The Melodramatics

Friday, Aug 17, 2007

There was nothing melodramatic about the vibe at Off Limits last Friday. Band members and music equipment piled through the back door as the few seated at the bar sipped their drinks. The room was virtually empty as The Melodramatics leisurely set up their gear and Watson 349 placed theirs in waiting. With both bands being familiar to Chico, it was easily understood that there would eventually be a friendly turnout. Unfortunately, the show didn't start until 45 minutes had passed from the initial start time. I enjoyed a lovely $1 Pabst Blue Ribbon while Sean McFadden took the stage and played an impromptu solo acoustic performance to warm the crowd up and make sure everyone who entered Off Limits would get to experience that much more.

Showcasing an array of vocal and instrumental talent through a graceful presentation of original songs about getting high and makin' sweet love, and covering tunes by Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails and The Arctic Monkeys, McFadden emerged as a fitting opener. I was quite partial to the songs he chose to cover and the quality of Sean's execution earned him extra respect from my direction.

The Melodramatics didn't hesitate for one second to immediately jump onstage and show the Off Limits crowd how they get things done. Forming in 2001, brothers Caleb (guitar, vocals) and Wiley (drums), and friend Jesse (bass) have been a trio for the past six years. Building a healthy fan-base and writing strong music, they just recently felt comfortable enough to add horn players Richard (trombone) and Brian (sax) to fill out their ska vibe. This was Brian's first show with the band, which added for a little extra excitement.

Powerful and energetic, The Melodramatics captivated their audience with their up-temp brash punk melodies and soothed with their funk-filled reggae breakdowns. Sublime's "Badfish" was covered with pristine energy alongside original tunes like "End It," a song about the legalization of marijuana and "Alcoholic," with Caleb reminding us to smoke a fatty, that we could always use one more drink and to tip that fuckin' bartender.

(end of excerpt) - Synthesis

February 20, 2008

An old woman calling the police on a party might put a damper on the night. But it gave The Melodramatics' vocalist Caleb Saccheri an idea for a song.

The Melodramatics, a punk/ska/reggae band from Redding, gets material for its songs from crazy things that happen in members' lives, said Chico State graduate and Melodramatics' bassist Jesse Geron.

"A lot of our songs are inspired by stuff that happens and the law and the man hassling us." Geron said.

Though Saccheri's neighbor had told the band it could practice on weekends during the day, she filed a noise complaint, facilitating a citizen's arrest for disturbing the peace, Saccheri said.

"It was awful," Saccheri said. "Luckily, the charges were dropped."

Now, with an album titled "Disturbing the Peace," The Melodramatics is getting ready to go on its first tour.

The band's sound is distinct with new members Rich Hughes and Brian Bisseti playing saxophone and trombone. Geron, Caleb Saccheri, and Caleb's brother, drummer Wiley Saccheri, have been playing together for years, but the new horns play an essential role in the band.

Before Hughes and Bisseti joined, the band added horns on recording programs with
reasonable success.

"Back in high school, we were just a punk-rock trio," Geron said. "Now, with actual horns, we finally sound like we've always wanted to."

The Melodramatics was influenced by reggae bands such as Sublime and Less Than Jake, as well as punk bands like Rancid, Geron said.

Though the band has an unusual sound, certain audiences are not accepting of the way it mixes genres, he said.

"I'd think there would be more bands that blend," Geron said.

But when it comes to playing at parties, audience members tend to be a bit more receptive, Geron said. Chico parties in particular provide a lot of entertainment and material for future songs.

It's not just students who rock out to The Melodramatics. When the band played at City Plaza, some of the homeless people started dancing to the music, Geron said. Band members thought it was funny, but things got weird when people started falling over.

"It seems like if there's drinking involved, things can get kind of crazy," Geron said.

At a show in Redding, a partier puked in Caleb Saccheri's guitar case, he said. While he was cleaning it out, someone stole his guitar from the stage. This gave him the material for the song "My Guitar."

"I'm gonna find you," the lyrics read. "You took my guitar, you won't get very far."

Though the band has been called The Melodramatics for years, several other options were on the table when members were deciding upon names.

"Some other ideas were The Otter Pops and Johnny Action Finger," Geron said.

Geron came up with "The Melodramatics" from a phrase in Green Day's song "Basket Case," he said. Though the band never officially decided on the name, after seven years, it remains the same.

With a new album in hand but the same old name, The Melodramatics will play the first show of its upcoming tour Friday, at Chico Cabaret's Battle of the Bands.

Though Chico Cabaret is usually used for theater performances, it will be conducive to bands playing there for the battle.

"It's a nice open space, bigger than a bar," said Phil Ruttenburg, co-founder of Chico Cabaret. "It will work well for the show."

The Battle of the Bands will also include Chico band Afiction. Though not familiar with its music, Geron is confident in his own band's abilities, he said.

"Our horns add a lot of musical value, so I think we'll do OK in the battle," Geron said.

From there, the band will play shows throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. After the tour, the guys will return to Chico just in time to perform at LaSalles' St. Patrick's Day show in March.

The band has been setting up dates for the tour since November, Geron said. There's been some trouble cementing some of the shows, but band members are pretty excited.

With limited funds, the band will be making do with traveling in Geron's '04 Cavalier and Caleb Saccheri's Toyota truck with a shell on the back.

One day, the band hopes to experience the obligatory "five grown men crammed in a van," Geron said. For now, they'll stick to the two cars. - The Orion

March 23, 2005

The Melodramatics were practicing in their hometown of Redding one afternoon when a neighbor called the police to complain about the loud music. This event inspired the lyrics and title of a song, which the band played at Fulcrum Records on Friday.

When the cops came, the band was playing a song that didn't have words yet. But after the incident with the police, the members filled in the missing lyrics with the story of how the woman next door tried to put them under citizen's arrest.

During the show, Caleb Saccheri, the blue-haired lead singer and guitarist, introduced the song, "Citizen's Arrest," by telling the story of how it got its name. He said the band has a court date Monday and will see how the justice system really works and "if playing music is allowed."

The Melodramatics, who will be playing at Off Limits on March 31, are made up of Caleb, his brother Wiley on drums and Jesse Geron on bass. Saccheri's guitar playing was fast and precise with well-executed solos. After the show, Geron and Wiley Saccheri said the band members are serious about their music because it is what they love to do. They said they like to have fun and they make other people have fun.

The Melodramatics' lively music was reminiscent of The Ataris. Their music was the most listener-friendly of the four bands that played on Friday, which included Thistle, Amish Tycoons and Muff'n. The Melodramatics were the most professional, pulled together, consistent band of the night. The drums, guitar, bass and vocals all blended smoothly and sounded put-together, whereas the vocals of the other bands were often drowned out by the instruments.

The Melodramatics formed in 2001 and have more experience playing together than Muff'n, which formed in September, and Amish Tycoons, which became a serious band in August.

There was a lot of downtime between sets while bands took down and put up equipment. The small room became cluttered with equipment while one band moved its instruments from the front and the other band set up drum kits, plugged in basses and tuned guitars.

The size of the audience fluctuated between bands as well. Some people came to see one band and left after it played without waiting to see the next. The room was crowded with about 50 people during Thistle and Amish Tycoons' sets. During the long break between Amish Tycoons and Muff'n, many people left and the audience was down to 20 people. The crowd remained small for the rest of the night.

The Amish Tycoons are made up of vocalist Ben Derrick, guitarist Jack Gingerich, bassist Adrian Hammons and drummer Marcus Hardy. Derrick, who sports an Amish-style beard, thought up the name of the band years before the high school students formed Amish Tycoons.

This was Amish Tycoons' first Chico show, but, Hardy said, they have played many parties including an anniversary party.

"If your grandparents have a 50th wedding anniversary, we'll play jazz," Hardy said.

The band was asked to play at an anniversary party with only one day to prepare, so they looked though a songbook and then played jazz songs.

The band members said they like to improvise, play solos and jam, so playing jazz at a party was not hard.

The next band, Muff'n, played a song titled "I'm So Fuckin' Metal, Grrr." Maybe the band felt that by growling these words at the audience people would believe them.

The drummer, Kyle Kleaver, concentrated on the cymbals, high hat and snare drum. He would play flurries of the other drums in his kit, so his drums had a softer tone and did not sound metal.

Guitarist and vocalist Nels Ferre half-talked, half-sang some lines and screamed other lines, and that was the extent of his vocals. Tom Myers kept a steady rhythm with his bass.

Ferre introduced another song by saying, "We're not going to tell you what this song's called. We'll let you guess for yourself."

The audience did not sing along or shout out the name and it's doubtful that very many of the 20-something people left in the audience knew what the song was called. - The Orion

"Out of the monotony of local bands comes the Melodramatics, a band with a fresh sound thats guaranteed to blow your proverbial socks off. Not only do the Melodramatics have a unique sound, they also bring an incredible energy to the stage. A fusion of many different styles, the Melodramatics always delight, entertain, and rock their audiences. Out of the thousands and thousands of bands that I personally have worked with, the Melodramatics are one I expect great things from in the future. This is a band that's tight, precise and just overall fun to watch and to listen to."

-Rachel Lane The Mistress of Metal on Redding's Rock 106x
Hostess of Unfamous and Unspun - Rachel Lane The Mistress of Metal on Redding's Rock 106x Hostess of Unfamous and Unspun