Have a sticky beak at Amber Calling

SPOTLIGHT ON

Amber Calling

This week I’ve decided to showcase one of Australia’s premiere bands, Amber Calling. In an Australian music scene, that, as of late, has been throwing up a great deal of samey rubbish; this outstanding South Australian 5-piece shatter the mould, and give us all one more reason to be proud Australians.

Getting together in 2005 under the name 919, the band quickly built up a strong following around their hometown Adelaide and the rest of Australia. After roughly a year of touring and writing, the band released the EP ‘Road Rage’ in late 2006, followed by an extensive tour.

As far as debuts go, ‘Road Rage’ is possibly the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. There isn’t a single track on this disc, that you won’t want to listen to over and over and over again, and the cherry on top of this magnificent musical sundae is the jaw dropping “This Cell.” The strength of the song led to it’s inclusion on the Starving Kid Records, Scratch Records and Perisher Blue compilations, which provided the band with some well-deserved publicity.

The band went on to share the stage with big-name Australian groups Grinspoon and Something With Numbers, as well as appearing on the local stage at 2007’s Taste Of Chaos tour. 2007 also saw the band appear on the action sports channel Fuel TV, as well as scoring the feature spot on the MySpace Australia homepage. With a few high-profile gigs under their belt, and with the huge publicity of featuring on MySpace and national TV, the anticipation grew for the new release the band had been working on for quite some time, but the world would have to wait.

When Amber Calling began work on their second recorded effort, no one would have expected the trouble that lie ahead for the band. Shortly after work was finished on the record, vocalist Mike Porcaro ran into some hefty throat problems, which his doctor attributed to his smoking and drinking habits. After putting a stop to both, and still not seeing a notable improvement, Mike had no choice but to leave the band.

Left gasping for air, and looking where they should go next, the band attempted to patch up the gaping hole that Mike had left behind. Amber Calling recruited a stand-in vocalist, and headed out on the road. But, fortunately for the band, and all of us, it was only five months later when Mike was given the all clear, and rejoined the group. Back at full-strength, the future once again looked bright for Amber Calling.

The band originally had 11 tracks written for their second release, but decided after pre-production to whittle that number down to six. Mike defended the decision by saying “If we were to have done an album out of those 11 songs, we wouldn’t have been happy with it anyway. The songs that made it to the EP were the ones we were happy with.” The EP was released on 14^th April, 2008, on the newly formed independent label, Tenspeed Music.

The EP entitled “The Truth About Lies” features six tracks of audio heaven, and is available for purchase world-wide on iTunes right now. But, if that’s all too high-tech for you, then head on out to a show and pick up a copy in person. For a measly few dollars, you can get what is definite candidate for Aussie release of the year, and music that’ll stick with you for so long, you’ll still be singing it on your deathbed.

In recent news, Amber Calling were announced as the winners of a competition which, will see them perform alongside US giants Panic At The Disco at their Adelaide show, later this month.

With so many achievements in such a short period of time, Amber Calling look set to take over the Australian music scene, and it’s about bloody time. With a brand new, mind-blowing EP, and a live show that’ll kick you right in the face, Amber Calling will give you the most electric eargasm of your life, and you’ll always be coming back for more.

Clancy.

The Truth About Lies is out now on Tenspeed Music, and available for download on iTunes.

Check Amber Calling out at: www.ambercalling.com.au for everything to do with the band.

Exclusive Interview with ‘Enolas Secret’

Earlier this week, We caught up with an Adelaide Emotronic rock band, Enolas Secret to discuss the elements of their music, and what makes their band a valid part of the Australian music scene. Tayla Rose questions Fabian Folghera, Guitar player and scream vocalist of the band, on all matters of their bands background and what’s coming next from the awesome Adelaide rockers.

So tell us a bit about your band. The members name, age and respective instrument of each band member.

Matt Holand. Lead vocals (24) Fabian Folghera. Guitar, screams (25) Brendan Bishop. Guitar (24) Wade Thomas. Bass, Back ups (24) Moose. Drums, samples (23) Mark veleski. Keys, piano, programming (24)

What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Defining our style had always been hard. We don’t scream enough to be screamo, were not hard enough to be Hardcore, were too heavy to be Emo, but were not heavy enough to be metal…we have more electronics than coldplay, but less than Enter shikari, we have riffs like underoath but not unlike scary kids scarring kids. We can be as intense as Thrice and as heavy as bullet for my valentine…

How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Brendan, Fabian, Matt and Wade all met approx 4-5 years ago and played music together or in bands who played together and moose joined them as a drummer 2 years ago. Mark being the last addition completed the lineup in April 07, not long before the bands first show.

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

Each member was searching for a different way to express themselves through music, some already in bands. After several jam sessions, Enolas Secret was born.

Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

We are looking to get signed to a label for the release of our debut EP in jan-feb but being signed isn’t everything. Plenty of bands have made their own way without being signed and if it comes down to it, were fully prepared to go the same way.

What can you tell me about your instruments? (I.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever’s available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?

Hahhaa…I love to talk gear… um..First up wade is endorsed my Gallien Kruger amps and ESP bass’s. He chose the gear as it was an upgrade from his previous gear and suited the bands sound.

Our drummer, Moose uses pearl drums and hardware and variety of different cymbals to suit our sound. He also uses a Roland sample pad.

Our keyboardist uses a very old Roland synth/keyboard live but has several vintage synths and an Alesis Micron for recording etc.

Both our guitarists use Marshall jcm 2000 dsl with 1960s quad box’s. We also both use MXR GT-OD, which is an overdrive pedal.

Brendan uses a les Paul studio guitar ’94 and an array of Boss effects pedals, including tuner, digital delay, phase shifter, tremolo and noise suppressor.

Fabian uses a Fender telecaster ’52 hot rod reissue with a EHM hot plate and an array of boss, MXR Dunlop and line6 pedals including, Line 6 Delay modeler and filter modeler, Boss tuner and noise suppressor, Mxr micro amp and phaser 90 and Paul Morrison tremolo.

We wanted to use gear that we all love, that gets the sound we want without compromising on cost or integrity. We’ve chosen instruments that are more vintage and classic rather modern and typical because we prefer the raw tone that we get.

Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

We have performed in many venues across Australia, mainly in Adelaide in Vic. I love the castle in Vic and enigma bar, Adelaide..But by far Entertainment center Adelaide (TOC) was the best. We have a list of our upcoming shows on our myspace. (myspace.com/enolassecret)

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

Overall there is no underlying meaning or theme to our music…at the moment…

Basically each song is written for its own purpose, capturing a mood or a moment or a feeling that calls to written about. Really, it’s all about sharing with the rest of the world our experiences and thoughts.

We write all our own songs as a band

Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

It can happen many ways, and we never try the same thing twice. Just because something works doesn’t mean you cant get a better result a different way.

What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

We jam twice a week (Tues. and sun nights). Sun is for writing and Tues. we usually refine the current set.

How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

We’ve all become really much more comfortable with each other and each playing styles and what we like an don’t and what does and doesn’t work. I think just recently we’ve discovered a side of ourselves that we want to portray through our music.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

I think the biggest challenge we’ve had so far is finding the right songs for the debut EP! Just after we write several great songs and demo them out, we usually write another gem that we think should certainly be on their etc…I think we have found the songs we want but then again… there’s a lot of time between now and the tie we head in to the studio.

What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

Haha.. Maybe not fame and fortune but definitely we want some form of recognition for the music we make. We want to achieve as much as we can from this life, and give as much of us musically that we can, without ever compromising the bands integrity.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Keep practicing, stay true to what you believe in and don’t be afraid to do it all yourself without the help of anyone. Also don’t be afraid to accept the help of others but most of all just play as many shows as you can and write as much music as you can.

“Make sure you keep an eye on us. We have the Eshays (East Coast) tour with Sienna Skies (NSW) and Adison (NZ) in September and then we hit the studio in Nov and we will have a new song up on our myspace in-between…xo”

You can catch up with the band, and gain access to their music using their myspace address: www.myspace.com/enolassecret or their pure volume: www.purevolume.com/enolassecret. Alternatively, check out the band at youtube.com/enolassecret.

Keep an eye out for the bands EP being recorded later this year, and more importantly, keep an eye out for any other news regarding the band, because its only a matter of time before these guys get noticed!

-

Tayla Rose