Bands strive to establish good communication with members as well as with businesses

Starting a band is like starting a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

“When you first start, you really have to feel each other out,” said Shaun Yanovich, lead singer and drummer of the alternative/metal band Redshift. “But if the band’s members aren’t close and don’t have good communication, the band isn’t going to work.”

Yanovich said good communication between band members is the most important thing when starting a band, even before talent.

While Yanovich said communication is the key to his three-member band, he explained how his talent came naturally.

“I’ve been playing drums since I was 12 and have never taken a lesson,” Yanovich said.

The 23-year-old Yanovich said finding people who are seriously dedicated to being in a band is the tough part.

When first starting out, the now 2-year-old Redshift had a bass player, guitarist and drummer but no lead singer, Yanovich said.

“I looked for a singer for about four years,” he said. “Finally, I was just like screw it; I’ll do it myself.”

Yanovich, now lead singer and drummer, said the music Redshift plays is completely original.

“You wouldn’t want to model yourself off any other band, just like anything in your life,” he said.

While Yanovich said Redshift, who can be heard on 88.9 WSTB the AlterNation, tries not to model itself off of other bands, bass player Chris Yannon of the band Amplexus said, “We write in the style of music we listen to, but we try to stay as original as possible.”

Yannon, who joined Amplexus filling a vacant bass player spot, said starting a band should be for all the right reasons.

“When you’re into music, starting a band is the best way to put your love for music into motion,” he said.

Yannon said he puts his “music into motion” at many different venues.

Amplexus has played at venues such in Cleveland, Akron and Kent.

While playing at shows is fun, Yannon said when starting a band, getting good equipment is one of the hardest parts.

“When you start, you normally have some equipment, but you have to save your money to get nice stuff,” Yannon said. “You can’t go out and spend all your money on booze.”

While Amplexus has played predominately in the Cleveland area, Kent State senior communications major and guitarist Billy Liber and his band R.E.A.L. have toured in the eastern part of the United States.

R.E.A.L. played in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York and Kentucky, said Liber.

“It was frustrating at times,” Liber said. “Some shows weren’t well-booked, and we didn’t get paid much.”

All of the bands said the business side of starting and maintaining a band is one of the most stressful parts. Yanovich said that Redshift had to recently acquire a manager because of all of the legal issues.

“As long as you have fun, it’s really worth it,” Yannon said.

Contact off-campus entertainment reporter Eddie Dilworth at [email protected].