Build A Machine

In OC, reggae-rock trio Build A Machine are known as "the Boston boys." In New England, Mike Serra, Tom McCarthy and Tyler Saraca comprise "that band from Cali." Either way, the Huntington Beach-based group is releasing their debut EP, The Desert Sessions, today and they believe it's sound is strung enough to pacify both coasts.
"We really wanted to put out a serious album, not just throw it out there like 'Here it is.' That's why we only did a six-song EP instead of a full album. Every song is different and special," says McCarthy, Build A Machine's bassist and singer. "It's a rockier, funkier reggae with a lot going on. It's a very complex sound. There are a lot of harmonies, but there are also hip-hop beats going on. It's a little bit of everything."
Sonically, Build A Machine is every bit as complicated as McCarthy says. The harmonizing between the bassist and Build A Machine's other vocalist, Serra (who also plays guitar), is reminiscent of other reggae-rock bands (think 311), but with some distinctively old-school hip-hop beats in the background.

These days, the three-piece has turned the promotion and touring centered around their debut into a nearly full-time job, handling everything from the marketing and business side of things to booking shows and playing festivals across the country. That's probably for the best, considering the three gave up their more stable lives in Massachusetts to risk it all on the West Coast.

"We're all from the same town in Boston, and we decided to pack up the Honda and move out here to buckle down on our music," McCarthy says. "We wanted to take our 9-to-5s away and focus on the project. Two of us didn't even have jobs or anything out here, we were just crammed into an apartment making music."

The band eventually decided to rent out "a house in the desert in the middle of nowhere" to record their first EP (hence the name, The Desert Sessions). Bold decisions like renting a house in the desert show that while the Southern California scene might be enough to consume young bands, which is why McCarthy believes Build A Machine was smart to wait until they were older before their cross-country move.

"We're just taking it step-by-step and doing everything the right way," McCarthy says. "It's easy to get washed in the waves with other bands, but we're 30, not 18. If we were 18, we'd probably try to go straight Hollywood. Now, we're more mature, more professional, and it's been very well-received."

Build A Machine's debut EP, The Desert Sessions, is available on iTunes on March 2. More information is available on the band's website. - OC Weekly

The beautiful psychedelic vibe, one that strikes slowly and peacefully, creeps up on you like a mesmerizing wave of love in Build A Machine’s brand new music video. Their video is on The Pier right now, their brand new EP dropped on Tuesday, they were just featured in OC Weekly, and they’ve already earned stripes as Angelo Moore’s backing band on Warped Tour–so where did these guys come from again?

Build A Machine is from my neck of the woods, toward the cold and currently frozen northeast–Boston to be exact. When I wanted to find a band, I left there and moved to California. These guys already had a band, and decided it was time to take it to the reggae-rock mecca of Socal. It’s tough not to imagine palm trees, serene deserts, and the lure of the Pacific ocean when you’re holed away in a basement for 8 months out of the year practicing music. But I’ll tell you–those 8 months with no distractions make for wonderful musical discoveries, and I’m glad these ones found their way onto my radar.

The marriage of east and west coast tones brings a uniquely epic vibe to the music. Maybe I’m biased being from there, but I can feel it when I listen. I know the story–how reggae, rock, and every other genre found their way into these guys’ hearts. And even though their music is of a different sort, it still feels like they caught the same vibe–vibes that Sublime long ago brought to life and spun to generations.

Build A Machine came to California to let their music shine, and they did it the right way. The best way to really get into the vibe in California is to stick yourself in the middle of a desert and write new music. No distractions, no routines, just 3 musicians and pure soul. This is how their new EP happened, and there’s something awesome to be said about music recorded this way.

Their new video, also filmed while they scorched under the hot desert sun, is a super fun psychedelic journey. As images melt and fold into each other like a slow burning fire on the screen, the music pulses perfectly into fractal scenes of the desert. Bringing my mind into a nearly hypnotic state, I watched as colors bent the silhouettes and 3 musicians sent their vibes into out into the lonely and beautiful heart of Joshua Tree. *Epic*

They literally moved from Boston to Joshua Tree to write and record this new EP, and while there they filmed a music video. Oh yeah, and they filmed the video entirely with cell phones–yes, cell phones.

It’s amazing being a writer here for Hill Kid where I have the opportunity to hear new music and and meet upcoming bands. People from all over the world have been touched by music deep in their souls, and bands work hard to spend every waking second of their lives bringing that music to reality. Longing to be heard, desiring to spread a message, and pouring their hearts into it.

There’s not much I love more than seeing music cross imaginary state lines, travel across the deepest oceans and unite the world as we know it. No matter where it’s from, you know when it has soul. Music can get you through bad days, enhance great times and leave a positive spring of life in your mind. After all, isn’t that what it’s for–isn’t that what we’re for?

Thank you Build A Machine for sharing your music with us, and for helping us spread the Hill Kid vibes far and wide!

May the vibes be with you–

Brendan Clemente, Marley D, Braelyn D, DJ Mackle and the rest of the Hill Kid Fam ^ - Hill Kid

Build A Machine is a three piece funk, hip hop, reggae, rock band who are originally from Boston but are currently living in Huntington Beach, California. They just completed recording their first EP in the middle of the desert, appropriately titled, The Desert Sessions.

The band is Mike Serra on vocals and guitar, Thomas McCarthy on vocals and bass and Tyler Saraca on drums. Their music focuses on beautiful harmonies, filthy riffs and trippy reggae. They've played at The Vans Warped Tour, as well as opened for artists such as: Slick Rick, Steel Pulse, Rootz Underground, Fishbone, Tribal Seeds, and Fortunate Youth. Another band highlight is backing Fishbone’s Angelo Moore’s solo project.

They decided to do things differently when recording their new EP. This adventurous band traded in their usual expensive studio time for a short term rental among the inspiring desert landscape of Joshua Tree, California. There, free from the daily tolls of life and limitations of working with producers, they were able to self produce their tracks whilst experimenting and exploring different musical landscapes through improvisational jamming and freestyle singing. Heavily affected and influenced by the energy that the desert atmosphere provided, the boys decided to record all their music live together, a difficult and challenging feat, as well as engineer it themselves, truly making it their own. They then turned to Ryan Siegel, who has worked with big names such as 311 and Glassjaw, to mix the record.

Examiner spoke with Mike Serra about their latest recording and their current promotional tour which started in mid-September 2014.

Examiner: Where was your first show and what was that like to play your music to a live audience?

Serra: "Our first gig together was actually pretty hilarious. We were playing a big college event in Worcester, MA at this club and the place was PACKED. One of our buddies was so drunk that he stumbled into the electrical outlets that powered the whole show and ALL sound cut out except for the drums. We turn around to figure out what happened and see him with his pants around his ankles jumping with the cords trying to plug them back in. That show was definitely one for the books."

Examiner: Do you have a particular moment thus far where you said to yourself, WOW?

Serra: "We have quite a few 'wow' moments in our career but there are three that definitely stick out for us. The first 'wow' moment was while we were living in the Joshua Tree making our album. We met these incredible local musicians and joined forces to form a sort of 'supergroup'. With only 2 days of rehearsal, we were invited to perform at the Coachella festival near Palm Springs being direct support for Passion Pit. It was one of the best nights/shows of our life. 6,000 people in attendance.

The second would be when we officially moved to LA. We were broke, sleeping in our van, taking showers at the beach where you rinse off, etc. We ended up going to this little club near Hollywood because we heard Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction was drumming. Long story short, we met him and told him our story. He had a lot of respect for us putting 100% into our band and moving out west from Boston to take it to the next level. He ended up inviting us to his house to record at his home studio and actually played percussion on a track!

Third and final 'wow' moment happened to us during one of our shows in Venice Beach, CA. We were opening for this group called Banyan (features Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction, Mike Watt, Nels Cline of Wilco) and Brandon Boyd from Incubus came to our show. Incubus has been a huge influence on us so we were tripping out! We ended up talking with Brandon for an hour about the business and he gave us some real good tips."

Examiner: What do people say about your music, who do they compare you too?

Serra: "People always say we sound a LOT bigger for a three piece band. We have been compared to Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, and Beastie Boys. We get a lot of praise for our vocal harmonies and guitar solos too."

Examiner: How was it living out in the desert and how did the three of you agree that that would be the best place to coordinate your music and record your first EP?

Serra: "The Joshua Tree desert was an absolutely amazing and magical experience. There is an energy out there that is sort of indescribable. We took a trip out there one day while we were all sharing an apartment in Huntington Beach, CA and just always had it in the back of our mind. As a group we wanted our first release to be something special and have the right energy to it so we figured Joshua Tree was a no brainer really. We wanted to be able to focus on the music without any distractions so we rented this amazing tile house really far out there. It's an incredibly stylistic, tripped out house with an amazing creative energy. Such artists as Joni Mitchell and Erykah Badu have stayed there and written music as well. We were so confident with our writing out in the desert that we ended up engineering and producing the record ourselves."

Examiner: You started your promotional tour in September? How has the audience received you?

Serra: "The September East Coast tour was great! The audiences were really digging the music and we got the word out about our upcoming release 'The Desert Sessions' big time! A few standout shows for us were The Boston Freedom Rally on the main stage and Opus Underground in Salem, MA. The crowds were going crazy and the vibes were real high."

Examiner: What advice would you give to new students graduating Berklee College of Music?

Serra: "I would say to not let all the competition discourage you. There are a TON of people all striving to get gigs but keep it unique and stay true to your original style. That is what will set you apart from the others. Lastly, figure out a solid payment plan because I heard tuition is really high!"

Expect an east coast tour around spring/summer 2015

More band info: http://www.buildamachinemusic.com, http://buildamachine.bandcamp.com/ - Examiner.com

Kicking the night off, locals Build A Machine won over a whole set of new fans with an entertaining fifty minute set. This trio of suburban white guys from Dedham and Walpole, rocked a partisan crowd of old school hip hoppers with their self-described brand of “dirty funk." Their tunes harbor back to a time of George Clinton with a dollop of Rage Against The Machine tossed in. Playing songs from their debut release, Once Around the Sun, Build A Machine pleasantly poured energy and funk onto a crowd that was expecting to do more of the Whop than playing air-guitar to songs like “Make It Happen” and “Push”.

Build A Machine's self described version of “dirty funk” afforded me the opportunity to sit back and listen to a band that brought not only high energy to their set but a sense of showmanship that was on profound display when all three band members rocked three different sets of drums in “Make It Happen”. Their affinity for playing for and with each other could be seen after their set ended when surprised hip hop revelers thronged to the guys asking for CDs and information on possible upcoming shows. The guys displayed genuine appreciation for the accolades given them by their new, unsuspecting fans. I suspect the trend will continue as the group is working on plans for a national tour this summer. - Boston Music Spotlight

BUILD A MACHINE
Once Around the Sun
7-song CD
Written and recorded in southern California, this Boston trio excels at instantly retro/modern hooks drenched in cheep beer and kind bud. Fans of Living Colour and Red Hot Chili Peppers will like the Californication of this recording, while the rest of us will dig the slinky guitar grooves. If indie rockers did porn soundtracks (that is, I mean more OFTEN) Build A Machine would have a promising career over at the Vivid offices. Fans of Jane’s Addiction will dig the bonus track that features Stephen Perkins on drums. Clearly this is a band that won’t be in Boston for very long. (Joel Simches, The Noise Boston) - The Noise

Meet the Band: Build a Machine
By Kerry Purcell

The band: Mike Serra (guitar, voice), Tom McCarthy (bass, voice) and Tyler Saraca (drums); all hail from Walpole.
The sound: Metallic guitar riffs, hints of reggae and intelligible lyrics

The name: Build a Machine takes its name from a line in the Jane's Addiction song "So What!"

"It has everything I love about a rock song," Mike Serra said. "There are waves and trippy elements and I'm a big fan of that. Ty (Saraca) suggested it and it's definitely what we want to do."
The story: Eight years ago, guitarist Serra and Saraca bonded over a love of Jane's Addiction during art class at Walpole High School and started playing music together.

"We were the only band that didn't play the pop-punk stuff," Serra said. "We'd play, like, reggae and people really didn't dig it. We were always the odd men out."

Two-and-a-half years ago, Mike's friend Tom McCarthy joined the crew to form Build a Machine. The trio packed up and headed to California but found few friends in high or low places on the Left Coast.

"We didn't know anyone out there," Mike Serra said. "We were homeless, living in my car and sleeping on the beach. Finally someone rented us an apartment in the Salton Sea Desert. It was such a trippy place, so foreign to us, but really good inspiration for the album."


"We went to see Stephen Perkins in LA, the drummer from Jane's Addiction, play and gave the trumpet player our demo," Mike Serra said. "We started keeping in touch with him and he set us up with Dave Aron, Snoop Dogg's sound guy. He's done production for Tupac, U2, Sublime, Prince and all these other big names."

Build a Machine recorded at Aron's house in Laurel Canyon overlooking the Hollywood sign. Aron enjoyed the band's sound so much that he called in Perkins to cut a song with Build.

Aron is currently on tour with 311, but Build a Machine is heading back to his house in October to finish the album.

The goal: "To spread our message of positive thinking, tour, tour, tour, and to retire in Huntington Beach, Cali," said Mike Serra. "You have to go. It will change your life forever. It's full of wicked friendly, laid-back people. I love it." - The Boston Herald

Build A Machine is a three piece funk, hip hop, reggae, rock band who are originally from Boston but are currently living in Huntington Beach, California. They just completed recording their first EP in the middle of the desert, appropriately titled, The Desert Sessions.

The band is Mike Serra on vocals and guitar, Thomas McCarthy on vocals and bass and Tyler Saraca on drums. Their music focuses on beautiful harmonies, filthy riffs and trippy reggae. They've played at The Vans Warped Tour, as well as opened for artists such as: Slick Rick, Steel Pulse, Rootz Underground, Fishbone, Tribal Seeds, and Fortunate Youth. Another band highlight is backing Fishbone’s Angelo Moore’s solo project.

They decided to do things differently when recording their new EP. This adventurous band traded in their usual expensive studio time for a short term rental among the inspiring desert landscape of Joshua Tree, California. There, free from the daily tolls of life and limitations of working with producers, they were able to self produce their tracks whilst experimenting and exploring different musical landscapes through improvisational jamming and freestyle singing. Heavily affected and influenced by the energy that the desert atmosphere provided, the boys decided to record all their music live together, a difficult and challenging feat, as well as engineer it themselves, truly making it their own. They then turned to Ryan Siegel, who has worked with big names such as 311 and Glassjaw, to mix the record.

Examiner spoke with Mike Serra about their latest recording and their current promotional tour which started in mid-September 2014.

Examiner: Where was your first show and what was that like to play your music to a live audience?

Serra: "Our first gig together was actually pretty hilarious. We were playing a big college event in Worcester, MA at this club and the place was PACKED. One of our buddies was so drunk that he stumbled into the electrical outlets that powered the whole show and ALL sound cut out except for the drums. We turn around to figure out what happened and see him with his pants around his ankles jumping with the cords trying to plug them back in. That show was definitely one for the books."

Examiner: Do you have a particular moment thus far where you said to yourself, WOW?

Serra: "We have quite a few 'wow' moments in our career but there are three that definitely stick out for us. The first 'wow' moment was while we were living in the Joshua Tree making our album. We met these incredible local musicians and joined forces to form a sort of 'supergroup'. With only 2 days of rehearsal, we were invited to perform at the Coachella festival near Palm Springs being direct support for Passion Pit. It was one of the best nights/shows of our life. 6,000 people in attendance.

The second would be when we officially moved to LA. We were broke, sleeping in our van, taking showers at the beach where you rinse off, etc. We ended up going to this little club near Hollywood because we heard Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction was drumming. Long story short, we met him and told him our story. He had a lot of respect for us putting 100% into our band and moving out west from Boston to take it to the next level. He ended up inviting us to his house to record at his home studio and actually played percussion on a track!

Third and final 'wow' moment happened to us during one of our shows in Venice Beach, CA. We were opening for this group called Banyan (features Stephen Perkins from Jane's Addiction, Mike Watt, Nels Cline of Wilco) and Brandon Boyd from Incubus came to our show. Incubus has been a huge influence on us so we were tripping out! We ended up talking with Brandon for an hour about the business and he gave us some real good tips."

Examiner: What do people say about your music, who do they compare you too?

Serra: "People always say we sound a LOT bigger for a three piece band. We have been compared to Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, and Beastie Boys. We get a lot of praise for our vocal harmonies and guitar solos too."

Examiner: How was it living out in the desert and how did the three of you agree that that would be the best place to coordinate your music and record your first EP?

Serra: "The Joshua Tree desert was an absolutely amazing and magical experience. There is an energy out there that is sort of indescribable. We took a trip out there one day while we were all sharing an apartment in Huntington Beach, CA and just always had it in the back of our mind. As a group we wanted our first release to be something special and have the right energy to it so we figured Joshua Tree was a no brainer really. We wanted to be able to focus on the music without any distractions so we rented this amazing tile house really far out there. It's an incredibly stylistic, tripped out house with an amazing creative energy. Such artists as Joni Mitchell and Erykah Badu have stayed there and written music as well. We were so confident with our writing out in the desert that we ended up engineering and producing the record ourselves."

Examiner: You started your promotional tour in September? How has the audience received you?

Serra: "The September East Coast tour was great! The audiences were really digging the music and we got the word out about our upcoming release 'The Desert Sessions' big time! A few standout shows for us were The Boston Freedom Rally on the main stage and Opus Underground in Salem, MA. The crowds were going crazy and the vibes were real high."

Examiner: What advice would you give to new students graduating Berklee College of Music?

Serra: "I would say to not let all the competition discourage you. There are a TON of people all striving to get gigs but keep it unique and stay true to your original style. That is what will set you apart from the others. Lastly, figure out a solid payment plan because I heard tuition is really high!"

Expect an east coast tour around spring/summer 2015

More band info: http://www.buildamachinemusic.com, http://buildamachine.bandcamp.com/ - Examiner.com