Spring Break
Local band earns opening spot for major act
Evan Connet & Craig Bidiman
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Diversions
As far as college bands go, you may run into any of several musical archetypes that a young group of people will join together in order to emulate. This leads to plenty of alt-rock, punk, pop and heavy metal groups that perform their material with varying degrees of success, quality and skill.
That is where New Mecca, made up of guitarist and vocalist Austin Randle, bassist Trevor Sherar, guitarist Benji Godfrey and drummer Kyle Meeuwsen, aim to challenge everything you've ever thought four college-age musicians could do.
"I think we try to use a broad spectrum of music so that everyone can enjoy it," Meeuwsen said.
New Mecca has made it their mission to break the established mold from the ground up and asks you to forgo all prior expectations you may have of the college music scene.
Recently the group was thrilled to learn that they had won a coveted slot opening for Tooth and Nail recording group The Almost, the internationally touring side project of Underoath's drummer and vocalist, Aaron Gillespie. This will be taking place during the The Almost's stop at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland on Nov. 12.
"It kinda blew me away at first," Meeuwsen said. "We're such a smaller band, only really known around Corvallis and a little bit in Portland. We haven't really had that feeling that we're going to end up doing something this huge before."
This is an enormous opportunity for the guys, as opening for a signed, touring act can create great exposure and open doors for a chance at truly making it in an increasingly difficult music industry.
"It's going to be huge and it's really exciting to see that we're moving forward as a band," Meeuwsen said. "We're trying to get as much practice in as possible, trying to get three new songs to premiere at the show next Thursday."
The band is no ordinary group of four guys slinging instruments; it is about more than that for them. According to the group's MySpace, they would have you know that "New Mecca is a medium for exploring ideas and boundaries. It is a place where we can put our thoughts, emotions and philosophies into musical and lyrical form."
That is where New Mecca, made up of guitarist and vocalist Austin Randle, bassist Trevor Sherar, guitarist Benji Godfrey and drummer Kyle Meeuwsen, aim to challenge everything you've ever thought four college-age musicians could do.
"I think we try to use a broad spectrum of music so that everyone can enjoy it," Meeuwsen said.
New Mecca has made it their mission to break the established mold from the ground up and asks you to forgo all prior expectations you may have of the college music scene.
Recently the group was thrilled to learn that they had won a coveted slot opening for Tooth and Nail recording group The Almost, the internationally touring side project of Underoath's drummer and vocalist, Aaron Gillespie. This will be taking place during the The Almost's stop at the Hawthorne Theatre in Portland on Nov. 12.
"It kinda blew me away at first," Meeuwsen said. "We're such a smaller band, only really known around Corvallis and a little bit in Portland. We haven't really had that feeling that we're going to end up doing something this huge before."
This is an enormous opportunity for the guys, as opening for a signed, touring act can create great exposure and open doors for a chance at truly making it in an increasingly difficult music industry.
"It's going to be huge and it's really exciting to see that we're moving forward as a band," Meeuwsen said. "We're trying to get as much practice in as possible, trying to get three new songs to premiere at the show next Thursday."
The band is no ordinary group of four guys slinging instruments; it is about more than that for them. According to the group's MySpace, they would have you know that "New Mecca is a medium for exploring ideas and boundaries. It is a place where we can put our thoughts, emotions and philosophies into musical and lyrical form."
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