Grizz CLL & Vick Vapors on Collaboration, Community and the Puedes Amarme Tour

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder). Vick Vapors and Grizz CLL shot for Terminus Festival.

At the back of Loophole Coffee Bar, the coffee shop and DIY venue tucked into Calgary’s creative undercurrent, the performance space is unusually quiet. Even just last night, it vibrated with bass and bodies, but on Sunday afternoon, it was the place for conversation between two collaborators, ahead of their electric evening performance at Terminus. 

Sitting down with Malik Harris and Guillermo Jaime, the people behind the projects Grizz CLL and Vick Vapors respectively, we talked about their string of collaborations, the success of their recent tours and bringing “Puedes Amarme” to Calgary. 

“It’s really a testimony to locking in and brotherhood,” Harris says of their single, “Puedes Amarme.” “It came together so quick and smooth. We already had the record in mind and we just made adjustments and did the arrangement. And there it is, “Puedes Amarme,” ‘Can you love me?’”

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder). Grizz CLL shot for Terminus Festival.

This kind of fluid collaboration isn’t a one-off for Grizz CLL. It’s his mission. The CLL in his name stands for Collective, highlighting the community-centered vision behind his work. “Collaboration is just so fun to me,” he says. “Having an idea and watching it come to fruition. Whenever I see an artist or producer in my vicinity, I want to bring out what’s great [in them.]”

“We can only do so much ourselves,” he adds. “It's not just ever just one person, one band. There's a whole culture.”  

Both artists speak highly of legacy acts like Front Lines Assembly, Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Idol. It’s clear there’s a respect for the enduring influence of the artists who came before them. Most recently, Grizz CLL released the track “Come Alive ft. Diva Destruction,” an iconic goth rock group that has been making waves since the ’90s. Whether it’s working with legends or spotlighting newer acts through careful curation, both GRIZZ CLL and Vick Vapors are consciously rewriting the narrative around what community looks like in alternative music scenes. 

Photo credit: Shannon Johnston (@me_onlylouder). Vick Vapors shot for Terminus Festival.

One of Vick Vapors’ recent standout collaborations is the track “Vida” with Night Ritualz, “[Vincent of Night Ritualz] sent me the track, and I instantly loved it,” he says. Their creative chemistry extended into a tour of Mexico, where Jaime performed the track every night alongside the band. “It was amazing,” he says. “We went from Monterrey all the way down to Mexico City. I think it was like seven or eight shows altogether, going from city to city. ”

For Harris and Jaime, their synergy has grown into something more. Now, as they embark on the second leg of their shared tour, they’re taking their growing discography of co-releases and a mutual belief in artistic inclusivity with them – especially in spaces that haven’t always been welcoming. “The goth scene is very white,” Harris acknowledges. “But it’s meant to be for the outsiders. And outsiders aren’t just one thing. You can be Black, Asian, Latino... We’ve always been here. The roots [of the alternative scene] have always been minority roots.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Jaime, “it’s about creating a safe space where everybody feels welcome,” he says.

Their live show is a collaborative experience built on trust and instinct. Though they’ve performed their collaborations live before, their Calgary stop marks the first time they’ve intentionally structured an entire shared set. 

Terminus Festival Director Chris Hewitt has been trying to bring Grizz CLL to Calgary since coming across his work last year. When “Puedes Amarme” released in February, Hewitt knew he had to bring Vick Vapors to the festival as well, “they immediately proclaimed it to be the song of the summer, and I think they might have been right.”

As the final night of Terminus unfolds, the crowd is eager as fog begins to fill the room. The strobe lights slice through it in sharp beams, bouncing off silhouettes and amplifying the drama behind every beat. Jaime starts the showcase before handing off the mic to Harris, who commands the mic with a magnetic stage presence, his voice cutting through the haze surrounding them both with raw emotion in his words. Jaime continues to build the sonic landscape around them — a moody production dripping with melancholy. A completely new addition to the festival, the crowd is amped for both their solo and collaborative works. As Grizz CLL ends his set with the song “Club Flesh,” the crowd can’t help but join in on the chorus. 

When I caught up with Hewitt after the set he couldn’t have been more pleased with how the performance landed with the crowd, “It was incredible, everybody was dancing! I was dancing! In fact, I’m still sweating right now,” laughed Hewitt. 

As the Puedes Amarme tour picks up momentum, they aren’t just playing shows, they are building a wider community of artists who uplift each other. From Los Angeles to Calgary, to Mexico, and beyond, every show becomes a place to further that community.

Grizz CLL and Vick Vapors continue on the Puedes Amarme Tour in August with stops in Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Denver and Las Vegas.