Meet The Spins: The MIC Mag's July 2025 Musicians of the Month!
- Stefani M.C. Janelli
- Jul 19
- 4 min read
Meet The Spins:
Meet The Spins, a genre-blurring indie rock band from the Appalachian corners of New Jersey, known for their emotionally charged songwriting, infectious hooks, and electric live shows. Since forming in 2016, they’ve carved out a sound that draws from pop punk, emo, indie, and classic rock without ever settling into just one lane. Their newest singles like the anthemic "It’s Me," the soaring "Rain or Shine," and the groove-heavy "One More "showcase a band stepping confidently into a new era, fusing vulnerability and energy with sharp, polished production. After years of building their name in basements and small clubs, The Spins are gearing up for a bigger stage, still driven by the same passion that started it all.
This month, The MIC Mag is celebrating The Spins as our Musicians of the Month!
Genre: Indie/Alternative Rock
Band: Nick Coombs (He/Him): Rhythm Guitar/Lead Vocals
Freddy Smith (He/Him): Drums & Percussion
Phil Dunphy (He/Him): Bass & Background Vocals
Jimmy Bar (He/Him): Lead Guitar
Fun Facts:
"We come from the mountains in NEW JERSEY. We met working as lifeguards at a water park. Our lead guitarist works on a horse farm. We've been a band for almost 10 years."
What makes The Spins stand out?
"What makes us stand out is our unique sound and combination of genre influences. We have a wide range of many different styles and genres from classic rock and emo, to indie and pop music, that meshes together in a wholly unique sound of it's own. Our music presents many different facets that fans of any genre can find something to love in."
What are The Spins most known for?
"We are most known for our unique combination of modern indie/alternative rock pop with early 2000s midwest emo influences. We combine catchy, melodic, pop-centric guitar-based hooks with more raw screaming-type vocals."
What has The Spins been working on?
Sophomore Album
"This is our second album, and what we feel is personally our best work to date. We spent by far the most time on this project out of anything we've put out thus far. We spent close to 2 years writing, editing, recording, mixing, and perfecting the songs into their final form with our new producer (Ayad Al Adhamy), and really think that that extended time shows in the final iteration. Every song was crafted with immense care and love, and Ayad really pushed us on this project to advance our songwriting skills and production. The title, Left Behind, is one that we really feel encapsulates both the overall theme of the record as well as the chapter of our lives that these past 2-3 years represent. It captures the feeling in many ways of leaving things behind, having to change and let things go to move forward, and saying goodbye to things you love or don't love so much in many different ways. We feel that every song on the record represents that feeling and concept in one way or another as well, and that it really captures that feeling of this period of life in your mid-20s, where most people are often going through immense change, trying to get to where they wish to be in life."
"Being a musician can definitely be challenging. It's obviously one of the hardest professions to "make it" in and make a living in, so it's not for the faint of heart. You have to really love it. If you're in it just to become a rockstar and be rich and famous, you're in for a hard road. You have to love every aspect of the act of creating things and putting your soul into the art. There's a quote that Freddy often cites that his drum teacher used to tell him, "If you can see yourself doing anything else and being happy, do that. If you can't, then you know you have the true calling of a musician." We think that definitely sums it up. To create truly real and connective art, you have to love it so much that you put your entire authentic self and soul into your work, and that is truly how we all feel." - The Spins
Do you have any advice for other aspiring independent musicians?:
"Like we said before, being a musician is not easy. But if you truly love it, don't let anyone else's opinion affect your drive or dreams to do what you love. Put your full energy into what you do, and make a commitment from the beginning to never give up. You might even suck at first, we definitely did. But just keep going. Keep doing your absolute best, and reflect on where YOU think you can improve to make things YOU truly love. If you just keep doing that, and keep giving your full 100% effort, you can't "fail". Do what you love and don't let any external influence ever dampen that."
Listen to The Spins!
