Fairfax's own alternative rock band Summer Rain is a quartet consisting of four guys devoted to music. The group's name symbolizes that "the good and the bad can happen at the same time," said Chris DeAngelo at an interview via e-mail.
The current lineup is the same as it has been since Summer Rain first started out, nine years ago: Marc DeAngelo on bass, Carl Pocaro on drums, Sean Ceigersmidt as the lead guitarist and harmony vocalist, and Justin Grim as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
On Friday, April 29, at 10 p.m., Summer Rain performs at TT Reynolds in Fairfax. The band's music is described by DeAngelo as a "kind of blend of STP [Stone Temple Pilots], the Doors and R.E.M. Edgy rock with classic rock overtones and a pop flavor." Summer Rain will play tunes from all of their four albums at the performance, though cover material from classic artists, such as Lenny Kravitz, The Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin and more, may be played as well.
The band is returning to the studio this fall to record a new full-length album. "Our writing team, Justin and Sean, are very prolific and are usually one to two CDs ahead of our recording schedule," said DeAngelo. Cellos, organs and piano have been used on their previous albums, however the band has some up-beat and more aggressive tunes in its music stack. "We are our own producers so the creative minds in the band continue to create artistic flavorings to songs as each song unfolds in the studio," DeAngelo said.
Connection: How did Summer Rain come about?
Chris DeAngelo: Marc and Sean knew each other prior to the band and met Justin through a mutual friend. We put an ad in [a] local music store (Venemans, Springfield) for a drummer and Carl answered. Carl also took all the phone number tabs from the add so that no one else could call. Also, Venemans caught on fire a week after we placed the ad and, though he had nothing to do with it, we still kid him about it.
What venues do you prefer?
Currently the venue that we prefer to play at is TT Reynolds. It is a great place to perform, they always host great bands and the management's the best to deal with in the area.
What can people expect at the performance on April 29 at TT Reynolds?
Great rock 'n' roll from all three bands. We are performing with two top bands in the area and [all] three bands have similar styles of music. It is going to be a fantastic night of local music.
Is Summer Rain on tour?
We are currently not on tour. We have performed in Pennsylvania, WDC [Washington, D.C.] Maryland and Virginia. We have performed at Tower Records in Tysons Corner and Fairfax at cancer benefits and twice at the Tim's Rivershore WaterStock Festival on the Potomac River.
What is Summer Rain's current project?
Currently, we are working on the upcoming CD and trying to become more established at TT Reynolds.
The April 29 show is open to ages 21 and older. For more information, call 703-591-9292. or visit www.ttreynolds.com. TT Reynolds is located at 10414 Main St., Fairfax.