Emerging from New York City music scene, Joy and the Wildfire is a band that thrives on raw emotion, storytelling, and a fearless approach to rock. Led by singer-songwriter Samantha Joy Pearlman, alongside Meghan Doyle (guitar), Jared Decker (drums), and Sean Decker (bass), the group has crafted a distinct sound that blends theatricality with cathartic rock energy.
Their debut album, Aftershocks, is a powerful testament to personal transformation, exploring themes of love, loss, self-discovery, and the emotional aftershocks of change. With influences ranging from Talking Heads to Paramore, the album takes listeners on a sonic journey that is both deeply introspective and sonically explosive.
We had the chance to sit down with Samantha Joy to discuss the making of Aftershocks, their songwriting process, and what they hope listeners take away from their music.
RM: “First of all, who is Joy and the Wildfire?
Samantha Joy: Joy is me, Samantha Joy Pearlman. The Wildfire is Meghan Doyle, Jared Decker and Sean Decker. We met in the Broadway music scene in NYC but after playing together, we realized that we love music of all genres and were itching to bring our eclectic tastes to the table. Jared and Sean are twins which is why their pocket is unparalleled, Meghan loves breweries more than anyone I’ve ever known and I started this rock band in my 30’s. At 16, I didn’t have much to say about the world but now I do.
RM: Congratulations on the release of your debut album “Aftershocks”! Can you share the inspiration behind the album and what themes you explore throughout the tracks?
Samantha Joy: As I’ve gotten older, I’ve done a lot of work on myself. When you work hard on your personal healing, you start to lose tolerance for the old roles you used to play in your life. Relationships will change because you’ve changed. “Aftershocks” is about a few relationships of mine, some romantic, some platonic— even the relationship with myself, that changed when I finally accepted the old version of me didn’t exist anymore.
The album also explores themes of mental illness. Many people close to me struggle with mental illness and I wanted to make music about the experience of loving people around you who suffer in ways beyond mainstream understanding.
RM: Standout songs like “Aftershocks” and “The Assistant” highlight your storytelling abilities. What was the songwriting process like for these tracks?
Samantha Joy: I initially wrote “Aftershocks” as a sad piano ballad about a friendship that couldn’t survive the “aftershocks” of my shift from people-pleaser to self-actualized human. After workshopping it with the band, it evolved from a Regina Spektor-esque ballad to a Talking Heads arena rock fever dream. In retrospect, I think it was when Meghan played that solo for the first time that I envisioned the arenas we could play. Our music and our emotions are huge and we want to bring this energy to as many people as possible.
“The Assistant” came about by me top-lining a track composed by Andrew, the keyboardist/producer/co-writer of the record. We created this character of a magician’s assistant who puts herself through emotional and physical abuse for her boss. The song serves as a metaphor for the lived experience of a woman in a patriarchal world.
RM: The album delves into themes of love, loss, and self-discovery. Can you elaborate on how your personal experiences influenced these themes?
Samantha Joy: Many of the songs are about the tumultuous friendship Andrew and I had. We would fight and then write songs about that. I look back at my younger self and want to hug her as she thought that was a tenable arrangement. We started to become addicted to fighting and I wanted to write about other things. It became unmanageable. While he is no longer in the band, I truly wish him nothing but the best. Our debut record captures the naivety of a band finding its footing and I’m so proud of what we all made collectively.
RM: What do you hope listeners will take away from “Aftershocks”? Is there a specific message or feeling you want to convey?
Samantha Joy: Joy and the Wildfire is a space for me to discover and own my voice. I have a background in musical theater, a musical world that can be incredibly limiting, especially to female voices. Women have to sound and look a certain way in order to be competitive and I needed to carve out a space for myself to celebrate my range and my power. My hope is that listeners are inspired to do that for themselves too. Let yourself feel all the emotions you feel, let yourself grieve, and let yourself feel rage. And then, just maybe, you can let yourself feel free.
RM: Samantha, how did you transition from a solo project to forming Joy and the Wildfire? What prompted you to make it an official band?
Samantha Joy: The band started as the band for my solo project. Andrew and I made a pact that every show we would play we would write a new song for it. Before we knew it, we had a whole batch of new music that felt different from my solo project. The music felt bigger, more dramatic and surprisingly with lots of imagery about natural disasters. So “Joy and the Wildfire” was born.
RM: Can you describe the chemistry within the band? How do each of your unique contributions shape the overall sound of Joy and the Wildfire?
Samantha Joy: Through this music, we’ve created a family. Well, Jared and Sean, our drummer and bassist, are twin brothers so they are actually related but we’ve all become quite close. Rehearsals will often be filled with giggles and mango slices. It sounds so innocent as I write this, but it’s the truth!
I will always be focused on lyric-forward songwriting with storytelling as the focus (I’m a theater-girlie at heart). I’m also a voice teacher and I love emotional, athletic singing so you’re gonna get that from me. Meghan, our guitarist, has thoughtfulness to her playing that I truly admire. Many guitarists just loooove the sound of their own guitar and Meghan listens. It’s her superpower. Sean, our bassist, is a deep thinker and a deep well of knowledge when it comes to the history of rock n’roll. He is an incredible songwriter in his own right (check out his solo record) and Sean is brings a soulfulness and “uninhibited funks” to our songs. Jared, our drummer, is currently in the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and is a celebrated arranger. He brings a holistic approach to his drumming, drawing upon so many different styles of music in service of the piece itself. As I write this, I realize our connective thread is we really want to support each other’s best work. We want each person to shine and it’s a very special group of people. It’s rare to have that in a group of artists.
RM: Your influences range from Talking Heads to Paramore. How do these artists shape your sound?
Samantha Joy: David Byrne is my North Star in many ways. I think I saw American Utopia on Broadway 4 times? I saw Here Lies Love twice. I’ve watched countless hours on YouTube of his work. Talking Heads is a fine line between popular music and performance art; I love how avant-garde, bizarre and unapologetic their music can be. Their music is percussive, enigmatic and cathartic. You can hear his influence on our tracks like Aftershocks, Paradise, Back to You and Misunderstood. I’ve also read How Music Works and was particularly struck by his description of collaboration. It is so egoless, open and productive. I don’t play a musical instrument proficiently other than my voice and I need my bandmates to help bring my songs to life. I need their point of view, their creativity, and their open minds to take the song from voice memo to future stadiums. Reading his book helped me articulate and have a framework for how to approach a session in gratitude and flow.
I must admit I didn’t grow up listening to Paramore but it’s Meghan’s favorite band. You can definitely hear their influence on her in Shouldn’t I Be Older, Consequence of Time and Tears in Brooklyn. I started to watch videos of Hayley Williams on Youtube and I was blown away by her stage presence and impeccable, soaring vocals. She is political, yet approachable, she is powerful, yet soft, and she is unafraid to hold space for the emotions of an arena. I strive to do that as a frontwoman as well.
RM: Joy and the Wildfire offers a fresh sound in the rock genre. How would you describe your band style, and what sets you apart from other bands in the scene?
Samantha Joy: I must admit I dread the genre question. Artists I admire feel genre-less to me and they just make great music. What genre is Beyonce? What genre is Lady Gaga? What genre is David Byrne? They make music of all kinds and all of it is great.
If I had to give ourselves a genre besides rock, it’s “full-out”. We’re not afraid of a gesture. If we’re going to go there, we’re going to really go there. And I think that’s what sets us apart. In our albums and live shows, I want to embody the size of the songs, embody the size of the emotions and embody the ambition of the project. In doing so, I hope you all feel inspired to embody your truth as well.
RM: As an independent band in NYC, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today, and how do you navigate those challenges?
Samantha Joy: I think there are two major challenges: the pressure to become content factories for social media companies and building a live audience.
20 years ago, tastemakers like record labels, managers, agents, etc. would have to go looking for talent. They would go out to shows, they would listen to peoples demos, they would cultivate and develop artists. Now with social media, tastemakers can wait until talent has developed themselves and built a fan base on the internet. The problem is building a social media audience is different than being a great fucking band. I watch so many people make great content but produce mediocre music. They’ve figured out how to market themselves better than they’ve figured out how to write and perform great songs. I’ve spent 30-something years focused on my craft, and now I’m just learning how to market myself. It seems like bland, overly produced stuff with a big budget can find an audience. While we have a small fan base right now, the music we’re making has seasoning. I’m still figuring out how to bridge that gap and trying to post content without feeding the Meta machine more than I’m feeding my own soul.
Also, starting a rock band in your 30s is great for the music but extremely challenging for building an audience. So many of my close friends have babies at home or have ventured to the suburbs for their new stages of life. Meanwhile my colleagues who just graduated university pack their shows, even if the music isn’t fully cooked yet. (I should say I wish I had the self-awareness and confidence that young artists like Billie Eilish or Olivia Rodrigo; damn, I did not know myself at age 20-something like they do!) More importantly, post-pandemic I think we have become increasingly introverted and glued to our glowing screens. As a society, we need to get out of our houses and connect with our local community. Live music is an integral part of our collective healing and I hope Joy and the Wildfire can be a part of that on a massive scale. So while it’s hard to build an audience when we’re playing a show at 10pm on a Wednesday in NYC, I know to build an audience we have to take it one song, one show, one fan at a time.
RM: What can fans expect from Joy and the Wildfire in the future? Are there any upcoming projects or tours on the horizon?
Samantha Joy: Stay tuned for summer dates to be announced on our social media pages @joyandthewildfire or our website joyandthewildfire.com
RM: How do you see your music evolving as you continue to grow as artists and individuals?
Samantha Joy: Meghan and I have been writing together which has been so fulfilling. I’m very grateful for my friendship and collaboration with Meghan and we’re good at cheerleading each other to get out of our own ways. When I look back to when the band started, I’m a lot more comfortable in my skin as bandleader now (people-pleasing tendencies die hard, friends) and I’m excited to step more unapologetically into the intent of the project: to be unapologetically embodied and expressive! I also think we’ve started to learn how to better communicate with one another and to allow each person to really bring their area of expertise into the room.
I see the project growing to playing bigger rooms, bigger crowds and writing bigger and better songs. This album is the start of that journey so if you take time out of your day to listen, thank you for being a part of it.
RM: Finally, when listeners hear “Aftershocks,” what do you hope their first reaction is? How do you want them to feel after experiencing your music?
Samantha Joy: I want them to say “Wow, I’m so glad we spent the evening listening to an album start to finish on vinyl” and then have a discussion with their loved ones around them with good food, wine, maybe a little weed and decadent candles lit. I want them to sit in the park or a place they love with headphones on and quietly cry about whatever they need to release. I want them to go on a run and feel invigorated to go for whatever they want in life. I want them to feel the love that went into these songs and I want them to feel connected to our human experience. I just want them to feel like shaking their ass.”
Joy and the Wildfire’s Aftershocks is more than just a debut album—it’s a powerful declaration of self-discovery, resilience, and unfiltered emotion. Through electrifying storytelling and a fearless approach to rock, Samantha Joy Pearlman and her band have created a space where vulnerability and catharsis coexist. Their music embraces the turbulence of change, the complexities of relationships, and the unapologetic pursuit of artistic truth.
With Aftershocks, Joy and the Wildfire prove that rock is still a vehicle for raw, emotional storytelling. Whether through arena-sized anthems or intimate reflections, their sound is both expansive and deeply personal. As they continue to grow and carve their place in the industry, one thing is clear: this is just the beginning of their wildfire.
