Taking their name from the Latin term meaning 'beautiful
anger', Bellusira are the latest rock sensation to emerge from Melbourne's
renowned music scene, with the four piece act having already built up
a huge following in preparation for the launch of their debut E.P. toward
the end of June.
Prior to the big night, I caught up with vocalist Crystal
Backman to talk about the band's hard work in the studio, their determination
to take their music as far and wide as they can and the details behind
the E.P. launch in the coming week.
But first, I had to find out exactly what happened to
Fallacy, the name the band first started out with.
"Fallacy was made up of me, guitarist Richard Dalbeth,
bassist Mark Dalbeth and drummer Marty O'Shea. We started out around
four years ago, and lasted up until January. Fallacy was a completely
different thing to what we're doing now. Our sound was aggressive and
angry, and pretty much an acquired taste, in a way that we really only
appealed to a certain group of people. But after three and a half years,
O'Shea decided to leave the band. He was playing with us, and two other
bands (including The Eternal) at the same time, so it was getting a
bit hard to co-ordinate the timing to be involved with all three bands
at the same time. In the end, while he's a great drummer, we ended up
going our separate ways. So the three of us decided it was time to do
something completely different. It was a change in everything. We had
to get another drummer, so that's when we hooked up with Ryan Wall.
So we figured that since our sound had changed, we would change everything.
We thought we would change our image, our name and everything. We just
needed to start something that was fresh. We had a whole change in feeling
and attitude when we became Bellusira. We're not in the same place where
we were with Fallacy. Fallacy was more aggressive and angry, where as
Bellusira is more uplifting and positive. We're still aggressive, but
it comes out in a different way. It's delivered in a way that more people
can understand and relate to. I think everyone can relate to how this
band sounds. I don't know how to explain it, but when we made the change
to Bellusira, we had arrived in a different place from where we started."
The change in name and musical direction certainly paid
off for the band, with their song 'Wide Awake' attracting attention
both far and wide.
"The reactions have surprised us quite a lot. Initially,
we decided to do this one song, and use that to generate a bit of publicity
and discussion amongst people about this new thing that we're doing.
We really had to start from scratch, because we had a change of name
and the music was something new for us. So we knew that our first song
had to be an absolute killer. We didn't want to just advertise ourselves
on our MySpace page; we actually wanted to physically get our stuff
out there to people. So we had a couple of thousand copies of the one
track promo made up so that we could give it out for free and help advertise
the band. We spent whole nights standing outside big events handing
out CD's and things like that. And the response had been really good."
Aside from the one track promo, Bellusira have also been
getting themselves some television and magazine coverage as well.
"We've been on Channel 31's 'Asylum' and 'Noise T.V.'
shows a couple of times this year. It's seems like a lot of people had
heard us through those appearances, and that's great. Another good gauge
for us is our MySpace page. We've received a lot of contact from people
through our site, and we've had a lot of people make us friends through
their sites. So we've built up a bit of a fan base through that. We'll
also have an interview in this month's Blunt Magazine as well. So we're
really excited to see what comes out of that. We're hoping to get a
bit more attention with that sort of exposure. All up, I think it will
be really good for us."
While the band have been making a name for themselves
on the live front, they have been working equally as hard behind the
scenes on their debut E.P. 'Empty Shells And Sleepless Nights'.
"It's going to be great when we finish it, but it's
been a stressful time in the studios. At the last minute, we wrote a
new song, and we decided that it had to go on the E.P. So we put ourselves,
and our poor producer, under a huge amount of pressure. But that's just
the way it goes. We wanted to put something out there that really shows
them who we are. And if we don't put this song out on the E.P., we really
didn't think that our best stuff would be on there. We're definitely
working right up to the very last minute with this, but it will all
work out for the best. We could have just recorded this thing in a couple
of weeks like a lot of other bands have done. But then if we did that,
I think it would really show. We didn't want just an average E.P. We've
put the time in, been very meticulous about things and worked with a
producer who was willing to put in just as much time and effort into
this thing as we did. Hopefully the E.P. will show that, and help us
stand out just that little bit more. We really have been working on
this thing for the last six months on and off. And in that time, we've
been really picky about everything. With all the promotion in the last
six months, I guess what we've done is set ourselves and people out
there up for this big anticipation for our debut E.P. We know that people
are wondering if we're a one great song band or whether or not we can
deliver the goods. There's a lot of pressure on us about this upcoming
E.P. But the great thing is that we can deliver. 'Wide Awake' is not
the best track on the E.P. We still love that track, but the first track
on the E.P. is definitely our favourite. I think this E.P. shows the
band's diversity. We have a track that's really radio friendly, another
that's totally crazy and written in a completely different way of writing
as opposed to the others. And then there's another one that's really
different to those others in a strange way. The E.P. definitely has
a big variety of songs and styles from us on offer."
Aside from a new sound, the band has also gone for a new
image and theme, with 'Empty Shells And Sleepless Nights'.
"The whole title kind of ties in with this Bellusira
alter ego we have. We have this female superhero that represents our
band. I guess it flows into that comic assassin theme. But then it also
ties in with what we've been through in the last six months to get this
E.P. together! (Laughs) We've had a lot of sleepless nights where we've
found ourselves driving home from a gig when the sun is just starting
to rise up. We've had this distinct lack of sleep, and bordering on
insanity just trying to get everything done. We have set such big goals
up for ourselves, and the title has sort of explained everything that
this E.P. was or represented. And although this is only a four track
E.P., we have more songs up our sleeves for our next release. Some of
the tracks we have still need a lot of work done to them, but they'll
be ready when we head into the studio to record our full-length album
next year. That's something that we're already thinking about now. I
guess the aim that we have with the E.P. is to get a response from people,
and get our name out there. We want something out there for people to
hear us, so that they'll be ready for the album next year. That is of
course if everything goes to plan! (Laughs)"
And of course, that plan is Bellusira's big launch night
at the Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda on Saturday 28th June, where they'll
be playing at the Gershwin Room.
"I think it's really going to be a big night. You
can never really completely bank on what's going to happen, because
people will always say that they're coming, and never show up. But we
have pre-sold tickets, and so have the other bands (Master Tang, Optic
and Tread) that will be playing with us. So I think it'll be a big night.
But having said that, if everyone is coming like they've said they were
going to then it's going to a huge night! That's what we're hoping for.
We've put a lot into this in terms of putting up the posters, publicising
the event and posting ads up all over MySpace. So if the work that we've
put into it pays off, then it will definitely be a big night."
And it doesn't end there, with Bellusira having already
scheduled dates all up the east cost in the coming months.
"At the moment, we have shows booked until October.
We're working with Third Eye Music, and they've been helping us out
organising our first tour. So we'll be crossing the border into Sydney
about three times in the next few months. We really want to get this
E.P. out, and then just get straight into playing for people. At the
moment, we're focussing on rural Victoria, N.S.W. and South Australia.
We just want to get our name out there to more people than just the
fans we have here in Melbourne. Everything is super exciting at the
moment. It's been very stressful getting everything to come together
because we've been putting a lot of attention into the E.P. Everything
has to be fantastic so that it can take us up to that next step. That's
what we're aiming for."
I would like to thank Crystal Backman for her generous
time, and Aaron Podoba at Third Eye Music for making the interview possible.
For more information on Bellusira, check out - http://www.myspace.com/bellusira
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
