Polyester Starfish
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE
Music
Press
The Polyester Starfish took the stage next, and played their own brand of rock! This band is more of a cerebral band; their songs aren’t edgy at all; in fact, the music itself is more of a mainstream sound. I was very happy to meet the members of the band; we have been fans here at MWB of The Polyester Starfish, and it was interesting to talk to the members, and to hear the dedication that they have to making their music! They are playing in a town where a lot of really good bands dominate the scene, and it can be very difficult to break in and establish a name for yourself! In my estimation, they are a very good band, and they make music that deserves to be heard!
- Midwestbands.com
The Polyester Starfish
Band fine-tunes performance to open for Rusted Root in Cleveland show
By Millicent Martin
Staff writer
A Richmond rock band won the right to open for Rusted Root next weekend in Cleveland.
Through that performance, The Polyester Starfish hopes it will get the attention of music industry staff, perhaps leading to future opportunities.
The Polyester Starfish was selected to perform as part of the Clear Channel College Entertainment Volkswagen Music Ed. Tour '02. It will play at Case Western Reserve University on Oct. 5.
"You couldn't find a better way to get exposure" said one of the group's founders, Tony Rollins.
Clear Channel Communications calls itself a global leader in the out-of-home advertising industry with radio and TV stations, outdoor displays and entertainment venues in 65 countries.
One unsigned band was chosen for each of the 20 tour stops, spanning the country from Boston to Los Angeles.
Although it performed a few concerts in the area last year, The Polyester Starfish started steadily playing in April, focusing more on music and less on sets. The group now plays about five shows a month in the region.
Most of its concerts are in Indianapolis, Dayton, Cincinnati and Chicago.
The Polyester Starfish's sound has been described as a mix of Goo Goo Dolls and Smashing Pumpkins. They write slow, midtempo and more aggressive songs and perform everything from acoustic to distorted guitar.
Rusted Root has a devoted following of its own and was in Indianapolis recently as the opening act on the Santana Tour. The group is an Island recording artist, combining jam-heavy rock with African- and Latin-influenced percussion.
Bands from all over the country submitted two song demos for a chance to grab an opening spot on the tour.
How The Polyester Starfish submitted its materials is a story in itself. Rollins received an e-mail about the contest from a friend and decided to enter for the exposure in the music industry. However, time was a factor. He heard about the contest a day and a half before the deadline -- at about 8 p.m. one day. However, the group didn't have a recording he could simply mail. So that night Rollins made some guitar and voice recordings in his home studio. He paired those with some drum tracks he already had prepared and overnighted the package to Massachusetts. "It was the best $15 I ever spent"Rollins said.
In addition to the financial investment to mail the recording, the group has an emotional investment. I take this show very seriously because I know industry people could be watching,"Rollins said. "We could possibly go to the next level from this concert, so I want to make sure it is good and we represent our sound the best we can."
Rollins said his group's sound isn't what the music trend is now so they want to showcase how they're different. "The trends will always change but the one trend that doesn't change is that people tend to like songs they can relate to, which is love, relationships, loss, things like that,"he said.
Most of the songs are autobiographical because the group writes about things that have happened to them, such as breakups and new people in their lives. Rollins describes the songs as being about positive, happy themes, but presented in a dark way.
"When we put the band together I thought the best we could do would be to play out and hope people like us,"Rollins said. The Cleveland concert "Will give us a different audience and we'll see what happens with it," Rollins said. "All we can do is showcase our music." - Millicent Martin
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Polyester Starfish is a rebirth of taking lessons learned and refining.
A few years hiatus involved with studying what made David Bowie, Queen, and Pink Floyd so enduring and great. The next step was create a sound based on what was learned...a sound where every song stylistically and instrumentally are different from the last one written.
New band members were then recruited with a more classically trained lean. We spent a year just rehearsing. Our songs are more than just playing chords, these songs have a level of feel that drives the songs.
Most bands are a guitar-bass-drums setup with an occasional keyboard thrown in which is a standard in music. We decided to use technology and in a 10 song set you will hear 6 different drum set sounds, various pianos, various strings, live violin and live sax, numerous organs, synths, vocal synths, harps, Mellotron..on and on. We made a list of what all bands we have seen do with regards to the sound, genre, instrumentation etc. We looked at that list and said...."don't do this". Now create something our own.
We are a true wall of sound coming at an audience where no two songs are the same. We have devised a show and songs to where if anyone loves what we do, then you have to come to us to get that sound.
Band Members
Links
