The Summer State: Singapore"s hottest band now?

New homegrown band The Summer State has been buzzng in the music scene. (Photo by Herman Rahman)

They’ve been around for less than two years but already, this five-member band has got some major buzz behind them.

All thanks to their angsty power-rock love ballad “I Do, I Don’t” which exploded on local radio stations last month. Within days of being released around Valentine’s Day, the song received heavy airplay on 987FM while the accompanying music video on YouTube racked up over 30,000 views.

“We’re happy with the response. I think it’s mainly because our catchy love songs are so easy to relate to,” says songwriter-bassist Edwin Waliman, 20, during a recent interview with Yahoo! Singapore at *Scape along Orchard Road.

So what’s the secret to their success?

Luck. No kidding. Unlike other bands who toil for years in order to be given their big chance, Summer State has had proverbial Lady Luck on their side.

The band has also scored opening slots for long-time US bands Mayday Parade at *Scape in 2011 and Yellowcard at Hard Rock Hotel Singapore in 2012.

But drummer Bryan Ulric Sta Maria, 20, also credits sticking to “hard work” as the reason for their quick rise.

“I guess luck played a part, but without the hard work that we put into producing songs and performing them, we won’t be here,” said the sound engineer, dressed in a preppy-hip getup of fitted shirt and classy khakis.

Apart from luck, they’ve also had the good fortune of working with the right people.

They were mentored by Dave Tan from now defunct band Electrico as well as Roland Lim, music producer and owner of recording studio, Sync Studios. The latter in particular served as the band’s “sifu” while producing their self-titled debut EP which was released last month.

Vocalist and most popular member of the group, Ryan Lopez, 22, says, “Working with them made us see our true potential, and they will never stop pushing us until we do so. For me, I never knew I could sing as well as I do now.”

Their music video for popular ballad “I Do, I Don’t” which received over 30,000 views within days.

HOW THEY MET

The quintet also comprises of lead guitarist Shaykh Akhbar, 20; and the only female in the band, rhythm guitarist Victoria Chew, 20.

According to Ryan, the carefree band came up with its name with the hope of always being able to stay positive and happy through their music thanks to a “summer state of mind”.

Most of them met when performing in individual bands before Ryan (Bryan’s church friend) and Shaykh (Bryan and Victoria’s classmate in LASALLE College of the Arts) were roped in.

Bryan further tells the story of how they met.

“It was at DXO (now Titanium) at The Esplanade Mall in 2007 when Victoria, Edwin and I met because our bands were playing in the same gig.

Victoria and Edwin disbanded from their respective bands but they still wanted to continue doing music, so we started jamming together and pulled in Ryan, whom I met in church.”

Interestingly, most of the band members have music in their blood.

Victoria, who is currently pursuing a music technology diploma, says, “We all have musicians in our family lines and I guess that’s why we’re doing music too”.

“My father taught me how to play the violin and piano when I was young before I ditched them for the guitar,” she added.

GROUPIES

Since their music video exploded on Youtube, the band has had to adapt to their new found fame.

“Ryan always gets tweets that say ‘TSS [The Summer State] vocalist is so cute I want him to have my babies!’” Bryan says of his bandmate as the rest giggle while the usually shy Ryan blushes.

Malaysian fan Ashley Greig who went to their recent Kuala Lumpur show says, “I thoroughly enjoyed myself and look forward to catching them perform at more gigs! In the meantime, keep up the good work!”

Local fan Esoup Edwin Ang on their track “I Do I Don’t” says, “Love their song the first time I heard it on the radio while driving!”

Next on their plate is a possible tour of Kuala Lumpur and Australia after taking a short break.

“Like how a person needs a doctorate to become a doctor, we need to produce EPs and perform at shows to become a musician,” says Bryan.

Said like a true music pro.

The Summer State: Singapore"s hottest band now?