VERONICA PENOYER
Staff Writer
“Rot in the pit of cash or eternal stench,” said a quote on the special board at the local watering hole known as BJ’s, where the stage was set for the Rochester band, Alberto Alaska, on Thursday, April 9.
With harmony their lesser focus, Alberto Alaska displayed the classic alternative rock sound with powerful vocals and overall sound.
Several of the band’s members came together through FLCC, Finger Lakes Community College. In the spring of 2010, Jacob Cavinee, the guitarist; Evan Clark, the backup vocalist and guitarist; and Doug Kelley, the drummer, began making music after meeting in the Sound Recording Program. They began writing with the help of their lead vocalist, Mike Cardinale. Following an absence from Cardinale, the band finally recorded their first five-song EP at FLCC. Later on, the band moved to Fredonia, where they created their second EP, “True North EP,” with the facilities provided at the school.
A rare and uncommon name, Alberto Alaska is derived from the idea of altered perceptions.
“A friend of the band used an alias while adventuring his way through college with an altered state of mind, as many seem to do once they experience their first taste of personal freedom,” responded Kelley when asked about the meaning behind the band name. “We found the stories behind the use of the name intriguing and now use the moniker to label our style of atmospheric rock.”
The band has been together for five years, touring regionally at iconic venues such as Buffalo’s Mohawk Place, Pittsburgh’s Mr. Roboto Project and The Haunt in Ithaca, NY.
“At the beginning we were getting our sea legs, or maybe they are show legs. Either way, you have to perform a lot at the beginning to get used to playing in front of people and have stage presence,” advised Kelley. “Last year was our busiest year, performing 12 shows.”
Although BJ’s hosted a less-than-full crowd for a Thursday night, Alberto Alaska played with the utmost confidence. Their sound was electrifying with elongated mid-tempo musicality and surprising climaxes that left the bar cheering with astonishment. The band came well-prepared with instruments and equipment that projected each song with the essence of a stadium concert that could be heard well into the distance.
The rhythmic guitars and drums threatened to steal the show away. Every beat and strum of each instrument was unexpected and astounding and could be felt vibrating throughout audience members’ bodies. These two instruments were never just background music: Cavinee, Clark and Kelley. They made their presence known in every song with distinguishable solos.
Mike Cardinale’s unique voice compliments the instrumental sounds of the drum and guitars. His ability to hold exceedingly long notes in varying ranges with little to no effort made up for his downfall of sometimes sounding flat. His urge to sing and his overall confidence are what made the band come together to create such ear-pleasing music.
With major influences of Radiohead, Circa Survive, Manchester Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, Alberto Alaska’s songs were nothing less than unique and creative, while still resembling the classic alternative rock sound.
The song “Schizo,” an Albero Alaska original that hits close to the heart for Cardinale, displayed the raw emotion of a person with Schizophrenia. The song, written by Cardinale, embodies his view on how someone might live his or her life with schizophrenia, with constant paranoia and misinterpretations of reality.
“Our goal as a band is to put as much effort into creating music we love in hopes that, through networking and proper marketing, it gets heard by the right people. We all have jobs, whether it be full-time or part-time, and student loans to pay for. We make music because we love it, and hopefully the passion pays off in the end,” said Kelley when asked asked what the future holds and why music is their passion.
Currently the band resides in Buffalo and is working on their album that is expected to be released in the summer.
Alberto Alaska also shared the stage with Half Animal. With similar styles of music, Half Animal played a range of heavy and smooth music much to the crowd’s pleasure. Having only been together for a short period of time, the boys showed unexpected signs of long-time chemistry.