A group of Kelowna bred musicians are scheduled to make a triumphant return to their home turf this weekend.
Alt-rock group CIVILIANA is currently based out of Vancouver, but the heart of the band still very much resides in the Okanagan.
“This the area where we picked up our instruments for the first time in a thriving scene that produced bands like Yukon Blonde and Stutterfly — it is where we learned our chops and grew our passion for music,” said drummer and vocalist Calen Trentini.
“It is almost poetic to come back to Kelowna finally after this stint in Vancouver, to show everyone what we learned, how we have developed and how much the city of Kelowna is reflected in our sound,” he added.
The band is comprised of Trentini and friends Adam Wilson, Spencer Daley and Daniel Ponich, the band met back in high school before moving on to pursue different avenues in adulthood.
Having spent much of their adolescence playing together in various musical trios and duos, some of which you might remember (do the Daisy Cutters or Civilian ring any bells?) the group rekindled their musical ventures in 2015 after all winding up in Vancouver — a happening that drummer and lead vocalist Calen Trentini describes as “serendipitous.”
“When we all got in the same room that chemistry was just back again right away, it was like we hadn’t even skipped a beat,” said Trentini.
While the trio of Trentini, Wilson and Daley dates back to teenhood, the roots and origins of what is now Civiliana actually trace all the way back to Dr. Knox Middle School music class.
“Spencer and I have been playing together for around 15 years now since we first picked our instruments in grade seven we have been pretty much side by side,” said Trentini.
The addition of Ponich came not long after the group reformed, and while he was not in on the original trio his friendship with the band goes back to high school as well.
“We recorded our first EP with Daniel, he joined the band as kind of our fourth member, not even a few months later and here we are now, it was kind of a serendipitous connection. ”
Over the five years since getting the group back together, not only have the lives of each member changed but the direction in which their music is created and presented has also evolved — shifting from their classic rock roots to adding a more modern and electronic-inspired flare.
“What is different now for us, is the sounds we want to capture, even from our first EP — we have started adding in some electronic aspects as Adam has started buying more synthesizers it’s opened up this whole new soundscape,” said Trentini.
“We grew up on more traditional forms of rock and roll with just a guitar and amp with some vocals and drums, that is what we knew. So to incorporate a more electronic side into things was very new but also exciting for us because in my opinion, it is sort of an underutilized tool in alternative rock.”
Diving head first into this new direction, CIVILIANA are working to release a string of songs that showcase their new influences, versatility and tell a story their peers are all too familiar with — navigating relationships and the internal struggles that come with them while in your 20’s.
“The saying goes to write about what you know and what you are going through, anybody who is in their 20’s goes through that phase of exploration and relationships — for me at least it has been very dominating on what my life is like at this moment,” said Trentini.
“That isn’t to say there aren’t other themes we want to write about but it was very therapeutic for me to get what I was feeling onto paper and into lyrics, to talk about it and I feel like a lot of people can relate to the messages that I was talking about at that time.”
Three months ago the band released the first chapter of that story with the debut of their single “Carry A Light,” a track that pays homage to their songwriting roots and is riddled with catchy hooks.
“‘Carry A Light’ is an accessible song that is more of an easy listening experience, it is very much that post-breakup phase of a relationship where you have an inability to move on, your eyes are sort of transfixed on a rear view mirror and you’re trying to recapture what was lost,” said Trentini.
The second release “Void” was gifted to fans a mere three weeks ago and acts as a bit of a prequel to March’s “Carry A Light.”
“‘Void’ is sort of that feeling of being in the middle of that relationship and kind of losing your direction and identity, forgetting why you even got into it in the first place, it is a lot of reflection,” said Trentini.
“Unlike the accessibility of ‘Carry A Light,’ ‘Void’ is quite a bit heavier and more hard rock based — it features a droney extended outro and some explosions of music that act as these sort of epiphany moments when you realize what that new identity is that you should be pursuing.”
While both songs are undoubtedly good and stand proudly on their own, it can be hard to hear how they fit together into one cohesive message, which is where the third, final and unreleased song “Melt” will fit in perfectly.
“We didn’t want to choose one sound or another which is why “Melt” is interesting,” said Trentini.
“It kind of bridges the gap by combining those two — it is a fairly unique song in its structure, featuring a lot of electronic aspects while still focusing on hooks and catchy vocal melodies while also showing off more of that hard rock side that we really perpetuated through ‘Void’,” he added.
“It feels like the natural third song to come out because of how the song structures and messaging go — it is what’s next after the relationship ends when you’re ready to move on but you’re not sure where you’re supposed to go and learning about the messiness and trickiness that goes along with that,”
According to Trentini their commitment to their message and music also transfers heavily into their live performances going on to say they have an “unwavering commitment to high-quality art performance.”
“We really try to focus on creating memorable and unique performances and try to utilize everything we can within a venue from the lighting to the stage and even the crowd,” he said.
“Even our stage set up is a bit different as I am the vocalist and the drummer, we move the kit right up to the front and align the other members around it, which is not usually tradition.”
CIVILIANA are slated to annihilate the Fernando’s Pub stage this Saturday, July 6 — an opportunity Trentini says the band has been waiting quite some time for.
“We have wanted to play in Kelowna but there just hasn’t been the right opportunity as the venues book up pretty quickly in the summertime, this time we were lucky enough to contact Fernando’s and get in,” he said.
“We are thrilled and we just can’t wait to show the growth and development we’ve experienced within the last five years as we will be playing for a lot of our family members and friends we haven’t seen in person for some time.”
You can catch these hometown dudes at Fernando’s this weekend as they share the stage with South Korean punk rock band, Sonic Stones. Tickets are available now through Eventbrite with a select number set to be available at the door.
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