Local band Under The Flood gets an upstairs appearance at Starr Hill this month, and lead singer Dave Nadolski offers up some advice for up-and-coming bands on how to get there. “If I had one piece of advice to give, I’d say get good management. You’ve got to know people.
If you don’t know anyone, you’re not going to get anywhere.”
 The hardest working men in show biz: Locals Under The Flood will be home only 10 days over the next four months—catch them while you can at Starr Hill June 23. |
Under The Flood has been together about two years, and only eight months in its current lineup. But club owners have been picking up the phone since the band signed with Concept Artist Management in February. UTF has been on the road a lot in the last four months, playing good-sized rooms, or “A and B clubs” as Nadolski describes them. The band plans to be home all of 10 days in the coming four months.
The band members are young, 19 to 27, and they play hard rock with melodic vocals. And they are big believers in playing the rock ‘n’ roll game by the rules. They have a CD, The Witness, which was produced by Daughtry guitarist Brian Craddock at Stacy’s Music. They are currently shopping that disc to major labels, as well as playing a number of industry showcases. UTF is also looking forward to writing tunes with Craddock and Chris Daughtry himself.
“There is a way to go about it, and that is what we are doing. Radio play and constant touring,” says Nadolski. His self-confidence seems vital to the band’s success. “In the next few months, something will happen for us.” But Nadolski also goes out of his way to remember and thank his family who have supported the band and allowed its members to “chase our dream.”
Nadolski says, “It is going to be a really good show, a rock show that Starr Hill hasn’t seen.” You can go judge for yourself upstairs at Starr Hill on June 23, when the band appears with tour mates Copper and Agents of the Sun.
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The members of Under The Flood seem happy to keep Charlottesville home while they are working the business. Though there may be pressure to schmooze, some bands feel playing music for a living is easier done here than in the big city.
| Listen to Summer by the Rusticators:
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Abbey Linfert and Chris Amsler of The Rusticators spent 15 years in San Francisco. Linfert claims that the Bay Area is a great place to play music, but a terrible place to try and make your living doing it. In 2004, they up and explored possible home locations from Nashville to Charlottesville. She says that they were attracted to Floyd County from an online perspective, until they got there and saw how tiny it is. They ended up in Staunton, partly because of the Victorian architecture and the hilly terrain that reminded them of San Fran. But Linfert says that the music scene has made them very happy. “Staunton has been more than we expected. We have been blown away by the caliber of songwriting here. And people here really, really love music.”
 The Rusticators (Chris Amsler and Abbey Linfert) are “blown away” by the caliber of songwriting here—and the cost of living sure beats the Bay Area. |
The Rusticators have been influenced by everyone from Woody Guthrie to Gram Parsons, and Linfert says, “Although folk is a dirty word in L.A., I definitely embrace that style of music.” They have a recent CD out, Talking with the Dead, and they currently perform from NYC through the Carolinas. They have also figured out the most important element of all: how not to have day jobs. Linfert and Amsler often play as a duo, but their Starr Hill cocktail lounge gig Wednesday night will feature them with rhythm section and lead guitar.
The Rusticators show may also feature some other acts who are active with Song Sharing, a group of very good musicians, like Tom Proutt and Emily McCormick, who play to audiences who have limited or no access to traditional music venues, like the residents at Westminster Canterbury for example. Song Sharing has been active for years under the leadership of Greg Allen, and the organization gets a lot of support from bands like REM. Linfert says that some of The Rusticators favorite gigs have been Song Sharing gigs. “The audience can be very into the music.”
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In a sad piece of news, 214 Community Arts, after a short tenure, has lost its lease with First Presbyterian Church. Anyone looking to help out 214 Arts can contact them at brimstunes@yahoo.com.