For Amherst band The Warblers, the third time’s a charm.
The quartet—Leo Hwang-Carlos on lead guitar and vocals, Suzanne LoManto on bass, Bruce Todd on drums and Migel on guitar and vocals—is in its third and, according to Hwang-Carlos, best iteration.
Diehard garage-fuzz-surf fan Migel started The Warblers in the late 1990s near Virginia Beach before migrating north. He reignited the group in Boston around the turn of the century, recording an EP and gigging steadily at rock clubs in and around that city.
This latest edition “devolved” in Amherst in 2005, after Hwang-Carlos and Migel met while hanging out at Video to Go. The two hit it off discussing rock music, and began jamming. LoManto soon joined on bass, and the members began running through The Warblers back catalog in basements around the area. Todd came aboard in 2009, after drummer Pete Baldrachi left to go solo in Beantown.
The band is inspired by “loud, shouty rock and roll—with fuzz,” and its love of garage and three-chord pop blasts is evident in the group’s tunes. It lives by the mantra laid out in the title of its most recent release: Fuzz Good! Loud Good! Fast Good!
The foursome’s ongoing mission is to get together to make noise, eat pizza and forget about the humdrum day-to-day.
“The band really enjoys hanging out and playing together,” says Hwang-Carlos. “It’s all about having fun, playing music, and not worrying too much about keeping our guitars in tune.”
Hwang-Carlos and Migel handle the songwriting duties, with the two principals writing independently and bringing their songs to the group.
“We try to keep the performing of the songs really loose and free,” explains Hwang-Carlos. “Only we know when we screw up the tunes.”
So far, The Warblers has recorded an EP and a full-length available online through CD Baby and iTunes, as well as at local record stores. The group is currently recording its next album, laying down “fat and juicy tracks” at Roaring Brook Studios in Leverett.
For tunes, videos and more information, visit www.thewarblers.com.
