“ getting into some digital drum pads and adding samples, got the keys now. “ set up his drums to where he’s playing congas and looks like mission control-he has a million things going on,” Harari said. While San Antonio’s mark on the band shows through the Latin percussion influences in the music, touring the country has inspired Hydra Melody to approach songs from different angles. “We hope to be the hometown hero one day, but there’s no shame in artists or bands or musicians saying, ‘We totally love other markets as well,’” Harari said. “Why do you want to go to a huge city and be a needle in a haystack when you can be in a place like San Antonio and be that needle that was right in the open the whole time and someone notices you?” Berlanga said.Įven though Harari agreed, he admitted there’s no harm in appreciating other markets. “They’re two extremes.”įocusing on the business aspect of the music industry makes the decision to stay in San Antonio-for now-the practical one. “It’s kind of a break from Austin,” he said.
“San Antonio’s a blessing because we’re close enough to Austin, the weather’s good and living here makes it easier to afford the ability to get out of here.” “I feel like a lot of bands like LA or New York, but then you can’t afford to do your work,” Harari said. Especially angsty music fans may have noted that while Ferguson attended classes at the University of Texas last fall, Hydra Melody rented a room at Space Rehearsal Studios in Austin and stayed for five weeks to begin work on a forthcoming EP. That sounds a little humble considering some of Hydra Melody’s other recent successes: A $20,000 check for winning the grand prize in Summerfest 2013’s Land the Big Gig in Milwaukee and placement as a finalist in Converse + Guitar Center’s Get Out of the Garage.Īs with other SA bands on the rise nationally (see: Wild Party, Lonely Horse), the question of whether Hydra Melody will continue to call San Antonio home has already come up. “That was a good model for us just seeing how it’s done,” added Berlanga. We got to hang out with them and make good contacts and see what they do.” “The first night we played, I was side stage taking it all in and Stephan comes up to me and is like, ‘Drinks in my dressing room later?’” Prince said. Hydra Melody had multiple opportunities to rub elbows with Stephan Jenkins and Brad Hargreaves, fulfilling those denim-clad fantasies of garage bands past. “I kind of flipped out a little bit every day.” “When I was a teenager was Third Eye Blind, so this tour for me was like a 13-year-old girl going to see Britney Spears,” Harari said. The nine-day tour began November 17 in Orlando, Fla., and ended December 1 in New Orleans. “We were the underdog and the indie band.” Third Eye Blind, a last-ditch, shot-in-the-dark effort, was the band that bit. In spite of little name recognition, Hydra Melody’s manager Chad Richardson contacted artists he knew would be touring in the upcoming months to solidify a spot for the band. The headliners chose a different band to open on each leg of the tour, and Hydra Melody joined the likes of Gentlemen Hall and Team (the latter is ex-Boys Like Girls bass player Bryan Donahue’s new project). Perhaps the biggest break for Hydra Melody in 2013 was an invitation to join ’90s alternative rock icons Third Eye Blind for a 20th anniversary tour sponsored by House of Blues. “From the business aspect, we’ve really figured out what a record label is-it’s just money from a bank.” “It’s great doing it homegrown, though,” Prince said. Prince agreed when Berlanga, equating a music label’s support to a loan, said many bands don’t realize that money must be paid back before revenue can be generated. We’re not willing to take the risk of being thrown to the bottom of the stack because Katy Perry wants to do a new record.” “Unless somebody offers us something that is undeniable-like in The Godfather, they make an offer you can’t refuse-I think the dream come true would be that we never sign. “We don’t want to do anything that involves signing our lives away until we know we have our business in order,” said Harari. All five agree tending to business themselves for as long as possible is preferable to having a label do it for them. Once Jason Harari, bassist, and Taylor Ferguson, lead guitar, joined Hydra Melody, Berlanga said the focus shifted to touring, branding and the business side of the industry-not that they’re looking to get famous by any means necessary. “I’ve known our two percussionists since middle school and high school and we’ve all been jamming together for over a decade now.”
“We’ve all been in and out of bands for a really long time,” Jordan Berlanga, lead vocalist and founding member, told the Current.