an outlet to express her feelings so she could move on.
"I was able to express my feelings without breaking down when I was singing them," Marloma said. "That's when I thought that maybe this was an important job to do and it was worth pursuing."
Since then, she has involved herself in music intensively. Enrolling in ASU's popular music program and forming a band with skilled musicians are just steps toward garnering a fanbase that resonates with her music.
Today, having performed at several events within and outside of ASU, Marloma has a fanbase of predominantly young women, to whom she caters her music. Marloma's deep relationship with her fans is furthered by the inside jokes within the fandom.
One such inside joke is a stuffed dinosaur named Soup, which Marloma brings to every performance.
"(Fans) really like holding him during the shows and making sure he gets a good view," Marloma said. "That's a little inside thing about the fan group that I really like."
John Curtis-Sanchez, an ASU alumnus and the lead guitar player of Marloma's band, shared the story of how Soup became an essential part of the band's performances. Curtis-Sanchez said Marloma picked Soup up from a store because she thought he was cute. The band made fun of Soup initially but slowly warmed up to him.
Curtis-Sanchez accidentally unloaded Soup from Marloma's car with the rest of their equipment and put Soup on the piano, where he stayed for the performance. This was the beginning of a ritual that has continued to this day, one that fans aren't able to get enough of.
"I don't think we've done a gig where we didn't bring Soup with us," Curtis-Sanchez said. "Soup has just become the mascot."
A fan also gifted a pink version of the dinosaur to Marloma, which has become an anecdote she tells fondly.
Marloma believes in prioritizing lyrics over sound, writing when she is struck by inspiration and prompting her band to follow her lyrics with fascinating music. She also said the band allows her to experiment more with her sound, bringing in the three-part harmony that she prioritizes due to her choir background.
"She's just always so open to us doing what we want," said Cassidy Brooke, a senior studying popular music and a vocalist and piano player for Marloma's band. "There's a lot of freedom of expression to how we want to play the music that she writes."
Marloma also holds Curtis-Sanchez in especially high regard. He helps the band with sound during performances, along with helping record all the songs for them.
"I just really value everyone's creative input and how they're able to morph a song that started out so different into something that matches the complexity of the words," Marloma said.
She also believes ASU played a considerable role in shaping her journey as an artist. Along with meeting members of her band in her classes, the tedious 7:30 a.m. music theory class she took challenged her and taught her a lot of what she applies in her music today.
"She has so much potential, and she's so talented," Brooke said.
The amalgamation of her fans, her dedication to music and her band has brought Marloma to her crowning achievement: The first release show she did with her band in May 2024, where she unveiled a three-song EP.
"I worked tirelessly on that show with my band, and it really paid off," Marloma said. "The place was absolutely packed. It was the first night I genuinely felt like a rock star ... Everyone was really paying attention to music, and it was so rewarding to put that much work into something and have it pay off so tremendously."
Marloma embraces the idea that her music should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. Aspiring to be an independent female artist whose primary job is touring and making music, Marloma continues to make strides toward her dream.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at ktale@asu.edu and follow @KasturiTale on X.
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Kasturi is a sophomore studying journalism. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has her own blog and has worked in creative writing.
