Friday, December 4, 2009
Jessica Wu
Staff Writer
Despite what the ideas their name might evoke, there is no sin in loving Mira Costa’s rock band Eden’s Bliss.
When Eden’s Bliss started off in April 2007 as White Turbulence, their members comprised of sophomores Brandon Hafetz, Michael de Virgilio, and Ari Stern, and junior Matt Marcus. Hafetz sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar. De Virgilio provides backup vocals and guitar, Stern plays drums, and the newest member, senior Joe Sanders plays bass, vocals, keyboard, and guitar.
“Michael and I had been playing in other bands and had noticed we worked well together and started to co-write songs. We came up with White Turbulence soon after. We then asked Ari to join and play drums for us. We had a different bassist for the next two years until Joe joined this year,” Hafetz said.
The band labels itself as alternative rock, with a wide range of styles from ballads to metal and everything in between. Some of this group’s songs sound like metal, such as “Afraid,” and “Drowning in Disguise.” In contrast, other songs, such as “Metaphorism,” are ballads.
“I’d cite our main musical influences as the Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Porcupine Tree, the Police, Radiohead, and Deftones. For song writing, Michael and I are inspired by the Beatles much more than any other band because of what the group did with their music and the lyrics they wrote. They fascinate us,” Hafetz said.
Eden’s Bliss’ music utilizes multiple musical elements in order to acheive diversity in their songs. The band uses complex multi-part harmonies, unusual tempo structures and climatic breakdowns. Lyrically, the songs tend to be gloomy but lack cliched topics.
“Their music just gives me good vibes. I really felt their music when I was at their first Whisky show. So, yeah, they’re pretty good,” junior Justin Tam said.
Eden’s Bliss has played at a variety of venues, the most notable from 2009 being the Knitting Factory in January and the famous Whisky A-Go-Go in July. The band also plays shows and concerts for various Mira Costa clubs, all of which are done acoustically. Last school year, it played at the 65 Roses benefit concert and a Cure for Darfur benefit concert.
“We love helping out the school’s clubs and their causes. It’s a great way to support them and gain some fans and publicity in the process,” Hafetz said.
Eden’s Bliss has a second Whisky A-Go-Go show on Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The band said it expects an attendance between 40 and 50 people and will mainly include Mira Costa students, but hopes to attract new fans.
“I am really looking forward to playing the Whisky again this December. It’s not every day that someone my age gets to play on the Sunset Strip,” Sanders said.
Eden’s Bliss said it would love to get a record deal and make it big. However, the members understand that this dream isn’t an easy task.
In the future, both Sanders and Hafetz wish to pursue music in college. However the other members remain undecided on whether music will figure into their career plans. All the member said that they want to enjoy the time they spend playing together as a band.
“I think that every day we learn new things from each other, not only about music but about life. I think our friendships will lead us to success,” de Virgilio said.
Eden’s Bliss will be distributing a self-produced, seven to 10 song compilation for free sometime after winter break. The band has a facebook page, as well as an official Myspace page at www.myspace.com/edensblissmusic, which contains samples of the band’s music and further performance information.
“We decided to create a My-space page because we wanted our fans to hear recoordings of our songs whenever they wanted to. We also wanted to get gigs. We got asked to play at the Whisky-a-Go-Go because the company who asked us to play found us on Myspace,” Sanders said.
Eden’s Bliss already has a large number of fans who are interested in its music.
“I really enjoyed listening to Eden’s Bliss. Its music rocks my socks,” said junior Hannah McDermott.
The band members said they enjoy playing music for their fans at concerts and other venues.
“Our fan base seems to grow little by little after each show that we do. It gives us a lot of confidence to see that they’re enjoying our music,” Hafetz said.
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