By Lisa Morgan
While much attention has been paid to the Southern California desert’s legendary rock scene, and deservedly so, several younger bands have been emerging under their long cast shadow. With the heavy sonic textures and innovative spirit passed down to them by their predecessors like a Supernova, these band, with a little luck, could very well catch their own star, continuing the desert legacy on their own terms. Hollace, in the opinion of many, is one of those bands.
A melding of accomplished musicians with authentic motivations and personalities, Hollace is one of our top shelf rock bands who inspire one’s respect. Fronted by a passionate and animated front man with a voice that can hang with any of the great rock vocalists, backed by strong, hard earned musicianship, Hollace has carved a unique, lyrically strong sound that has been drawing energetic crowds for almost a year now. In that short time, the quality of their music and performance along with their love for their audience has organically grown a fan base that was motivated to vote them into the annual Tachevah Concert Tour competition. It has also earned them several nominations in the 2016 Coachella Valley Music Awards including: Best New Band, Best Male Vocals (Alex Antonio), Best Frontman (Alex Antonio) Best Rock Band and Best Live Performance Band. If their performance at the Date Shed last Friday night, opening for Alien Ant Farm, was any indication of things to come, this band could find themselves in front of a national audience soon, giving their loyal fan base “I told you so” rights.
CV Weekly spoke with the guys about all that has transpired over the year and what their hopes for the future are:
Josh Ballard (drummer): “This whole thing has been an exciting ride already! We went from jamming and writing songs together to winning battle of the bands and opening for bigger acts, all within our first year of creating Hollace. It is very exciting and inspiring! When the band all started, we knew we had something special from the start! We really took our time to hand craft these songs. With all of us having full musical backgrounds, it wasn’t hard to do, and it came quickly and creatively. As far as our hopes for the future of this band, we want to continue to write and record, and gain as much fan base momentum as possible. We hope by this time next year we will have a great fan base and many more shows under our belt. When it comes to songwriting, it comes from us all, but Alex is so good at writing melody and lyrics, to a point of genius, we just let him have his freedom. We all go over each song, and work out each part until it’s deemed “done”. Currently we are finishing our first full length album and getting our merchandise in order. We’re just excited to see where this crazy roller coaster ride we call “BAND LIFE” takes us!”
James Hollis Eaton (Guitar/Vocals): “Frank, Josh, Stretch (Shawn Fisher) and I were still playing and writing together after our last band separated from our singer. We just stayed positive. We knew that the four of us wanted to keep jamming together, to keep moving forward towards our goal of making a career out of making and playing music. Then when we brought Alex in, we knew we had something really special as a band, and we felt like we had a really good chance at making this happen. These guys have been so awesome to work with the last year. We all get along so well and the writing process with this band just comes so easy and naturally and makes all of us better creatively. These guys are such good musicians that you can’t help but be inspired and learn and be more creative when you are around them. I feel this band has what it takes to make it. We are all on the same page and have a great management team in Mystic Avalanche to support and back us up. I have no doubt about us taking this band to the next level. Our fans (the few we have) love our sound and our style. We love our fans and hope to get many more. I love this band, Hollace, and can’t wait to see what lies ahead and where we take it.”
Shawn Fisher aka “Stretch”: “We are coming up on our first year as being a band and it seems a lot longer. When we brought Alex in, it was as if he was supposed to be there the whole time. Chemistry between musicians is paramount. He brings a talent that seems a bit lost in today’s music. A great front man captures his or her audience with charisma and energy. Most of today’s music feels rushed and choreographed and lacks character. Our sound is important to us. We take our time and try different things and are often surprised by the outcome. We mesh very well in that regard. If something doesn’t feel right, then we try something else. Alex wastes no time in recording our sessions of writing new material, and will have lyrics ready to work with in no time. For me, that’s what this first year for us has shown me, is that we don’t put off anything. We are constantly working on something and not putting it on the back- burner.”
Alex Antonio (Lead Vocals): “Personally, before playing with these guys, I was seeking something new musically and creatively. I had always had the desire to just be a lyricist and a singer, and when I had the chance to jam with these four guys that would eventually make up Hollace, I saw it as an opportunity to take a chance and see where this road would take me. I feel I’ve grown leaps and bounds with them, not only with the music, but in my own personal creativity. I feel now, more than ever, that I no longer need to be afraid to take risks when working on any aspect of creating things whether it be music, art or poetry. It’s fun creating my own world around me, and these guys are a huge part of that. The beauty of life is that you can never really be sure where it’s going to take you. Right now, I feel we are definitely in a place that we all want to be. Our songwriting all comes together so naturally; at times it’s a little scary how easy it is for us as writers to come together and just belt out song after song. It’s definitely one of my favorite aspects of this band. I’m the main lyricist, but musically, it varies. Sometimes Frank and I will collaborate on a riff, just guitar and vocals, and other times, it will just come out of a jam session. Our song, “Peace Loves A New Day,” is a perfect example of that.”
“Since our first debut show at Bart Lounge to now, we’ve had nothing but support from everyone. We are very thankful because as they say, we would not be here if it wasn’t for our fans. So this Tachevah contest is just as much about them as it is for us. We are just glad everyone this past year has been so responsive to what we are putting out. I guess we must be doing something right!”
Frank Michel (Guitar/Vocals): “I was in a good place in my life when Hollace formed. Musically, the four of us had already created a strong band and by adding a singer just as strong, we knew from day one that Hollace had huge potential. Musically, nothing has been difficult; we gelled pretty quickly with a high level of talent and communication. The most difficult thing has been dealing with having day jobs! One year from now, I see Hollace releasing an album and performing at venues all throughout California – possibly even a tour.”
“Something funny I noticed was about our drummer, Josh, when we first met was that he liked quoting movies a lot. Turns out, he can quote entire movies word for word. One that stands out at the moment is Billy Madison, the Adam Sandler movie; the band gets quotes from that movie routinely. Josh is a responsible dependable person as well as an amazing musician. Obviously, a great drummer, he’s also great at piano and just hearing ideas in the moment. His knowledge of live sound and recording gets us great sound always. He’s also the best Cook!”
“James I see as quiet but strong, and just gets the job the done. He is so solid. Stretch is the only one of us that didn’t have music in mind for a career. Josh brought him in to play bass when we met before Hollace, and he learned almost from scratch. His willingness to learn and his overall dedication is amazing to me. Alex makes singing sound so natural, and in general, he feels energy and conveys it really well. He hears riffs brought in and just soaks himself in them and then becomes an extension of them. At the same time, he gives our music more edge with his strong voice.”
“Most of our ideas in our songwriting start on guitar, and then a collaboration process starts from there. Alex writes the majority of his vocal melodies and lyrics. No one ever says, “That’s gonna be it, and that’s that.” We have good communication and always hear each other out on any part of the writing.”
“I feel we have dedicated and amazing fans! Our fan base has been growing little by little, but it’s been a strong one since the beginning. They believe in us, and it makes us believe in ourselves that much more. We really feed off of them for live show energy as well!”
“Aside from being ‘Hollace’, we brew our own beer, have our own recording studio, and just like to have a good time sharing our music.”
Make sure and catch Hollace at:
Sat, Mar 26 @ Schmidys Tavern, Palm Desert, CA, US
Thu, Mar 31 @ Pappy & Harriets Pioneertown Palace, Pioneertown, CA, US
Fri, May 6 @ Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs, Palm Springs, CA, US
Follow them on Facebook or on Reverbnation www.reverbnation.com/hollace
