Page 19 - Black Velvet Issue 84

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BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 19

A (Musical) Note From...

MICHAEL Campbell - SYMMETRY

We’ve heard it all: ‘We don't like the image, about the music, it isn’t – at least, not anymore. purpose, too. Right now, the guys and I are
the songs are too long, your music video isn't You have to be the manager, promoter, pro- putting a lot of time into our songwriting, more
that cool, you’re better live than on the album.’ ducer, arranger, songwriter, video director and so than we ever have in the past. Why?
We hear it, and we keep going. editor. As a band on the rise, we have to be In years prior, we would jam something out
When it comes to being a rock band, Sym- and act like "the label." at a rehearsal, connect the parts and call it a
metry is relentless in our pursuit. Our work You know the story: there are plenty of song. Now, we sit in a circle with an acoustic
ethic started before we even met each other. bands that aren't that solid as musicians but guitar, pen and paper in hand to discuss what
It's actually pretty cool to look back and say are really good – even great – at working the we want out of the song, the vibe, the key, lyri-
that we all attended a music school. Our drum- other elements. And there are bands who are cal flow. We’re growing way more as a team
mer, Max, went to LACHSA based in Los An- so mind-blowingly talented, but hate social this way, because all of our thoughts and ideas
geles, instead of traditional public school. media and the responsibility that comes along will be there for criticism from the beginning.
Jared, Will and I fatefully met each other at the with properly managing their online profile. (Constructive criticism, of course.)
Musicians Institute in Hollywood. It's rare to find bands that can do both well. The point is to be real with yourself and
Last year was a big year for us. We re- There’s still an old-school belief that good each other. If you can't take criticism from your
leased our debut album Frozen in Time, made songs always find a way to circulate, and being band, how are you going to grow as a musi-
two great music videos, and released three happy and confident about your music is, cian/band member?
covers, from a rock take on Katy Perry’s Roar above all, the most important factor. There absolutely is no one way to do it,
to an acoustic take on Five Seconds to Sum- And those who mock modern marketing: being a successful band. In a shrinking indus-
mer’s Amnesia. We broke into the U.K. scene ‘It's easy to Tweet at your followers and post try that demands trial and error and invites
as an American band and shared the stage on Facebook. It's not easy writing the next crazy successes and easy failures, it's most
with our incredibly talented friends in Room 94. greatest hit.’ But try to find modern examples important to believe in yourself and in your
This year, we are back for more. We liter- of successful bands who go silent on social band.
ally just finished our brand new CD and re- media. They don’t exist. I found you can't just want to be the next
leased a lyric video (which we shot and Labels are crumbling, and it’s up to you. big thing. Live with intention and integrity
produced ourselves at locations around Holly- Symmetry wants people to be touched by knowing that you are the next big thing. In our
wood) for the title track off the album, The our music, whether it’s our lyrics inspiring pos- case, when you have a group of four extremely
Cure. Next up: A press tour, hitting the road on itive change in someone's life, a chorus that dedicated guys you start to see the world spin
another tour with Room 94 as main support, might give you wind, or inspiration that comes around differently. A bond is solidified. The
and a school tour across the U.K. from the fact that our guitar player is a mod- "nothing can stop us" mentality is something
This has all meant being relentless. As you ern-day phenomenon, despite having lost his we've seen other bands carry with them and
grow, it’s important to be relentless towards eyesight at 11 (before he’d ever picked up a have great success. That's what it's all about!
one another, and hold everyone accountable guitar). Never giving up!
for pitching in. It's not always the song. There But at the end of the day, the four of us Michael
are so many levels of maintenance with being need to be proud of the work we produce, from
in a band in 2015. You’re juggling being enter- our songs to our music videos. If we are proud For more info on Symmetry visit
taining performers, your “image,” social media, of Symmetry’s catalogue and visual expres- www.symmetryband.com
writing, rehearsing, getting physically pre- sions of our music, it’s easier to be less sus-
pared, keeping your instrument tuned and in ceptible to other people's opinions. In a band? Want to write a one-off col-
good condition …these are all key factors in a You have to be able to surpass the daily umn for Black Velvet? Get in touch. Email
band’s ability to make a lasting impression. pressure of "fitting in." Jared, Max, Will and I editor@blackvelvetmagazine.com.
Though I would like to think that it's all are all in this together as a team - and for a
SYMMETRY