Pela

For the members of Brooklyn's Pela things have really begun to come together. After tirelessly playing show after show and working out their songs to perfection, the band they came together to form in 2001 has started to gain a wider audience. From the 1,000 plus audience singing along and clapping in unison during their 2006 SXSW appearance, to the increasing size of the venues the band has been playing, to the anticipation building for their soon to be released second EP 'Exit Columbia Street', there is definitely something happening. Gaining a solid group of loyal fans from having shared bills with the likes of Sleater Kinney, Flaming Lips, Mission Of Burma, The Decemberists, Rainer Maria, Devendra Banhart, The National, Feist, British Sea Power, and even Norah Jones, Pela has come into their own.

A far cry from those days when they first met. A time that saw singer and guitarist William McCarthy selling neckties in Times Square, trying to pay the bills while simultaneously trying to find that band that would go for it. Attempts had been made with a number of bands before but one by one the members of those groups had thrown in the towel. Demonstrating the same determination he had shown in order to get to New York City from his life long home in northern California, he kept at it until he met the right people to form Pela. Being given the phone number for Eric Sanderson who had just returned to the states after studying music in the unlikely locale of Ghana, the two quickly started playing and writing together. With William on vocals and guitar and Eric on Bass, it wasn't too long before Eric's long time friend and Nate Martinez let it be known that he'd like to add his guitar to the mix. When it came time to complete the band with a drummer the trio held exhausting auditions that yielded nothing tangible. Defeated, they sat in a bar in Brooklyn on Columbia Street, the street that they all now lived on, and plotted their next move. A waitress mentioned a drummer who lived on the very same street named Tomislav Zovich. After what was the perhaps the fastest tryout ever, playing maybe two songs max Tomislav was in the band. William was obviously pleased...he knew his failed band days were now over.

Releasing their first EP in 2005 Pela's 'All In Time' received great reviews and established the band as one that would be out there making great music for a long time to come. Now, in 2006, a second EP 'Exit Columbia Street' (remember the street they all lived on in Brooklyn?) is set for release and the band is continuing to tour in support of it with the same explosive live show that have people screaming.

From the immediate sing along 'Heys' of very first track 'Lost to the Lonesome' to songs like 'Tenement Teeth' and 'Drop Me Off' it's obvious that these songs are the work a band determined to make something that will stand the test of time.

The word is out - Pela has arrived and sure to be one of the most talked about bands in the near future.