Get Ready for a Wild Ride, Courtesy of Tera Melos and Their New Release X’ed Out
By Jane Croft
Tera Melos will be releasing their latest full-length album, X’ed Out, on April 16, 2013,kicking off an exciting North American tour to support the highly anticipated new release. Joining them on the road will be labelmates This Town Needs Guns (now simply called TTNG).
Tera Melos (or at least their chicken nugget alter egos) ~ photo courtesy of facebook.com/teramelosmusic
If you’re new to the Tera Melos party, strap in for adventure. The band busts through the expectations of genre. They’re a three-piece band from Northern California: Nick Reinhart (guitars, programming, vocals), Nathan Latona (bass), and newest member John Clardy (drums). Incorporating experimental rock, ambient electronics and unconventional song structure, this group creates an original brand of music characterized by their quickly alternating time signatures, start-stop dynamics, and extended open-ended bridges.
“It’s like visiting a friend who lives on the 14th floor of a building with no elevator, yet he has a grand piano in his apartment,” explains Latona. “How did he get it there? Was it carried up 14 flights of stairs, assembled on site or what? This record is the piano in the apartment with no elevator. We wanted to do all of the tricky stuff in a way that doesn’t seem noticeable.”
Clardy hopped on board the Tera Melos train when another drummer, who was scheduled to join the band, decided to explore other options.
“I was really excited. It was what I wanted to do musically,” Clardy says. “I thought it was a great balance of technicality and a really strong sense of melody. We weren’t playing to show off what we could do ~ we were going to do what we could with the instruments to make interesting music.”
The music of Tera Melos is like digging your hand (no peeking!) into the big prize box at school ~ you never know what you’re going to grab onto, but it’s in a prize box so you know it’s gotta be good. Their song “Sunburn” features some short, sweet vocals surrounded by intense guitar work and drums. It’s a kaleidoscope for the ears ~ ever growing and changing in its complexity. Listen to it NOW. Creating such complex songs might fire up the migraines in some artists, but not the members of Tera Melos.
“I think, in terms of staying fresh, it’s different for all of us in the band,” Clardy says. “We don’t have a hard time finding inspiration. I live in Texas and even when we’re not working on an album, I find myself practicing constantly ~ even if it’s just for myself. We’re always thinking about the next steps. As a band, we’re very motivated to do what we do ~ it’s not a chore for us.”
Clardy says the writing for X’ed came together very quickly, which he chalks up to the great chemistry that exists among the band members. He says it’s hard to choose one song off the new album that he’ll claim as his favorite ~ the whole record is a great source of excitement for him.
Never ones to hog the spotlight, Clardy was quick to give props to the band EVkain = V<, who will be opening up for Tera Melos on most of the California shows on their tour.
Tera Melos is currently touring like mad men and loving every minute of it. “It’s an exciting time for us. Our record will be out soon and then we’re heading off on a 5 week tour that will lead us through the US and Canada. It’s going to be a lot of fun and then in the fall we’re really hoping to get back to Europe and Japan,” Clardy says.
Grab your tickets now for one or more of these live shows!
Apr 18, 2013 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Apr 19, 2013 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Apr 20, 2013 – Vancouver, BC @ The Media Club
Apr 23, 2013 – Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Apr 24, 2013 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 7th Street Entry
Apr 25, 2013 – Appleton, WI @ Lawrence University
Apr 26, 2013 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
Apr 27, 2013 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theater/The Magic Stick
Apr 28, 2013 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Apr 29, 2013 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
May 1, 2013 – Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
May 2, 2013 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
…And study up on Tera Melos!
FACEBOOK (You HAVE to check their page out ~ the images are a riot ~ these guys seem like a WHOLE lot of fun!)