Starving For Gravity

STARVING FOR GRAVITY WENT FROM BAR BAND TO BUZZ BAND
To Play Temecula International Valley Film & Music Festival

Website: www.MySpace.com/starvingforgravity

One of the hottest buzz bands, on the scene today, used to play cover tunes four hours a night – sort of like another act named after an insect. Scheduled to play the 14th Annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival, on September 20th, Starving for Gravity (SFG) have come a long way from those days.

Originally from Grand Forks, N.D., SFG worked as a cover band entertaining drunks, bikers, and girls gone wild. That gig financed their first album of original material; and, caught the attention of 79 Volts Management in CA. After signing a management contract and moving to the Golden State in 2007, SFG began pursuing their dream. In the process, these indie rockers transformed from a bar band to a buzz band. But, it didn’t come easy…

First, they experienced culture shock and the harsh realities of the music business. They learned that it was more than just about their music. Their performance, image, and even what they said on stage was scrutinized by industry. And, initially, they didn’t make the cut. “We thought it was over,” the band members recall. But their managers, Joshua Weesner and Alex Kravetsky, weren’t about to give up. They enlisted the aid of industry professionals and made them part of the team.

Just a few months later, things turned around. The band started winning contests that raised their profile, including the LAMN JAM Rock Music Contest and a worldwide competition for a spot in a Rock Against Diabetes concert in Las Vegas, NV. There, SFG got to play with rock stars and superstars, even joining Guns N’ Roses’ guitarist, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on stage to play “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Thal praised SFG, “Seeing those guys playing their hearts out, and being there for the right reason, was inspiring… They were the positive spirit of the show.”

Now, Starving for Gravity will be gracing the stage at the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival. Selected after a year-long showcase series, they’ll be performing in front of film and music luminaries, as well as their home town crowd. It’s been quite a journey for this young band; and quite a transformation.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Alex Karvetsky at 951-296-1016 or Akravetsky@gmail.com


- SFG PR

Starving for Gravity

Contact: Alex Kravetsky, Mgmt, 951-296-1016
MySpace.com/starvingforgravity

The Players: Lucas Holter, lead vocals; Brad Kovar, guitar; Brett Lindenberg, bass; Caleb Fritel, drums; Richard Nash, keyboards.

Starving for Gravity are obviously not hungry for material. Their heavy-rock songs are intricate and powerful. Structured much like classical compositions, their tunes are beautiful works of craftsmanship. Rock, jazz and metal influences can be heard throughout songs that combine Pink Floyd’s musical muscle, Matchbox Twenty’s vocal passion and Incubus’ sex appeal.

These young players are impressive. Tackling complex arrangements with ease and dexterity, they come across like musicians twice their age. Lindenberg and Fritel lay a massive foundation for Kovar’s soaring guitar, as he evokes David Gilmour’s virtuosity. Nash saturates the soundscape with keys and synth effects that are, at times, otherworldly. On vocals, Holter delivers a Rob Thomas’ quality that is extremely effective. In fact, the tune “Urgency” highlights the best of his prowess.

Summary: This is a young act that has loads of potential, and material that is strong and moving. In fact, SFG act could very well lead us to a new form of rock – one that is both epic and exhilarating.


- SFG

Starving for Gravity
The Knitting Factory
ALL ACCESS MAGAZINE
LIVE REVIEW
-Mike Cavanaugh

Appearing as part of a Temecula International Film & Music Festival Showcase is a band out of Orange County, by way of North Dakota, called Starving For Gravity. Before the show I ducked backstage to meet the guys. After that brief encounter, and as I watched them take the stage, two words came to mind - humble and professional.

Looking around the club before the band took the stage, the crowd numbers were less than stellar. If fact, the place was dead. Yet miraculously, a New York minute before this act plugged into their amps, as if Zeus snapped his fingers calling forth the minions, the band's fans, roughly a 70% female make up, materialized to crowd the Knitting Factory's floor. Jumping around screaming and showing their appreciation were buxom bodies, and, something I as a reviewer have NEVER noticed in any local club… females holding up handmade signs declaring their love and marriage proposals for the various band members. Am I witnessing a young band on the verge of exploding?

The music Starving For Gravity delivers is no frills, straightforward, contemporary rock and roll, with solid rhythms, hooks, and marketability. Lucas Holter, the band's front man, is perfectly suited bouncing back and forth on stage, displaying confidence and an excellent sense of timing for when to hang back and when to come forward to give the fans an intimate experience, all the while possessing quality vocal chops. The other parts, like the swirling pools within a rushing river that combine to energize and pulverize, Brad Kovar, Brett Lindenberg, Caleb Fritel, and Richard Nash merge to fuel the musical energy manifestation that is Starving For Gravity.

Starving For Gravity is an up and coming band with a lot of potential; and, most of all, they deliver the goods live, a strength which will serve them well in the future.
- SFG

PERFORMANCES

SPECIAL EVENTS
Rock Against Diabetes, Las Vegas [ Won worldwide competition ]

Cal State Long Beach “Battle of The Bands” [ Grand Prize Winner ]

EworldMusic Launch Party, Hollywood

Temecula Music Fest

Temecula Music Fest Media Day

Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival Showcase

LAMN Jam Rock Music Contest (NARIP) [ Finalist: Contest Pending ]

Guitar Center, Lake Forest

Atomic Bitch CD Release Party

Private Graduation Party

Private Industry Showcase @ The Alley Studios


NATIONAL ACT SUPPORT
Fair To Midland @ The Vault 350, Long Beach

Vast @ The Knitting Factory, Hollywood

Vast @ The Red Devil Lounge, San Francisco

David Thiele @ The Knitting Factory, Hollywood

Unset @ The Key Club, Hollywood

BROADCAST PERFORMANCES & INTERVIEWS
KLSX FM: Frosty, Heidi and Frank “Should I Stay or Should I Go”

EXscape TV with Gary Garver (Howard Stern) and Dion Jackson, DJ (KLOS)

Mike Stark’s "Rock 50" with Tee-M’s “Unsigned” (WPMD)

Brave New Network / Brave New Radio (College Broadcast)

XXtreme Radio @ NowLive.com

Forbidden Radio “Now Live”

WFLM "Saturday Night Free For All"

Jax All Access “ New Years Eve Extravaganza”

Caya Radio Live

Hard Rock Radio

Long Beachin’ with Mo (broadcast in the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand)

Gary Garver’s LA Talk Radio

CLUBS
[ California ]

House of Blues, Hollywood Martini Blues Supper Club
House of Blues, Anaheim
The Good Hurt
The Viper Room, Hollywood
Java Joes
The Key Club, Hollywood Skinny’s Lounge
The Knitting Factory, Hollywood
The Vault
The Cat Club, Hollywood
The Joint
Hogue Barmichael's
14 Below
The District at Tustin Dream Street
The Merch
Old Town Temecula
On The Rox, Hollywood
Keegan's Pub
Brick By Brick
Double Deuce
Fender Avenue Bar & Grill
Bob's Murrieta Pizza

[ Out of State ]

The Bunkhouse, Las Vegas, NV
Rox Club, Las Vegas, NV

The Nestor, Fargo, ND

- SFG

A BAND ON THE RISE:
STARVING FOR GRAVITY

Taking the stage at a major music event can be a nerve-racking experience – even for seasoned pros. But, when you’re a relatively young and unknown rock band from the Midwest it can seriously churn your guts. Starving for Gravity recently found itself in just that situation.

SFG was chosen in a worldwide competition to appear on a bill with superstars of yesteryear and rock stars of today. The event was Rock Against Diabetes, a two-day musical extravaganza held in Las Vegas, NV. The band opened the show on both days, and closed it on the last one. The closer capped the event perfectly, with SFG being invited on stage by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses’ current guitarist) to play “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with him. According to those who attended, SFG not only captured the crowd from day one, they stole the whole show.

Afterwards, Bumblefoot gave the band high kudos, “Seeing the guys in Starving for Gravity having such a good time playing their hearts out, and being there for the right reason, was truly inspiring… They were the positive spirit of the show. And, they totally kicked ass.”

This past year has been a wild ride for SFG. In addition to the Vegas concert, they won the Cal State Long Beach Battle of The Bands, took home the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Music Network’s Rock Music Contest, were selected (after a year long showcase series) to perform at the prestigious Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival, and opened for several national acts, including Vast, Unset, and Fair to Midland. They also received numerous airplay and broadcast opportunities from radio, television and Internet sources. In fact, Gary Garver (Howard Stern’s entertainment reporter) has featured them on his LA Talk Radio show eight weeks in a row. As a result, SFG’s MySpace site has exploded, garnering over 1,650,000 views and plays. Not bad for a band that came into existence only two years ago.

Originally from Alvarado Minnesota (population 350), SFG formed in North Dakota where four of the five members went to college. They entertained bikers, drunks and bachelorettes in local bars around Grand Forks, covering classic and alternative rock songs. “There were very few opportunities for original bands there,” recalls SFG’s lead singer, Lucas Holter. “You either played heavy metal or cover tunes, and metal didn’t pay.”

As it turned out, the cover gigs earned them enough money to finance their first album of original material. They had written the songs sitting around a wood-burning stove located in a tiny shack in the middle of an icy tundra. “We had to chop wood before we started work,” Holter laughs, “or we would freeze to death.”

The group released its self-titled debut in 2006, and gave it to anyone remotely connected to industry. Predictably, nothing happened. In fact, the band became so discouraged, the players talked about breaking up. Then, a miracle occurred. Holter met Joshua Weesner while playing the online game EverQuest II. Weesner visited the band’s website, asked for a CD, and started a four-month dialog that resulted in a management contract. Weesner enlisted Alex Kravetsky, a former singer and signed artist, to help out. The two of them convinced the band to come to California in 2007. A few months after their arrival, management hooked them up with multi-platinum producer John “JR” Ryan, added a keyboard player, and recorded ten songs for SFG’s latest CD, Urgency. It was a dream come true for the band, but the thrill didn’t last long. Several label showcases didn’t produce an offer, and frustration started to set in. “We thought you do a showcase, get signed, and start your career,” SFG’s bassist Brett Lindenberg explains. “It was gonna be sweet.” But, when it didn’t happen, self-doubt soured that sweetness.

How the band and management finally got it together and achieved all that they have in less than six months is the focus of this exclusive interview.

Talking with AAM at the Rock Against Diabetes concert, the band members, Lucas Holter (singer), Brad Kovar (guitar), Brett Lindenberg (bass), Caleb Fritel (drums) and Richard Nash (keys) exposed their feelings and hopes for the future. Their insights could very well help other acts striving to succeed in a very tough business.

Management also gave their perspective on how they turned it around, and made Starving for Gravity one of the hottest buzz bands in the LA music scene.

AAM: What made the Rock Against Diabetes concert so important for you?

Lucas: My brother Brandon was diagnosed about 15 years ago with Type 1 Diabetes. So, this cause is a very personal one for me. I hate the hardship that the disease placed on my family, and nothing sucks more than watching your little brother go into diabetic shock.

AAM: What was it like being a cover band in local bars?

Lucas: It was a job, for four hours a night, but it was also fun… sometimes even pretty wild. One time it got so crazy a young girl got up on stage and sat on our drummer’s lap while he played. She poured whiskey down his throat and started making out with him, but he never missed a beat. It was coolest thing I’ve ever seen.

AAM: Was the move to California a difficult decision?

Lucas: It was easier for some of us than others. For me, it was very difficult. I was leaving my whole life behind, including a girlfriend. But, both my parents and girlfriend encouraged me to do it. I figured we would be here a few months, fail, and go back to our old lives… with some great stories.

AAM: What’s the most important thing you sacrificed to make the move?

Caleb: I gave up a music scholarship, and a solo career. I was singer/songwriter, and doing pretty good. SFG was the first band I was ever in. But, I felt something special with them, so I gave it a shot.

AAM: Did you experience any culture shock when you came to L.A.?

Brad: Sort of… First of all, there are a lot more musicians and bands than there are back home. There are also more opportunities, but the competition is fierce. I don’t think we realized how serious it was until we got into it and saw how cutthroat it could be.

AAM: Did you notice any difference between the two music scenes?

Brad: Definitely. We thought it was just about our music. But, we found out, in L.A., it’s much more than that. We had no idea that a live performance, an image, and even what you say on stage were so important. In the Midwest, nobody thinks about those things. It goes against the grain. In fact, some of them could even be considered negative there.

AAM: How did you deal with that?

Brad: It was tough, because we really didn’t understand it. Only after we started working with industry pros did it sink in. But, it was a real challenge for the whole band, and it took a while before we felt comfortable.

AAM: What did you think about your first industry showcases?

Brett: We had never done anything like that before, and it came really fast. I thought “What a sweet deal!” We’ll play for labels, get signed, and the rest would be history. But, it didn’t turn out that way.

AAM: What do you think the problem was?

Manager Joshua: We followed some bad advice and probably showcased before the band was really ready. We did pick up a tour agent at the Viper Room, but that was about it. It got frustrating to do showcase after showcase and have nothing happen.

AAM: How did the band feel about it?

Lucas: We thought it was over. We tried and it didn’t work out. We didn’t realize how long it took, or what it really took, to get industry attention. Now, we know it’s a long process and takes a lot of work.

AAM: How did you turn that around?

Manager Alex: We got professionals involved and went back to the basics. We focused more on the performance. We also started booking our gigs differently so that they would count for something. And, we began creating a story. It turned out so well that a buzz started to build and industry started to notice us.

AAM: SFG has won quite a few contests. Was that part of the plan?

Manager Alex: It was. Many of the competitions have industry associated with them. And, we discovered that a lot of the acts SFG admires won contests before they were signed. We felt that it could be a shortcut. And, so far, it’s worked out that way. You just have to be selective about which ones you do.

AAM: How does it feel being in a band that’s been validated multiple times?

Brett: Way cool. You know, we entered contests and band battles back home and never even placed, much less won. We even said we were never going to enter another contest again. But, now, everything’s changed. We’re a lot more confident, and a much better band.

AAM: How does that newfound confidence affect you?

Richard: I’ve been in seven different bands since high school. And this is the best band experience I’ve ever had. It’s fun and creative. Even more importantly, it gives you faith that something might actually happen. The past few months have been really exciting.

AAM: Was there a turning point?

Caleb: There were a couple of times when we felt that something was different. The first time we played the House of Blues was one of them. Then when we played the eWorldMusic launch party and a showcase for the Temecula Valley Film & Music Festival, it started coming together. You could feel it on stage, and from the audience. But, after winning a couple of contests, it really hit us. Our attitude changed and we started to really believe in ourselves.

AAM: You got to play with some very famous musicians at Rock Against Diabetes. What was that like?

Brad: Unbelievable. It’s the dream of every musician to play with great players. It really inspires you. And this event gave us that opportunity. It’s a highlight for sure, especially playing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with Bumblefoot.

AAM: What’s your musical approach?

Brad: To write and play music that touches people without copping out. We want to keep our musical integrity intact. We tend to rebel against formula. And although some people think we have radio hits, we didn’t write them with that in mind. We wrote what we wanted to and it just turned out that way.

AAM: What’s your ultimate goal?

Lucas: If we could make a living just playing music, I think we’d all be very happy. If I could support a family doing what I love, that would be perfect. And, however that occurs is fine with us. We’re not looking to be superstars, though we wouldn’t turn it down. We just want to be working musicians, playing music people want to hear.

AAM: What do you think is the key to SFG’s success?

Manager Alex: Getting a team of people together who know what they’re doing is crucial. You can’t do it alone today. And, we’ve been lucky. Everyone who has become part of the SFG team has brought in someone else. And that has led to opportunities for the band. Once we got the right people involved, it seemed to take off and gather momentum.

Manager Joshua: Focusing on the right things has helped a lot. We’re new managers and having more experienced people help us has been a real benefit. It’s been a learning experience for all of us. But, most importantly, it’s believing in the band, and knowing that they’re getting the type of opportunities they deserve.

Note: Additionally, the co-managers wives, Cyndee Kravetsky and Michalle Weesner make it a family business. They help with the Internet, fan base and imaging.

AAM: So, is this journey a dream come true?

Lucas: It’s been an amazing time. But, it hasn’t been easy. It’s a lot more work than we thought it would be. Lately, though, it’s become a lot of fun.

Brad: In some ways it is. But, it’s also way different than I thought it would be. It’s been an adjustment, learning new ways to do things. There’s a lot more to it than just playing music.

Richard: It’s one of the best times I’ve ever had. I’m proud to be in this band and see all that we’ve accomplished. I know a lot of other bands that have been around much longer and haven’t done half the stuff we’ve done. It’s pretty amazing.

Caleb: For me, it’s been very fulfilling. It’s a lot better than playing covers for a living.

Brett: In a lot a ways it is. I don’t think we ever expected things to go as well as they have been. And, it sure beats office work.

You can hear Starving for Gravity at: www.MySpace.com/starvingforgravity

And, you can contact management at: 951-296-1016,
or email them at:
(Alex) akravetsky@gmail.com and (Joshua) 79volts@gmail.com
- SFG