'The Red Room': Neckromance celebrates debut EP at El Rocko with Hey, Chroma and Lovecry
Savannah alt-metal/punk rockers Neckromance recently supported their friends, The Maxines, for the band's debut album release show. Now Neckromance is throwing a party of its own to celebrate the release of its debut EP, “The Red Room,” at El Rocko Lounge on Saturday, October 28.
Neckromance has been springing up all over Savannah since forming about a year ago, and now the band is preparing to set out on its very first tour—three exciting weeks on the road with The Maxines. The EP release party will be the last chance this year to catch Neckromance in Savannah before the band takes a break to work on new music.
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A fifth-year crisis, a Powerpoint and a flyer brings together the band
Neckromance features Jake Seres (bass/guitar), Derek Callen, (guitar/bass), Chris Felo (drums), and Ava Foster (vocals). The band coined the term “heavy dreamo” (dr-emo?) to describe their music, which combines the heaviness of metal and the emotion of emo with a dream-like atmosphere.
Neckromance formed when Foster had, what she calls, a “fifth-year crisis.”
“I was 20 when we started,” said Foster. “My granddad had just died, and I was in my senior year of college thinking, ‘I DO NOT want to do anything with this degree I’m paying a lot of money for.’ So I got Jake on board.”
Foster convinced Seres and others to start Neckromance with her by putting together a compelling Powerpoint presentation.
“I still have it somewhere,” said Foster. “It’s me saying, ‘I know you all are probably busy, but wouldn't THIS be fun?’ There’s a lot of weird images in that Powerpoint, and I gave all of them my reasons for why I wanted them in the band.”
Callen was recruited with a flyer hanging in his neighborhood seeking a guitarist, and Felo basically got dragged out of his bedroom to join.
“We yelled at Chris through the wall while we were practicing in the living room, and he came out and joined,” Foster said with a laugh.
Like the name suggests, Neckromance “resurrected” Foster and gave her a new purpose in life.
“I was driving down to Savannah on Fridays, either having a show or practicing on Saturdays, practice on Sunday, and then driving back to Clemson, South Carolina, pulling an all-nighter to finish my homework, and then I would go back to class on Monday. I did that for way too long. I think it was an act of desperation. I needed something to live for.”
For many bands, it takes just one great show to convince them to pour all of their energy into music. For Neckromance it was probably the Valentine's Day house show at Big Blue that almost, literally, brought the house down.
“There were so many people in that house and we were rocking so hard that the floors were bowing,” recalled Felo. “After that night I was like, ‘We need to figure out a way to do this again.’ It was simultaneously the coolest and most terrifying thing ever — the constant threat of bringing the house down.”
“And I crowd surfed for the first time,” Foster added.
Neckromance concept EP evokes noir detective stories
Neckromance’s 4-song EP, “The Red Room,” is a micro-concept album, of sorts, inspired by noir detective stories.
“It’s about this detective that sees this murder case and then goes crazy wracking his brain about it,” explained Felo who, it should be mentioned, was wearing a “Til Death Do Us Part” t-shirt during our interview—a reference to one of the lyrics on the EP.
Neckromance has been playing these songs for awhile, but they were looking for a way to tie them together in an EP.
“While we were assembling it we realized there might be an overarching story there to connect the dots with,” said Callen. “Originally, we were going to call the EP ‘Chambers’ and it was going to be about things that happen in your bedroom. We have a song about dreams. We have a song about love and sex and murder and all that fun stuff. Now we’ve figured out a way to connect the two and it was a nice brainstorming process, writing exercise for all of us.”
Many of Neckromance’s songs have elements of the macabre in their lyrics.
Foster said, “We have a lot of songs about death, violence, killing people, bugs, bugs being under your skin...”
One song, “Why’d You Bring A Knife to Bed,” has received a complete lyrical and compositional overhaul since they released a demo version Bandcamp. Neckromance recorded “The Red Room” at Hidden Audio Studio with Chris “Scary” Adams at the helm.
The band praised Scary’s speed and efficiency in the studio, which allowed Neckromance to record and mix multiple instruments at once.
“It was super smooth,” said Seres. “That was probably the fastest process I’ve ever experienced for recording anything.”
“It makes the process a lot more smooth and natural,” added Felo. “You get the sense that we’re all playing together instead of all of us trying to perform our own parts.”
“The Red Room” will be available on all streaming platforms on the day of the release show. Neckromance will be joined by atmospheric alt-rock band Hey, Chroma, and Gainesville’s Lovecry. Be sure to catch Neckromance and pick up one of their limited addition release show t-shirts before they head out on tour.
If You Go >>
What: Neckromance EP releaseshow/costume party w/ Hey, Chroma and Lovecry
When: 9 p.m., Oct. 28
Where: El Rocko Lounge, 117 Whitaker St.
Cost: $12
Info: instagram.com/neckromance.band/
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Neckromance debuts concept EP, 'The Red Room,' with show at El Rocko
