Calcaska

Calcaska is a 3 piece band based in Flint MI. Formed in 2010, they are releasing their second EP on July 27, 2012, entitled the YBYL EP. Known for their soaring melodies and stadium rock sound, the YBYL EP blends that with a character and atmosphere than can be felt throughout the 5 tracks, but hardly described. The first song, YBYL (young blood, young love) sets the tone of the entire EP when it says "We got lost in a dream." - The Deli Magazine

Interview with Jeff Gingrich Interview by Catherine Khom


10
What are some reasons why music is so
important to you? Who/what in?uenced
you to pursue in the music industry?
I've been playing cello since I was 7 or 8, so
it's always been a big part of my life. I'm not
positive if there is a speci?c moment where I
decided I wanted to do this, I guess it
happened somewhere between Billy Joel
when I was 2 years old, and when I heard
Blink 182 for the ?rst time when I was 10. I
think it was just meant to be.
Everyone has dreams, if you could make
one of your dreams come true, what would
it be and why?
Well, It would probably (and almost most
obviously) be higher levels of success for this
band. I feel something when I play in front of
an audience ready to hear our music, when I
know the songs can affect people's lives
from some unrelated incident in mine, and
that's something I'd rather not lose.
What instrument would each of you would
love to learn how to play and perform live
at?
Let's be honest; I really want to learn
bagpipes. I'm not sure how they would ?t in
with Calcaska, maybe I would just have to
have my own personal recital.
Describe your song-writing process. How
is it unique or different from others?
We let it happen. If the song takes too long or
we can't really agree on something, it gets
pushed aside. Some of the songs were
written and nothing changed, some songs
demos are drastically different than the
recorded EP versions. Whether I write the
back bone to the song or if someone else
does, everyone comes together in the best
interest of the song and we collaborate
accordingly.
What are some challenges you had to face
when you started to form the band and
why?
Originally we were all in other local bands
and it was hard for everyone to lose the
creative aspects they had before (Blake and I
in a hardcore band, Jullian and Ian in a post-
hardcore, progressive band) to come
together to make Calcaska's sound. As time
goes on, we become more aware of each
other, and of Calcaska as an entity.
There are a lot of band feuds that leak out to
the public, how do you all feel about how
popular bands handle their problems and
feuds with other bands? What do you think is
the main reason why the feuds even began?
I really don't have much experience on this
subject, or knowledge for that matter,
however I think it's extremely important,
professionally, to keep it out of the public
eye. It's understandable to not like another
artist or have an argument with a band-mate
but things don't need to be spread to
unrelated parties, either via word of mouth or
social networking sites (especially.)
How do you handle having a bad day but
still having to perform?
On a bad day, I de?nitely feel more solemn
walking up on stage, and I make sure I spend
a little more time alone before we play.
Usually that gets my mind off of other things
(at least enough to focus on performing,) and
then playing makes me feel great.


band?
On a small scale, we are de?nitely looking to
sign with the right label. Yes, we're all on the
same page goal wise, and those goals come
from seeing what bands we look up to have
done.
perform at and why did you chose this
amusement park?
I've heard that Six Flags is the place to play
at. I've only ever been to two amusement
parks before and I couldn't really envision
bands playing there. So until I see Six Flags,
I'm not sure!
2012 and why?
I saw a picture online of The Killers recording
in the studio earlier this week, which is
extremely exciting. Also, I really enjoy the
band "The Temper Trap" and would love for
them to release new material. I've been
terrible keeping up with what's new. Every
day I get a little further back into 80's
mainstream rock and U2, but I thoroughly
enjoy being lost there.
What are some plans you have - Stitched Sound

(Translated from Japanese)

The foursome of former Michigan Calcaska!
Enough time has heard of ?Dashi, I thought I like Pop Punk band based near Sherwood, such as the effectiveness of the keyboard, the band could play a rock solid core!
The local atmosphere ?Mitsui rock sounds around them, smoking is now oozing a emo!
? I do not know anymore what I write
The Hanks in any case, as much as I shocked when they encounter Early States!!!

Sucking chest to listen any song in Kyun!
Especially going ?Rana Summer Bones! And I feel out of The Graduate Toka Makutsu delay effects coming from the midfield.
Guigui feeling of coming late Toka, Toka cappella, Toka excitement from it, smoking is now condensed all my favorite sounds in this song!
The keyboard does not interfere at all, perfect!!

? I love the sound kind Yappari
Tsu Please try to check it out!! - Shinoyan

Article by Jeremy Evans

"Our goal is simple: To make stadium rock and roll."

So said Jeff Gingrich of the Flint-based rock band Calcaska, a new group that has been steadily building a local following since its inception last year. As Calcaska prepares for its performance Saturday, Nov. 6 at the Creative 360 Battle of the Bands in Midland, Gingrich spoke about the band’s new EP, Past, Present, Future—as well as the past, present and future of Calcaska itself.

The members of Calcaska, though still just college-age men, have decades of musical experience between them. Blake Scheller, guitarist, played for five years in the Flushing band Frandy with close friend Gingrich. Gingrich, a classically trained cellist, studied two summers at Interlochen Center for the Arts, while brothers Julian and Ian Kingsley (drums and bass, respectively) grew up on jazz and progressive rock. "You can really hear the difference in our playing styles," Gingrich said of the band members’ diverse influences. “But our band is not about any one particular style. What brings it together is the emotion.”

Calcaska first began to take shape in 2008, when Gingrich scheduled a solo recording session in Tennessee. "While I was in Frandy, I was always writing extra music that just didn’t fit," Gingrich explained. "So I just decided to go record some songs." Taking Julian Kingsley along on the trip to provide drum tracks, the resulting EP—known, simply, as The EP—featured six original songs, characterized by acoustic guitar, banjo, cello, harmonica, and drums. Gingrich plays nearly every instrument on this record (one he repeatedly refers to as only “the demo”), a stripped-down and emotionally raw group of songs touching on love, heartbreak, and youthful desperation.

"When I wrote the first EP, a lot of things were happening in my life," Gingrich said. "I was having trouble in school, I had a friend who passed away, and I was in a relationship that I was really into but it wasn’t working out." These experiences inform such backward-looking songs as "Summer Bones," featuring a singer assessing a failed romance and trying to pinpoint where it all went wrong. The longing for a better past is palpable throughout these recordings.

That same sentiment lies behind the group’s name as well. Calcaska is, of course, a homage to Kalkaska, Michigan, a hamlet halfway between Grayling and Traverse City. "I wanted to capture that northern Michigan charm," Gingrich said. "I had taken a trip up north, and everything just felt better up there. So I guess the name was symbolic—remembering the past, put also putting the past in the past." When asked about the spelling change, Gingrich laughed. "I thought it looked cooler that way."

Things developed slowly over the next year, as Gingrich left Michigan for a recording internship. Upon return, "I knew I wanted to start a band that was willing to try harder and set some higher goals than we ever had before," he said. "So I found the best people I know, whether they were in a band or not, and said, 'Will you be a part of this with me?'" One of the major inspirations for the new group is the Killers, whose influence can be heard on a number of tracks from Past, Present, Future. "I saw the Killers in January or February of 2009, and I was floored by the musicality—how in tune the voice was, how everything was put together—the band was just so tight,
Gingrich said. "It took my breath away to see how they achieved that level of playing."

The first song written by the band, "Believe Me Natalee," signaled a new outlook for Calcaska. "Everything about makes me want to fall in love / to fall in love again," Gingrich sings, showing that Calcaska is as much about looking to the future as the past. (Similarly, songs like "Enough"—with its pleas of "Hold on, don't jump"—shows an attention to the immediate present that completes the tripartite vision of Past, Present, Future.) "After we wrote that song we scheduled recording time for one week later without any other songs," Gingrich chuckled. "It was pretty crazy. We just finished the vocals the night before recording." Finally, a decision was made to retain the Calcaska name, though Gingrich sees little connection between the two incarnations of the name. "The worst part about keeping the name is that people keep asking for those songs [from the first EP]," Gingrich lamented. "We are a different band now.”

With the new EP under their belt, Calcaska has been turning its attention to live shows throughout 2010, though it hasn’t always been easy to find venues. "Flint has been terrible for shows since the Flint Local closed [in 2007]," Gingrich said. "We are playing a show on November 12 in Flint, and that is only the second show we’ve played in Flint. It’s hard for us to find places to play shows—we're not a part of any scene. We're not in the indie scene, we're not pop-rock, we're not hardcore. So our shows are scattered all over the place." Recent conc - 360 mainstreet

Michiganders who embrace pop and emo influences and add a touch of soul to the mix to create a sound that will endear itself to young and old ears alike.
October 2009 - HM Magazine