Metroid

Metroid redefines the do-it-yourself ethos when it comes to bands.

Singer Ryan Finegan and bassist Orlando Welsh learned to sew from the Internet so the members could create their own stage clothes.

Drummer Tommy Ybarra has a silk screening company so the band could make its own merchandise.

And the band books its own shows, befriends every music contact they meet and still finds time to write songs and record.

"No one cares about your band more than you do," Welsh explained.

Not bad for a band that started as a way for Welsh to learn music production platform ProTools.

Rising out of the ashes of defunct bands, longtime friends Finegan and Welsh grew up in Palm Desert and Palm Springs, often playing shows together with their respective bands. And when their former projects started to fizzle, they decided to just get together, have fun, write some songs and learn ProTools.

"I think we learned a lot from being in other bands," Welsh said.

The result is Metroid, a combination of electronic music, indie rock and pop.

The band's never-give-up attitude, ingenuity and fast-talking has gotten them into playing prestigious LA venues like the Key Club and impromptu dates on the Warped Tour.

Finegan summed it up with a simple adage: "Act like you're supposed to be there."

The band practices in Riverside these days, although Finegan lives in Covina and Welsh lives in Norco. And it has just released its first official EP, through the digital imprint of indie label Eyeball, which was the launching pad for such bands as Thursday and My Chemical Romance.

Metroid likes that its sound can't be pigeonholed because the music has changed as the band has progressed.

"We always want to have an out," Finegan said. "We don't want to be stuck."
- The Press-Enterprise