RadioUgly's Podcast

The roots of what would eventually become one of California’s most anticipated bands began with an ad on Craigslist in December of 2007. Oz, who was one of Argentina’s most respected solo guitarists, was ready to show the States what he had to offer and needed a band to help him do so. Michotic and Squeks were the first to join and the early songs were created, mixing Michotic’s hard hitting, palm-muted rhythms and Squeks' youthful, energetic beats with the technical mastery of Oz’s lead. Ken Spencer was actually the first singer to audition but did not accept the part, stating that the band was “too Metal.” Meanwhile, Billy Ulrich had been playing the acoustic coffee shop circuit as a solo artist and stumbled across the add looking for a backup band. He went on the audition anyway, and although he had similar thoughts as Ken, he gladly accepted the position as lead vocalist, seeing the vast potential that the hard working core of the band had in them. The following months were tense and often times confrontational. Combining the four distinct styles proved to be far easier in theory than in reality. Mixing clean vocals against the grit of thrash, Beatle’s song writing against virtuoso ethic, modern pop-punk beats against hard rock attitude, and vintage guitar sounds against a new Rock generation seemed impossible more often than not. Having four songwriters demanding to play their own original songs only complicated the atmosphere. In fact, the first 5 songs the band completed as a whole sounded like 5 different bands. The band forged on. The elements began to fall into place. They found ways to weld the diverse ideas together and a common link from song to song bleed through. Listeners connected with the tension, musicians respected the complexity and civilians loved to sing along to the memorable choruses. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction once said of his band that ‘There is a certain tension in our music that you can’t always get when all for members are best friends.” Although they do not site Jane’s Addiction as one of their influences, the quote rings true. Even though things were going well at this point, Michotic and Oz had a vision that would either bring the band to an unprecedented level, or rip it apart and burry it: ‘Let’s get two lead singers.” Pitching this idea to a lot of front men would warrant a heated exchange of words, a falling out, or even a fist fight. Billy thought about it for a couple days, and concluded that it wasn’t realistic to have one guy sing so many different styles to begin with, so trying out someone wouldn’t hurt. If the sound didn’t improve, then the format would remain the same. What would come next, nobody could predict. Michotic called up Ken Spencer, the first guy that auditioned. Even though they had originally met over a year prior, Michotic kept his phone number for reasons unknown. Everyone was skeptical that this was going to work out. With four song writers, four different styles and four alpha males constantly pushing and pulling against each other, adding a fifth member seemed counterproductive, even if the Ken could sing. He came to the audition though and the chemistry between the two vocalists was instant. Ken added grit in places Billy couldn’t, freeing him up to excel even more at cleaner parts. The band recorded the first session and when the two voices doubled up on the choruses, it sounded like a professionally overdubbed studio recording. After several listens, everyone looked at each other with the same thought: “Holy crap, this is live!” The band is now rocking clubs all over California with a live performance that is more energetic and loyal to its recordings than any other. New fans are discovering the band daily by word of mouth, and the fan base is snowballing weekly. Five personalities, five distinct styles and five leaders have become one sound and one new style of its own. While recording their debut EP, they were still without a name. Under a deadline to have an identity before the release, the members combined parts of different front running suggestions and came up with one that captured the feeling of the music and ironically, the dynamic of the 5 members working together: Blue Embrace.