Local Band ' From the Sky' is Taking off in Sacramento

Local band “From the Sky” is taking off in Sacramento
By Ann Olson-Dupire

I am at the rehearsal studio with guitarist Gino Loui, bassist Joseph Campbell and Ben, the drummer of Sacramento’s local rock band “From the Sky”.

Q: Tell me about yourselves. What instruments do you play? How long have you been playing?

Gino: I am playing guitar since I was 13, so that’s 15 years. I played first chair baritone saxophone in middle school, played in all city band, then later switched to guitar.

Ben: I play the drums and I have been playing for 12 years. I am self taught, but I have been playing since middle school, I also played saxophone. I started playing saxophone, piano and started playing the drums in 2000.

Joseph: I started laying music in grade school. I played the trombone in band, and did bell choir. I kind of moved away from that in junior high. At 14 I started playing guitar. In high school I picked up the bass and we started the band “Face”. For Christmas of 1992 I got my first bass. I have been playing the bass guitar ever since.

Q: How did all of you meet?

Gino: Actually I was playing in a band called “Drop the Sun” we had a singer that wasn’t really working out, and Ben and Joe tried out for singer in 2003. Ben and I were in “Drop the Sun” for about three years.

Joseph: Ben and I met in high school in 1992, where we started a band and Ben was the keyboardist, but we weren’t really good friends, just knew each other. We met again at a “Mudvayne” show around 1999 and were surprised that we still liked the same music. Ben, our guitarist Jeremy and I started a band, “Noma” in 2000. In 2006 we needed a new guitarist, and Gino came to play with us. That was when we became “From the Sky”.

Ben: Our first show together was technically “Drop the Sun’s” last show.

Q: What prompted you to start a band together?

Gino: Similar taste in music

Joseph: similar respect for the music style. I know a lot of what lead Gino to us was his frustration with his other band and not branching off in the direction he wanted to go.

Gino: There is a lot of more freedom in this band.

Joseph: There were a couple of times when we would just joke around like “Hey we should just be in a band together” then we started to take it seriously.

Q: Describe your music, what sets you apart from other bands?

Ben: First and foremost it’s progressive and the complexity I think sets us apart from other bands at least in the same type of genre. Always shifting and changing. We have so many influences and styles but yet we still manage to come up with sounds of our own. And we are proud of it.

Joseph: We’ve been doing this for a long time, we are not just playing around. I think not just in every song but from song to song we have a wide range. We like to mix as much of what we have influence-wise back into our music.

Gino: there is a lot of variance from song to song. I you were outside and heard two of our songs you might think we are one kind of band, then come in and hear a few more of our songs and totally change your opinion about who we are.

The song structure is a little more elaborate. We don’t just write them in two weeks, some of them take years to write. Each new song dictates its own arrangement and formula.

Q: Who are your top influences?

Gino: I am really into “King Crimson”, they are an older progressive band that started in the late 60’s. I like “Pink Floyd”, “Zeppelin”, as far as new more modern bands there’s “Mastodon”, “Tool”, “Meshuggah”, “The Mars Volta”.

Joseph: “Fontomas”, “Strapping Young Lad”, “Tool”, “Ssleepy Time Gorilla Museum”, “Rasputina”, “The Melvins”, “Eric Clapton”, “The Mars Volta”.

Ben: For drum influences definitely “Mastodon” and “Meshuggah”. In general “Isis”, Gino got me into “King Crimson” as well, and then I always go back to the classes: “Rush”, “Pink Floyd”, “Zeppelin”, “The Melvins”, “The Mars Volta”.

Q: What does your music do for you?

Gino: Gives me an opportunity to be creative, gets tension out.

Ben: Keeps me sane

Q: Where do you want your music to take you?

Joseph: I kind of wanted it to take us somewhere ten years ago. Now we are just doing it because we like the music.

Gino: Ultimately I we want to do it professionally. More shows in different parts of the world, or country at least, would be fun.

Ben: I’d like to be able to do nothing but play music… without being broke or homeless.

Q: What are some of the venues in which you have played?

Gino & Joseph: On the Y!

Ben: We’ve played some house parties.

Gino: Boardwalk in Orangevale, Doghouse saloon, we played at Bisla’s.

Ben: I think we have only played about 6 shows.

Q: If you could play with one other band, local or world known, who would it be?

Joseph: “Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum”

Gino: “Mastodon”

Ben: “Faith No More”, since they are back now.

Q: What can we expect from “From the Sky” in the upcoming year?

Ben: More shows, merchandising.

Gino: Hopefully a demo or some kind of recording soon.

Joseph: Hopefully a singer. I was doing vocals but our music is too complex to dumb down where we can do vocals and play at the same time. One would suffer horribly. I could sing and mess up the bass line, or Gino would sing and mess up the guitar, or visa versa.

Q: If you could give everyone one message what would it be?

Gino: Have patience to check out music, actually go out and find new bands. Just go out the try something new, that’s what local music is about, or should be about.

Ben: Burn your money.

Joseph: Just we are all one people, start acting like it. Let go of the past, it’s what’s holding us down.

Q: How can people find your music, or more information about yourselves?

Ben: Go to myspace.com/fromtheskyspace we are now officially on youtube.com. Just search “From the Sky” or our names.

Joseph: You can find me on facebook.

Gino: You can find me on facebook too, Gino Loui.

Q: Do you have any upcoming shows?

Gino: July 28th at “On the Y” again. Our favorite place!

END OF INTERVIEW.
Distributed by Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager