The Bong Wish Interview
Mariam Saleh, known professionally as Bong Wish, is a Palestinian-American singer-songwriter based in Massachusetts, whose critical connection to the lyrical legends of the past bridges a biblical bond that can be heard from one end of the earthly equator to the next. Former bassist for the revered garage rock outfit Fat Creeps, Saleh ventured into the solo realm with her critically acclaimed 2023 debut, “Hazy Road,” and has since carved out a poetic place for her atmospheric abilities as a stand-alone force in the never-ending narrative of human expression.
Tell me about growing up in Boston, and how you initially became fascinated with music. Having a Palestinian background, I’m curious to know if the music of this particular culture was around during your more formative years. When did you make that critical connection that music was something you wanted to explore indefinitely?
I actually grew up north of Boston in Lynn, MA. My oldest brother, Jamal, was a drum and bass DJ when I was about 11. That got the ball rolling for me. He was my idol and introduced me to a whole different world of stuff. He would gig in Boston and NYC, so to me at that age it seemed like the coolest thing ever. I started to seek out more adventure and alternative scenes. That's how I slowly started getting into rock, going out to shows, and finding my people. The only music my mom really listened to when I was growing up was your OG habits like Fairuz and Umm Kulthum. So yeah, tons of that culture around growing up. My uncles had a band that was all Middle Eastern covers, so we got to see them play a lot at the hookah lounges with belly dancers. It was super fun to be around that as a kid. You get to stay up late with your cousins and run around a hookah bar, and pass out in a booth. We would always try to steal the belly dancers’ tips that got thrown at them, but we always got caught. I started exploring music more when my homie moved away to California when I was 19. He had left me his drum set and 100lb Terminator guitar. I just started teaching myself, and it wasn’t long after that I met Gracie and we formed Fat Creeps.
I understand you participated in the highly praised garage outfit Fat Creep in the 2010s. We’re good friends with Ryan Davis/Sophomore Lounge. How did you initially meet your bandmates, Gracie Jackson, and Jim Leonard, as well as working with the great Paul Oldham? Jumping ahead to your solo material under the moniker Bong Wish, how did this project come about, and how has this venture differed in comparison to being in a full-on band? Tell me about writing and recording your debut album back in 2023, entitled “Hazy Road.”
I met Gracie when I saw her dancing in a Chinese restaurant, and she just had a vibe that I really admired. We got introduced and started exchanging mix CDs, and the rest is history. Jim filled in for our drummer at the time and ended up just staying with us. We never worked closely with Paul Oldham; he mastered our record, and we had no contact. While I was in Fat Creeps, I started making these “under a minute” crappy bedroom recordings that didn’t really fit the vibe of what we were doing. I was super inspired by GBV's “Bee Thousand” at the time. I called the project Bong Wish, and yeah, here we are. Bong Wish started recording the album towards the end of 2018, while simultaneously continuing to track here and there in 2019 before COVID hit. There weren’t any studios open to finish the record. I eventually took a break from it for a while, then Feeding Tube Records’ Ted Lee reached out asking about the status of the record, which he wanted to release. I was thinking, like, yeah, I guess I should finish the damn thing, why not? Doug Tuttle and I started chatting about the record, and he eventually took a stab at mixing it remotely. I was happy with it, so we finished it up that way!
I’m curious to know about the overall atmosphere and what was most important for you to achieve and express with this material. While the album effortlessly explores this haunting narrative, there’s also a fine balance between youth and spiritual studies. How do you manage to stay positive, motivated, and inspired while the world seems to fall apart, especially in the ways our country has?
Honestly, it was putting together songs we had been playing live for a few years and recording them. The last song on the album, “I Can Feel,” is probably the first full song I ever wrote for Bong Wish, so it was nice to finally have a proper recording of it. It’s my personal journey through my late 20s. Lots of change, lots of vibes.. It was fun, weird, and intense times for sure. It can sometimes be hard to remain motivated and positive. I work a decently difficult day job as a behavior technician in an elementary school, overseeing the special education program. We are always understaffed, departments are being cut, and funds are constantly dwindling. It’s a very important job working in the public school system, but the government doesn’t agree; therefore, there is little support. It’s very tiring, but I really enjoy it, and honestly, these kids keep me going. If you’re not servicing your community, you’re feeding the machine. Just happy to be of service.
Is there anything else you would like to share further with the readers?
Keep rippin that bong and FREE PALESTINE!
