Saturday, February 26, 2011

Collective Dreams


Michael Christopher climbs into a Winnebago crammed with gear and perches himself on top of an amp.
            “Mike’s all like ‘oh I’m little so I have to sit on top of shit,” Travis Hildenbrand, Christopher’s band mate, jokes.
            The Winnebago, now full of Collective Dreams members- singer Christopher and drummer Hildenbrand along with bassist Ben Rodriguez and guitarists Caleb Barber and Albert Salinas- represents much about how the band came together and even has a song named after it.
            “The first day we bought it, we come in here and everything fit perfectly,” Hildebrand said.
            While most members of Collective Dreams have been playing together since middle school, singer Christopher fell into place afterwards.
            “I was playing a show at the Ten Eleven,” Christopher said. “They were there just watching and I guess they liked my vocals.”
            Christopher’s voice rounds out Collective Dreams’ captivating sound. The band, who’s EP Passages was just released,  have solidified a sound that sets them apart in this scene.
            “Our music is us,” Rodriguez said.
            “We all play differently,” Salinas adds. “We never had lessons. I don’t know anything about guitar really. It’s just whatever I feel like, I play on guitar.”
            The music they play and the performances they put on are just that- the band’s raw emotion and energy. For a band with self-professed and evident Circa Survive and Minus the Bear influences, the guitar playing of Barber and Salinas walks the line of experimental and indie at times, giving a fresh face to the songs. Breathing in Someone Else’s Air showcases all of the band’s strong suits- Christopher’s ability to show the emotions he puts into his lyrics, Rodriguez’s bass lines that get the listener moving along with Barber and Salinas’ haunting guitar riffs that perfectly compliment Hildenbrand’s beats that keep you wondering what comes next. The crowd feeds off the energy and emotion at their shows and has a good time. How could you not with their homemade lights that cast them as larger than life figures, Rodriguez showing off his dance moves and Hildebrand running around his set to bang on his cymbals?
            “We listen to music that feels something. It has something that it’s trying to tell you. And that’s the kind of music we’re trying to make too,” Hildenbrand says.
             The Collective Dreams boys, who are all juggling college and playing shows, hope to later on tour full time even though at the present, it is challenging.            
“I don’t have time to do my homework on the winny,” Salinas said. “It gets in the way of a lot of things but this is what I want to do. When we aren’t out, I can’t wait to get on the road and play shows again.”
            “It’s worth it,”  Rodriguez adds with a smile. “We are going to take it as far as we can until it falls off.”
            The band hopes that what their doing doesn’t have to fall off, but evolve.
            “Once we hit maybe about 45 or 50, when we are too old, we’re gonna start playing Texas country,” Barber said with a smile.
“In smokey bars where people play pool.” Salinas adds with a laugh.
                                                                                                                                                         

To download Collective Dreams' EP go to their Facebook Page.

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2 comments:

  1. Keep it up soon the whole state of tx will know who you boyz are!
    -mysterious-

    ReplyDelete
  2. So when is the 'Ben Potts: How to dance' video coming out?

    ReplyDelete