Charlottesville has always nurtured a vibrant, hip music scene, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that many local bands - like Dave Matthews Band, Parachute and Tim Be Told - have moved on to find national success. Yet for most struggling artists, "making it" is more than just creating awesome music - although that is, of course, a prerequisite. Finding success takes guts, big dreams and a lot of hard work.
Although many talented local artists vie for the title of the Next Big Thing, tableau has found four bands manned by University students that have both the talent and the willpower to be good bets. Early Departure, Astronomers, Blue Morning and Red Satellites are moving into the spotlight and making their mark.
Red Satellites\nThe brother duo of Kevin and Daniel Hivick began Red Satellites in 2008 and quickly filled out their roster to become the five-piece band that's already garnered a reputation for great music and exciting, high-octane shows. In an interview with tableau, Kevin Hivick tells us more about the group.
Describe your band. Any notable influences?\nWe aren't influenced by individual genres or musicians but by isolated fragments of beauty that can be found in any type of song. In most cases, in order to be a great musician, you must listen to and understand a vast array of musical styles, and we do just that. Our biggest influences are our intellect and instinct ... So while I can't single out a genre, I will say we play melodic, well structured and either extremely energetic and/or passionate songs.
You've already released an EP, Cleveland Cherry. What was the recording process like?\nUnlike most bands that we've spoken to, that are either faced with spending thousands of dollars in a studio or producing amateur recordings themselves, we are fortunate enough to have a professional producer/engineer as a member of our band - Drew Carroll. Drew graduated from Florida State University with a degree in the industry, and he also worked in the studio with the Drive-By Truckers and The Whigs on their new albums. Currently, he is opening his own studio in town, which allowed us access to professional recording equipment, facilities and techniques. Since we had a virtually unlimited amount of time to record - although we hardly required it - we were able to learn more about how each band member responded to the recording process as a member of this group.
\nAstronomers\nProgressive/indie rock band Astronomers are true to their name - the four-piece band includes Astronomy majors Alexandra Angelich (bassist) and Kyle Woolard (guitarist). The band recorded its first EP, Think Fast!, with local producer Lance Brenner, and has huge plans to get its music out there: the group is planning a summer tour that will criss-cross destinations across the country.
How do you go about the recording process? What does it entail?\nWe did a huge amount of pre-production and really just took our time with it. We were able to slave over the little things, which is always the best, and got it just the way we wanted it to sound. What is really cool about this record is that there is absolutely no pitch correction of any kind to be found on it. Spending so much time on the record allowed us to hone in on our sound and really get to know our songs. I'd say if we learned anything, it's how to make a real record and have fun doing it.
Brag time! What has your band been up to these days?\nAh, bragging certainly is fun. Well, we recently played at the Jefferson Theater, opening for We Are Scientists, which was a blast - and we found out that we're the first band to have ever played the Jefferson twice since it reopened. This weekend, we're going to venture up to Delaware for the Dewey Beach Pop Fest
Early Departure\nThe members of the five-piece alternative/power pop band Early Departure hail from Chesapeake, Va., and we sat down to speak with Dennis Vinett, a second-year College student and the band's lead guitarist and songwriter. The band has already enjoyed impressive successes - sharing the stage with bands like The Hush Sound, The White Tie Affair and The Bigger Lights, among others. They also boast a dedicated and growing fan base, with nearly 30,000 friends on MySpace.
Have you guys recorded any albums? What was the process like?\nWe flew down to Atlanta this past summer to record our first full-length album, Decked Out and Down for Dancing, which we released on April 2. Since we are poor college kids, we raised funds via shows and merchandise, and we saved money by sleeping on the floor of the studio itself. Two-and-a-half weeks later, we walked out with a product that is daytime radio quality. We learned a lot about the recording process, but more importantly, we quickly learned how to live on crackers and cereal.
So what about your outreach process?\nWe have amazing band members who manage everything incredibly well. We each have our sphere of influence. For example, Lukas Widhalm, our lead singer, is in charge of booking and image ... and I help with the writing of material and with the upkeep of our internet sites - you can find us on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to name a few.
\nBlue Morning\nPop-punk band Blue Morning has been around for nearly a decade - first-year College student and frontman Jacob Friedmann started the band with two friends when he was a preteen. After a series of evolutions that included the finalization of the roster of band members and a brand new band name, Blue Morning has emerged as one of our bands to watch. In the meantime, they have shared the stage with national acts like PlayRadioPlay, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and I Am Ghost.
Talk a little about your outreach process.\nGenerally, in this day and age, 90 percent of promotion for a band at our stage is done via the Internet, and more specifically social networking sites. Promotion for us has been creating an online presence that brings legitimacy to what we are doing.
So what's your recording process like?\nThe process for our EP Where the Story Begins has been quite unique [because] this has been our first time working on a big project like this from a distance. For the last couple months, I've been going home to Newport News nearly every other weekend to meet up with the guys and lay down tracks in my sunroom.
We generally chug through it in a mind-numbing 24-hour-long sessions instrument by instrument until we have something resembling a song. We then take a big step back - and a nap - and decide what we like and dislike about it. The next three to four weeks involve mixing, mastering, tweaking and back and forth e-mailing of the song until it is something we are truly proud of.
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