Candiria

Candiria are an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including, metal, jazz, hip-hop and ambient sounds. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".^[1]

History

Candiria was initially formed in 1992 by vocalist Carley Coma, guitarists Chris Puma and Eric Matthews, and drummer Kenneth Schalk.^[2] Even early on they were creating unusual music, with vocals that ranged from dry barks to rap. Candiria's rhythmic guitar style consists of riffing with little melody interrupted by jazzy chord progressions during the jazz breaks. Ken Schalk's drumming often consists of polyrhythms. Michael MacIvor, in fact, may be the least metal-influenced member of the group, as apparent in his melodically complex basslines which frequently do not follow the guitar riffs.

Chris Puma was replaced by John Lamacchia before 1997's Beyond Reasonable Doubt,^[2] while Lamacchia himself left the band after 2004's What Doesn't Kill You..., due to personal issues. The latter album features a cover photograph of the band's van after a heavy traffic accident it endured in 2002. On September 9th, the band was driving to Cleveland as part of a touring schedule in support of their then current record. An eighteen wheel tractor trailer drove through the equipment trailer, until it rear-ended the back of the band's van (where some of the band were sleeping), which then flipped over several times (ejecting Eric, John and Mike through the windows), coming to a halt 75 foot further down the road on it's roof. The accident resulted in all of the members of the band being hospitalized with critical injuries, commencing a long, painful recovery period for the band. ^[3] The band were rumoured to be paid $29 million dollars in compensation (pending appeal) ^[4].

It took the band members considerable time to recover from their injuries. LaMacchia later rejoined the band to write the majority of what would become their follow-up record Kiss The Lie. Eric Matthews later left the band, in part, due to these injuries sustained during the aforementioned accident.

Adding good friend Eddie Ortiz (Cattlepress, The Dying Light) onto second guitar, the band headed into the studio in 2006 to complete their upcoming record Kiss The Lie. However, upon finishing the sessions, Ken Schalk left the band, citing that it was time to pursue a different path. Mike MacIvor also left the band due to Schalk's departure. He stated "I will not try and pull the wool over anyone's eyes, including my own. There is no Candiria without Ken Schalk, as far as I am concerned." Without a rhythm section to tour with in support of the new album, Type A Records refused to release Kiss The Lie and the album languished for close to two years, held "hostage" by the president of Type A, David Bendeth. However, Bendeth released the unmastered mix of the record onto eMusic, Napster, and iTunes in November 2008, without the band's permission or knowledge. Guitarist John LaMacchia has since properly released the record on March 4, 2009 (fully mastered) on his own Rising Pulse Records, in vinyl format only. The vinyl comes with a CD-R containing a download link to a Digital Pack with liner notes, the record in MP3 format (weirdly enough, at 192kbps), band photos, lyrics, and other content.

By March 2009, the only remaining members of Candiria were John LaMacchia and Carley Coma; Coma had stated that any future Candiria efforts will most likely be electronica-based projects as they are without a rhythm section, however, by mid 2009, Mike McIvor had returned to the band. In August 2009, the band released Toying With Insanities Volume 1 on gatefold CD, followed by Toying With Insanities Volume 2 in September 2009. The albums contain remixed versions of the band's prior material.

Original guitarist Chris Puma passed away on 20th September 2009. ^[5]

Side Projects & Other Bands

Drummer Ken Schalk, Bassist Mike MacIvor, and Guitarist John Lamacchia have been involved in a free-jazz side project named Ghosts Of The Canal, who have thus far released two full-length albums, Sessions from the Flats (1999) and Five Episodes From the Subconscious (2002), as well as two non-album tracks which appeared on the bonus disc of Candiria's The C.O.M.A. Imprint.

Carley Coma and Kenneth Schalk are currently part of the band Hope Kills Fear, a christian rock band, which "was created for the purpose of using heartfelt, catchy songs to spread a message of hope, faith, strength and perseverance." Members Michael MacIvor and John Lamacchia have since formed the new band A Family Plot. This band is a return to the classic rock and alternative rock that both members grew up on, before joining Candiria.

John Lamacchia is a member of Spylacopa along with Greg Puciato, Jeff Caxide, and Julie Christmas, whose EP is available on Myspace. ^[6]

Candiria Name Origin

"Candiria" is supposedly the plural form of candiru, the name of a freshwater fish found in the Amazon river. However, Ken Schalk has stated before that the band came up with the name, thinking it sounded like a real word, but not in fact knowing of this fish. The alleged plural is incorrect anyway: the name of the fish comes from the now extinct Old Tupi language, from where it passed on to Portuguese and later to other languages; in Portuguese, the plural form is simply candirus.^[7]

Band members

• Carley Coma – vocals (1992–present)
• John Lamacchia – guitar (1997–present)
• Michael MacIvor - bass (1996-present)

Former band members

• Chris Puma – guitar (1992–1997) (deceased)
• Eric Matthews – guitar (1992–2002)
• Kenneth Schalk – drums (1992–2006)

Discography

• Deep in the Mental (1995)
• Surrealistic Madness (1995)
• Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1997)
• Mathematics/Down to the last Element (1999)
• The Process of Self-Development (1999)
• 300 Percent Density (2001)
• The C.O.M.A. Imprint (2002)
• What Doesn't Kill You... (2004)
• Kiss the Lie (2009)

References

1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Candiria biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=CANDIRIA&sql=11:f9fyxqlhld0e~T1. Retrieved 2008-07-08. "Candiria's uniquely sprawling urban fusion sound combined elements of grindcore, funk, hip-hop, and jazz." 
2. ^ ^{a b} Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. New Plymouth: Zonda Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 0-9582684-0-1. 
3. ^ http://www.earache.com/bands/candiria/candiria.html
4. ^ http://www.earacherecords.org/bands/candiria/news/candiria.html
5. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=2921693&blogId=512651283
6. ^ http://www.myspace.com/spylacopa
7. ^ Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva. 2007. ISBN 857302383X. 

External links

• Candiria at Allmusic
• Candiria at MySpace