This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CNU chapter.

While their name offers a level of mystery that may never be discovered, what is not mysterious is the way that their music makes you feel: imagine lying on the beach – doesn’t have to be California (see what I did there?) – and just feeling the warm, loose sand under you. Rays hitting your face, and little microscopic bubbles of sweat developing on your skin from the heat of the sun. Imagine this envelopment of content and reminiscence. This is California Death.

It’s difficult to put California Death in a category because their sound is not limited like some other newly found and mainstream artists. While many consider them to be more Indie rock, you could say that California Death belongs to “Jangle pop” or “Shoegaze,” the cross between Indie-psychedelic-pop rock genres. Their sound is based on nature imagery, memories, identity, but has that “surf” feel as well. This is very much like well known bands, such as The Cure, Joy Division and My Bloody Valentine. The main focus is the instrumental aspect of their music, which is something that definitely engulfs the listener, rather than the lyrics, but there’s still a message there underneath the guitar’s melodies.

Mike Hayes (vocal, guitar) and Chad Hollman (drums), both recent CNU graduates, Sam Atkinson (bass), a senior on campus, and Chris George (guitar), a VT Hokie, came together not too long ago, originally making their start by playing gigs on CNU’s campus in April. When they began, the quartet wasn’t exactly serious about their music, just starting to learn their strengths and weaknesses. But, what separated them from other groups, was their social media exposure on Reddit, a social networking, entertainment and news website – for those who aren’t familiar. Kevin Parker, lead guitarist, vocalist and founder of the Australian rock group, Tame Impala, gave California Death the attention that they deserved after the band contacted him for advice on how to make it in the music industry. By the end of the day, California Death’s Soundcloud page had a little under 6,000 listens and another large number of likes on their Facebook.

Ever since their exposure, California Death has increased their following significantly in not just the country, but even stretching as far as Brazil and the UK. Their number of performances has also increased, especially in Richmond, where they’ve gigged at The Camel, WRIR, Strange Matter, Cary Street Café and Gallery 5.

If you don’t believe me, I recommend that you check out the band for yourself on their Bandcamp account. Their next performance will be on November 16 at Strange Matter in Richmond, but make sure to keep track of them via Facebook to see when their next gigs are because they’ll start posting about December and January in the near future. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see me there, jamming to these guys as well!

Music Banter by TJ – California Death

We wanna slide into your DMs